Elvis and Fire Waves

Overton, Nevada
Stewart's Point Boondocking



The night before our big hike we took Craig and Jo to see the Pawn Shop in Las Vegas which was about a 45 minute drive from the park.  If you've watched it on TV, you've got to check it out once.  We've been before but it was several years ago. 

 

 

Steve and Craig looking around the shop.  It's what you'd expect in a pawn shop.  Jewelry, coins, art, etc.  You'll also find some strange items too.  Nothing too exciting and none of the owners were here.

Steve and "Rick".

 

We decided to spend our time on Fremont St. in downtown Las Vegas rather than the Strip. We walked around and watched some of the strange ways folks made money. 

 

Many street performers including men and women, young and old, costumed and barley dressed were all out to make a buck.  Everyone wanted you to take a picture with them. For a "donation" of course.

The 5 Elvis's.  Did we want to take a picture with them, Thank you, but no thank you very much.

I thought this guy was the funniest.  We watched him for a bit and after people would walk by he would turn the top or bottom of his signs over that said some funny/nasty things.

It's very flashy and loud and a little raunchy down here.  There is an overhead zip-line that you can do.  Craig really wanted to do it.  We heard not to stand directly underneath as drunk kids would sometimes throw up or urinate (ew!) on you.  After walking Fremont we found a very inexpensive place to have a steak dinner that we all were craving before heading back for the night.

The next morning we all headed out to do some more exploring in the park and figure out which hikes we would plan.  Valley of Fire is Nevada's first state park, being dedicated in 1934.

Again, the change of colors was spectacular.  We again saw some Bighorn Sheep.

We stopped at a group of rocks known as the Beehive's.  They are sandstone formations that demonstrate the unique design created by nature which represents geologic cross bedding.  Those are the grooved lines going in different directions.  They represent different layers of silt that are deposited at different times.  The beds indicate the angle of the wind or water was moving at the time the material was deposited.  Cross bedding is very common in sand dunes, beach deposits, and river sediments. 

One of the many holes in the rocks.  Perfect picture opportunity!

Craig and Jo

Ever wonder what's on the other side of Mt. Rushmore? (thanks for being such good sports!)

Our turn.

We had fun climbing all over the rocks here.  We just had to be careful as it was a very windy day!

There was a Boy Scout group camped in the nearby group camping area.  They were having some type of Search and Rescue Training.

This is Atlatl Rock.  There were some really great petroglyphs here.

Not many flowers blooming but this one was beautiful and looked so out of place in the desert.

These petroglyphs are known to be over 4000 years old.

The Arch is a popular part of the park.  This is where our RV friends Greg and Cori were married.

This natural arch was formed by the strong winds and rain which slowly dissolved the cementing minerals which hold the sand grains together.  The rock eventually weakens allowing an arch to form.  Eventually it will grow too large for its support and nature will destroy it. 

I liked the giant clam shell look at the top of this large rock.

 

 I almost deleted this picture of the sheep as most of him was cut off.  But then I thought it made for a funny "photo bomb" look!

The scenery changes as you drive further up towards White Dome.  The reds that take over the beginning, have been mostly replaced with a rainbow of pinks, white, yellows and purples.

Fire Wave is no doubt the most well known of the park.  To see it you have to hike to it.  It's just over a mile and fairly easy once you make your way through the sand and onto the rock.

There are sections where these stones and rocks are all that is left as the winds have blown away all the sand and smaller pebbles.

Getting closer and the striping of pinks and whites is amazing!

Isn't it gorgeous!  One of the most spectacular sights we've seen created by Mother Nature.  It does drop off on the other side so you do need to be careful, especially with the winds.

In the middle of all this rock was a little bonsai looking tree hanging on for life.

On the hike back you have the black rock jutting up in the background.

Back through the deep sand to get to the truck.

As we approach the end of the loop we arrive at White Domes.

It's is getting late in the day so we will save the White Domes hike for tomorrow.  We decide to grab a couple of geocaches on the way back.

It took us quite a while to climb up some of these steep rocks but we finally found the cache.  You can tell how windy it was up here.

On our way out there was a small wedding going on as the sun was setting.

As they say, Take only Memories

Leave only Footprints.