Trip East - Valley of Fire State Park

 

It's a beautiful drive to the Valley of Fire State Park through Lake Mead National Recration Area

We arrive!

The landscape changes around each corner

Valley of Fire in Neavada's first State Park.  It looks more like a National Park.

We stop at the Visitor's Center and do the short hike to the Balance Rock

There it is in the distance.  I think I spot an animal in the rocks - maybe a Big Horn Sheep?

I zoom in . . . petrified Sheep one way Bull the other?

Nature perfectly balanced

The drive through the park is just gorgeous

Constantly changing landscape

We stop for a picnic lunch at the White Dome Trailhead and an antelope ground squirrel thought he might get a snack until he saw Tucson

We go to check the trail out

.

We determine there is too much sand and steep rocky steps for Gary to attempt and Tucson is not allowed.  I decide to go to the remains of a movie set that looks to be about 1/3 mile into the loop and then will turn back

There are some really interesting rocks along the trail

One staircase done

Still a ways to go on some slick rock

Finally arrive at the remains of an old adobe house built for a movie set.

I see the slot canyon isn't much further so i continue on

 

Time  to do the stairmaster back up

We drive back the road we came in on but take a couple of the offshoots on our way.  

We head down Fire Canyon Road

 and catch a herd of Bighorn Sheep by the side of the road.

Cool two tone rock

At the end is the fire canyon overlook

Rocks below look like a bear taking a stroll

Next we check out the Natural Arch

We get there and were parked over to the right and didn't see the sign or arch, 

so we followed the path that lead behind it.  I scoured the landscape across the way and didn't see anything that resembled an Arch.

I turned in frustration and asked a woman behind me if the Arch had fallen down.  She smiled and pointed behind her.  She was kind enough to take a picture of us.

Next are the Petroglyphs

I take the new metal stairs as opposed to the original rock ones

Very interesting petroglyphs over 4,000 years old and have survived in spite of some vandalism

Next stop is the petrified log.  A pretty short and boring hike to a single petrified log surrounded by a chain link fence.

At least we got another picture together

The last stop on the way out are the historic cabins built by the Civilian  Conservation Corps

A great little day trip