11-17-2020 Valley of Fire

There remains but one last day here to explore the sights.  Valley of Fire was on Sunday’s agenda but we got delayed by the requisite Sunday “9-1-1 Special breakfast.”  At 2PM, with the sun beginning its descent and creating shadows, it became impossible to get a true appreciation of this incredible wonder.  So with an extra day to spare, the Valley of Fire was rescheduled for Tuesday.

Arch Rock

Balancing Rock - Who wants
to put money on when this thing
will fall?

Poodle Rock - See him?

Mother Nature began work on this creation millions of years ago.  Volcanos, shifting plates, ice ages, ancient seas and flooding followed by a desert climate continue to take turns changing the landscape of the earth.  Valley of Fire is no exception.  The colors derive from sandstone, silica, gypsum, iron, manganese and a host of additional elements that create the reds, whites, tans and blacks that we now see.  Much later, at the time of the dinosaurs, the area was covered by as much as 3,000 feet of sand that held everything in place.  As the winds blew the sands about, the rock formations stayed behind in the spectacular formations that we see today.  (That’s the Reader’s Digest version.)

18 feet deep sealed chasm
called "Mouse's Tank"

Humans have left their prints, of course.  One story tells of a Paiute named, “Little Mouse,” who in the late 1800s sort of went loony toons and started shooting up the Indians’ village.  He went on the lam and holed up in Valley of Fire near a natural deep well filled with clear clean water, a scarcity in this land.  He thrived for several months but when he decided to move along he was spotted by a posse.  He refused to surrender so they shot him.  As in, “dead.”  The natural 18-feet deep well is now called Mouse’s Tank and can be visited by taking a hike along the canyons covered with petroglyphs.  The petroglyphs were not painted on the rocks as we have seen elsewhere but they are scratched through the black surface of the rocks (created by deposits of iron and manganese reacting with other elements) to the lighter colored layer below it.

Hiking on Mouse's Tank trail

Wuhan Virus petroglyph

Rob and the Higher Glyphs

Some of the many petroglyphs on
Mouse's Tank trail

Sergeant John J. Clark's memorial

Another story involves a cavalry man, Sergeant John J. Clark.  After serving with honor in the Civil War and being discharged from service, he was traveling by horse-drawn buckboard through the valley on his way to Salt Lake City.  He stopped to rest and presumably to find a bit of water, to no avail.  He lie down in the shadow of his buckboard and died.  His horse died beside him.  A memorial monument out on a lonely hill honors Sergeant Clark’s life and heroic deeds but it isn’t clear if he is actually buried there.

Rob and the 1930s version
of the Holiday Inn Express

In more recent decades (1930s), the Civilian Conservation Corps built a few small cabins along the pathways to shelter weary travelers.  The cabins were not furnished with much, just a dirt floor and a fireplace but they provided respite from the unforgiving desert elements.  And they did offer free wi-fi.
 

White Dome - comprised
of gypsum, mostly

It is easy to spend several days in the Valley of Fire, hiking to the more famous of the rock formations and stopping for a sip of water and a sandwich at one of the picnic areas overlooking the spectacular vistas.  It was a wonderful place to spend peaceful hours soaking in Mother Nature’s tireless creativity.

That’s all for this time.  Time to pack up Noobee and head back to the insanity.  Thanks to all of you, my dear t-loggers, for coming along on this little getaway.  I send you hugs and kisses, even if they are illegal and of course lots of love!  Have a wonderful holiday season!