Las Vegas Pix

We had decided that Las Vegas would be the spot where we would take it easy and relax. We made plans for the day, but none are hard and fast. Today, we decided to visit the Valley of Fire State Park, located east of Las Vegas. I don't think many people who come to Las Vegas know the park exists, and if they do, they don't think there is much there. We saw few people at the various areas of the park. The biggest group we encountered was at a commercial location shoot. I had first gone to Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada's first state park) with Carrie about 15 years ago. I was very impressed by what I saw and wanted Susie to see it. The landscape in Valley of Fire State Park is a great example of the effects of erosion. Most of the exposed rock is red sedimentary stone. The red color in this stone and other similar formations in the Southwest comes from traces of iron oxide. The rock is weathered by wind and water into some fantastic shapes.

Besides the rock formation, I wanted Susie to see the petroglyphs, rock drawings, found in a number of places in the park. Experts say that this area was inhabited over 4,000 years ago and the art is the product of the earliest people to come to the area. The experts are unsure of the meaning of the pictures. The artists were hunter-gatherers who lived in rock shelters. They hunted Bighorn sheep which appear in many of the drawings. The atlatl, a spear thrower that predates the bow and arrow, also appears in many of the pictures.

We did not walk any of the trails in the park because of the weather. The temperature in the park reached 112 degrees while were there. It was not wise to exert ourselves at these temperatures. There was a sign at the Visitors Center that warned against doing to much because, "it is hot... you are in the middle of the desert in the middle of the summer." I did climb a few of the rocks to get some pictures and we did climb a set of stairs to get a close up view of the petroglyphs at Atlatl Rock.

We continued through the park into the Lake Meade Recreation Area and stopped at Overton Beach. Overton Beach has boat ramps, a marina and campground on the shore of Lake Meade. The first thing you notice is the lack of water. This area has been under drought conditions for several years and the lake is at 50% of its normal capacity. There are marks on the shores of the lake that show where the water level used to be... many feet above the current levels. The route took us along the north shore of the lake, through Henderson and back to the campground.

We had decided that Las Vegas would be the spot where we would take it easy and relax. We made plans for the day, but none are hard and fast. Today, we decided to visit the Valley of Fire State Park, located east of Las Vegas. I don't think many people who come to Las Vegas know the park exists, and if they do, they don't think there is much there. We saw few people at the various areas of the park. The biggest group we encountered was at a commercial location shoot. I had first gone to Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada's first state park) with Carrie about 15 years ago. I was very impressed by what I saw and wanted Susie to see it. The landscape in Valley of Fire State Park is a great example of the effects of erosion. Most of the exposed rock is red sedimentary stone. The red color in this stone and other similar formations in the Southwest comes from traces of iron oxide. The rock is weathered by wind and water into some fantastic shapes. Besides the rock formation, I wanted Susie to see the petroglyphs, rock drawings, found in a number of places in the park. Experts say that this area was inhabited over 4,000 years ago and the art is the product of the earliest people to come to the area. The experts are unsure of the meaning of the pictures. The artists were hunter-gatherers who lived in rock shelters. They hunted Bighorn sheep which appear in many of the drawings. The atlatl, a spear thrower that predates the bow and arrow, also appears in many of the pictures. We did not walk any of the trails in the park because of the weather. The temperature in the park reached 112 degrees while were there. It was not wise to exert ourselves at these temperatures. There was a sign at the Visitors Center that warned against doing to much because, "it is hot... you are in the middle of the desert in the middle of the summer." I did climb a few of the rocks to get some pictures and we did climb a set of stairs to get a close up view of the petroglyphs at Atlatl Rock. We continued through the park into the Lake Meade Recreation Area and stopped at Overton Beach. Overton Beach has boat ramps, a marina and campground on the shore of Lake Meade. The first thing you notice is the lack of water. This area has been under drought conditions for several years and the lake is at 50% of its normal capacity. There are marks on the shores of the lake that show where the water level used to be... many feet above the current levels. The route took us along the north shore of the lake, through Henderson and back to the campground.

	These pictures show typical formations found in Valley of Fire State Park. Susie said the blow holes in the rock give them faces and they seem to be crying. They do remind me of Edvard Munch's painting, "The Scream."


			The formation, above left, is known as a beehive. Susie is standing inside a hole in the beehive. To the left of Susie is a hole that goes through to the next blow hole. In time, this formation will collapse.

	Arch Rock, another windblown formation is seen from below and from behind, right.

		Sediment layers that make up the formations


			The petroglyphs, above right, show the Bighorn Sheep that the early inhabitants of the valley hunted. At the top of the picture, above left, is a representation of an atlatl. Susie is standing at the top of the most strenuous activity we undertook on this superheated day. The petroglyphs pictured above are on the flat portion of rock above the platform. Other drawings are along the stairs to the left of Susie.


	Some of the formations seen in Valley of Fire State Park. The formations shown at right is called the Seven Sisters. These are seven pillars that are remnants of a single larger formation. Millennia of wind and water have weathered them down to their current state.

	The Cabins, remains of housing used by Civilian Conservation Corps workers who helped create the park in the 1930s. Near the cabins I found this desert waterhole. The pool seemed to be drying out quickly but is used by animals, see tracks below left. The pool also had tadpoles. The monsoon rains that we have been experiencing must keep this pool going for a while. The bleached rocks above the pool give an indication of the high water mark. At the lower right is watercourse cut by the occasional rains.


				Lake Meade at Overton Beach. The water level is well below the normal highs as seen by the white rocks on the opposite shore. These rocks are usually covered by water.
	I had meant to put up some pictures in yesterday's page of the campground we are staying in while in Las Vegas. This is a large campground with over 700 sites. We had been in larger ones, but none can compare with the amenities provided by Oasis Las Vegas. The simplest way to describe this place is to say that it is a luxury resort hotel to which you bring your own room. The campground has a clubhouse which contains a cafe, a convenience store and a ballroom that can accommodate 300 people. There are two pools, one for adults only and the other for families. It also has a workout room that is larger and better equipped than many of the hotels I have stayed in.

	Clubhouse entrance		Family pool

	Rear of club house as seen from family pool		A portion of the clubhouse as seen from our site. This portion houses the workout room.