I’m hesitant to talk this one up because of how awesome it was to find a site in such a breathtaking location, with hookups, and no reservations. How about I talk about the rest of the day, which was basically boring?
Almost the entire day was a departure from the scenic drives we had been enjoying. Richard worked at 60-65mph and we got stuck for an hour or so after a crash on highway 15. We weren’t sure where we were going to want to stay by the end of the day, but I figured I’d know once we got through Las Vegas traffic. And yep, the answer there was that I was ready to stop pretty soon after that.
A bit of researching on Allstays brought up Valley of Fire State Park. The description sounded so perfect, I was not willing to let myself believe there would be sites, so Richard called. It sounds like the place does not fill up when it’s hot out and the park ranger seemed pretty confident we’d find a spot with hookups. All my hopes were far exceeded by reality.
It’s a beautiful 16 mile drive off the highway and the scenery just gets more gorgeous as you go. The campground itself is tucked in the middle of brilliant red rock formations. And – HOOKUPS. Having AC is indeed a blissful treat. I can take the heat by running fans, but I certainly prefer it being 70º inside when it is 100º outside.
After dinner, we took a little walk over to see some petroglyphs and enjoyed the view as the last light of the sun set the red rocks aflame. Valley of Fire. I get it! Simply wonderful.
… I mean…. uh… we hated it. No one should go to this place or tell anyone else about it. Deal?
Total miles: 297.4, 7 hours 20 min, 17.9 mph. Site 42. About half of the Atlatl campground has hookup sites. The sites are huge. New and nice bathrooms. Dump station near to the loop. Minimal service for both of us, but no need to put up the antenna since tomorrow is Saturday.
