Story by Nicole

For the last weekend in April, we went to my Dad’s new house in Mesquite, Nevada (about an hour east of Las Vegas, and close to the Arizona and Utah borders). If you’d like to visit Nevada and look at all the pretty rocks, but don’t want to endure ridiculous heat, April is a pretty nice time to go. The temperature was in the 60s and 70s with spotty rain and clouds. We flew into Vegas on Friday night and flew out on Sunday night, so it was a quick trip.

On Saturday, we visited Valley of Fire State Park, which is known for its landscapes of large, unusually shaped red rocks. The rainstorm was always visible on the horizon, but we never got much of it where we were. The first place we visited was the Rainbow Vista Trail, which led to a beautiful view of Fire Canyon. Because of all the recent rain, there were a surprising number of green plants covering the sandy landscape. The dogs enjoyed sniffing bushes and climbing rocks.

A storm rolls in over the Valley of Fire State Park (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole and Tilly pose on some rocks (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Trying to get the dogs to pose together (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Tilly and Mocha finally cooperate (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Tilly and Nicole climb down off a rock that was a little too high for Tilly’s taste (Photo/Jason Rafal)

When some rain arrived and drove us back into the car, we drove up White Domes road to see more of the dramatic scenery. The rocks aren’t just red—there is a lot of yellow, and we even found some purple veins. The landscape is simultaneously very beautiful and very harsh.

The storm passes by close to the park (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Christina makes her way from the parking lot (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After consulting the Visitors Center, we headed to Mouse’s Tank Trail to find some petroglyphs. The sign at the trailhead instructed us in possible ways to interpret the different petroglyphs. Everyone’s favorite was the Mystical Bat Woman, but alas, we were never able to spot a Mystical Bat Woman in the wild. We hypothesized that she may have mystically stolen her own likenesses.

Mocha and Britt among the petroglyphs (Photo/Jason Rafal)

On Sunday, after we had brunch with my family at a casino, we headed up to a mesa in Britt’s truck. The road to the top of the mesa is a one-way, rough, and sometimes steep dirt road. It’s ideal for four wheelers, but fairly challenging in a full-size vehicle.

Partway up the mesa (Photo/Jason Rafal)

At the top of the mesa, there are several dirt roads crisscrossing the somewhat flat top. There are several dramatic cliffs to look off of, and there is a lovely, prickly forest of Joshua trees.

The Harrisons consider a Joshua tree (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A baby Joshua tree (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Nicole at the top of the mesa (Photo/Jason Rafal)

In the end, we had a lovely quick trip that got us away from Denver’s spring snow.