Valley of Fire State Park

Balanced Rock

We took Sue, Helen, and Bill to visit Valley of Fire State Park, located south of Overton, Nevada.  Valley of Fire is named for the red sandstone formations that permeate the desert landscape.  It was designated as Nevada’s first state park on March 26, 1935.

The park covers approximately 42,000 acres.  The roads and trails leading to the better known features were developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps beginning in 1933.  Many features are visible from the paved roads and viewpoints, but to see some of the features, you have to get out and hike.  I was excited to have company on the short hikes, as usually I’m walking alone.

I am completely and totally out of practice as far as hiking is concerned.  I am fine going the distance, but when the terrain becomes steep I become hesitant to the point of fearful.  Hindsight being 20-20, I should have brought one of Paul’s many walking sticks – some of which are actually designed to be hiking sticks.  Thankfully, Bill was sure footed and helped me both up and down the final climb to the Rainbow Vista.  And yes, the view was worth the angst.

The view from Rainbow Vista

The Mouse’s Tank trail featured several walls covered with petroglyphs left by the ancient Anasazi that once occupied the area.  The drawings were all rather high on the rock faces, leading us to wonder if there were once shelters built that high.  I remembered being told once, in Mexico, that “you only need to take a picture of one iguana.  The others look the same.”  That said, I was never even tempted to pass on taking a photo of a petroglyph wall.  Yes, they looked the same, but yet each wall was different. 

With Helen, Bill and Sue at Atlatl Rock

They made it really easy to view the petroglyphs at Atlatl Rock.  There’s a metal staircase taking you eye level with the drawings.  What’s an atlatl?  It’s a notched stick used to throw primitive spears.  You can see a drawing of an atlatl at the very top left of this photo.

We took the long way around to see Arch Rock.  We parked on the side of the road and walked all the way around to the back, where we got a glimpse of the arch.  As we continued around the rock and back to the road, we realized we could see it from the road – if only we knew where to look.

We spent most of the day and over 14,000 steps visiting Valley of Fire, and still didn’t see everything.  I guess we have a reason to go back.  And yes, I’m still living vicariously through Sue’s Fitbit.  

Arch Rock

Driving a Subaru

One year ago today I bought my first Subaru. 

I can’t pinpoint the exact reason I wanted a Subaru.  But when it was time for me to shop for a new car, it was the one that caught my eye.  Of course, I tried to be fair.  Nearly every car manufacturer has an all-wheel drive Sport Utility Vehicle similar to the Subaru.  “Look,” I would say to my husband as we drove past one, “there’s the Ford wanna-be.  There’s the Nissan wanna-be.”  Etcetera.  But when it came right down to it, I didn’t want a “wanna-be.”  I wanted the real thing.

Subaru definitely has a culture.  I guess there are other cars that have a culture.  I just haven’t owned one.  I mean, seriously.  What do you think of when you think Buick?  Old???  When you think Subaru, you think of the outdoors, of adventure.  In fact, when I told my daughter and her then-fiancé that I was considering a Subaru, they told me I wasn’t “granola” enough.  They issued a challenge – make it to the top of the climbing wall to get their blessing on buying a Subaru.  I was game – and I succeeded!

My Outback has been a great road trip car.  Since buying it, I’ve taken it all over the Western U.S. – to the tune of 18,000 miles in the first year!  First oil change and 6000 mile checkup!  Check.  Second oil change and 12,000 mile checkup!  Check.  Third oil change and 18,000 mile checkup!  Check.  The Subaru dealer’s service department waiting room has been all that I expected.  Free water, sodas, juices and popcorn.  Recycle bins.  Dog biscuits and a water bowl for the best friend who rides in the back.  The technicians and service representatives are top notch, and they even give me a cookie on the way out. 

My Outback also does quite well off the beaten path.  We’ve taken it off-road several times, and the only problem is getting all the dirt off the back windshield.  There’s a spot at the top of the lift gate that car washes just don’t reach.  Oh, well.

In case you’ve heard the rumor that the Subaru Outback is a “lesbian” car, let me set the record straight.  In 1995, Subaru of America became the founding sponsor of the Rainbow Endowment, a 501©3 charity that contributes to non-profits serving the LGBTQ community.  So our LGBTQ friends support Subaru because Subaru supports them, and has done so long before it became fashionable.  Now we know.

According to Wikipedia, the word “Subaru” is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters.  According to tradition, one of the sisters is invisible; hence there are only six stars in the Subaru logo.  I’m convinced the stars aligned for me when I made the decision to buy a Subaru. Love it!!!!

The Logandale Trails

The Logandale Trailhead

The Logandale ATV trails are a short drive southwest on I-15 from Beaver Dam – not close enough to ride the back roads but not far to trailer.  The road to the trailhead is a little tricky – we saw tire tracks of many other trucks that crossed the railroad tracks in the wrong spot and had to turn around.  For the record – you follow the road to the right and cross at the second crossing.

The trail is relatively well-marked.  I say relatively because it is marked in relation to a map that we did not have when we started.  The overall map showed a loop that had trail markers throughout.  As we examined the trail markers, there were numbers and letter which meant nothing to us, and even though there was a place on each marker for the GPS coordinates, they were not filled in.  We ended up taking a few wrong turns.  How is it that we can get lost on a well-marked trail system?  Yes, we’re that good.

I have never seen an ATV trail area complete with rest rooms and picnic tables along the first few miles of the trail.  I suspect that if we were to ride these trails during spring break, every possible spot would be filled with campers in tents and smaller trailers.  There’s even a group camp site.

Much of the area we rode through reminded me of Lake Powell – minus the lake, of course.  High red cliffs above, red rock and red sand under our wheels.   The parks perimeters were more reminiscent of Southwestern Wyoming, with its green-tinted mountains.  

When we found our way back to the main trailhead, we started exploring a few of the side roads.  We found a road to an abandoned mine – complete with warning signs.  It didn’t look that interesting so we turned around.  We found the road leading to the sand dunes, and Paul had waaaaayyyy too much fun bouncing up and down the dunes.  He hit one bump that reminded me of the old adage:  passengers fly – they just don’t land too well.  That one hurt and I was done.

All in all, the Logandale trails are a great ride.  There’s enough challenging terrain to keep the most expert riders entertained, and enough beauty to keep the fussiest passengers in awe.  After the ride, I highly recommend Sugar’s Home Plate in Overton – just a few miles up the road.  The wings are awesome, and I hear the carrot cake is to die for.

Happy Trails!