// Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada | Rolling Shoe Box //
We drive in from Boulder Station at the corner of Boulder Drive and 515 freeway up I-15 for 44 miles, then another 18 miles on the secondary road shown below. If you are in Las Vegas you might save some time by going out Lake Mead Blvd, then North along the lake. The distance is more, but the roads are faster. The highway off I-15 is windy and has a speed limit of 35 to 45 mph. Get behind a big vehicle and your new speed limit might be lower yet. You will need to pay the state of Nevada a $10.00 fee to see the park, and The federal government a fee of $10.00 to utilize the roads around lake Meade. The drive through the Lake Meade area is very interesting, and the Valley of Fire is good too. The drive via 15, is not very interesting. We did not choose to bring the RV into the Valley of Fire due to the fact that they do not take reservations, and there are no alternate RV parks reasonably close to there. Valley of Fire state Park.
Interesting drive, we are going to the Valley of fire, but headed straight into the mountains. – Different definitions of valley than mine.Kind of reminds me of Kane county UtahKind of reminds me of one of those robo dogsThe bee hivesA downed and petrified Star Wars Star CruiserSarah getting the lay of the land. Holly had to stay home and do an essay, so she could not come and entertain us.Kid size slot canyonSarah got hold of the camera and shot this flower.She did not put it back before giving it to me, now I have a really weird picture of Sarah. The camera took the red out of the rock, and the park service is not going to be happy.Camera fixed, and none too soon, Valley of Shale state park just does not have the same intensity in the name as Valley of Fire State ParkAthena found a hole and crawled in to it. Most mothers want to do this from time to time
Sarah is imitating a mountain goat.Rock like an EgyptianEver hear of the Midas touch? This vulture seemed to have the same problem. He turned to stone when his head touched the ground.Most of this park is off-limits to me, but I have Sarah. Her job is to climb those stairs and tell me what she finds.Graffiti! Looks like wagon wheel noodles, a pizza slicer a funky cork remover, and sideways television antenna.A treasure map explaining not to bother, they lost it to a goat on two-wheeled surfboard who lost it to a witch doctor, who was eaten by a herd of goats, near the place where two roads cross. The whole map was probably made up by the CCC boys, who were drinking bear one night after working on the Valley of Fire Cabin system, which is fine with me, a good game of charades is always of interest to the multitudes.
Sarah found one under those stepsBlue sage brushYellow Sage brushRed Sage BrushDrive to white domeWe stop and find a rose and Athena and Sarah go hiking. I stay behind can’t walk on the sandPeople have a lot in common with cats, they climb up high and climb into holes.
The rocks are yellow, that’s cool. Better than yellow snow
Looks like the flower of a morning glory on a dandelionWhite dome is boring from my position. The trail might be fun.
We find rainbow rocks on the way down from white domeThe road is steep
They should clean these up and charge $50 a night for them.Cool land formation out the front of the cabins. The rest of the Valley of fire was inaccessible due to environmental laws and the Fire Canyon Road being closed for the summer. The park as laid out is easily seen in 2 hours by car and the legal hiking areas require a half day if you do everything that is not fenced off. If the visitors center has parking, the place is a good place to get water (You can refill water canisters just inside the front door) and go to the bathroom. If you can’t find parking, it is not worth circling multiple time until a spot opens, the place is not that informative.Drive up the roads in the park, if my memory serves me right there are four, and everything is well-marked. We went back to Las Vegas via Lake Mead Hwy. to lake Mead Blvd.We were rather hungry so found a marina that advertised a restaurant, it was four mile of the hwy at 25 mph. Took a long time to get there, but the lake is pretty. The way the road designed, we had to drive down the boat ramp in order to see the lake. It is mid April, the weather is 75 degrees, and this place is dead!There is a hotel and restaurantBut it is dead, and appears to be permanently dead.One would think this place could be torn down, rebuilt, and advertised over seas like Lake Powell does, and make a killing.
// Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada | Rolling Shoe Box, April 23, 2003//
Quit hungry, we spot Las Vegas on the horizon. Now, there is but one destination “Smash Burger”. If your one of those ecological activist, don’t go to Smash Burger They make the world’s best grease dripping down your arms and legs burgers allowed by law. Their Smash fries have even more grease with a hint of Oregano so you will not die of scurvy. I hear they could not cook for an ecological types cause they are most vegetarians, and vegetarian food in a place like this is about as exciting as eating bark.
Last interesting note of the day, that truck pulled out of a place that makes sheet rock, never seen a sheet rock factory before. The sheet rock must be heavy too, it took all night to get off this hill.
