Fire Valley Part 2

Continuing on the trip in Valley of Fire, I drove to the next stop know as Rainbow Vista. This place is a favorite photo shooting with a panoramic view of multi-colored sandstone. You can’t really see from the photo below but you are actually looking across over 150 million years of time. The great maze of canyons, domes, ridges and valleys in front of you are carved from sand deposited during the time when the dinosaurs walked the earth. You can actually hike nearer to the formations but I chose not to since I was traveling alone, the weather was quite hot and it wasn’t comfortable hiking on sand trails.

Driving further, you’ll have to take a gravel road to reach Fire Canyon/Silica Dome. The name sounded quite interesting to me and I didn’t expect such an amazing rock formation. From the photo below, you can see a distinct line separating the two rock formations. From this place, you will have an excellent view of the deep red sandstone of Fire Canyon and the unique geological features of Silica Dome. You’ll understand what I mean.

This picture shows a closer shot of the red sandstone on the background and the white yellowish Silica Dome in the foreground. What an amazing view!

Driving all the way to the end of the road would be the White Domes, which is an 11-mile (17.7km) round-trip drive from the Visitor Center. Here lie sandstone formations with brilliant contrasting colors; picnic area and trailhead.

There is this Duck Rock which is a short hike away but I forgot to visit the rock formation. Most of this stops offer great views. You don’t usually spend much time at the stops but I guess when you see it with your own eyes, you will appreciate and admire the beauty of the formations even though it’s just a couple of minutes.
There are more interesting sights in Fire of Valley before I head to Zion National Park which is another heaven on earth.