April 6, 2013 Valley of Fire

We went back out the scenic drive and hiked up a couple different places.

The balanced rock by the visitors center looked pretty precarious. Behind it they are having a classic car show. It was cars 1985 and older, most were closer to 85 than older.  We started with petroglyph canyon to Mouse’s tank.

Lots and lots of nice petroglyphs. Indians lived more in the area of the Virgin, Muddy  and Colorado rivers because of the lack of water here.

John wedged above Mouse’s tank trying to photograph it. It is a natural basin that holds rain water. In the 1890’s Mouse, a fleeing Paiute was able to hideout in this area using this fresh water source.  No water in it today, just a pair of flip flops.

The canyon ended in this slot, and arch.

The wind blows sand like sandpaper and it makes all these wild holes and caves.

Chuckwallas and whip tail lizards. John waiting in the shade for me to take photos.

Further down the road are these eroded sand stone with brilliant colored layered formations. They were sand dunes 150 million years ago that petrified and then eroded into these

Lots of cool lines.  It was very hot, in the high 80’s with heat reflecting off the rock.

John found some shade by wedging himself behind this white pinnacle.

Purple, yellow, red and white.

Long lines, wrapping around the formations.

It was so hot even I was wearing long sleeves.

Multicolored rocks of the Rainbow vista  toward the white domes. Our next stop was the Lost City Museum in Overton, Nevada. Ancient  Anasazi lived in a huge ‘lost city’ called the Pueblo Grande de Nevada  that dates to about 200 AD. Much of it is now under lake Mead. The museum building was built by the CCC in the 1930’s the CCC helped with excavation of the ruins since the dam was rising. They also rebuilt a pit house and some daub and wattle pueblos on the foundations of the ancient city.

Daub and wattle pueblos on the original foundations. Inside there are two exhibit halls that contain display's of Puebloan pottery , baskets, arrow heads, Kachina dolls. Photos, drawings ,maps and information panels fill out the Lost City timeline.

The RV parking sign is pretty vintage, has pictures of old style RV’s.  Back in Valley of Fire are some stone cabins the CCC built for travelers to use. Valley of Fire is Nevada's oldest state park. One of the early auto roads came through here and they say 9,000 people visited the road the first year it opened. Between 1914 and 1924 this was the only active motor vehicle road in southern Nevada.  5,000 vehicles a month traveled through for camping and picnicking.

A couple of people climbed the peak by the campground for sunset.  Sunset on the red rocks.

White flowers that run red when they die, small white flowers of weird curled leaves, tiny arch, insect burrow, purple mat, white flowers, red, purple, cracked yellow and white rock  and in a circle

Indigo bush, sego lily, desert marigolds,  weird curled leaves plant.