Silica Dome

Ron Niebrugge Nevada, Photos, Travel 1 Comment

Silica Dome, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Silica Dome, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

This was last night in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada as I get ready for two back to back weekend tours.

Valley of Fire Photography Tour

Ron Niebrugge Nevada, Photos, Travel 2 Comments

Fire Wave, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Fire Wave, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Since our first Valley of Fire Tour Photography Tour filled so quickly, we added a second weekend, and now there is only one spot left for it.  So if you are interested, contact us soon.

This tour begins with a welcome dinner on Friday night, includes permits for night photography on Saturday night, and finishes after sunset on Sunday night.  This beautiful park contains lots of amazing scenery, and even the chance to see and photograph desert bighorn.  So far, both weekends are all people I have done trips with in the past, so I know they are going to be really fun groups!   Here are more details:  Valley of Fire Tour Photography Tour.

Vally of Fire Photo Tour – Second Weekend

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A hiker in the Valley of Fire State Park, near Vegas, Nevada.

A hiker in the Valley of Fire State Park, near Vegas, Nevada.

Since the first Valley of Fire Photo Tour filled so quickly, we have decided to add a second weekend, and that one is also beginning to fill.  This Park is closed at night, but I have secured permits to photograph on Saturday night which should be a lot of fun.  So if you want to learn more about night photography, or are interested in seeing this amazing park, check out this page for more information:  Valley of Fire Photo Tour.

Valley of Fire Road

Ron Niebrugge Nevada, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

Road through Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Road through Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

It is easy to see why this stretch of road is used in many TV commercials – one of the more dramatic stretches of road anywhere.

Techatticup Mine

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Inside one of the many buildings at the Techatticup Mine, South of Boulder, Nevada.

Inside one of the many buildings at the Techatticup Mine, South of Boulder, Nevada.

Yesterday we visited historic Techatticup Mine, near Boulder  Nevada.  I have visited this area in the past, but must say, Dean and has family have done a wonderful job restoring this historic place.  There is so much old stuff to see, you could spend hours.  This site has hosted countless music video shoots for the bands like The Killer’s, Beyonce and Luke Bryan, not to mention numerous movies.    This time, for the first time, we did mine tour – definitely well worth the $12!   Next time you are in Laughlin or Las Vegas looking for something to do, I would put a visit here high on the list!

 

Nevada Wildflower Report

Ron Niebrugge Nevada, Photos, Travel 1 Comment

Wildflowers, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

Wildflowers, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

In general, I would say Southern Nevada is much greener and has more wildflowers then what we found in California.  There aren’t the huge fields like us photographers like, but some very nice pockets here and there.

Valley of Fire State Park had the best, especially in some of the cooler, shady pockets – I found one particularly nice area in the back-country.  In general, the brittlebush was the best, and blooming along the highway in spots. There was beaver-tail blooming a many places as well.   In addition, I also found some desert gold, phacelia, rabbitbush and even two weakstem mariposa.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area also had a few blooms here and there.  There were some nice bunches of desert sunflowers near the North end of the park.  The best area was just passed Mile 38 where there was an abundance of blooming beavertail cactus on both sides of the road.

Valley of Fire

Ron Niebrugge Nevada, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

A place I call the Sherbert Hills, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

A place I call the Sherbert Hills, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.

We spent the last few days camping and exploring around Valley of Fire.  I remember first stumbling on this amazing geological feature many years ago while exploring Valley of Fire – I was so excited.  I searched high and low on the internet, and at the time couldn’t find another image of this place, so I kinda feel like I discovered it even though I’m sure I didn’t.

So discoveries like this were part of my motivation for returning to VOF to look for more.  We did a few long hikes into the back-country and found lots of cool things like animal bones, tracks and just cool remote land, but nothing that compares to this discovery at least photographically.  Guess I’ll need to go back!

I say we camped in Valley of Fire, but it was actually full thanks to Spring Break, so we camped nearby in Echo Bay, part of Lake Mead Recreation Area – a place time has forgotten as it is almost a bit of a modern day ghost town.  But, I have much faster internet on my phone out here 30 miles from the nearest business then I did right in Las Vegas!  Go figure.

Here are lots more Valley of Fire Photos.