It took us about 1 1/2 hours to drive to the east entrance of the park. We visited the very nice Visitor Center, watched a brief film, and picked up sandwiches for lunch. On the advice of the ranger, we took the White Dome scenic drive. He noted they were advising people not to hike today due to the high heat. The temperature was over 100. The road passes a number of rock formations, many a vibrant red in color (where the park gets its name), and further in on the drive, white formations, some with pink mixed in to the coloring. Lots of unusual formations. Very pretty.
We ran into two women from Asheville, NC, at several of the scenic stops. They were on their first trip to the West, and were just so excited and amazed at the beauty of the area. Always great to see!
On our return trip on the White Domes drive, we spotted a pair of bighorn sheep up on the rocks by the edge of the road, and were able to get a shot. It was great to see the same species we had seen earlier in Glacier in such a very different environment- in Glacier it was cool, very high elevation of over 10,000 feet. Here it was over 100 degrees and an elevation between 2000 and 3000 feet. Just amazing how adaptable animals can be. Yet, on the other hand, some species can be very specific as to the environment they require to survive.
We returned to St. George in mid-afternoon. St. George is a dynamic small city of almost 75,000 at an elevation of 2840. In spite of the elevation, it is in a valley and gets very hot in the summer. Normal days can be close to or over 100 degrees. I settled in to our hotel room to work on the blog- someone has to do it!- while Dale went searching for new sneakers. A relaxing afternoon. We planned to return north on I-15 tomorrow to see Cedar Breaks National Monument.
I'm back home now in North Carolina and have really enjoyed reading of your adventures ! Thank you for mentioning us ! What wonderful memories of the Valley of Fire State Park. Great pictures !
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