Photography by Gavin Adams » Valley of Fire

Tilting Rocks to the Horizon

gadams — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:50:01 +0000

Snuggled in near a sheer face of sandstone, looking out you can see the various layers of rock, desert and the far Mormon Mesa. This was taken in mid-morning with no one around. A very peaceful place and one of contemplation.

This is last of images from the Valley of Fire. I’ll do a recap of all the great images taken there soon!

A Pocket of Fire

gadams — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:11:57 +0000

The Valley of Fire sits in the muted browns, grays, and whites of the Nevada desert. This playground of nature has many areas, but Rainbow Vista is my favorite. This was taken from a spot, know to my friends as The Top of the World. It has a great views both up and down the canyons.

This is look North towards the White Domes, Duck Rock (red beyond) and then the boring ‘ol desert beyond that. The road on the right is the park access road for the Rainbow Vista area. Although this spot is only a mile or so from the road, it is quiet and peaceful. Normally the only sound heard is from commercial jets or those few military craft coming from Nellis AFB.

Layers

gadams — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:53:02 +0000

Turn up the contrast and saturation! Veins pulse through the various layers of sandstone. It is amazing the amount of layers and changes in mineral deposits you can see. And the changes from red to white to purple and so on. Only then to do realize you’re looking a one foot high sample of a sandstone dome that sits 400′ above the ground, which in turn is hundreds to thousands of feet still buried in the surrounding dirt.

Ms. Terra is one complex lady.

Pet Cemetery

gadams — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:01:34 +0000

Looking up, this cross caught my eye–it would be hard not to notice something man made in the middle of a sandstone forest. Reading the local log book, this is a tribute to a fellow hikers canine companion that had recently passed away. This is in remembrance of him.

The application of heavy tone mapping brings out the natural textures of the rock.

Base Camp

gadams — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:46:42 +0000

Just beyond this natural arch is “Base Camp”, which is one of the stopping points for off-trail hikes in the Valley of Fire. At one of the highest points, it is a good location for side hikes and photographic vistas from the old “Parking Lot” back to the White Domes. Also, the arch and the way it is sheltered from all sides provide shade even during summer hikes where the temperature can exceed 110 degrees F.

A log book (volume 2) is located in an ammo box brought up by the illustrious Shube. That hike his wine bottles were carried by pack mules. If you make it up this way, sign in! It’s great to see all those who have signed the log book and left the area clean of trash. The phrase “Take only pictures, leave only footprints” is something I try to live by.

Basking in the Sunrise

gadams — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:43:32 +0000

Brisk morning air and rock warming in the sun. Climbing out of the canyons the upper rocks start to wake.

Waypoint

gadams — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:35:24 +0000

Hike in any one area long enough and you’ll come up with your own set of waypoints for a trail. In this case, the buttress marks the exit point to where I parked. I love this part of the trip as the colors in the foreground differ so much from those in the sunlight. The little ridges seem to lead you to the top of the buttress, although I’ve yet to find a way to the top.

This area of Rainbow Vista is also where you start coming out of the slot canyons and upper areas. One second it’s dead silent, the next you’re looking at the valley with the access road. It’s still super quiet but now you’re back in “civilization”.

Rainbow Vista Moonlight

gadams — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:20:56 +0000

The Valley of Fire is one of my favorite hiking locations near to Las Vegas, Nevada. Located less than an hour from town (well, north side of the Vegas valley), the Valley of Fire (VoF) is a truly outstanding place to get travel through for a change of scenery, hike, or just get lost for a few hours to a full day. There are a good core of dedicated hikers (more in future image posts) that come out here in a weekly basis when the weather is mild. In told, I’ve hiked here 20-30 times a year while living in Las Vegas.

I first visited the park back when I was in Boy Scouts, but the activities we did back then were close to the trail. Some of my DoE co-workers showed me some of the best day hike locations in the park I’ve yet to see. We’re talking massive buttes and other sandstone structures, but without the crowds you see in Zion, Bryce, or other “National” parks. By bushwhacking through the different cuts between formations, you get an understanding of the layout. That makes it easy to either climb to the Top of World or Hole in the Rock (Eye of the Iguana), or meander into unknown areas knowing you are no more that 90 minutes from seeing the access roads.

Ironically, the VoF is used in a lot of movies and tons of commercials. If you ever see a car commercial where the car is cruising down a piece of dark black asphalt surrounded by sandstone, odds are it was videoed in the VoF. the last scenes of Star Trek Generations were filmed here too (Silica Domes area).

For the upcoming series, I started the hike at a very odd time-sunrise. We normally would roll into the park around 10:00 o’clock in the morning, as that gives the rock some time to warm up and for the sun to be high in the sky for photography (good for some panorama shots). In this instance, I paid the entrance fee at the self-serve location and when I parked on the Rainbow vista road, was the only person there.

I was able to catch just the last bits of the full moon before it went down in the west. Morning colors are very different as their is a lot of refraction from Lake Mead, which located due east of the park and where this photo was taken.