Revisiting the Valley of Fire for sunrise.
Desert sunrise is early, the park was an hour away, I couldn’t get good coffee anywhere until 5 a.m., I was tired… The list of excuses for not making it to Valley of Fire Nevada State Park for sunrise on my first visit was long. But in the park, driving by an observation deck built against a towering red rock, I knew I had to make it back to the park for sunrise someday.
The impetus for making it happen today came in the form of a tall, quiet, bearded, African-American co-worker who came out to Las Vegas to work with me through the hellish fall season of student housing. He hadn’t been to Vegas as an adult yet, so he was excited to see the sights. Since he came from Eastern Standard Time and was still waking up at 4 a.m. every morning, I brushed off the strip in favor of Valley of Fire and an early trip to see the sunrise.
It felt great to get out of the city to the cool, quiet desert morning. We even got to see kangaroo rats and bighorn sheep.
Our observation deck:
There were petroglyphs, rock carvings, on the red rock beside the observation deck!
It was a great time and an unmissable sunrise. The early hour and the drive was worth every second!
~ The Dauntless Princess ~