30 Minutes in the Life: March 2014: Leaving Las Vegas

In the life of a photographer, whose art is created in tiny fractions of a second, thirty minutes is a sustained thought.  Thirty, minutes, the length of a child's ballet class, a quick sauce's simmer; a commute, is long enough to witness change and short enough to be over before you know it.  We offer you here our monthly results of thirty minutes of watching and waiting and recording, of rendering permanent those fractions of a second that slip past in the time it takes to watch a television show.  Thirty minutes in the life ~ Sara Kelly

There is something about being a foreigner in a country that never gets easy, and that is not having family around.  It's tough.  My sibling lives in South Africa, Richard's siblings live in Australia.  It is not an easy visiting option either.  So when my brother contacted me and said he was going to be in Las Vegas for a conference and would I be interested in coming through, my answer was absolutely yes.  Family time makes me feel good, and you get to appreciate it so much more when you know it could be another year or two before you see them again.  

So we flew to Las Vegas.....

And, yes the strip was a novelty the first day. The first night it was pretty exciting with all the lights shining.  But novelty soon wears off and the soul is calling for what fills it.  Leaving Las Vegas is just what we did.  

By coincidence I happened to start chatting to a Kiwi  while photographing the fountains at Bellagio Hotel.  If one knows anything about rugby, then you know that there is a friendly rivalry between the Springboks (South Africans) and the Kiwi's (New Zealanders).  Enough said, he was a very informative chap and as we chatted we indicated that we planned to head out to Red Rock in the morning. He made an alternative suggestion to do Valley of Fire - in his words it was "Red Rock on steroids".

So we packed up the car and headed out once again.  The drive was about 40 minutes from Las Vegas and the cost to enter was on a trust system and a minimal amount (based on what everything else costs in Las Vegas).  The property is a National Natural Landmark and extends for approximately 42 000 acres.  

The eco-system is made up or red sandstone as well as limestone, shale and conglomerates.  There is plenty to see and the property is well marked.  Only downside I would say is that there is only a small shop on the site and if you have not had breakfast thinking you would have it there, you are going to be hungry for the next 5 hours.  Take food and water!

We had limited time in the park (due to the fact that the rental car had to be back by 2pm) and so we opted to do one hike through the White Domes.  

What is really nice, is that the 30 minutes in the life weekly theme is "Nature" and I get to be guest judge.  So walk with me as I journey through what I though was some of the most stunning scenery I have been through in a long time, and bear with me, I had a hard time culling photo's.

The start seemed simple enough.  A small hill, some soft sand, and an incredible view ahead.

A little bit about me - I am known to trip over a pebble.  The eye feet coordination is not that great, although I am going to defend myself and say that it is a lot better since I switched out to multifocal contact lens. I can actually see what my feet are standing on.  Suffice to say I was given a strong warning before going on vacation - no fractured arms, no torn ligaments.  I love my office - I had a rough 4 years and they were amazing.  

The land is stark.  Little grows.  Tufts of grass here and there.  Dried out trees dotted in places. This is rock territory.  Hills and hills of multi-layered, multicolored rock.

When the Kiwi told us that this was Red Rock on steroids I could fully understand. I have seen red rock in Colorado, and I loved it, but this was different.  Not only was it red rock, it was white rock, yellow rock, orange rock and purple rock.  It was the color palette in large.

The hike took around 90 minutes in total.  Standing at the top, all I know is I am going down. Don't slip.... Don't break anything, and if you have to break something don't let it be the camera....oops - don't let the office read this either.  

Richard had a bit of fun with Barry climbing down the rock pathway.  This particular point, I have to confess felt a little man made.  Nice neat steps to get us down the roughest part.  But it did not go far and just after that point was a nice stretch of shale.

We're about a third of the way down the climb and the views are just breathtaking.  For a while you just have to stop and breathe it all in and just be in awe of creation.  The various sites I read date this area back 150 million years and to prehistoric tribes named Anasazi, who were thought to be farmers.  We are heading down to the markers below - in fact that is the first sign of any form of direction.

In the bigger scheme of things we are so small, and Richard clearly shows just how small he is in comparison to the rock face.  Note the layers to different colored rock next to him. Just fascinating.

Of course the two men, are way ahead of me simply because I keep stopping to take photographs and they are now tired of waiting for me.  

Finally I reach the bottom, and turn around and look at where I have just come from. Wow!! And Yay!! I made it down without breaking anything. How majestic are these rocks.  I feel like I could have spent more hours exploring them.  

Once we reach the bottom of the hike, we discovered we had to walk up a gully between the rocks.   Mmm didn't we just pass a sign that said "Beware of flash floods"  Thank goodness it is a beautiful sunny day.  Oh well, this is Richard and he takes me into some strange places. And I love every minute of it...after the fact.  

I happened to look up and discovered this tree up top of the rocks and loved the visual I was seeing.  Life in amongst the rocks stretching up to the sky.  Feels kind of like it made it.  

The gully took us through the rock face and it was pretty interesting to see how the area change.  The rocks were closer together.  There was lots of tiny stones on the floor bed.    

Barry felt like I should have at least one photograph of myself on this vacations, so here is yours truly hiking through the Valley of Fire. Of course, I had to climb up on a rock for him to take the photo.  Eye's feet guys. 

The gully suddenly narrowed and you find yourself walking through a passage of high walls. Not quite knowing where you are going while thinking, it is a beautiful day, no flash floods happening today.  

And then comes the tough part.....the ascent.  Oh yes, we got down and now we have to go all the way back up again.  And as we climb the rocks are once again changing color and we find ourselves moving from the red rock, to more of a golden yellow rock as you can see in the distance.  Little did I realize that this ascent would be brief and we would go down again before we would go up.  

Beautiful changing colors.  I cannot help but be impressed.  The scenery is stunning and I am not able to do the full justice it deserves.  Perhaps one day we will find our way back to the Valley of Fire.  And if not there, then I am aiming for Sedona, in Arizona, because I have seen some spectacular photo's of multi-layer, multicolored rock.  

There is so much more, but for my 30 minutes, this is where I leave off.  I am reminded that when we go into these places we should leave them better than what we found them.  And so today, Barry left a little bit of zen behind.  

I hope you enjoyed my 30 minutes of hiking through the White Domes, in the Valley of Fire, near Overton, Nevada.  There is a stillness in there that speaks to my soul.  That leaves me with a sense of peace.  This is more than just a pile of rocks, this is creation at it's finest.  

“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.”  ~ Barry Finlay, Kilimanjaro and Beyond

Don't forget to follow the circle and see what Paige Everson: Sweet Magnolia Photography, NY has for you.