Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire is a Nevada state park that is close to Overton. It got its name because of all the beautiful red sandstone formations formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs . We were able to do some hiking around looking for geocaches, and petroglyphs. Many of the rock formations in the park are shaped like familiar objects.

The above picture was taken on the Rainbow Vista road. Named for all the multicolored sandstone.

You can see where the wind made holes in the sandstone cave below.

Colton and I were hiding in the cave below but the other kids found us.

On a hike down to "Mouse's Tank", a natural basin in the rock where water collects after rainfalls sometimes remaining for months, we found petroglyphs on many rocks in the park. The one below looks like an Indian was telling how he went to the dentist to get a root canal. Doesn't it look like a dentist tool and teeth? Grandpa Clark came up with that one.

We saw many rocks shaped like familiar objects. The one below looks like a ship.

Below is "balancing rock".

Does the entrance to the cave below look like an elephant head and trunk?

Below is the rock they do call "elephant rock". See the head with trunk going down to ground?

Below is assumed to be the original entrance to Valley of Fire State Park built over 100 years ago. These cabins are still standing. There are remains of a picnic and BBQ area too.

This is the men's bathroom still standing from the original Valley of Fire entrance. Seems very interesting for the time period. Reminds me of doorless walk-in showers some people have.

4-wheeling in Overton,NV

We spent a lot of time 4-wheeling during our visit with Grandpa and Granny Clark in Overton, NV. One day we road over 40 miles! The kids couldn't get enough. Even though Jayce had a sore eye he wasn't about to be left behind.

We saw a lot of beautiful scenery. One day we rode to the Virgin River. Not much water.

We rode the Logandale Trails and saw lots of red rock and caves to climb in.

We hunted for geocaches while 4-wheeling too. We put in a trackable coin and took out a presidential gold dollar. We saw at least 5 different kinds of cactus. Some looked very wicked and scared me to have the kids too close for fear they would fall on it and get hurt.

And there were lizards everywhere. The horny toad lizard was the most interesting and was camouflaged in the dirt. It froze still when we got close to it. Gramps was even able to pick it up with a stick under it's belly.

Hoover Dam

We were able to go to Hoover Dam over spring break while we were in Southern Nevada. It is such a massive dam. Below, you can see the new bridge that is being built that traffic will use to cross the dam. Looks scary.

Below you can see the white water line on the hills indicating how deep the water used to be. It has really dropped.

Blake's dad joined us as we walked around the dam.

The Hoover Dam is in both Nevada and...

Arizona.

Feeding the carp

An activity that we enjoy when we go to Overton is feeding the carp at Echo Bay at Lake Mead. We brought several bags of bread and it was gone in no time. They were so thick in the water that the ducks could walk on them.

Some were very big but they all were very ugly.

It was a very windy day and I kept telling the kids to stay away from the edge for fear they would fall in.

Silly Colton

Colton is such a happy boy and such a character too. He loves to steal a free horsey ride or wrestle anyone who happens to be crouched on the floor. It doesn't matter who you are or what you are doing... tying your shoes, putting dishes away in the bottom kitchen cupboard, looking under the bed...he will jump on your back. One time he wrestled me to the floor in my church dress. Not a happy mama as we were already running late to church. Lately, Colton calls everyone by silly names like "pizza buddy" and answers yes/no questions with "Yes, sir!" Colton is enjoying his back massage. Jayce was on the floor reading and Colton tackled him.

New move...wrestle someone who is sitting. The other day I overheard Colton tell Blake he needed "wrestle Daddy time". Blake said okay and they wrestled for a while.

Easter

This year we went to Overton, Nevada to spend Easter with Blake's parents. This was also conference weekend so we hunted for eggs before and between sessions. Of course, the Easter Bunny hid eggs for the kids and then they had fun hiding them for each other. During conference, a close family friend, George Keele from Gardnerville,NV was announced as one of the new area seventies. That was exciting for us to hear.

The kids sure had fun coloring and decorating eggs with Granny.

Easter Bunny brought games, puzzles and books this year and cute beanies for Megan.

Megan's new hair cut

Before...

Megan asked her Granny to cut her hair the first night we were in Overton.

And then asked me to cut more off when we got home.

I miss the long hair but the short hair is cute on her.