Valley Of Fire
I just finished an awesome end-of-summer expedition to the Valley Of Fire state park in nevada....and it was REALLY great!
The park is only about 50 miles from Las Vegas, right across the Moapa indian reservation (and casino 'natch;) and it's an easy drive.
The fire-red sandstone rock formations give the park it's name and the camping and hiking is spectacular to say the least. I took this pic right next to were we camped in the Atlatal campgrounds.
"Atlatal" is the term for an early spear-throwing device the ancients used to bring down bison and mammoth, and the name fits - this campground is situated deep in a sandstone ravine that just oozes with an early man vibe. We spent the night sleeping up on the flat rock shelfs, having no need of a tent in the balmy late august night air.
This park can get VERY hot in the summer, but we lucked out as the sun was partially blocked by fluffy clouds during most of the day. Just make sure you have plenty of water on hand - I took an extra 12 gallons along strapped to the jeep.
I took a number of pictures and will post them in coming days here on the desert blogger site.
Now get out that map and go!
DB
Posted: Tuesday 30th August 2005, 5:54 PM
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