“USA 🇺🇸 ~Nevada at Valley of Fire State Park, Seven Magic Mountains, Excalibur Tournament of Kings For My Birthday, and More!”

• January 26, 2023
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

Valley of Fire State Park ⬇️

We had the best time, enjoying an easy drive out of Vegas on this beautiful sunny day, to visit the Red Rocks! They named this park, perfectly, because upon approach, the rocks do not ”pop” at all, so began to wonder. But, from the west entrance pay station and on, the rocks just burst with color! It was special to experience, and worth the $15.
I’ve seen the Red Rocks in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and now in Utah. They are always a vibrant view to behold!
As an added bonus, today, we got to view several herds of Big Horned Sheep!
They are different from the Big Horned Sheep found in the mountains. (I’ve seen them in the Rocky Mountains). These Sheep are quite hardy to live off, seemingly, scant food and water, and their horns are not as big and curly.

We saw what looked to be the same wildlife in Zion National Park last summer, and there we were told they are called Desert Horned Goats.
So I did some digging:

Valley of Fire State Park was established in 1935, and is located about 58 miles from the Las Vegas Strip in the Mojave (Mo-hah-vee) Desert. It abuts Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the East entrance to the park. The park is 15 miles Southwest of Overton, Nevada, and its elevation varies between 2,000 and 2,600 feet.
Valley of Fire State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area, covering nearly 46,000 acres, and is located 16 miles south of Overton, Nevada. The state park derives its name from red sandstone formations; the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting sand dunes. We spent quite a bit of time driving around on all the scenic drives available. There are hiking trails and some small rig dry camping with a dump station.

⬆️ Visitors Center

The main highway (NV 169) through Valley of Fire State Park, passes many spectacular, eroded rocky scenery, but even better is the six mile White Domes Road, also known as Mouse’s Tank Road, which forks northwards beside the visitor center.

From the Las Vegas Strip:
Take the I-15 North approximately 35-40 miles. Take Exit 75 and head East toward Valley of Fire/Lake Mead.  Drive approximately 17 miles on Valley of Fire to the West Entrance Station.

Seven Magic Mountains ⬇️

We just had to go out and see what these man-made rock formations were all about. This was a fun, if not a bit quirky of an experience!
Upon approach to the rocks, after parking the car, I was unable to visually see and count seven mountains at one time. Even when reaching the stacked colorful rocks, viewing all seven of them at one time was quite challenging! I loved it!
Only when we walked further out into the desert and looked back at the seven rock structures, could we, in fact, see Seven Magic Mountains!
Magical indeed!

Read more, here, about the creation of Seven Magic Mountains:
https://sevenmagicmountains.com/about/

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My Happy Birthday Night in Vegas, Baby! ⬇️

I just love The Tournament of Kings Dinner Show. It was just as good, if not better, than the first time I went; 20 years ago! Dinner was great, and as you can see, I got us good seats. This is “Medieval Times” you know, so no silverware to eat with. We had lots of fun, and were seated “in” the country of France, so we cheered for the French King to win!
The show was 1.5 hours long, and full of excitement: noise, color, fire, and competition. Jousting is my favorite to watch, and of course seeing the beautiful HORSES!
While photography is allowed, flash is not, so I took short videos and made a video compilation. Unfortunately, I’m unable to post video content, here, but I have it posted on my “Bunny Chronicles” Facebook page if you want to look.
Click on:
 https://www.facebook.com/bunnychronicles/ 

 ….and look for this post: ⬇️

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We had planned on going to a few additional shows, while in Las Vegas. Over a thirty year span of visits, I’ve seen many Vegas shows, including several Cirque du Soleils, and I’ve never seen a bad one. For a second booking, we looked at the Cirque du Soleils Michael Jackson music performance, and knew we would love it, BUT NOT FOR THE CURRENT PRICE!!!
If we got way back row from the stage, we could have saved $40, but then we wouldn’t get to see very well. Ha! $400+ Suddenly, we became uninterested. We just could not justify this, since it’s not even the real Michael Jackson. Oh well, maybe another time.
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Enjoying Family and Friends ⬇️

Being near Henderson, NV we are enjoying visiting with friends who live here. Today, we had invited Keith and Darlene over. They surprised me by bringing their daughter Kathy and her husband, David, who came in the night before, from Oregon. Kathy and I went to high school together (she’s a few years younger) as well as did many youth group activities. What memories we share and such a fun surprise!

⬆️ I helped serve tea and coffee at these two love birds wedding reception, 47 years ago! Salts of the earth, right there! ❤️

Kathy and David

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Another surprise visit we had, was by my brother, Dean, his wife Rebecca, and her sister and brother in law; Stephanie and Kevin. They came for quick trip to Vegas and took in a cool helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. We so appreciated them taking time out of their busy vacation to stop by and say hi! I’m still kicking myself because I forgot to take pictures! 🙄

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Las Vegas KOA at Sam’s Town 

Life Happens. Here we go again!
Daryl broke down in Rusty, at a gas station last night, right around the corner from our stay. Tow company came too late to get it to the fix-it shop, so had to bring her back to The Whale for the night.
Round two, this morning, with another tow to pick it up again and get it to the fix-it shop. (looking like a new alternator is in need).
AWESOME! we can get the part! An Alternator is available. No long wait this time. Yay! 🙏

I’m pretty much just begging the VW guy in Arizona, at this point, to get our Bug finished, so we can come pick it up! He says maybe February. (9 months)! Regardless, we decided we are selling Rusty a week before we leave Nevada, with, or without “Jonah” the VW! We will just have to manage. We never planned on keeping Rusty this long!

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