Valley of Fire (Clark County, Nevada)

Just as we had driven through Death Valley on the way down to Las Vegas, we drove through this most gorgeous of Nevada’s state parks on the way home.

Even the first site of the orangish-red sandstone stirs the imagination. This park is full of ancient Native American Petroglyphs and bizarre rock formations.

Our first stop, at At’latl Rock exposed us to a highly decorated rock formation. While being flanked by a platoon of cute little ground squirrels, we made our way up to the rock face, which is covered with numerous Petroglyphs. It is truly unfortunate that previous visitors in modern times have defaced some of this mysterious message from the distant past.

Moving on, we began searching the area for a natural arch, mentioned on the signs. As it turns out, the arch is fairly tiny and set upon a much larger boulder. Scanning the area at just the right angle will finally reveal the miniaturized natural wonder.

Our last stop before leaving the park required me to do a short hike, while Cass remained in the jeep. Traversing a short path over the sandstone, I found myself alongside the paved road we had entered on with the goal of my hike directly in front of me. Elephant Rock is an incredibly accurate name for this formation. Time and the elements have worn this particular boulder down in such a way as to make it closely resemble an elephant, with four legs, a head, and a trunk clearly defined. Nature is an amazing artist.