Practicalities: Entrance to the park is $6,- per vehicle and it works on an honor system, meaning there is a self pay station where you get an envelope in which you place your money and drop it in a post box. Remember to tear off the stub, which serves as your proof of payment as well as your permit, from the envelope. You may be asked to show it when leaving the park. Do make a point of visiting the well equipped Visitor Center, which offers well arranged exhibits on the parks geology and archeology. This Visitor Center is every bit as well set up as any of the National Park's visitors centers. Don't miss it! The park has two entrances, both off I-15, so the best way of visiting the park would be by going in on one side, exiting at the other. Next to the Visitor Center is a spur road leading to most of the major sites in the park.

I wanted to drive here to celebrate "MELLE DAY". 8/8/2007 reason is that it's my favorite number is 8. every year i try to celebrate it. only me myself and i. my day to do whatever i want.  yes i am loony. :P i also wanted to think and relax. I am crazy to be driving in a 100 degree and dry weather.

today i wanted to the valley of fire. i have never been there before. it was a hot day in vegas 105 degrees. i drove out at 5pm there was mild traffic on the 15. after north las vegas it is clear then it becomes a 4 lane highway. it was a good drive. i had my ipod on played metallica, korn, white zombie and alice in chains. i love driving on an open 2 lane highway. i opened my moon roof and windows to feel the warm breeze on my face. i worE my LA DODGERS CAP. i do not like it when my face is tanned. it took me about 45mins to get there. this is the farthest i have driven outside vegas. this was farther than nellis AFB.

wow the mountains are so beautiful. i was stopped every 2 miles to take pics on the way there. i love the s curve roads. gosh i miss my old car. my car would love it. my little rice rocket would corner on rails LOL.

The scenic drive was bliss. this is similar in sedona, arizona. however, i think sedona is the best. i went to some of the landmarks. i need to go back when it's cooler. the sun just brings out the natural colors of the sandstone. enjoy the pics :)

i did not drive thru the park. the sun was settiing. i would exited on the east side. however, i would be driving near lake mead thru a 2 lane highway in the dark. it scary driving thru that. not big on drive thru boulder city. i would if the sun is up.

The similarly named park near Overton, 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas in Nevada offers a stark contrast - here, red is the dominant colour, of an undulating landscape with petrified dunes, strangely-shaped rocks and sandstone cliffs set amongst an empty, very scenic region near the north end of Lake Mead; the drive to the area from the south (state road SSR 167) passes buckled, layered cliffs and desert plains, often quite colorful, and with the blue waters of Lake Mead often visible to the east, but the valley is the most unusual place. It is one of the most colorful locations in the Southwest, especially at sunset when the rocks glow deep red and do indeed seem to be ablaze when seen from a distance. The landscape is made more striking by the surrounding black hills of sombre appearance.

Approach: All through traffic along the Valley of Fire Road has to pay a fee ($6 in 2006). The highway can become quite busy in summer, park of a scenic diversion between Las Vegas and I-15 to the north - it is an extra 55 miles, but more interesting than the interstate, which passes rather barren land between Las Vegas and the Arizona border. The park boundaries enclose the most interesting formations, along 10 miles of the road and extending over 30 miles to the north, to include a large area of mostly trackless land almost as far as Glendale, at exit 90 of the interstate.

Viewpoints: Driving to the park from east or west is equally scenic. There is a good visitor center near the west entrance, although it seems rather excessive for this relatively small park, with a few interesting cacti outside. Various viewpoints and named features along the road, including several short foot paths. Notable places include:

    * Petrified Logs - several colorful fossilised tree trunks, safely fenced off to deter souvenir hunters.

    * The Beehives - weathered, layered sandstone mounds, originally sand dunes in an ancient desert, now preserved in stone.

    * Mouse's Tank - a natural cavity in the rocks where rainwater collects - used by a water source by a Paiute Indian fugitive in the 1890s. This was not of lasting value to him, as he was captured and killed after several months in hiding. The trail that leads to the Tank passes various petroglyphs dating from before 1200 AD.

    * The White Domes - a separate region with varied desert vegetation and more rocks of contrasting color, reached by a 7 mile scenic drive or a hiking trail.

Located about 50 miles (~80km) North East of Las Vegas in the Mojava Desert, the Valley of Fire State Park is a great place for a day trip.  It contains brilliant formations of erroded sandstone and dunes that are more than 150 million years old.  It looks like the place has been erroded by water, however most of the work was done by wind born sand particales.

On the approach road to the park the surrounding area, while still impressive, looks somewhat bleak and gray due to the soil.  However once you crest the final hill before the park you are presented with a brilliant sight of the Valley of Fire.  With a high Iron content the whole valley practically glows a deep red colour hence giving it it's name.

The park is open all year round from dawn till dusk.  While entrance is not restricted after nightfall, there really isn't much to see once the sun goes down except the exceptional view of the stars that you typically get when you get out away from city lights.

Fees:
Entrance: US$6.00 per vehicle per day
Camping: US$14.00 per night per vehicle (However it pays to check that space is available because the camping grounds fill up very quickly.)

Our last real day (flying back tomorrow morning)…but this is the hiking day for Kim & I!  We made sure Eric & Spencer were well provided for and drove back up to the Lake Mead gateway.  Arriving there in the morning made the 55-mile excursion up to the Valley of Fire a cakewalk, and this time we paid the $5 to enter.

Our path would prove to be the long way…a twisty road that wound through the desolate wasteland of the Mojave Desert.  I have never visited a major city before where everything so totally evaporates outside the town limits…but Vegas is unique in this aspect.  It was still interesting with many elevation changes and a remarkable, almost alien landscape.  But what really struck us was glimpses of Lake Mead extending at least thirty miles into our drive....who could comprehend something this huge!

Because I had never heard of Valley of Fire before, my expectation level was low…and boy was I in for a surprise!  At last we turned off to the State Park entrance and discovered an unmanned park entrance requiring a $6 entrance fee on an honor system basis --- you put your bucks into an envelope and drop it into a box.  There were only a couple of other cars there and I struggled to break a twenty for a couple so they could satisfy the entrance fee requirement (I think $19.87 was all I had in small bills and pocket change, lol).  There were a few trailheads starting from this location, so Kim & I took the one to Elephant Rock…which wasn’t even a quarter-mile and deposited you back along the road, lol.

We got back into the car and drove into the park…stunned by the rock formations.  A brilliant place, and we penetrated to where there was a real tourist center that had employees in attendance.  Ate our lunch (we had fortunately realized civilization was about to vanish while proceeding to the Lake Mead gate and scored some Qusino’s subs) and learned in the center that there was an abundance of petroglyphs here!

Next stop was “Mouse’s Tank”…another short trail that is remarkable.  You plod through a fine red sand that is the detritus of worn down rock…an unusual desert indeed.  I have been chasing petroglyphs for years with scant reward, but we hit the jackpot here!  The rock walls are adorned with interesting images and we were both agog.

Unfortunately we were in the desert and the temperature was about 110 degrees --- Kim was wiped out from our jaunt and our hiking was appended after this venture.   We continued by car to visit each site mentioned upon the map we acquired at the entrance and found this previously unheard of land fabulous!

Returning to Vegas, we took I-15, a significantly quicker path.  A successful conclusion to our visit.  Las Vegas has much to offer  and we discovered it can be a true family destination, but I have no desire to return and will conclude this blog by expressing “been there, done that”……