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