The Fire Wave in Valley of Fire State Park during a New Moon hike, Nevada

 While Bob was attending the Natural Arch and Bridge Society's Spring 2023 Arch Rally, centered in and around Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, he took advantage of a New Moon Hike event by the park to visit the Fire Wave at sunset and during the evening.

The Fire Wave is a sandstone formation of alternating red and light colored layers.

The park lined the path to the Fire Wave with red LED votive lights and Bob's guessing used the blue LED lights in the photo to highlight the high peak right of center.  The streak in the upper center is an airplane.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Desert bighorn ram near Arch Rock Campground, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

 Bob was looking through video clips from a trip we took back in December 2017 when he found video of a desert bighorn ram walking past the entrance to the Arch Rock Campground in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.  He cropped this frame from the video, since it seemed to show the ram the best.

The bighorn sheep in this park seem to be used to visitors enough at least to not mind being seen by humans.  They sometimes hang around the campground area for a long time.

One of their adaptations of living in the desert is that they can go without water for longer times than other bighorn sheep in wetter areas.  Valley of Fire State Park only averages about 4 inches of rain each year.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Bob, Photographer at Work Doing Night Photography Under the Big Dipper

 Here's Bob working to get night-time photography shots in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. Rick noticed the Big Dipper over his head and asked him to pose for this shot. It was accomplished by making a long exposure to get the stars and briefly flashing a flashlight on Bob's position. We were camped at the Arch Rock Campground.

Focal length 25.0 mm, ISO 1600, shutter speed 1 second, f8

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Hinkey Summit Arch, Nevada, looking down through the arch

 

This is a natural arch in Nevada that you're looking down through to the road below. This is Hinkey Summit. We were able to follow a short side road off of the main dirt road in order to get above the opening. Rick drove from the main road up the side road while Bob hiked up to the arch from the main road and met Rick after scrambling through the opening.

Here's Bob standing at the base of the arch looking up through it. Later on, he scrambled up through the opening and met Rick on the upper side.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

A female Great tailed Grackle at Boulder Beach Campground, Lake Mead National Recreation Area

 

Bob was on a trip through the southwestern desert when he stayed at the Boulder Beach Campground of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.  Every morning and evening the great tailed grackles would fly through the campground foraging or looking for a place to roost or whatever.  They are very noisy, boisterous birds with a variety of calls.  He eventually managed to photograph this female as it perched on a creosote bush branch.

This was shot with a 400mm zoom lens and then heavily cropped to bring out the details of this bird.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Desert bighorn sheep on red sandstone, Valley of Fire, Nevada

During a camping trip to Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada, a desert bighorn sheep strolled by the campground where we staying. After we followed it for a while, it joined a herd of about 20 consisting of a mix of females and yearlings. At one point, the male scrambled effortlessly up a red sandstone outcrop to get a better view of the terrain and might have checked for predators in the area, before continuing.

Canon EOS 70D, 250 mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/350 sec., f/11. This image has been cropped a little tighter to improve composition.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Fly Geyser, geothermal feature in Nevada

We went on a tour of the Fly Ranch on October 20, 2018. The tour includes the world-famous Fly Geyser. It was the result of an attempt to drill into the geothermal area in 1964 to generate electricity but it didn't work out. The feature has been building up minerals ever since. That's 54 years! At the rate of 6-8 inches (15 - 20 cm) per year. It isn't a true geyser, though, because there is never a quiet period, since it's spouts water continuously. We've looked it up and learned that the proper name for this feature is a "perpetual spouter." We counted 5 spouts at the top.

Unfortunately the right side of this formation was shot at, leaving it looking crumbled.

Settings were ISO 100, f16, 1/45 sec, with a 35 mm focal length with a polarizer.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Fly Geyser, Gerlach, Nevada

After knowing of the existence of this geothermal feature in northern Nevada for a number of years, from photos in photo magazines, we finally got to go on a tour of this private ranch to see the Fly Geyser up close and personal.  This feature resulted from a geothermal test well drilled in 1964 that was either never capped or was capped improperly and has been spouting hot water into the air ever since.

The cone has formed from deposition from the mineral-rich water cooling as it emerged and is growing at a rate of 6 to 8 inches per year.  This is a phenomenal rate for a geyser.  But, then again, this is not a true geyser.  A true geyser has a quiet phase and an eruption phase.  We've checked the terms for geothermal features and it looks like perpetual spouter would be the most accurate term for it.  In any case, this mound of mineral deposits and brightly-colored algae growing on this cone is a spectacular sight.

These photos were taken with an eclipse filter on the lens to force a long shutter speed of 30 seconds and f16 and it produces a silky look for the five spouts of water emerging from the top of the cone.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Arch Rock in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada at night

This is Arch Rock in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, taken at night.  We posted a photo of the "backside" of this arch in a recent post, also a night shot.  This photo is from the road side of the arch.

Bob took this photo with a 30 second exposure, while Rick used a military grade flashlight to "paint" the arch and its surrounding formation.  The f/stop was 16 and the ISO was set at 3200.

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The backside of Arch Rock at Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada at night

This is the rather generically-named Arch Rock between the two campground units at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas.  Bob believes that a better name for this arch could be Fire Arch.  We posted a couple of photos of this arch in an earlier post, but we visited it again in December 2017 during a winter break trip.  Unfortunately, too many people were abusing the arch by climbing on it, so now the park prohibits anyone from climbing anywhere near it.

This photo is of the side of the arch away from the road between the campground units and was taken at night by Bob with the settings of f/16, 30 seconds, and ISO 6400 with a zoom lens set at 100 mm on a full frame sensor Canon camera.  Rick used his military grade flashlight to "paint" the arch with light during the exposure.

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Chuckwalla posing at Valley of Fire

A chuckwalla lizard poses for the camera at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. We saw this critter along the trail out to the park's equivalent to the "Wave", pictures of which we posted earlier. We don't know if it was curious about us so that's why it hung around, but it could have been disturbed by the kids pointing him out to their parents and by us looking him over and taking some good photos, but it didn't seem to mind.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

The Fire Wave in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Another look at the feature called The Fire Wave in the Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada.  You can reach it by a short hike from a well-marked trailhead. The rangers referred to it as their version of "The Wave." The hike was only about a mile and it was during spring break, so there were lots of hikers on the trail.  We had to wait our turn to get pictures of the "wave" without any other people in the picture. The outcrops in Valley of Fire consist of a mix of bright red Aztec sandstone and gray and tan limestone.

The Valley of Fire State Park is significant for all the Star Trek fans out there. This was the location where "Star Trek Generations" was filmed. This is the movie where Captain Kirk and Captain Picard meet and have to work together to defeat an evil scientist. At the end, Kirk dies and Picard ends up burying him.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Valley of Fire, Nevada, has its own "wave"

This feature in the Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada, is along a short hike from the road. The rangers referred to it as their version of "the wave". Instead of being in a slot canyon, though, this feature is right out in the open, down a slope. The hike was only about a mile and there were lots of people there, we had to wait our turn to get pictures of the "wave" without any other people in the picture. We also got pictures of a chuckwalla lizard near here. The road is off to the right out of view. Other people continued beyond the "wave" and looked at other features. It appears to be sedimentary rock that has been eroded by the wind as it swirls around.

The Valley of Fire State Park is significant for all the Star Trek fans out there. This was the location where "Star Trek Generations" was filmed. This is the movie where Captain Kirk and Captain Picard meet and have to work together to defeat an evil scientist. At the end, Kirk dies and Picard ends up burying him.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Chuck-walla you lookin' at?

A chuckwalla lizard checking out the people along the trail to the feature called the Fire Wave, at Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada. The Fire Wave was actually right behind me as I took this lizard's picture. There was a family up the slope looking down on it and they let us know about its presence. It seemed quite content to stay where it was and allow time for us to take plenty of pictures.  Chuckwalla lizards store fat on their sides so it makes them look "chubby". Other lizards, like the Gila monster, stores fat in its tail. Chuckwallas also can inflate their bodies with air to wedge themselves into a crack in the rock so that predators can't dislodge them.

The Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada, is also famous with Star Trek fans. It served as the setting for the planet Veridian III in "Star Trek Generations", the one in which Captain Kirk dies and Captain Picard buries him.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Lehman Cave in Great Basin National Park, Nevada

During the 2017 Spring Break, we went to visit the Great Basin National Park in Nevada. It's not nearly as well known as many other parks, but it's the biggest National Park unit in Nevada. It used to be called Lehman Cave National Monument, but it was enlarged and made a National Park in 1986.

The Park Service offers cave tours to help show the features of the cave while also protecting them. The natural entrance is no longer used for entering and exiting the cave, instead, you enter and exit through separate tunnels that are sealed with doors at both ends. We tended to be the last ones to move along the tour since we took lots of photos.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Lexington Arch in the south end of Great Basin National Park in Nevada

Lexington Arch is a limestone arch in the southern part of Great Basin National Park in Nevada.  To get here you have to drive on dirt roads and then hike about a mile and a half on a rugged trail.  The fact that this arch is composed of limestone is very noteworthy, since most of the arches in the West occur in sandstone.  The fact that this rock span occurs in limestone may mean that it was once part of a cave that has eroded away.  Or it may be that the stream that carved Lexington Canyon carved this span when the canyon was much shallower, in which case this arch would actually be a natural bridge.

Remember it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Hinkey Summit Arch, Humboldt/Toiyabe National Forest, north of Winnemucca, Nevada

 This is a natural arch formed in granite.  It is located in the Santa Rose Range of the Humboldt/Toiyabe National Forest north of Winnemucca, Nevada.  According to the late Robert Vreeland, a geologist who cataloged many of the natural rock spans of the United States, this is a young, cave-type arch.  It has a span of 20 feet, a height of 15 feet, a thickness of 40 feet, and a width of 15 feet.  The top of the arch is over 8000 feet in elevation.

Natural rock spans are a particular interest of ours and we have traveled to many parks and wildlands looking for them.  Although this arch doesn't have an official name, we would like to call it the Hinkey Summit Arch, after the nearest named feature.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Arch Rock near campground, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada is a geologists' and photographers' dream.  Among the red sandstone formations are a number of natural arches, including this one called Arch Rock near the park's campground.  In fact, this arch can be seen from the Campground Road at a parking area between the park's two camping units a short distance past the turnoff for Atlatl Rock.  This is not the view you'll get of the arch from the parking area, however.  Bob climbed up to and through the arch and turned around to get this view of it.

And here's a photo of Bob standing under the arch and touching the underside with his tripod to give you an idea of how big it is.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Natural Arch in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada is a geologists' and photographers' dream.  Among the red sandstone formations are a number of natural arches, including this one near the Beehives area near the western entrance to the park.  Looking like the landing gear on a big helicopter, this buttress type natural arch is very delicate looking and may not last much longer geologically speaking.  It has a span of 10 feet, a height of 8 feet, a thickness of only ten inches, and a width of 22 inches.  The arch is visible from the park road at the left end of a large outcrop.

Update: We visited Valley of Fire State Park the last week of 2017 and I, Bob, looked for this arch, but couldn't find it.  I emailed the state park about this arch after the trip and they responded saying that this arch was between the Beehives and the West Petrified Logs, but it collapsed many years ago, so this arch is gone.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.