The Anasazi arrived perhaps 1,000 years ago and may have been responsible for many of the rock art petroglyphs in the park, which include images of hunters, bighorn sheep and other less identifiable shapes. Back then, water flowed in the creeks, and plant and animal life was plentiful. Some experts think the first arrivals appeared more than 15,000 years ago. Long before the auto was even a dream, various people began making their home here. The White Domes area on the north side of the park where the road dead ends includes 31/2 miles of winding blacktop road with dramatic curves that make cars and commercials a visual love match.
The biggest activity, however, may be car commercials. (This is marked on the park’s White Domes map.)
#ELEPHANT ROCK VALLEY OF FIRE MOVIE#
You can still see some structural remains of a Mexican hacienda from the 1966 movie “The Professionals,” starring Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin.
#ELEPHANT ROCK VALLEY OF FIRE TV#
Not surprisingly, Valley of Fire is a popular place for shooting movies and TV shows and for still photography. Come prepared for possible extra adventure. Our sturdy tent protected us, but the campers across the way were not as lucky: Their tent was virtually demolished. On our last night in the park, the winds whipped through the campground as though spun off from a hurricane. He said it looked as though the entire valley was ablaze.Īlthough some of the campsites are secluded, even they offer only limited protection from the occasional desert winds. was driving along a road, and as the sun set, the fading rays illuminated the red rock formations. You might also see ground squirrels, rabbits, antelope, coyotes, wild burros, lizards, chuckwallas, Gila monsters and, of course, rattlesnakes (pay attention to where you walk) and a plethora of birds.īut the scenery is the big draw in the Valley of Fire, which acquired its name, or so the story goes, this way: Well before the park was a park, an employee of the American Automobile Assn. We were lucky to spot an impressively horned male, which shared his space with us for a bit - at one point, he was as close as 15 or 20 feet - before he disappeared into the rocks. This area is known for desert bighorn sheep, Nevada’s state animal. Desert wildflowers were starting to bloom, and although sweeping fields of flowers are not as common as they are at higher, wetter elevations, I found a host of plant life, including barrel, beavertail and prickly pear cactus, phacelia, Indian paintbrush, sage, datura (highly toxic), brittlebush, indigo bush, dune primrose, four o’clocks, paper flowers, acacia and yucca. My partner, Gloria Cortes, and I arrived in early April as spring was pushing winter aside in the Valley of Fire. Wind and rain then carved these dunes into the Aztec sandstone formations that vary from deep red to almost pure white. Slowly, the sea withdrew, leaving a desert of enormous, swirling sand dunes. Back in that day, deep water covered this region. But its 75th birthday pales compared with the chronological pedigree of the oldest rock in the park: It’s about 600 million years old. It was Nevada’s first state park, so designated in 1935. Valley of Fire lies an hour’s drive (and a few light-years) northeast of Las Vegas. James Kirk died in the motion picture “Star Trek: Generations.” So I beamed myself down so I could explore this alien surface more carefully.
In a sense, it was another planet this is where Capt. I felt as though I had been transported to another planet. Sculpted, chiseled and twisted red rock formations more dramatic than most others I have seen dominated the park’s 35,000 acres. And, most recently, in Nevada, as I crested a hill on the drab road through the Muddy Mountains, I saw the Valley of Fire. In Wyoming, driving south from Yellowstone, I rounded a curve and saw the Tetons rising majestically from the valley floor. In Africa, I rounded a bend and came face to face with a large male lion. Every so often I experience a genuine “oh my gosh” moment.
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