Last weekend when we were in the process of sending our friend Tim off to Atlanta, we stopped by The Valley of Fire State Park. It was hot and dry and I sucked down more water in a three hour period than I ever have before.
It is an amazing place, and if you can stand the desert heat, its a place I'd say is well worth the visit. And if you can't stand the heat? Get out of the kitchen. Oh wait-- I mean, go check it out in the winter. Its still beautiful then.
There are more artsy photos posted at The Desert Loves You. Here you can expect to find mostly just family style snap shots. Hope that's cool with you.
First, a shot of our group. As you might guess by my hair mostly, it was a crazy windy day. I'm still not sure why the others weren't as affected. Dang bangs. And everyone else pronounced the photo "good enough" so that's what I've got to share.
That photo was taken at the bottom of Atlatl rock. The atlatl being a primitive spear used on prehistoric hunts. Here is a photo of what we saw on the rock:
It is an amazing place, and if you can stand the desert heat, its a place I'd say is well worth the visit. And if you can't stand the heat? Get out of the kitchen. Oh wait-- I mean, go check it out in the winter. Its still beautiful then.
There are more artsy photos posted at The Desert Loves You. Here you can expect to find mostly just family style snap shots. Hope that's cool with you.
First, a shot of our group. As you might guess by my hair mostly, it was a crazy windy day. I'm still not sure why the others weren't as affected. Dang bangs. And everyone else pronounced the photo "good enough" so that's what I've got to share.
That photo was taken at the bottom of Atlatl rock. The atlatl being a primitive spear used on prehistoric hunts. Here is a photo of what we saw on the rock:
And my interpretation:
(Click on the images to see them bigger.)
Jumping Jon
What people look like when they're waiting on you to take your Polaroid picture (already!)
Tim and Jon scampered up some rocks to get a better look at some of the panels, but they left all the cameras with Genevieve and I. So I took pictures of them. This is Jon trying to scare me by fake flailing:
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Apparently only the curvy-backed sheep are Bighorns. The others are any number of things.
Goats? Fatted calves? Horned stubby-tailed lizards?
Goats? Fatted calves? Horned stubby-tailed lizards?
One of my favorite panels. I love the crazy horns on what I can only assume are deer. I can see myself using these guys in paintings in the future.
Another of my other favorite panels. There were a few incarnations of the images at the top right of this panel. According to the informational panel at the trail head, this is a "Mysterious Bat Lady." Indeed. Plus, check out the insect-faced woman at the top center(ish)--
Happy little slot canyon--SHADE!
Smiling lizard
There is still a lot of it I haven't seen, so I hope to go back in the fall to explore further. If you can stand the heat, this place is pretty great. Just remember to bring a camera, shoes that handle sand well, and lots and lots of water. This place has camping, and I can see myself spending a couple of days here if the weather was right, or its also a great little place for a quick side-trip.
that lizard freaks me out. can't say i've ever been to valley of fire. pretty sad, since i've lived here for 28 yrs.
ReplyDeleteWe kept talking to the lizard, trying to get it to sit in a way that we could get a good shot of it and a couple of times it moved so much it made us all jump. But other than that, he seemed like a chill fellow. We should take you guys out there. It is hot but pretty.
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