December 13th, 2024
Before I sank my RV down to the frame in gravel, I had been browsing the web to see what interesting things there were to do in the area of Lake Mead. It ultimately didn’t really matter to me if there were any touristy things to do… that is not what I am typically interested in during my travels. However, I knew the Valley of Fire State Park was nearby, but I also knew the last time that I checked the website that it was currently closed. I was perfectly ok just hanging out next to Lake Mead and getting some quiet time alone with God and Danny, but I found myself rechecking the website all the same. Lo and behold, there was news that the park would be reopening on the 16th. This seemed like some pretty coincidental luck, which I know doesn’t exist… so I took it as a sign that I should probably check it out.
I made a reservation for three nights at one of the park’s large RV camping areas which, based on the pictures I found online, were really really cool. Fast forward to today where I have just been extracted from the depths of the earth by a nice young man with a surprisingly strong little truck. The plan is to head into town and resupply. The Lake has been a beautiful place to camp, but the nights have been quite cold and forced me to go through my propane much more quickly then expected. And, of course, I could always use more melons. I headed to Moapa Valley, the only town nearby other than Las Vegas. It’s a nice little town, with the typical frustrating nice-little-town prices… but the people were great and I found everything I needed.
While exiting the grocery store after overpaying for some cantaloupes, a couple of guys pulled up in an SUV and started staring at my RV. I smiled and greeted them and the driver started asking me a barrage of questions about it. Turns out he had just purchased the exact same RV less than an hour ago and was on his way to go pick it up. I gave him the whole rundown on it and told him about all the upgrades I had done and gave him several recommendations. It was a pretty cool encounter all and all. It’s funny how quickly the novelty of something can wear off. To me, this RV is already feeling like a pair of comfortable old shoes. To him, it is a massively exciting new adventure. Meeting someone like this totally rekindles the fire inside of me and gets me excited about this adventure all over again. I think God sends angels like this periodically to refill my passion for this.
After about a half hour of gabbing we said our goodbyes and I hit the road. I decided to stop and check out a spot along the way to Lake Mead called Poverty Flats. It’s basically a big open area atop some desert cliffs along the 169 where many RVers like to go when they are snowbirding. I will admit, I was feeling a bit bashful about going back to Lake Mead and getting stuck again… but this spot also sat right near the entrance to the road into the Valley of Fire park, so I figured it was worth a look.
Poverty Flats was unremarkable, but there was some cool geography to check out and plenty of room. Its not the prettiest spot in Nevada, but there did appear to be some cool cliffs to explore and, since my reservation at the park was just a few days away, I decided it would be just fine for a short stay.
This place actually turned out to be pretty cool. There was a beat up dirt road leading along the cliffs for a couple of miles towards the desert. It was too washed out for RVs to make the trek but it was perfect for an afternoon jog/hike with Danny. The pictures don’t really do it justice, but the cliffs dropped off into a canyon hundreds of feet below on all sides once we made it to the point. It was a spectacular view. It’s always cool to be able to see the earth for miles without another soul in sight.
Of course, there wasn’t a whole lot to do here. There was no grass for frizbee or water for swimming. Just lots and lots of canyons and flat desert. This would be the perfect place for an ATV or dirt bike, but not so much for a Honda road bike like mine. We spent a couple of days here hiking, reading and trying to figure out how to control my drone. Danny especially enjoyed the drone and it’s erratic behavior with me behind the wheel. One nice thing about this spot was the nights were much warmer being inland from the lake so my fears of running out of propane before the end of my stay at the park quickly subsided.
A few short days here and it was time to make the short 20 mile trip to the Valley of Fire. When I made the reservation, there weren’t a lot of spots left. All of the RV campsites with electrical hookups had been taken, which I am well quipped to deal with, but there were only a handful of dry sites left to choose from. I picked the best looking on I could based on the overhead map and just crossed my fingers.
As we drove in to the park I could already see how cool this place was going to be. The desert switched from its typical browns and tans to a shocking array of reds and oranges. It was like a different planet. Like approaching the surface of mars. Massive jagged and broken mountains of red rise up all over crowding each other one on top of the other. Closer up inspection reveals smooth sand structures with flowing patterns and random formations caused by various geological mysteries. This place exists as an anomaly in the middle of a massive desert, a strange concentration of red rock surrounded by nothing similar… almost like a chunk of mars broke off and landed here. It’s pretty cool and I definitely recommend checking it out if you are in the area.
We stopped at the welcome center to get our permits and a map and made our way over to the camping area. As we pulled in to our campsite I was nearly floored when I saw it. I had picked this site because it looked like it was kind of off on its own, away from the rows of sites that existed side by side near the entrance. I couldn’t believe my luck though, this site was absolutely spectacular.
As you can see we scored a pretty sweet spot, nestled in this little canyon surrounded by beautiful red rock formations. Out in the distance you can see the contrast of the normal desert landscape. This RV camping area exists within this sort of satellite island of red rock separate from the main Valley of Fire park area. It has a road that goes all the way around it with plenty of mountains to climb and hike through without any of the typical crowds associated with the main park. Every morning I ran the 4 miles lap around the area with Danny at my side. The first afternoon we were there we went exploring through these mountains and found some pretty cool stuff. Danny was definitely living his best life in a place like this.
You could spend days in this area of the park alone wandering all the little mountain crevices and paths. We began incorporating some of them into our morning run finding little shortcuts to parkour through as Danny raced behind me bounding from rock to rock. He’s really at home in these outdoor environments, whether it be forest, desert or mountain… he just thrives in all of it. It’s a far cry from spending all day in some apartment in northern Idaho. I’m so thankful to have him with me here, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual.
The bulk of our time here, of course, was exploring the park proper. The main park exists in a range of giant red mountains about three miles from the camping area. The road winds up into the mountains and continues for about 10 miles with various stops along the way for sightseeing. There are hiking trails of all difficulty levels carved throughout the range. They lead to vast overlooks, movie filming sites and interesting formations with all sorts of nooks and crannies to slip in and out of.
Some of the rock patterns are just downright mindboggling…
the formations themselves breathtaking…
the vistas nothing less than awe inspiring…
even the nights have an almost haunting beauty all their own.
God certainly is a bit of a showoff, isn’t He?
On these trips, I always find myself trying to figure out why God brought me here. I don’t choose these destinations. I pick a direction, start driving and then let God decide where we are going to end up. Usually, these trips lead me to new relationships and opportunities to serve or help bring a lost soul closer to Him… but this one I think was just for me. I think He wanted to show me something beautiful that He did. Show me something that I never would have seen if it weren’t for Him showing up to save me. I was a dead man walking. I had completely given up on life… doomed to die in front of the TV with a beer in my hand, or worse. It will never cease to amaze me how much He has transformed my life in such a short time. Anyone reading this who doubts the power of God let me put your fears to rest. I stand as a witness… living, breathing proof of His power to help us. He loves you, and He can change you. He wants to save you. He knew you before you were born, He put you here for a reason. His greatest desire is your joy and your love.
While out here I became inspired to make a new video. A wiser man then myself once told me that you should be able to deliver your testimony in 5 minutes. As you likely already know, I have a long version of my testimony available to view here on the site from my time with the pastors of Calvary Chapel Salmon. This video is a much more condensed version of my testimony for those that don’t have 45 minutes to hear my life story. Then again, if you like it, there is always the longer version where you can hear me go into more detail about how I got where I am today. So below is my 5 minute testimony, which is about 7 minutes long… hah! I tried!
And with that, another journey is in the books. As much as it pains me to leave this beautiful place and perfect weather, it is time to venture back north to Boise to join my family for Christmas and New Years. This has been quite an experience… God really is a master artist, and one heck of a tour guide.
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
Genesis 1:31