Good-Bye Zion NP and Hello to Valley of the Fire SP in Nevada!

We decided to get an early start on our travels today even though we only had to go about 106 miles.  You can't reserve campsites at Valley of the Fire State Park and they are only available on a "first come" basis.  So, we were on the road by 7:45 hoping to be there in plenty of time to get a site.

After being on the road a short time, Noela called and asked if we realized we would be starting Pacific Time when we reached Nevada, so we would probably be there around 9, a bit early for arriving at a campground. That was a surprise!

The drive went very well and we did arrive at the entrance to the park around 9:00 after being in Utah, Arizona, and finally Nevada. 

Some beautiful scenery before leaving Utah!

Driving through the Virgin River Gorge!

Wow, a new state to explore!

Love seeing a rainbow!  Felt very welcoming!

It was a 16 mile drive from Interstate 15 to the entrance to
the park.  We certainly hoped they had some vacant campsites!

The gentleman at the entrance told us there were 2 CG's one for smaller rigs and the other one only had about 15 or so sites with water and electric.  Most of the sites had no hook-ups. Long story short, Ken and I did a lot of driving around trying to find a site and eventually someone was leaving a site about 2 from Ernie and Noela, but it had no hook-ups.  We preferred having electric and water if at all possible.  Ernie and Noela had a huge site with water and electric hook-ups for 2 rigs, so we drove to the Visitors Center and they told us that 2 rigs could share a site and both could have hook-ups.  Hallelujah!  So, after much frustration and wasting lots of time driving around we are now sharing the same site and it works out well.

A great view in this campground and the sites are far apart.
This is one site that we are sharing!

After finally getting set-up, the 4 of us ate lunch together outside and then took about an hour to just relax.  Then we got in Ernie's truck and we returned to the Visitors Center to get some info and drive to several points of interest, including the White Domes Trailhead, with plans to return to them tomorrow to do some hiking.

This park is going to be amazing!

The red rock formations here are very different, not smooth but
jagged and full of holes!

Also lots of pinkish color with stripes!

.....and white rocks too!

Can you see the face on the end of this rock????

Isn't this one colorful!

We got out at the White Cliffs Trailhead and walked just a
short distance at the beginning of the trail.  Ernie and Ken
decided to climb up some rocks that were off the trail!

Ken and Ernie's view from the top of the rocks they climbed!

We were waiting for the "boys" to come down!!!

How unusual!

Ken was excited to get some photos of the sun setting on the rocks -

We went back to the CG and made dinner.  The 4 of us enjoyed eating together outside for it was a lovely, mild evening with temperatures in the upper 60's. We cleaned up and then spent about an hour outdoors chatting and having tea.  At 8:30 (the new time) we were tired and ready to call it a day.

I worked on the blog but there won't be any pictures until we leave this area on Monday. I can't download them. Phone service is almost non-existent  and wifi isn't any better.  Wow, we have certainly become dependent on technology!

As you can see we arrived in Pahrump and can download the photos!