On Tuesday, Dec. 10th Susie drove us three and a half hours, from Williams, AZ to Las Vegas, NV to the airport for her return trip to Rochester.
As with all major American cities, the traffic was a challenge at times but we got there in time to bid a fond farewell to Susie and spend some time reminiscing about the highlights of her visit with us on our Great Adventure. She said she especially enjoyed exploring the slot canyon called Canyon X and Horse Shoe Bend in Page, Arizona.
We very much enjoyed showing her some of the National Parks and great places in the Southwestern United States. We are so very happy she could come and visit us.
After her departure, we drove to Henderson, NV to the house we will be staying in for the next four days. We are staying in a nice upscale neighborhood where the Christmas spirit has sparked some beautiful outdoor displays.
On Wednesday, Dec. 11th we drove an hour and a half Northeast of Las Vegas to the Valley of Fire State Park, near Overton, NV. There we found several interesting sites to explore in and around the park.
The first feature we explored was the "beehives", sandstone formations of varying size and coloration.
Next was the formation called "Arch Rock" a naturally occurring sandstone arch.
This feature appears to be on fire when the bright sunlight hits it on a clear day in the afternoon. Unfortunately, there was no bright sunlight on the day we visited. In fact, it was cloudy and overcast as you can see in these pictures.
These formations are sedimentary rocks of varying colors that formed during the period of time in which a huge inland sea covered this entire area many centuries ago.
On Thursday, Dec. 12th we drove to another local attraction near Las Vegas. Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area is about an hour away from the city and boasts numerous hiking trails and other attractions.
A scenic drive leaves the parking lot of the visitors center and covers thirteen miles of scenic desert splendor.
Tomorrow we are going back to the Valley of Fire State Park to do some more exploring there😊.
On Wednesday, Dec. 11th we drove an hour and a half Northeast of Las Vegas to the Valley of Fire State Park, near Overton, NV. There we found several interesting sites to explore in and around the park.
The first feature we explored was the "beehives", sandstone formations of varying size and coloration.
Next was the formation called "Arch Rock" a naturally occurring sandstone arch.
Then we drove down the White Dunes Road, where we found a small herd of Big Horn Sheep right by the side of the road. They appeared to be as curious about us as we were of them.
Lastly, we drove up the canyon to explore "the Fire Wave" a short two-mile hike into the desert.
On Thursday, Dec. 12th we drove to another local attraction near Las Vegas. Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area is about an hour away from the city and boasts numerous hiking trails and other attractions.
A scenic drive leaves the parking lot of the visitors center and covers thirteen miles of scenic desert splendor.
We decided to hike out into the desert for five miles to seek the "Lost Creek" on the trail by that name.
There was a sign warning us of falling rocks, and they weren't kidding. Here is Dad standing next to a large boulder that had detached itself from the ledge above the trail.
We didn't find the "lost" creek, but we found some petroglyphs along the trail.
Later on, we also discovered a dry creek bed too.
We reached the end of the trail at an overlook that gave us a beautiful view of the valley.
Tomorrow we are going back to the Valley of Fire State Park to do some more exploring there😊.
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