Silica Dome At Valley Of Fire State Park

I realized that we had a TON of pictures from our time spent at Valley of Fire State Park. So I am splitting them up by different hikes and such that we did.

So here it goes….

Silica Dome in the Valley of Fire State Park is a 2800 foot dome (at least that’s what our GPS said when we reached the top) that at some points is a pretty steep climb to the top.

Looking at it from the parking lot it doesn’t look so bad.  A nice incline to the top.  Boy, were we wrong.  It does start out nice.  However it quickly turns steep and at some points you are leaning into the dome with both hands to get up to the top.

Once you make it to the top…WOW!  What a view.  You have a 360 degree view of the deep red sandstone that make up Fire Canyon as well as a unique perspective of the geological formations that make up Silica Dome.

We sat and had a snack. Enjoyed the views. Took a ton of pictures.

OH!!! Speaking of pictures. David remembered that our new camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3, has a 3D option. Basically, you can put the camera in 3D mode, take a picture, and it converts the picture to 3D. Of course you need a 3D television to view them on…and we do. So we were taking most of our pictures in 3D. Not only does it take a 3D picture but it also takes a regular picture too. So you don’t have to scroll through the options on the camera and take two different kinds of pictures. So that’s nice too.

You know how people say the pictures do not do this justice? How you really can not get a good feel for what it was like being there? Well, when you are viewing the pictures in 3D, you can really get a feel for the depth and awesomeness of the subject matter. So if you are lucky enough to find us on the road and you’d like to see these pictures, in 3D, just ask. We’d love to show you! You’ll never look at pictures the same.

So after a nice rest I had an idea.

Being in a state park, we are truly out in the middle of nowhere.  So no cell reception unless you are up high on a peak somewhere.  While sitting on the top of Silica Dome I decided to check the cell phones.  Low and behold we actually had 3 bars!  So I said, we have to call someone, just to say we did.  So David called his best friend Joe, back in Rochester, NY.

After a short call, we headed back down.

Another beautiful day of hiking.  One thing you have to remember while hiking out here, or really anywhere.  Here you are out in the desert, it may be wintertime and cooler (60’s), but you still need to hydrate yourself.  Never go on a hike without the proper gear and water is a must.  No matter how long or short you think you may be.  We had our full packs on with plenty of water.  And hiking boots with some type of ankle support is a must.

When we got back to the campground we had an early dinner and watched the sun set behind the mountains.