Traveling America By Van: Red Canyon And The Valley Of Fire
By: John Kumiski
Utah Highway 12 passed through two red sandstone arches before we saw the sign for the Red Canyon campground. It had been an early start and a dash- this campground was first-come, first-served. We pulled in at 10 AM and found a site immediately. Traveling during the week has certain advantages. Finding a campsite in a popular campground without a reservation certainly ranks as one of them.
You find Red Canyon "down the street" as it were, from the more famous Bryce Canyon. Like Bryce Canyon, Red Canyon also features hoodoos. It's less well known and much less crowded than Bryce. We visited the information station, where a ranger suggested some hikes for us. Then we were off.
Hoodoo, Red Canyon, Dixie National Forest.
The path ascended gently at first. Good thing- starting elevation was over 7,000 feet. I went slowly, with many rests, as we climbed up. I was grateful for Susan's patience. We finally reached a cold, windswept overlook after gaining about 1000 feet in elevation. Highway 12 was far below us, with endless views of the high desert to the north. Hoodoos, at lower elevations than us, were scattered across a mountainous landscape. It was spectacular enough that we spent an hour up there, just soaking it all in.
When we got back to the van it was only early afternoon. Susan said, "Let's go to Bryce." We did a drive-through, stopping at outlooks like a couple of tourists. On an earlier trip we had taken many hikes here, but there was no time for that this day. Even on a drive-through, though, Bryce's scenery is stunning.
Ravens sit on a hoodoo at Bryce Canyon National Park.
We awoke to 28 degrees. Discouraged from eating breakfast by the cold, we hopped in the car as the sun rose and hit the road again. Our goal this day? Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park.
Valley of Fire does not accept campground reservations. Campsites there are also first-come, first-served. We decided an interstate would be our best bet to get there early enough to snag a site. We took Utah Highway 14 to get to Cedar City, where we would pick up I-15.
You know it will be an interesting ride when the road has a sign, "Road not recommended for semi trucks." Highway 14 was all mountain road- steep grades, hairpin turns, road just clinging to the mountainside with falling rock hazards and a long drop if you were so unfortunate as to go off the edge. Just another day of driving out west! The road was spectacular and we had it all to ourselves. We were in Cedar City by 8 AM. We found a greasy spoon diner, had breakfast, and then got on I-15.
Although it was not crowded, we did not have I-15 to ourselves. We passed St. George, then entered the Virgin River Canyon. This might be the most incredible scenery of any interstate in the country- high mountains, sheer cliffs, the river rolling through below, all quite amazing. Then you come out of the gorge. The Valley of Fire was close.
After driving through miles of desert, we arrived at the Valley of Fire. Our priority was to find a campsite, but the scenery! A mix of eroded sandstone and limestone in fantastic formations greeted the eye on every side. We both wanted to go for a walk!
Susan stands on a fantastic rock formation in Valley of Fire State Park.
Fortunately, we found an awesome site (with some shade!) almost immediately. The sites are self-pay- you tag the site, leave some evidence it's occupied, then go to the pay station and leave your money. On the way back, in the campground, we came upon four adult bighorn sheep rams nibbling vegetation. Holy cow! I'd never seen one before (except for on TV) and here were four, treating me almost with disdain! I grabbed a camera, jumped out of the car, and started shooting.
Bighorn sheep ram, Valley of Fire State Park.
We found through our two days there that seeing bighorn sheep at this park is not at all unusual.
We also found that in a desert that is not at high elevation, once the sun rises the air gets hot fast. That 28 degree morning temperature was ancient history as the mercury climbed to close to 90. We weren't quite as eager to take that walk. The sun was so hot!
Heat warning in Valley of Fire State Park. This needs to be heeded!
A driving tour of the park followed a visit to the Visitor Center. At the information booth we got a map and some advice, and then went exploring. Our drive ended at the White Domes trailhead, where we had lunch, and sat in the shade for a couple of hours, waiting for the sun to get lower in the sky.
We did not wait long enough.
This trail contains the remains of an old movie set. Many movies get filmed here- who could forget Raquel Welch in 1,000,000 BC? As we explored the trail, the sun baked, roasted, and fricasseed us. It was so hot! Putting the heat aside, the trail ran through spectacular rock formations, including a small slot canyon. If anything, this trail was too short. When we finished I can't say I was sorry to be back at the car, though.
Susan in a slot canyon on the White Domes trail, Valley of Fire State Park.
That one trail was enough for us on this day. We decided that an early start the next day would be the way to hike this park. Get our walks finished before noon, then siesta in the afternoon.
I had been wanting to try photographing the Milky Way. That night, I got up at about 3 AM and tried it. Then, back to bed.
I was up before the sun, wanting to photograph the rocks with the soft light. Awesome results happened! And my early rise meant we would get our walking in before it became too hot.
The Milky Way from Valley of Fire State Park.
We took three short hikes, seeing windswept landforms, petroglyphs, and some tortured-looking geology. Susan lost her hat when the wind blew it into a gorge. A young Australian guy said, "I can get that," then backed it up by climbing down to it and getting it. Chivalry ain't dead!
The afternoon was long and hot, but near sunset we went out and about, looking for more photographs. We found more bighorn sheep. I took more photos. That night I tried Milky Way photography again. Then sunrise came. It was time to leave the Valley of Fire, and head towards yucky Las Vegas and Death Valley.
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