Valley of Fire Hikes

January 19, 2024

Valley of Fire State Park is north of Las Vegas. It took us around an hour to get there, not because of distance, but because lower speed limits. It is considered the state's first state park. We spent an enjoyable day driving the scenic roads and taking three hikes for a total of 3.5 to 4.0 miles of hiking. 

Our first hike was the Mouse's Tank. The tank, meaning a natural spot in the rock that serves as a water tank, was indeed on the small side. For us the coolest thing on that short hike, about .75 miles out and back, was Enterprise Rock. Harold needed a Star Trek costume for that. As a side note for Trekkies, scenes from Star Trek Generations were filmed in the park.

The next hike was the Fire Wave hike. This hike, along with several others, is closed in the summer due to extreme heat. Fire Wave is a loop trail just shy of 2 miles. We had hoped to combine it with the White Domes Trail. However what Alltrails was showing as the connector trail was not a true trail. The park service had posted signs saying such. 

Our final hike of the day was the White Domes Trail. It was a 1.1 mile loop trail. It was probably our favorite because of the short slot canyon. However, the trail probably had the most rock scrambling of the day.

All of the trails involved a lot of fine-grained loose sand. If you're thinking beach sand, you're probably about right. It's more tiring than you think. We were glad for hiking poles to help with balance and weight distribution. Bring another pair of shoes and socks. You'll be glad you did!

Enterprise Rock

Looks like dried spilled milk

Mouse Tank

Stuck...stuck... (not really)

Cool formations

Waves of color

In a wash area

Slot area

White domes hike

Colors

Where Are We Going Next?

Death Valley National Park

January 17, 2024

Death Valley National Park is a park of superlatives...

• Hottest national park - 134° in 1913, though that is in question. 129° in 2013.
• Driest national park - lowest average rainfall, less than 2 inches per year
• Lowest national park - 282 ft below sea level
• Largest national park in the contiguous US - over 3 million acres

We had originally planned to spend three full days in the park, camping at the Furnace Creek campground. Mechanical issues with the coach changed that to a day trip. Finding a hazmat object along the roadside, changed the full day to a half day. So we made the visitor center our first stop and got their advice on the best things to see in an afternoon. 

First up was the Harmony Borax Works Exhibit. We'd read about the Borax 20 Mule Team at the Donkey History Museum and were interested in seeing more.

Then we drove the 17 miles to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. We walked out on the saltbed toward Lake Manly. The ranger said it was the first time they'd had water in a couple of years. 

On the way back toward the visitor center we drove the  one-way Artists' Drive, seeing some amazing mineral colors and some wildflowers. 

Our final stop of the day was Zabriskie Point where we caught some photos before the sun set behind the mountains.

We do want to go back and spend more time in the area. There's plenty more to see, and weather permitting, take a hike or two. We'd like to take the 26 mile OHV road to the Racetrack where those rocks scoot across the ground. The Borax Museum, the ghost town of Rhyolite, and the nearbyish date farm are all things we'd like to see. 

Borax products

Hauling up to 36 tons

Processing on site

Badwater Basin

Lake Manly

Throwing saltballs

Desert Gold wildflowers

Artists Palette

Sunset at Zabriskie Point

Zabriskie Point

  Where Are We Going Next?