The two RV Gypsies continued their drive
in the Valley of Fire State Park and it started raining lightly. They
stopped at the Rainbow Vista lookout, but decided not to get
out of the car in this area due to the rain. Instead, they drove a distance
up the road towards the White Domes, thinking the rain would
stop by the time they reached White Domes and they could check
out Rainbow Vista on the return trip. However, they never made
it to the White Domes.
The road was full of dips and they came to a spot in
the road with a big dip, a short hill then another big dip. Just as
they got in-between the two dips, it suddenly started raining VERY HARD
and the two RV Gypsies stopped because they realized that they could
not get through the second dip in the road because it was a very deep
dip and already filling with rain water.
But already, it was too late to turn around. They were caught in a FLASH FLOOD. They looked in their rear-view mirror and saw a ranger coming. The ranger told the two RV Gypsies to back up through the dip behind them, so they did. By then there was a line of cars behind the two RV Gypsies and nobody could move. For about an hour-and-a half, everyone just sat in their cars and watched the water in the dips get deeper. The rain was pouring down the sides of the mountain, and quickly formed a very long stream. (see the photo directly below) |
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The ranger was on the hill in-between the two dips where the two RV Gypsies originally stopped. Brown water was gingerly flowing across the road and through the dips. |
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Cars were starting to come down the hill on the other side of the road and the ranger made them stop there. In the photo above on the left the water level in the dip in front of the rangers car could barely be seen, but seconds later, in the photo on the right above, a lot more water can be seen in the dip. And the running rain water formed a river on the right hand side of the road. Some of the cars on the other side turned around and headed back to White Dome. |
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Finally, an hour
and a half later, the ranger said it was safe for the two RV Gypsies
and the cars behind them to turn around and leave. But the cars on the
other side of the hill were going to be stuck there at least another
hour or more. |
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The two RV Gypsies turned around and drove
back towards the entrance of the park and they came upon cars stopped
in front of other dips. Eventually those cars got brave enough to struggle
through the water and so did the two RV Gypsies. |
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Below: It appeared that the rain had
really brought out the colors in the mountains. |
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The last stop
in Valley of Fire State Park was Elephant's Rock. By now, the
rain had stopped, and the two RV Gypsies were disappointed to discover
that Elephant's Rock could not be seen from the parking lot,.
It was a long hike to see it, so the two RV Gypsies got back in their
truck and headed back to the campground via Lake Mead Recreational Area.
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The entrance the two RV Gypsies came into the Valley of Fire State Park was closed off, and luckily the Lake Mead Recreational Area was an alternative way back to Las Vegas. But when they got out of the park, they were told that the bridge to Lake Mead Recreational Area was also closed, but since they had just come from the Valley of Fire State Park, they were allowed to continue. |
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And finally, the City of Las Vegas loomed in front of the two RV Gypsies. It was a long day and quite an experience. |
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