(Valley of Fire State Park Ride)
Today we want to honor SGT Timothy Hall for his service to our country. Thank you so much Timothy for your service and for your sacrifice. Read more about him and his journey HERE.
Today I got to check off another bucket list item which was to ride my bike through the Valley of Fire State Park in NV. It a little gem of a place that is located about 58 miles from the Las Vegas Strip in the Mojave Desert. Each time I have been here I have wished I had my bike to enjoy the stunning multi colored sandstone rock formations because I would have a better view than from inside a car.
We got off to a late start because we had a hearty breakfast in Las Vegas, Thanks mom and dad. It was 92 degrees when I began my ride. My goal was to start from the interstate exit to the visitor center thru the entire park and back to back to the visitor center that would have been around 30 miles. What really happened though was I ran out of “gas” near the end of the park at White Dome. It was so hot that I think I could have scraped off all the salt on my skin and used it to replenished my electrolytes. I actually had a car stop and ask if I was okay. It’s hard for me to ask for help, but at that point I knew I was going to be in serious trouble because I was feeling feverish and dizzy so I sent them to go get Kelly. I don’t think I would have made it to White Dome where I was suppose to meet her. It was only about a mile away too. Ugh! I was all out of water and Powerade so it was the right call even though it was an ego blow. It was so stinking HOT. 114 degrees. I was a hot mess. I waited at a pullout for Kelly for a few minutes to regroup. The flies were having a feast day on me and that was driving me insane, so I finally got back on my bike. I figured if I was going to die it would be from exhaustion and dehydration instead of from being eaten alive from flies. I pedaled around the a curve when I saw Kelly. Shouts of joy were echoing through the Canyon! She had to drive a mile until she could turn around and pick me up, so I continued on to the White Dome parking area. 25 miles of absolutely breathtaking beauty and feeling like I was literally on FIRE. The park is named correctly. I would do this ride all over again, however, next time I will have an ample amount of Powerade and water, and it will not be in summer in the middle of the day.
We did get to see the Beehive, Fire Rock, Rainbow vista, and Elephant Rock. We also got to see a herd of desert Bighorn Sheep. We even got yelled at by a local for stopping to photograph them. She said we were not to stop to take pictures of animals because it would cause traffic to back up… there were no cars in sight but her. I waved her on and continued to take a few more pictures. Whatever, We weren’t disturbing the Bighorns because we were far away and we weren’t holding anyone up.
Our plans for the night were to make it to St. George, UT. Once we got there we found Golden Corral (thanks Golden Corral for your gift cards!). We decided to head to La Verkin which was a little closer to Zion National Park. We did a quick supply run to Walmart (thanks Walmart for your gift card donation! It helps!) We stayed at the Best Western in La Verkin, UT for free due to having accumulated points with hotel.com. Not to shabby. The internet is good tonight so Kelly and I are both happy. I am getting a few maps of rides planned out because who knows when I will have good internet again. Enjoy the plethora of photos and videos. I want y’all to see how beautiful it is.
Night all,
Be Blessed
