We woke up to a beautiful, warm and sunny outside! In the daylight, we could see that all around us folks were boondocking, and there was plenty of room for everyone to spread out so we weren’t not too close to each other. After Lisette took a client call in the morning, we headed to the Valley of Fire, a state park renowned for its red colored rocks that reminded us very much of Uluru and the Red Centre in Australia.
Valley of Fire State Park
Valley of Fire is Nevada’s oldest state park, and is located in the Mojave Desert a mere 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Las Vegas. The park gained its name in the 1920s after gaining popularity with travelers–in the first year it formally opened, in 1934, more than 9,000 people visited. It is famous for its 40,000 acres of bright red Aztec Sandstone outcrops that lie among grey and tan colored limestone, making for spectacular scenes when the sun’s rays touch the bright rocks. Valley of Fire is Nevada’s largest state park.
White Domes Loop
Valley of Fire was fairly busy for a random Friday–most people seem to want to park at Parking Lot 3, where you can access some of the most popular trails. P3 was already full, so we parked in P2 (a much smaller lot but without the same popular hikes around it). However, it’s still easy from there to make your way up to the well-trodden trails–including White Domes Loop (a 1.1 mile loop with a slot canyon and remains of a ‘60s movie set), which connects to Seven Wonders Loop (a 1.8 mile loop with many colorful formations and small slot canyons) and the Pastel Canyon/Pink Canyon, before making our way back down on the other side of the road to our RV. In total the hike was about 4 miles, and the hike was spectacular – befitting the park’s name, you can see red rock formations for miles.
Mouse’s Tank Trail
The state park is very dog friendly, and the hikes are not particularly strenuous as the rocks were dry and were solid to walk on. Overall the trails we walked on were quite flat too–there are some steeper portions, but they are not particularly difficult. Sheila absolutely loved the time to be out and about, and Michael commented that it was now that he felt like we were truly doing RV life. The weather was glorious–we hiked during the best months of the year (although we can only imagine how excruciatingly hot and unbearable it would be in the height of summer). We also checked out Mouse’s Tank trail, a short 0.75 mile round trip, where there are petroglyphs (carvings on desert varnish and sandstone) that date back more than 2,000 years and a natural water tank.
For thousands of years, Native Americans have used these lands, and ancestral Puebloans lived nearby from AD 500-1100. They relocated after a harsh drought and the Nuwuvi, or Southern Paiute, entered the area and are still part of the community. While we didn’t see any animals, Native Americans have been able to adapt and survive in this harsh climate, living alongside desert tortoises, Gila monsters, jackrabbits, desert bighorn sheep, rattlesnakes, and many desert plants like brittlebush and desert holly.
Our First Proper Camp Setup
As the sun started to set, we left Valley of Fire and found a flat, open space to boondock on the outskirts of the park. Here we met an old-time camper, Tom, who gave us some tips and chatted to us for a bit before we set up the awning, chairs and had dinner outside over a campfire that Michael was able to set up. He had retired as an engineering professor decades ago and looked great for someone who was in his mid-70s (the active travel lifestyle probably has helped)!
We did end up stinking of smoke (and the fire smelled like burning chemicals–guess the person who used it before us burned some things that perhaps were quite toxic), so we had a shower (Lisette washed her hair, the first time in a week–feeling fresh)! It felt more feasible to have a bit of a longer shower now that it wasn’t freezing (although it’s still cold, it feels like it’s about 5 degrees Celsius). Speaking of baths, we cannot wait for Sheila to have an overdue bath once we get to Vegas. She had a really fun time tonight too, as evidenced by her twitches and squeaks as she fell asleep beneath me in her bed this evening. She must be getting more settled into RV life!
Route Map
