In an extremely rare afternoon of free time this past Saturday for Bettina, Michelle, and myself, we took a drive north up I-15 to the Valley of Fire State Park. It's been a long time since we went up there (I'm thinkin' sometime in the late '90s') and I forgot just how long a ride it is. It's not just the ride there, but as you pass through the park you exit onto the road which parallels Lake Mead (State Route 167) and THAT is a long road to take back home. Lots of rugged scenery, driving up and down on serpentine roads, speeding up, slowing down. Essentially we made one giant loop as our exit road from State Route 167 is Lake Mead Blvd (State Route 147) which takes us right back into Da Hood and back home. Covering only 116 miles (186.68k) of driving it still took us four hours with only a couple short stops.We took far too many pics to post here but you'll get an idea of the rugged, red beauty of this region. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina
On the way there - that's one l-o-n-g train
Now off the freeway, the road leading to The Valley of Fire
Entering Valley of Fire
The trip home
Yeccch, entering the piece of crap known as Lost Wages
What a staggeringly beautiful and parched landscape Ed! I love those red outcrops. Some of them look like the Sphinx! The whole place reminds me of the scenery in the film Tremors! Is this what they call the Badlands?
ReplyDeleteThanx Woodsy. When an American refers to 'The Badlands' it's generally assumed to be the Badlands of South Dakota (I've been there as well - also spectacular). Nope, this is all just part of the Mojave Desert. One of the things I like about these trips is some photos can be used for alien landscape backdrops when Photoshopping toys. The coloration is the result of red Aztec Sandstone which often appears to be on fire when the sun strikes just right. This is the perfect time of year to go because during the summer heat it truly feels like a Valley of Fire"!
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