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4 WHEEL ADVENTURE IN THE NEVADA DESERT

We were to Las Vegas several times in the past and Sharon and I wanted to do another interesting tour this year (1999). I searched on the internet for things of interest in Las Vegas and found a new adventure: 4 wheeling thru the desert in the Valley of Fire State Park.

The map below shows where the Valley of Fire is located from Las Vegas. It's about a 45 minute to an hour ride from where they picked us up at the North entrance of Bally's. Half the trip was a long, steep drive out of the valley Las Vegas is nestled in.

We turned right off of I-15, stopped at an indian reservation tobacco shop and had a rest-stop. The tour was on indian reservation land. The federal government strictly prohibits 4 wheel vehicles in their area.

There were 6 of us taking the tour. A trailer was waiting for us in the desert. This is where they stored the ATVs (all terrain vehicles). It was required they take the trailer out of there every night. So it is an elaborate setup each day to drive the trailer to the place where the tour begins; get out the ATVs, and then pack them up at night and drive them away. There is also a lead dune buggy. All this equipment has to fit in the trailer.

We were given about 10 minutes of instruction how to operate the ATV. "Here's the ignition, here's the gas, there's the transmission and here's your helmet. Get it on now!" The short tutorial was OK, but wasn't enough learning to handle the ATV from the get-go. As soon as the lead buggy took off. I couldn't manage the machine and do 30mph on rough desert road. It took several attempts to try and stay up with the buggy.

Sharon leading the ATV pack as we pull away from the trailer. In the beginning we had a problem staying together because most of us were new at riding these things. Just like first learning how to drive a car, we were all over the road and speeding up, then suddenly slowing down.

This was our first stop after about 15 minutes into the off-road adventure. We were quickly covered with red desert dust, especially those bikers bringing up the rear. These stops were the only time I could get any pictures. There is no time to let go of the handlebars when doing 30mph. In fact, you couldn't even look off to the side as you might miss the trail. Sharon was the first one behind the dune buggy. It made a sharp left turn. She had trouble making the turn. And went bouncing off the trail thru the bushes. If that would have been a cliff in front of her she would have went over it. And there are cliffs out there.

After about 20 minutes more of riding, we stopped here for a lunch that the tour provided. We were encouraged to throw out leftovers on the ground. The local critters come out at nite and make it their dinner.

At the lunch site there was a petroglyph made a long time ago by the indigenous people. It was a privilege to get so close to it. There is another petroglyph in the Valley of Fire State Park and you have to climb steep stairs to see it.

After lunch Sharon road in the dune buggy to get some pictures. This is the kind of road were traveling over. As we got more experience handling the ATVs were were taken over some very rough terrain and rocks. The ATV would pitch all over the place. The main thing was that if you could stay seated on the bike, you wouldn't be thrown off. Well, someone got thrown off anyway.

At our next photo op stop. Sharon is relaxing in the dune buggy.

Sharon got a picture of me riding around in the desert. When we were dropped off at Bally's back in Las Vegas, all six ATV riders were covered in dust, but it was an experience we won't forget.

EMAIL: midi-guitar@worldnet.att.net

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