VALLEY OF FIRE

I had a little trouble convincing Carol to drive for an hour to see another batch of geological wonders.

2 months of canyons and buttes and arches was pretty close to my limit too.

But I had been there before and really wanted to share it with Carol. So we headed up the Interstate one morning.

It's a long drive off the Interstate through boring hilly desert and sagebrush. Then, you come over the crest of a hill and

The first overlook was called "The Beehives"

for obvious reasons.

Following our usual plan, we drove East through the park to the East entrance. Then we came back stopping at viewpoints.

Elephant Rock. This one was a little hard for my imagination because I was looking for just a head, not an entire elephant. But there it is.

The CCC built cabins here for people who were traveling through the Valley.

There was information about the people, but no explanation as to WHY anyone would travel through this desolate place.

Seven Sisters came next.

While at Elephant Rock we met a trio of people from New Orleans. Then we saw them again at Seven Sisters and talked more. Toni and Rene' Maggio and Rene's brother, Bruce Yokum. Even though they live north of New Orleans, they always travel during hurricane season. We shared tips about Las Vegas, New Orleans and photography. He's a bit more serious about it than we are. Check it out at www.studiomaggio360.com

Some other interesting formations near Seven Sisters

His mother always told him that his face was going to freeze like that.

A bit of trivia. Paramount filmed the death of James T. Kirk in "Star Trek Generations" right here in Valley of Fire.

Why do I mention this?

Wait for it.

I didn't see how anything could top that but we came to Petroglyph Canyon. I think I've mentioned earlier that many of the rock formations we've seen have a black coating on them. Geologists call it  "varnish". It weathers in interesting ways and I kept telling Carol I saw petroglyphs everywhere.

But HERE they really were everywhere.

Scientists struggle to date their origin but there are clues. No horses means pre 1500's.
No bows and arrows in hunting scenes means one to several thousand years old.

The next section involved hikes of an hour or more. But this sign was at the trail head.

So we drove to the next area.

Rainbow Vista. THIS is what the Valley is known for. Not just the reds and whites we'd seen almost everywhere, but purple and blue and yellow and orange. The sun was too high to really capture it but even so it's beautiful.

Atlatl Rock.

Here we climbed a staircase to a platform that allowed really "up close and personal" views of the petroglyphs.

"Atlatl" is a stick used to throw small spears. It was in use for thousands of years before the bow and arrow. Since it is pictured here, scientists believe these petroglyphs are definitely several thousand years old and may be 10,000 years old.

The atlatl is the horizontal stick at the top of the picture.

And Carol found another chipmunk.

WHOOPS. It's our first Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel. 

One more arch and we headed back to Las Vegas.

With the grays and browns.

Another incredible day including making new friends.

God is Good.

HOOVER DAM

On our way to Las Vegas we were given advice to not try to stop at Hoover Dam on the way. It's only 35 miles or so from Las Vegas and with the new tourist arrangement it wouldn't be worth trying to park the Airstream.

We believed them and are very glad we did. The last time I was there the highway went along the top of the dam. They built a new bridge - which is almost as impressive as the dam - and have an entrance from the Nevada side for visiting the dam.

We walked to the top and out onto the bridge for some great views of the dam.

I know the strength of a completed arch. But I stopped and read every single plaque and still don't understand how they kept that thing up until the two sides reached one another.

The tour of the dam takes about an hour. We went inside and down the the generator facility. 

 From the very first day of planning, this was meant to be a showcase of American ingenuity and expertise.  And a major tourist attraction. This was the Art Deco period and the spared no expense in decorative touches.

This is a mosaic in the floor of the generator room.

The hallways that were originally intended for public view and lined with subway tile and have terrazzo floors.

More Indian inspired mosaics.

Aluminum was a big thing in Art Deco period. The hallways had solid aluminum doors.

The original entrance through which the tours started. It is aluminum.

The interior of the original elevator is copper.

Today the tour includes sections that were not originally intended to be for public view. The passageways are smaller and without the fancy touches.


As the dam was being built, the tunnels were created within it with wooden forms. The grain in the wood is visible.

There are four ventilation shafts that run from the maintenance tunnel complex to the outer surface of the dam. Part of the tour is to walk to the end.

There are louvers but the openings are big enough to take a picture that is not possible from any other location.

 One of two spillways that divert water around the dam in case of flood conditions. It is 50' in diameter. The spillways have been used twice, once in 1941 to test them. And again in the flood of 1983. EACH has the capacity of Niagara Falls.

More of the Art Deco work outside the dam.

The dam is 726.4' high and 660' thick at its base. 

It is too massive to comprehend from a picture, but here's our best try.

Carol and I are both endowed (cursed?) with a great curiosity and this tour was even more fun than we had expected.