Valley of Fire, SP

When planning our trip to Death Valley, we decided to visit Valley of Fire State Park out side of Las Vegas.  This is a Nevada state park and it looked interesting.  Camping is on a first come basis, so we could not make reservations before we headed down.  We avoided downtown Las Vegas by taking the SR215 North Los Vegas bypass and made our trip so much easier.  About 35 miles east we took the turn off and headed out into nondescript desert.  We climbed a hill and at the top, looked out over the most amazing landscape; red rock jumbled in rock chaos.    

The park is really nice and the campgrounds have been some of the best we have visited.  We opted for full hook-up due to the problem with our 40 year old refrigerator, it wasn't staying cold on gas and needed shore power. We had nice hot showers every day after getting hot and sweaty hiking all day.  The camp sites had a nice shade structure and great fire pits.  Our first stop was the Visitor Center for a hiking map.  We found one and spent an hour learning about the geology, flora and fauna of the Valley of Fire and the history of the many ancient people who lived there.  From the Visitors Center we went up the spur road to where most of the trails are located.  The first hike was to the "Fire Wave" and I never found the exact place where you can photograph the wave.

    

There are several relatively easy hikes in this area.  Nothing was over 2+ miles and most were a combination of sand and some scrambling over rocks.  We could bring the dogs on a leash and always had water.  It was warm in mid- February and would be downright hot in the summer. I don't think you can take a "bad" shot in VoF, every scene is breathtaking.

Petroglyph Canyon

Desert Big Horned Sheep

"White Dome" hike had the "narrows," a slot canyon you can touch with your arms extended and the ruins of an old movie set.  "Mouse's Tank" is also called petroglyph canyon and the number and complexity of the petroglyphs is fantastic.

George and Lani in the Narrows

Phil hiking down "White Dome" trail

This park has some of the most photogenic places I have ever been.  These photos have NOT been photoshopped!  The colors through the day were amazing.  The reds, oranges, yellows were crazy.  I took hundreds of pictures and  have only cropped them.  The contrast between light and shadow was difficult but also created some fantastic shots.  Some of my favorite shots I took this trip.  I hope you enjoy them!

Fire Canyon

Atlatl Loop