Valley of Fire (Part 1)

Valley of Fire State Park is located about fifty miles northeast of Las Vegas in southern Nevada. It covers an area of around 42,000 acres adjacent to Lake Meade at an elevation ranging between 2,000 to 2,600 feet. The main attraction of the place are the countless formations of eroded red sandstone rock and sand dunes estimated to be around 150 million years in age...

... which are all pretty cool...

... pretty colorful place when you contrast the red, tan, gray and pink sandstone against the green desert vegetation and blue sky...

... as well as the 'high desert' backdrop...

... lots of interesting formations...

... like this small rock arch...

... most formations are pretty large (buddy 'Matt' added for scale)...

... think that technical rock climbing may be banned - which in this case is good - couldn't imagine this place "all chocked up" and "bolted to death" - but there's tons of fun "scrambling" to be had...

... and plenty of exploring to do - we passed a few cars while "out and about" but ran into zero people (except hanging around the visitor center)...

... the early 'Anasazi' people called it home from around 300 BC to 1150 AD (we've learned) - evidenced here by this ancient rock shelter...

... as well as the many rock art 'Petroglyphs' found throughout the park...

... early version of those annoying rear auto window "family" stickers popular now'day's - this guy apparently had five wives and some animals...

... we were right - "UG loves wives 'Butt too Big', 'Butt too Small' and 'Butt just Right'" can be read in the lower right of this rock...

... typically, most of the areas and many formations have been named for mapping and identification - this is 'Rainbow Vista'...

... this is 'Fire Canyon'...

... and the prominent peak is 'Silica Dome', to name a few - more on these to follow - like to keep these things relatively short...

"What Not"....

.... and other "non-substance"....

....messed some more today with the 'T2' (see previous post)....

... 'Yough River' runnin' 4ft+ again on the 'O-hip-O-Lee' ('Ohiopyle') gauge today....

... used to pray for days like this "back in the day" (especially in the summer, when you're not frozen by the time you reach the take out) - hope they're rockin' the 'Lower Yough' up there (solid Class 4 above 4ft - don't let no one tell ya' different) with all this high water of late... that's 'Mojo Rapid' out at South C'ville pictured above... however - water level not good for runnin' laps on the 'Paddleboard' ...

... so - did some alternate 'four-wheelin' and 'picture takin'....

... upper 'Laurel Run'...

... an "old guy".... 'lookin and movin' good, though, for probably fifteen years age ('Belgian Sheperd Malinois' - 78lbs last weighing)...

... woodland "canopy"...

... about five years ago - someone had killed a house cat (nice black and white) and dumped it off to the side of this "pull off" - as mentioned before - wasn't a "cat person" back then - but after two weeks of parkin' here and havin' to view this poor murdered "creach'ter" (nuthin' was feeding on the "carcass" - guess "cat meat" isn't high on the menu out in the "wild") - I could take it no longer - the third visit I carried a shovel and buried it - added this small "headstone" - some nice moss growing on it...

... lots of green this time of year...

... a sea of 'stinging nettles'...

... Ha! - we were ridin' MTB's one day and 'buddy Matt' wiped out and rolled thru a bed of these shirtless and with shorts on - luckily we were right next to a creek and a deep water hole - also lucky no one was standin' in his way as he charged thru the forest to reach the creek - Ha! ...

... lower 'Laurel Run'...

... and this small waterfall...

... some nice contrasting color between the moss and the centipede...

... never see any of these - 'American Chestnut' - these two are "farmed" - have never seen one "in the wild" - used to be abundant in these parts but were wiped out by a "blight" in the early 20th Century - took out 99% of them... 

... these two were loaded with 'Chestnuts'...

... will probably be droppin' within the next week or two - they eventually fall to the ground and open when "ripe"...

... read that they were really abundant around here - when they'd bloom in early spring the white blossoms appeared as snow cover across the ridge-tops - that must have been a sight to see...

... this guys' extinct as well...

Famous Last Words

... "never again!"...

... the first time - probably early 80's - was returning to the trailhead late one evening after backwoods skiing many laps (totaling probably six miles - the usual workout) around the 'Kentuck Ski Area' up at 'Ohiopyle State Park' - took a final look back to view a gorgeous golden sunset - wow! - my iced-up ski tracks (only ones - had the whole day/place to myself as usual) formed two golden, brightly reflective lines contrasting with the darkened snowpack and forest, golden sunset on the horizon - what a great photo - unfortunately, didn't have a camera aboard...

... that will never happen again!...

... hikin' around one day, and notice something dart quickly across the trail up ahead - thought it was a squirrel - reach the spot and just happen to look over to my right - five baby fox pups are settin' all maybe six inches apart - lookin' at me and probably wonderin' what I am - what a great photo - unfortunately, didn't have a camera aboard...

... that will never happen again!...

... was out at the Rod and Gun Club one evening - they got a decoy/scarecrow Horned Owl mounted to a post overlooking the trout pond for the purpose of scaring away predatory fish-eatin' birds - Ha! -  there's a 'Kingfisher' standin' on the "Owls" head, eyeing the pond - what a great photo - unfortunately, didn't have a camera aboard....

... that will never happen again!...

... then there's buddy Matt executing a giant, probably 60ft leap from a railroad trestle into the Yough.... a dive bombing 'Bald Eagle' snatching a large fish from the river, then flying up into the trees, fish held aerodynamically - just like "in the pro nature films" - then landing on a large limb and proceeding to dine... 'Ospreys', twice, doing the same thing... a black 'Grackle' hangin' out ten feet from me along the river bank - I'm hangin' out drinkin' a beer and he's probably spent twenty minutes sneakin' up and spearing small minnows from a small pool - totally oblivious to my presence... a black bear walkin' right up probably 30ft away, did a circle around me through the brush, then disappeared - and this on the large island just upriver from the 'Crawford Avenue Bridge' in C'ville... buddy Matt and I climbin' up one of the piers at the abandoned 'swingin' bridge' at the 'Old Overholt Brewery' to check out an active 'Bald Eagle' nest... three baby black bears we surprised while MTB'ing, bawling and trying to climb a large tree ( all awhile slippin' and slidin') for protection (and Mom making some ominnous snarling sounds from somewhere close by - beat it out of there quick!) .. what great photos - unfortunately, never had a camera on board.... I could go on...

... then the final straw - about three weeks ago I'm drivin' from the 'shooting range', glance over toward 'Mojo Rapid' (on the 'Yough' river) - there's a large 'Bald Eagle' setting on the rocks at river level at the south end of the large island - was late evening - great lighting - plus it just finished raining for most of the day - very cool "wafting" mist to add to the "ambience" - what a great photo - unfortunately.....

... so, after probably 30 years, finally had enough - looked around for a good compact camera to keep "on board" for emergencies and came up with this:

... an 'Olympus TG2' - fast f2.0 lens - waterproof (<  50ft) - shockproof - freezeproof - crushproof (all with limitations) - lots of options - able to convert to accessory telephoto or fisheye lens' - high speed sequential shooting (<  60fps) - 1080p HD video - GPS - everything but the "kitchen sink" - anyway, I ain't runnin' an ad for Olympus cameras here - will say that their old OM-1 film camera was a great primary for many years before switchin' over to digital... we shall see.... 

... shot some test footage with this thing - not bad...

... used this cool old ivy-covered oak (or maybe maple - who knows) as a "subject"...

... some various "angles"...

... "ditto"...

... "ditto"...

... obviously did some adjusting and 'color balancing' in the 'darkroom' - but not bad photos - and we're not "serious" artists here - enjoy a 'nude Raquel Welch' just as much as a 'Van Gough' (maybe even more)...

... nearest branch was probably 60 feet up and didn't think to identify the leaves - was gettin' late - here's the 'bark pattern' for those wonderin'....

Tale from the Darkside (the return of Ghostrider)

... man!!!... what is wakin' me up late/early last Saturday night/Sunday morning (maybe 4am)...

... and what's this creepy 'presence'?...

... who's rockin' the living room (rocking) chair?....

... Uh-Oh!... it's Ghostrider - haven't seen him in three years - not since our first and only meeting out west - and he's amped - says he has a temporary twelve hour reprieve from his world and has already burnt up four of 'em - is packin' a new '29er' model mountain bike and is stoked to try it out on some SWPA trails that I bragged up.... man, haven't been on a cycle seat in over a year and have no idea what shape I'm in - say I'll go, but we'll stick with something this side of easy...

... just past 6am and we head out some double-track parallel to the Yough River - round trip, about a ten mile "out and back" - for the most part flat but some rolling terrain within the first mile with a pretty good rocky downhill out and somewhat technical climb coming back...

...GR's rockin' on a 'Sette Razzo XT' 29er MTB...

... lots of "contrasty" early morning light - GR's diggin' it - say's it reminds him of his "underworld" home - "a place just as real as our sunlit world of reality, but not as bright - the "Darkside"... he can get kind of creepy...

... but he's still "hell on wheels" however...

... the '29er' really smooths out the stones - I tried one of these out a few weeks back - took a short test ride on a friends over familiar terrain - that three extra inches of wheel diameter makes a noticeable difference...

... he's hittin' all the big stuff and still smokin' me...

... I'm huffin' and puffin' just to keep up...

... I can't be this out of shape - I gun it and take the lead for a short distance...

... which gives me an excuse to take a break to "check out the view"...

... which didn't last long - but, it's hot and dry in his world - so a few small mudholes soon slow the pace...

... the mud's really slowin' him down - I jump ahead...

... but not for long - he smokes on by on the "dry" and beats me to the top of the rocky downhill...

... he waits for me to catch up - I jump ahead with the excuse to "show you how it's done" as well as "to get into position for some photos"...

... and he blasts down...

... flat railroad grade and easy riding from here on out...

... we take a break at a popular fishing hole - many days of rain and the Yough is runnin' high and muddy - 6ft+ this day on the 'Ohiopyle' river gauge...

... take some time to check out the 29er - pretty nice - aluminum frame - Rock Shock - Shimano SLX and XT components - weight around 25lbs - just need an upgrade to some knobby tires...

... Uh-Oh! - not far past the fishin' hole and the railroad wasn't cheap with the ballast - probably about a foot deep of loose gravel - and we got maybe two miles to go - well, no turning back...

... we finally make it to our destination at the mouth of Indian Creek as it enters the Yough - GR commented that digging through that gravel ballast for that distance was probably some of the hardest "easy" riding that he'd ever done...

... we take about twenty minutes to check out the area - here lookin' south and up river along the 'Yough' - pretty muddy this day...

... 'Camp Carmel' to the west... geographically this area sits practically right on top of the 'Chestnut Ridge' anticline...

... 'Indian Creek' and the abandoned RR Trestle to the east...

... and the monotonous gravel ballast and return to the north (Note: there's some decent ice climbing along the long cut sandstone wall to the right of the photo - so we're told - ourselves, we would never condone climbing anywhere within the railroad right-of-way).... coincidentally, it just happened to be noon and time for GR to depart - "Well - the 'Darkside awaits - until next time - try to enjoy the daylight" he bid as he faded from view...