My apartment, patio, and car were covered in a thin blanket of wet snow, much to my surprise. The latest storm of an active winter actually forced the snow level down to around 4,000 feet, so Bishop got its first measurable snow this season. Lately all of the snow had been confined to the higher elevations.
The snow gave me yet another reason to be excited, as today was the first day of my road trip. I had been restless yesterday getting ready for this adventure, packing the car and cleaning the apartment. I’ll be on the road for approximately two weeks, touring a number of national and state parks in Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
This is my first time taking two weeks off from work since 2020. On that occasion, I took two weeks off because my coworker caught Covid while at San Quentin State Prison in the beginning of the pandemic. Suffice to say, I did mot do anything of note besides stay in and around my apartment in San Rafael with mild anxiety as lockdowns had shut everything down in the Bay Area. Since then, I’ve taken a week here, a week there, a long weekend in between but nothing substantial. I had been burning out, especially over the summer when I spent a lot of time studying Google maps at work and fantasizing about a road trip through Utah and Arizona.
I write this from my campsite in Valley of Fire State Park, just east of Las Vegas, NV. I drove roughly 340 miles today, taking an indirect route through Death Valley National Park where I went to Dante’s View, an overlook on the east side of Death Valley that is known as a fantastic view during sunrise. I hadn’t visited here before, but I’m glad I took the 13-mile side trip up the mountain.
From there, I briefly stopped in Death Valley Junction, and then refueled in Pahrump, NV where gas cost $3.13 a gallon. I found myself admiring the mountains around this small, rural town and wondering whether I could live there.
From Pahrump I drove roughly 80 miles to Las Vegas where I got caught in heavy, aggressive traffic on Interstate 15. I did not stop in Vegas, even when I passed right by the glitz and glamor of The Strip. I wasn't at all interested in repeating the trip from 2019. On that occasion, I was forced to spend two nights in the city to wait out a snowstorm in Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon. No such storm is in the forecast this time around!
As a California resident, it cost $15 to enter Valley of Fire; it costs $10 to enter as a Nevada resident. This is Nevada’s first state park, being established in 1934. The road meanders through red and orange sandstone, creating a wild landscape that captures your imagination. This is a good place to go to practice landscape photography, particularly during early morning light or evening golden hour because the rock seems to glow in the same color as flame. However, you do need to dodge hoards of tourists looking for that Instagram-worthy picture. I wanted to see Valley of Fire for myself after hearing about the location from other photographers and seeing the images they created. I wanted to see the splash of color and the curvy lines for myself. And in some cases, the happy, jovial faces.
I was able to photograph The Beehives during golden hour and parked at the visitor center, where camp host Linda told me it doesn’t get windy here at night and the temperature gets down to about 40 degrees. She also told me to visit her in the morning to pay for my camp spot, as I don’t usually carry cash on me.
My camp spot was near Arch Rock, a natural arch surrounded by signs instructing tourists to stay off the rock. The campsite was very quiet and I had some privacy until an adventure van rolled into the spot next to me near midnight. I sat awake, annoyed, while my noisy neighbors hammered stakes into the ground. To their credit, they worked quickly and went silent shortly after they arrived.
While lying in my tent, I noticed the occasional drone of an airplane or jet flying into or out of Las Vegas. The stars are as bright as anything I’ve seen. Being January in the middle of winter, these spots are first come first served because not nearly as many tourists invade the park compared to warmer months. It was the same as other campgrounds I've visited; once you pick a site, you walk to the entrance to the ground and deposit your money in an envelope along with your site number, car details, number of people and how long you'll stay. Then you take the receipt stub and attach it to the metal stake standing at the entrance to your campsite.
1/9/23 – Last night while I was trying to sleep inside my tent, I heard what sounded like people laughing. The sound echoed around the sandstone mounds surrounding my campsite. Considering this sandstone has what looks like faces, this laughing sound was slightly creepy. I later learned that this sound most likely came from bighorn sheep in the park.
I got up early and drove to the Fire Wave trailhead. This hike is listed as 1.5 miles round trip, but it feels shorter. The trail follows metal poles which lead visitors to the wave. Being early on a Monday morning in winter, I had the Fire Wave to myself where I sat down above the formation and attempted to imagine how something like this takes shape.
I bumped into a herd of bighorn sheep upon returning to the trailhead. With the patterns In the rock and the landscape behind them, I was stunned with my photography luck. The sheep seemed comfortable around people because I could slowly approach them while they munched on the bushes. Similar to driving in snow or sand, the rule of thumb is no sudden movements when engaging in wildlife photography. There were roughly nine sheep; three of which hiked to the top of a stone hill and laid down, surveying the landscape. This was my first time seeing bighorn sheep in the wild; I did not expect this to happen, nor did I expect to be in such a great spot for it.
Marveling at such a terrific start to the trip, I departed Valley of Fire and drove to Saint George, UT, taking a familiar route on I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge. After having lunch in Saint George, the journey to Page was a long one which straddled the state line. I hopped on Utah State Route 59 through Apple Valley which morphed into Arizona State Route 389 through the Kaibab Indian Reservation, and then I re-entered Utah via Kanab and then Utah State Route 89. On this road I found the turnoff for the whole reason for this road trip: Houserock Valley Road.
Eventually I entered Page, AZ at twilight, where I first glimpsed the mighty Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. I chose to get a cheap hotel room for less than $60 instead of camping. It was a good idea because it was freezing cold in Page.
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