"Sharrie's Valley of Fire Wilderness " a Valley of Fire State Park Travel Page by Sharrie

VALLEY OF FIRE surprised me! Its bold cliffs of white & red sandstone & stark contrast of graceful shapes are all beyond my imagination. Being one of the last parks around the vicinity of Vegas that I visited, I'd have thought that nothing would surprise me anymore. Afterall, having visited the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Red Rock, Death Valley & Lake Powell which all offers the most unique, stunning, magnificent & powerful visual myriads of landscapes, what more is there? Right?

Well, I couldn't be more wrong! Once again, the world never ceases to amaze me! Oh boy, I haven't seen them all! There's always something new somewhere that'll leave a lasting impression & memory. That certainly keeps things in perspective. Now, it's common for human to think our life span as lengthy (otherwise, why would we spend time fighting against one another; between countries, friends, loved ones, etc...?), but in the universal scheme of things, it's very brief. Why do I say that? Well, in comparison to nature, the Grand Canyon encoded 2 billion years of history! The oldest rocks on Valley of Fire dates back to about 600 million years! So then, what's the significance of our life? I really have no ready answer to this question. To each his/her own. Choice then, not chance determines destiny. In the case of Valley of Fire, nature is the master sculptor. Rock, one of the hardest substances in the natural world, is gently shaped & molded into fanciful forms & shapes by water, one of the most flexible & pliable substances. Out of such a paradox is created beauty. The flow of rocks also reflects the flow of times. So then, to me, the flow of our thoughts reflects the flow of humanity.

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Facts about Valley of Fire

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Established in 1935 as Nevada's first state park.
34,880 acres.
50 miles NE of Las Vegas, in the Mojave Desert.
Elevation: 2000-2600 ft.

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Facts about Nevada

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Population: 1,193,000.
Area: 110,561 sq mi.
Capital: Carson City (pop. 404,000).
Largest City: Las Vegas (pop. 612,600).
Origin of Name: From the Spanish word for snowcapped.
Motto: All for our country.
Info: Commission on Tourism.
Capitol Complex, Carson City, NV 89710.
Tel: 800-Nevada, (702) 687 4322.

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Web Resources

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Country Code: 1
Yellow Pages: YellowPages.com
Newspaper: USA Today