Day 1: This Valley is on FIRE!!!!

Day Zero (no dedicated blog this time) was a long one. I left Midland at 5:30 pm and didn't get to sleep till well after midnight...a combination of a long flight from Detroit, a 2-1/2 hr layover, a 3-hour time change, and of course the normal delays associated with getting your bags, etc. Plus, I had on my agenda to grab a night picture of the modern Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, which was designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry (who also designed the Disney Concert Hall in LA). The building was much smaller than I had expected and a tad bit underwhelming (possibly because I was tired), but I did manage to grab a few images.

When I got to my hotel, the the door to the office was locked. The instructions on the door said to press the video "doorbell" like you see advertised. The person on the other end told me that I needed to drive up the street to another hotel to check in. That was a first, but what the hey! After checking in and getting my key (which was quite a convoluted process), I discovered that he had actually given me the wrong key. Someone was already in the room! So back I went up the street to get the right key.

Eventually I got settled into my room. The room wasn't too bad despite the unique decor (see photo below), and the clock radio was actually an 8-track tape player. But, the motel wasn't necessarily in the best part of town. I wasn't afraid, but let's just say I couldn't wait get out of there the next morning. I have this thing for staying on cheapo hotels when traveling alone, but I may have outdone myself this time!

I was out the door before 6 am and headed north to Valley of Fire State Park. Valley of Fire is an incredibly spectacular park, rivaling many national parks in my opinion. The scenery is absolutely amazing! I had originally planned to hit this park at the end of my trip but for a number of reasons it made more sense to do it first. I actually got there a little later than I had hoped (it is about an hour drive from Las Vegas), and I had trouble finding the trail to my first shooting location. As a result, I lost some of the first light in the morning. Nonetheless, I managed to get some good shots. See below.

By mid-afternoon, the sun was hot, the number of people in the park had increased significantly, and I was tired. So, I packed it up and headed to my hotel in Beatty, NV, the Atomic Inn, my home base for the remainder of the trip.

Next up: Death Valley!