Waking up in the middle of the desert BLM land just north of Las Vegas is a special experience. You can just hear the birds starting to chirp in the cool air at dawn, and watch as the surrounding mountains slowly turn pink with the rising of the sun. Sadly, the low clouds block out the light until the sun just crests the peaks, and so we miss out on the warm glow of the sun's rays as they light up the sky.
This morning, we are heading INTO the Valley of Fire State Park for some hiking, so instead of starting our morning here, we grab a glass of juice and start up the engine, driving the campervan into the park and all the way to the trailhead. We discovered this hiking hack on our last road trip to Utah, and swear by it now. By leaving camp extra early, and then starting our morning at the trailhead instead, we ensure that we get a good parking spot, and then have plenty of time to eat breakfast, dress(because you *know* we drive here in our PJs), and pack our bags for the hike, all without the stress!
Mario picks out a good hike this morning, a combination of two small loop trails, tied together with a short walk through a slot canyon. If you've never heard of a slot canyon, it is a narrow passage with high sides, like a slot in the rock. It can be as narrow as one person squeezing through, but also large enough to fit an entire car - Petra, in Jordan, was a good example of this. Obviously, this is a big draw, but so is the Fire Wave, layers upon layers of red rock flowing and curling back on itself, like a giant flow of red hot lava. So too is the Pink Canyon, bright like bubblegum mixed with cotton candy, even more so in the low sunlight.
The first slot canyon, small enough for Mario to scale the walls like a monkey, dips and bends and we squeeze our wave easily through. The second, at the start of the White Domes trail, gives us more room to stretch, but its walls are higher, blocking out the light, and cooling down the air.
We emerge on a valley, surrounded by colourful cliffs, and soft, rounded peaks. White domes, so the trail name says, but I saw yellow, and red, and grey, and brown, but no white domes. If you're going to name a trail after a landmark, at least make sure you make good on that promise. I'm sure some people will give this trail a one-star review for its lack of white domes.
We loop back through the tiny slot canyon, and return by way of the Crazy Hill, a swirling slope of more pinks and yellows and whites, like a giant 1970's carpet in a Barbie house. I am amazed nature comes in such outrageous colours, my camera doesn't know how to translate them all.
From the Valley of Fire State Park, we head to Lake Mead, and its National Recreational Area. With so many National Park to visit, we have been searching to buy another annual pass, and have yet to find a location that is not sold out. The north gate of the NRA is closed, so we don't get a card there, but we don't pay an entry fee, either. We've driven through this park before, but south to north, and now it seems like all the landscape is new and different. We catch different views, different angles where the road seems to curve for miles between the peaks.
It's a beautiful drive, and with a quick stop for lunch at Redstones picnic area where Mario can climb some rocks, it's a good way to spend the afternoon. And we DO manage to get that pass, but we have to re-enter the park to do so, making a U-turn just after the entry gate to get back on our way.
Now begins the road part of the road trip: a long drive, past Hoover Dam and south through the town of Kingman that gives me heebie-jeebies every time we are here. We find a Starbucks in the actual middle of nowhere, where the two baristas seem a little lost in their tasks, one wearing what looks like a permanent scowl aimed at the baked goods warmer. The sun sinks below the mountains, casting hazy shadows across the land, and ultimately hiding the scenery from our sight. We climb mountains, we descend through valleys, knowing only by feel, as we see nothing but the taillights of the cars ahead of us. Eventually, there are a couple of houses here and there, a smattering of Christmas lights, traffic circles. Eventually, lit-up highways, exits to suburbs, and the lights of the city of Phoenix all around us.
We stop to pick up a few forgotten items at Walmart, get turned around at the Love's Travel Stop, even though they are *supposedly* RV-friendly, but at least we get our shower first. We finally settle at a nearby Cracker Barrel restaurant, surrounded by like campers looking for a safe place to spend the night. Another hack, especially when camping off-grid? Always know where the mainstay camping spots are, just in case your plan A, B and C don't pan out.
No comments:
Post a Comment