We spent a week at the end of March at Valley of Fire State Park, which is about an hour northeast of Las Vegas. It’s a beautiful place that screams red, from the desert sand under your feet to the gorgeous rock formations throughout the park. We were also lucky to have been there at the right time; we’re witnessing a banner spring for the deserts of the Southwest. At Valley of Fire, there were wildflowers everywhere, and, in addition to the colorful flowers, there was a nearly indescribable symphony of green on top of the red. We tried hard to capture the essence and the beauty of this pretty place.

We set up camp on a gorgeous March morning in the camp.

Across from our camp

These wildflowers were everywhere in the park.

More

This rock formation had terraces of green.

End of the day

Moonrise

The full moon was so bright, I was able to capture the rocks at night.

Near Rainbow Vista

Cactus blooms

Cactus

We happened upon a few early blooms on these cacti.

View of camp from the rocks above.

Rick is lord of all he surveys.

Beautiful sunset in the green valley.

Looking for the Arrowhead Trail. One of the things about the park that we didn’t like was the paucity of trail markers.

Susan heads out on the Arrowhead Trail

Last rays of the sun on our final night in the park.

After sunset.

Another view of camp.