Valley of Fire is one of my favorite state parks I have ever visited. Having visited this park several times I can definitely understand why the state of Nevada would want to keep it as a state park rather than handing over control of it to the National Park System. It is a real gem. Even better it is fairly close to the city of Las Vegas!
Last weekend I went camping out there with my wife and kids and had a great time, and even got some good pictures. The picture above of the classic Tonka dump truck is what my four year old spent the evening doing, moving around firewood with the truck from one place to another. We all had a great time in our own way.
These pictures are ones that were taken near our campground. We camped in the Arch Rock Campground, near the north entrance of the Valley of Fire, which I think is definitely the better one, but I don’t have an RV so I like the little bit of solitude it offers. These are pictures taken near Arch Rock Campground and in a day or so I will post pictures that I took everywhere else.
I loved the thorns on this bush. They seemed to grab anyone who walked by within several feet. Finding these two branches in an almost symmetrical composition was nice!
I loved the intense greens that were everywhere in Valley of Fire. Especially when there is such nice contrasting colors, like the grays, and light browns here. I also really like the lines and patterns these plants had.
Yep it is some sagebrush. I was enjoying the shallow macro depth of field when I focused on just the very tips of the plant.
I loved how bright the stars were out here in the Valley of Fire. I was lucky that they came out earlier in the still short days of spring and had lots of campground activity and lights to color and paint the red rocks.
Here you see the nighttime sky with the lights of the heavens and the distant glow of Las Vegas in the background. The Vegas lights really colored the sky nicely.
This and the next shot are pictures taken near the campsites and high above them. I liked the early morning light and watching the sunrise in the campsite was really nice. This is luckily one place where great pictures can be had near and in the campsite. Sadly some areas have campsites in very unphotogenic spots!
I hope you enjoyed the pictures I took here in Valley of Fire State Park. This is really a great place to visit in southern Nevada. Just driving into the area is really amazing! The red rocks seem to pop up out of nowhere! If you can stop in and visit the area, the things available to see and do are worth it.
