Valley of Fire

Location

Valley of Fire has been recommended to us from a few other travelers and friends. Our neighbor Bob in Santa Monica has repeatedly advised us to visit. In August when we were returning from Bryce, we committed to visiting Valley of Fire on our next trek to Death Valley. The trip from Death Valley to Valley of Fire is 2.5 hours (~115 miles). Our drive time was considerably longer as we stopped at a casino to do laundry, get fuel, and have lunch.

Leaving Death Valley

The fuel price inside Death Valley was 7.56 per Gallon of Diesel, we grabbed 10 gallons and hustled out of Death Valley. The drive was easy, roads smooth, and traffic minimal.

Laundry, lunch, and fuel and the local casino

Longstreet Hotel Casino & RV Park We stopped here to do laundry and get fuel. This location seems to be the closest place to death valley on this route that has fuel at reasonable prices. I witnessed many people filling up portable fuel canisters and heading into Death Valley.

Our first Family Dollar

We stopped at a Family Dollar, I had never been in a store like this. The store reminded me of a very large convenience store. After walking through the store We purchased Oreo cookies. I was hoping for some fresh vegetables on the way to Valley of Fire, we did not find any.

Creech AirForce Base

I witnessed a military drone take off as we were driving by. I was impressed by the drones nimble behavior and how quickly it disappeared into the sky. I was driving and could not audibly detect the drones presence. Amazing piece of equipment which triggers many thoughts and feelings including fear, aww, and wonder.

Arriving at Valley of Fire

We had camping reservations at the Atlatl campground. The campground did not have availability for the whole time we were visiting. Over the 5 days we spent, we moved three times. The campground is awesome, nestled in the mountains with campsites spread out. I never felt too close to a neighbor. Most of the campsites have the power and water located on the camp side of the trailer. Much entertainment was had watching trailers arrive and campers figuring out how to get their equipment hooked up.
We finagled a water and power site when we were supposed to have a dry site for one night. Donna and I are of the opinion that campgrounds should not allow campers to choose their sites online. Allowing campers to choose sites doesn’t allow for utilization optimization to occur. Leaving camp sites consistently empty and decreasing park revenue.

Cycling in Valley of Fire

The cycling in the valley is amazing, I rode every paved road. I regretted not bringing a gravel bike on this trip. The scenery is amazing, roads good, and traffic minimal. Much climbing is to be had on the road bike. Riding here really felt like interval training as the roads were fast with many rollers, allowing for short burst, high intensity climbs. My average speeds on the bike were high, especially for having golden ratio rides. A golden ratio ride is 100Ft of elevation per mile IE: ride ten miles climb 1000Ft. The average elevation gain on a ride in Valley of Fire is 2500 feet.

Minny and Doowee

Minny and Doowee had lots of hikes in Valley of Fire. The two of them are considerably better at hiking in sand then Donna and I are. The geology of Valley of Fire yields much sand.

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