Valley of Fire!

Trip Fee: $65

 

Howdy Folks! 

 

How does a brisk weekend in a cool park near Las Vegas sound for the beginning of February?  EXPLORING, SIGHTSEEING, CANYONEERING, HIKING & HOT SPRINGS!!!

 AWESOME … that’s what I thought! 

 

So, here’s my plan: Arrive Friday evening, welcome tea, and campfire, as usual … Saturday we can get up with the sun and see how the rocks that surround our campsite glow a deep red and seem to blaze at dawn! After breakfast we can caravan to explore some cool parts of the park: White Domes, Petrified Logs, Mouse’s Tank, Atlatl Rock petroglyphs, etc; we’ll have our lunch somewhere scenic. And, I thought that if some people wanted to learn how to rappel, I’d take a group down Fire Canyon to a 30’ dry falls, rig an anchor-and-rope, teach some basic rock safety, an introduction to some climbing/rappelling gear, descending technique, and give everybody a chance or two to lean gently backwards off a ledge and slowly walk down the face of a small cliff/dry falls … Batman style!   (To access this location, you should be comfortable rock scrambling; and for safety, some climbing gear will be required … talk to me about renting it.) This canyon is pretty well off the beaten path and we’ll have lost the tourists in the park after the first ½ mile!  You’ll get to see a truly unique part of the park, which we’ll have all to ourselves! We’ll enjoy the rest of the park; have our dinner Potluck on Saturday with campfire in the evening! And, Sunday, I thought we could get up and check-out of the park in the morning and head over to the Hoover Dam, Drive over the new bridge into Arizona (only an hour from camp), and hike down a remote canyon to the Colorado River, climb a ladder in front of a waterfall and relax in some natural 120F hot springs before heading home!!!

     So, Who’s In?!!

 

The Campsite is awesome with tent-pads, shaded tables, grills, water, restrooms and showers! Groceries, gas and firewood is 20mins away in Overton, NV. Parking is limited, so carpooling will be strongly encouraged, if not required!

 

The Park is Nevada’s oldest and largest state park. It’s colorful name derives from the spectacular red, orange and yellow sandstone that are part of an undulating landscape of petrified dunes, boulders and cliffs. This place of rare beauty is only 50mi NE of Las Vegas, is filled with Petroglyphs, and is one of the most photogenic locations in the southwest … so bring your camera!

 

The winter weather in the area is mild with temps ranging from 32-70F … snow rarely falls.

 

It’s about 330 miles from LA; 5 ½ hours drive time.