Like no place I have ever seen.
Written: Oct 16 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: CHEAP! It was $4 to enter and spend the day.
Cons: Be wary of heat; bring bottled water if you plan on leaving your car.
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| etain's Full Review: Nevada |
Review Topic: Sights & Attractions
I stopped by the Valley of Fire at the tail end of a cross-country road trip. By the time I even got to the exit off Highway 15, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon, and I planned a "quick" stop before heading on to Las Vegas. I remember I was initially disenheartened to find that it would be a half-hour drive from the highway to the actual park; but this turned out to be a blessing; it ended up being a great buildup for the surprise I was to get.
For a half-hour, you drive through barren grey flat land; a large hill looms in the distance. You drive over it, then around another hill, and suddenly it looks as if you are on the surface of Mars. The landscape is all a brilliant fiery ochre color, with mountains, boulders, cliffs, bluffs, mesas, all blasted by wind and sand into bizarre and otherworldly shapes. At 3 p.m. on a Sunday in July, I was practically the only person in the park. Way off in the distance to the east, I could see an occasional glimpse of Lake Mead; but for the most part I was surrounded by truly weird and striking twisted rocks.
Most of the park is indeed accessible and visible by car (a blessing and a near necessity during the day, where temperatures hover near 100 degrees), but one bit should be seen on foot -- the hike through Petroglyph Canyon to "Mouse's Tank," a very easy and fairly short hike (1/2 mile, 1/2 hour round trip) on level ground to the hideout of a Paiute soldier who used a natural cistern, and the water therein, to sustain him during a clash with U.S. Marshals. Most striking, though, are the petroglyphs that COVER many of the canyon walls along the way.
Sadly, I noticed that some thoughtless person had graffito'ed one of the rock walls at the beginning of the canyon (etching in a modern-looking smiley face), but fortunately, the rest of the petroglyphs in the canyon seem to be intact. And definitely worth a visit; the site is no more than an hour away from Vegas by car.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
etain
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
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