February 26 -- A Visit To The Valley Of Fire, and Overton News

A few days ago I'd promised Jim, my neighbor across from me, that we'd go to the Valley of Fire State Park as he had never been there in his nearly 2-months here in Overton. A bit of a background on Jim as he's another interesting person I've met since I first arrived in SE Nevada in the middle of January. He's from Kalispell, Montana and built his own house there (he showed photos of it on his computer -- it's IMPRESSIVE.)  He was a sheriff, things were going pretty good -- then one night he started coughing -- and had a stroke. He's now permanently partially disabled, with limited motion in his right arm and leg. As he was right-handed, he had to become a lefty. But he did that, and also drove 1000 miles from Kalispell to Overton in his Dodge Hemi truck, towing his "toy hauler" (a trailer that can be opened in the back to put things such as motorcycles inside) and ATV. He also has 2 dogs, Riley Rose and Keeper, that are his constant companions, and he says they trip him constantly, wrapping their leashes around his legs which in itself would be a trial for a healthy person, much less one who is disabled. He has an extremely positive attitude on life and the curve that was thrown at him; he's really someone to be admired. So we drove over to the Valley of Fire -- and he insisted on driving -- with Riley Rose extra-cab back seat and Keeper a mass of excitement and long hair, jumping all over the place, though he eventually quieted down and settled on my lap. Jim and I (with the dogs staying in the truck; dogs are allowed in the park, but not in the visitor center) went inside the visitor center and I must admit this was the first time I'd really paid attention to the exhibits there. Especially fascinating were the glass displays housing a tarantula, lizard, and king snake as I have still not seen any creature while hiking throughout the Valley of Fire except for Desert Bighorn Sheep, an occasional ground squirrel, and the ubiquitous Rock Wren. The sandstone rocks just outside of the visitor center were an attraction all by themselves --

And there were signs of spring, and hopefully of the desert wildflower displays to come --

I could tell Jim was mesmerized by the Valley of Fire, particularly the colorful rock formations along both sides of the 6-mile-long White Domes Scenic Byway. We were driving way below the speed limit as he was looking at everything, and constantly stick his left arm out to motion other cars to go ahead of him.  He kept repeating "Too many people!" and I could only agree. (I forgot to mention that  Jim also has slurred speech from the stroke, and has a hard time finding the right words for what he wants to say.) We had lunch at The Full Scoop, an ice cream place in Overton that also serves sandwiches, hamburgers, and salads (the only other eateries in town are MacDonald's and Sugar's, a restaurant with a sports theme), then we split up as I was expecting an oxygen sensor for Tundra's catalytic converter to be delivered to the local Napa store. (I checked, and it didn't arrive.) I took a quick trip out to the Overton Wildlife Management Area to see if the Vermilion Flycatcher was still there, but he wasn't, and except for Northern Rough-winged swallows it was pretty quiet, so I came back to Discovery and was doing some computer stuff when Jim knocked on the door and gave me a plate of mozzarella cheese bites with a slice of tomato on top of each. What a NICE neighbor...

Overton bits and pieces -- Felix and Rhoda, Canadians who have been coming to Robbin's Nest to winter for the past 7 or so years, said when they first came here, you carried a flag when you walked the 2 major crosswalks here on Moapa Valley Blvd, but that was discontinued just a few years ago. People here are still very courteous, stopping at the crosswalks even if it LOOKS as if you'll be crossing the street. And I wave to the big Police SUV -- as do many people here -- when he passes by. ..Moapa Valley with its towns of Logandale and Overton are primarily farm communities, with the water coming from the Muddy River that courses through the valley. But there's always a need for "light industry" to keep the local economy going, so there's a proposal for a small factory to be built here in town. And it will be producing -- ammunition. "I can't think of a better place for a facility like that than here in this community," said the real estate developer who is pushing for the factory.  No editorializing here, it's just an observation...