Surprises and Striations at Valley of Fire State Park

In my last post, I left off with a photo of Elephant Rock at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. If you only have time to visit one natural area during a trip out that way, this is a good one because there's so much to see. It's about 45 miles northeast of downtown Las Vegas.

As this sign describes, Valley of Fire was Nevada's first state park, and it included 8,760 acres (now it includes more than 40,000 acres). While we hiked in other natural areas near Vegas, we drove during most of our tour of this park.



There were some surprises during our day, including several patches of Silver Leaf Senna (S. artemisioides). I didn't really have preconceived ideas about the plants we would see, but this one was lovely and colorful against the red rock.



Another surprise was how close the bighorn sheep were to the road. It wasn't difficult at all for me to simply roll down the window and click a few photos of the regal creatures. While I'd seen them before during other trips, I believe this was the closest I've been to them in the wild.



We knew about the petroglyphs in the area, but there were so many and they were easily accessible during stops along the driving tour.



This set of historic cabins was built for travelers with Valley of Fire sandstone by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The cabins are nifty to explore, both inside and to view the scenes around them.



Another surprise: this petrified log from millions of years ago.



This sign explained its transformation from wood to stone. Other info described it as an "ancient pine" that grew near the park during the Age of Reptiles, about 150 million years ago.

Other fun finds at Valley of Fire included the red rock formations, including Elephant Rock shown at the beginning of this post. Many were marked and named, but I didn't take photos of all the signs.



There were naturally formed caves,



Rock ranges poking out of the sandy soil,



And stratified, striking rock structures, formed from compressed and cemented ancient sand dunes.

Many of the formations resembled animals and other living creatures:



A rabbit?



Some type of alien creature?



A horse eating vegetation?

There were so many amazing views, just a few included here:

The rock formations and scenes were fascinating and awe-inspiring, both close up and wide angle. I'm remembering this trip with great fondness--for many reasons, including the pure beauty of it. Highly recommended.

Wordless Las Vegas Area 'Arrangements'

Colorful mixed planting at the hotel

Buxus sempervirens and Cyclamen persicum

Ferocactus cylindraceus at Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area

Pelargonium × hortorum and Viola × wittrockiana

Senna artemisioides at Valley of Fire State Park

Mixed planting along 'The Strip'

Yucca schidigera and desert view at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

'Flowers' on the Sphere

Nevada Highlights: Plant Treasures at Springs Preserve Botanical Garden

We're recently back from a trip to Nevada, where we enjoyed both exploring natural areas and sightseeing in urban Las Vegas. One highlight was a visit to the Botanical Garden at Springs Preserve. As always, I could have spent many more hours exploring the plant collections, but our brief visit was educational and fun.



One plant that really caught my eye, was the four-colored Opal Flower (Lachenalia aloides var. quadricolor). I think I've seen this plant before; perhaps during travels to other warm climates, or on another blogger's post. In any case, it's certainly colorful and fascinating. It's native to southern Africa.

The botanical garden has an amazing collection of cacti and desert succulents, both around the various trails and in its Cactus Alley display. A few examples:



California Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)



Thistle Cholla (Cylindropuntia tunicata)



Argentine Giant (Echinopsis candicans)



Silver Torch (Cleistocactus strausii)



Cottontop Cactus (Echinocactus polycephalus var. polycephalus)

Pincushion Cactus (Mammillaria pseudoperbella)

Parry's Agave (Agave parryi var. parryi)



Springs Preserve's water system is designed to be self-sustaining--collecting gray water for treatment and recycling for plant irrigation.



The Palm Garden offers shade and a welcoming resting spot.



During our visit, the botanical garden also had sweet displays of common garden plants, including potted Pansies (Viola spp.) and Kale (Brassica oleracea).



Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus)



Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus)

Other interesting plants of note:



Upright Myrtle Spurge (Euphorbia rigida), popular with the bees, ants, and other pollinators.



Peach blossoms (Prunus persica), with their lovely, delicate beauty.



Texas Virgin's Bower (Clematis drummondii), native to the Southwestern U.S.



'Spring Bouquet' Viburnum (V. tinus), delicate and fresh, and also popular with the pollinators.

And Desert Bluebells (Phacelia campanularia): Who can resist that bright, true blue?

It was a lovely afternoon visit. If I'm ever in the Las Vegas area again, I'll make sure to stop by this fabulous botanical garden for more exploration.