Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire - Valley of Fire State Park, NV, 4.23.18

So several of you out there have been inquiring as to why I haven’t sent any trip reports recently and the truth is I haven’t been on too many trips lately. But a lot has been going on these days and Bridgit and I decided a break was needed so off we went to Las Vegas for a few days of rest and relaxation. Now we are not big gamblers or big drinkers so you would think Vegas would be an odd choice, but there is much more to see and do in and around Vegas than meets the eye.

One of those things is a place neighbor Greg recommended called the Valley of Fire. The Valley of Fire is Nevada’s oldest state park and it is a short 70 mile drive from the city of sin. For the uninitiated, it can get rather warm in Nevada and the forecast for yesterday called for temperatures to reach 95 degrees. I knew this could be detrimental to our health so I convinced my dear wife that we should go to bed early and we set the alarm for 3AM. By 4AM we were on the road in our rental car and drove through the darkness past the gentlemen’s clubs and industrial parks to what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. By the time we got to the park entrance, it was 5:30AM and we had enough light to see but the sun had yet to rise. Perfect!

Our first destination was a short 1.2 mile round trip hike to the Fire Wave. The sun was just starting to hit the tops of the highest rock escarpments as we wound down the trail and around a big rock ridge. We were mostly hiking through deep sand surrounded by sage brush, cactus and yucca. Tons of small lines ran through the sand which turned out to be the trails of tons of lizard tails.

The desert was in full bloom. Bright purple flowers burst out of spiny cacti. Brilliant yellow and orange flowers dotted the landscape and as we hiked, all around us the sun lit up a dazzling array of rock. White rock, red rock, brown rock all came alive and almost glowed in the early morning sunlight.

**Sunrise on the trail to the Fire Wave**

We made our way down around a huge red rock fortress and soon the sand gave way to slickrock. A literal fossilized ocean floor, the rock was rippled with stripes, ridges and layers of strata. We dropped down a bit more and soon we came to a spot where we looked down at the trail’s namesake, The Fire Wave.

The Fire Wave is a giant water carved bowl, completely made of layers of different colored striped rock. It curves and has depressions and rises like a big wave on the ocean. We arrived just as the sun’s rays lit up the Fire Wave, awakening a sea of color.

**Looking back from just beyond the Fire Wave**

As an added bonus that cannot be overstated, our willingness to get up so early paid big dividends as we were completely alone in a very popular place. This allowed me the opportunity to photograph the area without the need to work around hordes of people. Bridgit had never experienced anything quite like this in her life and she was blown away by the scenery all around us.

Not only was the Fire Wave incredible, but all around us the brilliant rock of all kinds of colors shaped into giant domes, jagged pinnacles, jutting fins and massive cliffs. It was all just incredibly beautiful.

We stayed for about forty-five minutes, but knowing the temperatures would rise quickly, we decided to move on to our next adventure. Our timing was perfect as we passed several parties heading in to the Fire Wave on our way back to our car. We then drove a bit further up the road to it’s end which is the trailhead to the White Domes loop, a scenic hike of about 1.2 miles. As we started out, the temperature was warm but still very pleasant. We dropped down a steep gully surrounded by massive cliffs to the site of an old movie set for the film “The Professionals”. From there we soon entered a deep slot canyon and though only about one hundred feet long, it had very high walls and was very narrow, just like a lot of the slot canyons I have seen in southern Utah. Once again, this was Bridgit’s first experience in a slot canyon and I was so happy to be experiencing this with her.

Once we popped out the other side, we worked our way up along a huge rock face, pockmarked with water carved holes, arches and grottos of every shape and size. Meanwhile the scenery all around us was simply awe-inspiring.

Soon we came to a fairly large grotto and stopped there to eat a sandwich and just chill for a bit. This was a very beautiful spot with great views and in the shade to boot!

Anyone who has been to desert canyon country knows how obvious it is that water shaped these rocks. All along the hike, strange shapes and patterns greeted us. Tiny little arches, cannonholes and pockets cover the rock.

I’d always loved the photography of this type of rock, especially the photos that caught the sunlight lighting up the underside of an arch as if it had LED lighting coming out from within the rock itself. So I was extremely pleased when I came across a double arch that had a little of that effect going on and quickly snapped it before the moment passed.

Soon we had completed the White Domes loop as the trail popped out on the road just below the parking lot. Our next stop wasn’t even a hike but a scenic overlook of a large white rocky hill called the Silica Dome and farther beyond, the brilliant red rock of Fire Canyon, named for the massive jumble of rock pinnacles that fill and surround the canyon. Just after that we took a short hike to the Fire Canyon Vista Overlook. This was also a little over a mile loop. Halfway along the loop, a spur trail lead down a narrow wash to a rock outcropping looking deep into Fire Canyon.

By now it was about ten forty-five in the morning and the sun was high enough to make for really harsh lighting conditions that made photography less than ideal. It was also getting really hot by this time so after passing many lizards of various sizes we decided we had seen enough for this day.

We missed one other short hike I had originally planned to do and we would have seen some great petroglyphs but after such great conditions at the Fire Wave and the White Domes trail, we left thoroughly satisfied.

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire - Valley of Fire State Park, NV, 4.23.18

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