Just an hour away from the Las Vegas glitz is Valley of Fire State Park. We'd hiked here before, but Becky, David's mum, had never visited, so we took a short daytrip today to rectify that situation. It was a scorcher...reached 100F just after Noon ... and the desert certainly seemed to concentrate the heat. No matter, we were air-conditioned as we drove the park roads where the best of the magnificent red sandstone rock formations were easily visible from the car. There's no doubt why it was named Valley of Fire...truly, the red is so brilliant, especially against a clear, blue sky, it's nearly surreal. Wildflowers were in bloom. Bright yellow desert marigolds lined the road, contrasting beautifully with purple desert lupine and scarlet globe mallow. Rabbitbrush, sage and mesquite each contributed their own colors to the desert palette. Lizards sunned themselves on huge rocks and white-tailed antelope ground squirrels scampered under anything that might provide some shade.

This mini-trip has whetted our appetites for our upcoming odyssey which will intentionally include as many national parks and monuments as we can manage.