1/30 Valley of Fire, Drive to White Domes

This state park is so huge, it is really amazing, and I am sad that so many people never come here.  So, if you ever head to Las Vegas to do some gambling and enjoy the big hotels, save at least one day to drive out here--maybe two days.  (Pack a picnic because there are no restaurants or takeout for at least 10 miles in any direction and that is on a winding and curvy road.  Also bring a few bottles of water in a cooler.)  Las Vegas has yellow air most of the time, just like Los Angeles, so you are better not even stopping there at all!!

First, head to the visitor center to look around and get a map.  Then drive up the steep road beside the visitor center to the higher area.  Spend a few minutes looking at the craggy rocks as you drive up here because if you are lucky, you will see some ewes and their lambs who are excellent at rock climbing. 

Your first stop should be Mouse's Tank, which will take you 1-2 hours to walk it.  It is level but soft beach-type sand, so flip flops are not a good idea.  It's only about a half-mile walk each way, but if you are short of time, you really only have to walk in about 1,000'.  Spend some time imagining what the pictographs mean. 

Then continue driving about 6 miles straight down road to the White Domes.  Park and walk through the opening to the large area where the domes are located.  Basically, just follow the crowd.  There is a long hike that starts here, but you don't have to walk the entire way. And look out for sheep. 

Here are a few of the photos I took today as I did this drive.  I did not stop at Mouse's Tank because I had been there a couple of times, but I did stop at the Domes and walked a couple of hundred feet to where i could see them in the distance.  Frankly, it was getting cold as the sun was getting low over the mountains. 

They are building a new visitor center near the campground.  The rangers I asked about it said the old one was in poor shape with the septic system not working anymore, and it was just too small anymore for the number of people coming since COVID.  

I love long vistas and lack of traffic in the desert!

The visitor center is the low building in the distance, but the road turns left and heads up the mountain just before you get to it. 

It was really cold today, but taking water with you is always a good idea.

The road goes past the visitor center and turns right, up a steep incline.

Hard to tell how steep this road is from the next few photos, but trust me on this.  I had to push the accelerator down hard, and my V10 engine roared as it took my 15,000 pound vehicle up the hill!

It is getting more level now, but what a view!!

Finally at the top.  Notice the various colors in the rocks.

And do watch out for the dips.  Most desert places do not put pipes under the roadway to handle flood waters.  They just lower the road so the water flows over it. 

By the way, I am holding my camera up towards the windshield and just taking photos, hoping they are in focus and the camera is pointed in the right direction.  I probably end up with one good photo out of three, but i need to watch the road instead of the camera screen.

I'm not quite sure how they are formed, but this is one of what they call the "domes."

When I got to the parking lot, it was full, so I had to park in one of the spots along the roadway.  It was a bit downhill, so I cocked my front wheels so they would not take my vehicle off the highway.  

Then I put one of my super-chocks under a rear tire.  There are actually dual tires here, but one chock will have to do because the inner tire is too hard to reach.  

I walked up to the beginning of the trail and took a couple of photos.  Had I been here when I was a few dozen years younger, it would have been nice to walk down a few more hundred feet.  😞 But those days are gone. 

Headed back to campground.

And down the hill!  Can you see the road in the distance?

Can you see why this is one of my favorite places in the West?  In a lot of ways, I think this is prettier than Zion National Park, and it is certainly not as crowded.

1/29 Valley of Fire State Park, NV

I have been here several times, but always enjoy going back for a week or two.  There are two ways to get here--the first is to drive north from Las Vegas on I-15, but my favorite is to drive north from the west entrance to Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  Just a few hundred feet after you go through the park entrance booth, you will see a sign directing you to make a left turn onto a road, Northshore Drive, that goes to the small town of Moapa Valley.  This road eventually becomes NV route 169, and is really beautiful.  No stores, gas stations, or anything else on it, but after about 30 miles, and before you get to the town, you will go through another gate leaving Lake Mead.  Just past this gate, you will find the park road that takes you to Valley of Fire.

A warning--Valley of Fire State Park is huge!  It is about 80 square miles and equidistant from both I-5 and NV 169/Northshore Drive.  It's about a 10 miles from from the west and a 4 mile drive from the east before you get to the park entrance gates and the prettiest part of the park.  

No camp store, so if you are camping, take everything you need.  And if you are just doing a day trip, the visitor center does have some cold drinks and snacks. Below is the eastern gate to the state park. 

The dark red Aztec Sandstone rocks, from which this state park gets its name, were formed by blowing sand during the Jurassic Era. The sand was covered up for millions of years, but as the land rose, it eroded and the area was used by Native Americans as far back as 11,000 years ago.     

The campground is a couple of miles west of the visitor center, and tucked into a semicircle of red rocks.  Here are a few photos I took this year.  Unfortunately, it was very chilly during the 12 days I spent here, so I did not do much exploring.  In addition, the other reason for coming here, to see a lot of Big Horn Sheep, did not work out because the area has been so dry.  Normally, a bachelor group of rams hang out around the campground, but they were just not around this year. 

However, if you do want to see some sheep from a few years ago, click here: 

This year, I was lucky to get one of my favorite spots--a handicap site that was paved and near the opening of the half-circle, so cell phone access was better than other sites.  Terrific view, as well.

 

 

The one disadvantage of this campground is that the roads are gravel/dirt, so winds do bring a lot of dust into your site and rig.  That was one reason why I wanted a paved site.  Also, only about half the campsites have electric and water hookups, but there are showers and some very nice private restrooms. 

 

 

Just incredible views right outside your door!  

 

 

 

Since the campsites are tucked into this semicircle of rocky hills, and because the rocks are made of sandstone, erosion over the eons has caused a lot of caves and place for kids and adults to climb on.  Bighorn Sheep like these rocks also because they provide protection, although the ewes and their lambs really don't come here very often.  Mostly they are up in the higher areas behind the visitor center where the rams cannot bother the babies.   

 

 

Campsites are well-spread apart, and every site has a covered cement picnic table. 

 

 

At the far end of the campground is a walk-in are specifically for tents.  Knowing that the Big Horn Sheep hang around this area, I decided to go for a walk back here.  

 

 

Back behind the big rocks to the left in this photo, I found a lot of animal droppings.  In looking them up, they were nearly all from the sheep.  Apparently, they have recently been using the large rock as a windbreak at night or in bad weather because there were so many droppings, they had to be from at least a small herd. 

While I was back here exploring, along came a couple of horseback riders!  Just as they reached the campground, they cut through an opening in the rocks and headed west.

Now, this was interesting.  This little animal track highway came from under a bush, and based on its width of about 4-6", I suspect it came from one or a small family of desert cottontail bunnies!! 

In the past when I have been here, it was a lot easier to see Big Horn Sheep tracks because there had been occasional winter rain.  This year, everything was covered up by dog or human footprints.  

However, if you would like to see how a 9-member herd of rams reacted to a small crack in a campground water line, go to this posting from January, 2021, when I was here:  http://grandmajjb.blogspot.com/2021/01/14-valley-of-fire-bighorn-sheep.html

Also, another reason for coming to this state park is to see all the ancient pictographs that the Native Americans made when they used this area heavily.  One fairly easy area to walk to is "Mouse's Tank."  A tank in the desert is a large depression that holds rainwater for weeks and months, and so is an important resource.  As they camped along the shallow canyon that leads to this tank, they pecked out hundreds of images on the dark rocks.  

In other words, the dark oxidized rock is their canvas and and stones to peck at these and remove a layer of the black color are their paintbrushes.  A big problem is that over time, the black coating of the rock or the rock itself falls to the ground or is eroded, so these images will not last forever.   

I took these photos of a walk to Mouse's Tank in 2018:  http://grandmajjb.blogspot.com/2018/01/14-mouses-tank-trail-valley-of-fire.html

1/17 Hoover Dam, Boulder City, NV

It was a beautiful sunny day today, if a bit chilly.  And I was moving from one campground to another campground that was only about an hour-and-a-half drive away, so as I drove past Hoover Dam, I saw the signs directing you to the visitor area, so I made a quick decision and decided to stop for a while.  I had been here several years ago, but I figured it was worthwhile to see it again.  

Last time I was here, this new bridge had just been completed.  Before 2010, you had no choice to drive over the dam to get to the Arizona side of the river.  This took a long time, obviously, and was a serious security risk, so the new bridge is very handy.  The only negative is that the bridge tends to have high winds over it, so high vehicles like mine are told to move into the left/center lane so we don't get blown off!  

 

 

There are lots of signs warning you as you drive towards the dam listing the things you are not allowed to bring with you.  Also, you have to stop at a security checkpoint to have your car or RV inspected.  Luckily, today was a Friday, and there were no crowds of tourists, so I had no wait, and the inspection took only about five minutes, although I did have to let one of the inspectors inside.  He just stepped up onto my entrance rug, looked around, and said everything looked OK, so I drove on. 

 

This next photo shows the approach to the dam from the Nevada side.  There is a new parking structure to the left here, just before the big rock wall, but there is also parking for big vehicles and more cars on the other side of the dam.  So you can still drive across it if you want to. 

 

I wonder how many tourists let the bridge people know that this electrical tower is about to fall? 

 

 

Approaching the drive over the dam.  Walkers are constantly walking across the roadway, so you do have to drive very slowly and stop for pedestrians. 

 

 

One problem with parking on the Arizona side of the dam is that nearly all of the parking is along a road that zigs and zags up the mountain.  My problem was that I cannot walk that long of a distance, so as I came back after turning around at the top, I drove back down and found the $10 lot shown low in the distance.  Lots of room for my big vehicle and while walk was still long, it was doable.  

 

 

 

At least I got a good view of the overflow channels on my walk. 

Glad it was a cool day for walking. 

Nice view of Lake Mead.  Note the white "bathtub ring" that shows how deep the lake used to be.  There is also a tiny white sailboat in this photo, which shows you how wide the river is here.

   I crossed the roadway to take some photos of the opposite side of the dam. 

 

 

This is the old exhibit building.  Unfortunately, not only is this old exhibit building closed right now, but so is the newer one that they are still working on!  

The brown building is now the tour headquarters, but it will also be an exhibit hall later this spring.

Went back to my rig, and am now driving back across the bridge. 

And on to my next campground where I will stay for 13 days.  Hoping to see the bighorn sheep that hang around that area.