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| Fire Canyon Overlook |
Date: December 28, 2024
Place:Valley of Fire State Park, Las Vegas, Nevada
Coordinates: 36.450774, -114.515221
Length:1.1 miles
Level: easy
The day that we dedicated to the Valley of Fire State Park on our family's 2020 winter vacation started with a hike to the petroglyphs of the Mouse's Tank Trail. From there we drove just a bit further down the road to the Rainbow Vista parking area, where we sat down at one of the picnic tables they had there for a picnic lunch, during which we enjoyed the company of a bold little rock wren that hopped on and under the table in search of human food scraps.
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| Rock Wren |
We have planned to go to The Wave - the park's main attraction next, but seeing that the Rainbow Vista trail was short and easy, we decided to hike it first.
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| Our hike as captured by my GPS |
A sign at the trailhead warned people to be prepared for excessive heat. That was one issue we did not have to worry about on the day of our visit - it was pretty cold still, even at mid-day.
There weren't too many birds around, but the parking lot wren and a male phainopepla that regarded us from a safe distance atop of a bare bush by the trail side.
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| Phainopepla, male |
The trail was very sandy - the erosion product of the red sandstone from which the hills and cliffs and pillars were made. It didn't take very long for my shoes to get filled with the fine reddish sand.
A top layer of white sandstone crowned the tallest rock formations in that area of the park. It reminded me a lot of the Red Rock NCA Calico Hills.
For the most of its length, the trail run on top a high plateau between massive rock protrusions, which looked like sky islands in a red sea of sand and shrubbery. For the time being, we were walking right under direct sunlight but the clouds that covered the other half of the sky indicated that this might be a temporary state.
I did not expect to see wildflowers, but the beauty of this place laid primarily in its magnificent geology. I kept looking at the rock formations and the shapes they had.
The half-clouded sky also provided some great lighting effects for the beautiful desert scenery that surrounded us. The shifting clouds translated to shifting patches of light and shade on the ground, with the rock monuments taking the spotlight in turns.
We moved southeast in the direction of the sunlight. Ahead of us loomed a large rock mass and it looked like the trail was going straight into that rock wall.
The sand of the plateau we were walking on was mostly stabilized, held in place with the long root roots of the perennial desert plants growing there. I didn't recognize most of the plants there, but the bright green cholla cacti, which stood out in the field of gray shrubs.
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| Cholla Cactus, Cylindropuntia sp. |
As we approached the large rock monument ahead I discerned more and more details in the rock face: holes, pillars, spires, crevices and mammoth masses.
These features are all formed by erosion forces of wind and water (and also some plant-forced weathering). Not one shape was the same as the one next to it. The stream of wind is altered by one formation and hits the next rock face at a different angle, sculpting a different shape.
Some of the rock features were small, or at east looked small. Whether they were more weathered or more coverd by sand, I did not know.
The trail curved more south near the large rock monument we approached and entered a path between the rock protrusions. It looked like we were entering the path f a desert wash.
Far ahead I saw a gap between the rock masses. I zoomed my lens to maximum and saw that the view extended far below behind the gap. There was the view point we were heading to.
It might look like I posted many rock photos but in truth, what is posted here is a tiny fraction of the photos I took that day of all the rock features.
Some of the rock features really worked my imagination. This one in the photo below reminded me of a hand reaching up from the bottom of the earth.
Inside the wash there were more plants, and also more diversity of the plant species. A beavertail cactus half covered by the sand drew my attention. Unlike other cacti I've seen in the parks near Las Vegas, this one looked thirsty. The Valley of Fire is about an hour drive northeast of Las Vegas, and it could have had much less water than the watershed that collects to the Las Vegas basin area.
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| Beavertail, Opuntia sp. |
Other shrubs in the shallow wash that we were walking through looked happier, and some were even blooming.
As we neared the vista point at the end of the trail the sand layer got thinner and the trail had some rocky sections too. Still, it was an easy walk, and we moved on briskly.
I didn't stop on the way but I did pause here and there when I saw something interesting or pretty such as the arched rock in the photo below.
Another sight I liked was the sunlight shining through the cottony fruit of the creosote bushes. From the angle I saw these, they looked like little fairy lanterns.
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| Creosote, Larrea tridentata |
The trail widened a bit before the vista point. The rocks on both sides were much taller here and blocked the warming sunlight. I pulled my jacket around me in the shady spots.
The large cliff on our left had a flat surface that was covered with desert patina. I scanned the surface carefully, expecting to see a petroglyph or two, but I saw none. I suppose the local ancient artists were selective of their cavas rocks.
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| Desert Patina |
Along the trail we did see a few rock arches but most were small and unimpressive. The nicest rock arch was right by the south end of the trail.
The trail ended with a big drop to Fire Canyon. We found places to sit that were just shy of the precipice and looked down. The Fire Canyon extended below us to the southeast where it spilled into a large flat basin that wasn't visible from the vista point but was visible from a higher point earlier on the trail.
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| Fire Canyon Overlook |
We sat for a while at the vista point, appreciating the view. Eventually however, ot was time to get going again - we had more trails to hike that day. As we turned around to start our way back I got the view of the rock arch from its other side.
Our way back was on the exactly same trail we hiked out on. We walked fast without stopping but I did let my eyes pause on interesting rock features and other interesting sights along the way.
Some features looked much better from the opposite point of view, such as the white layer on top of the red sandstone.
I found a burrow of I don't know which animal, but I think it was of a rodent. The tracks in the sand were not clear enough to tell for sure, but it was clear that the burrow was being used.
A few barrel cacti dotted the sandstone here and there. This cactus, which is so common in the Mojave desert in California, was not common at all in the Valley of Fire. I haven't seen many of them, and those that I did see were smallish.
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| California Barrel Cactus |
We walked quickly and soon we were once again in the open, outside of the rock walls. The sheer rock cliffs looked like they've been thrusted from the sandy plateau. In reality, the sand formed by the erosion of the preexisting cliffs, slowly covering their base as their tops erode lower and lower.
I admired the vastness of the desert before me. The open sandy field and the rock monuments and the backdrop of semi-covered skies made the perfect image of a southwestern desert, like in the western motion pictures.
I focused on the pink and white hills far below. This was where we were going next to see the most fanciful geological features in the park - that was where The Fire Wave was.
Once again I found myself in the rear, following my family members who were far ahead up the trail. I watched them vanishing between the rock monuments and following the trail curve north to wards the trailhead. I then followed suit.
Passing the last rock monuments on my way back to the trailhead I noticed a depression that looked like a footprint, except it was completely vertical.
My botanical attention was focused on the perennial shrubs on this hike but the dry annual grasses looked lovely too so I snapped a shot of a dry grass bunch just before exiting the trail.
By the time I caught up with my family Pappa Quail got a few more shots of the rock wren resident of the parking lot. He and the chikas were already in the car. I joined them and we drove down the road towards the trailhead of The Fire Wave.
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