37: Valley of Fire

Dear Friend,

Here we are in the last few weeks of December. There are 18 more days until 2026, 11 more days until Christmas, one more week until Winter, just a few hours until Chanukah begins, and so many other events and celebrations, what is on your calendar?

Just a quick question: Do you have an Advent calendar this year? In case you don’t already know, it’s a calendar that starts on December 1^st and ends on the 25^th of December, and can be a fun way to travel through the month (whether you celebrate Christmas or not) because most Advent calendars have 24 pockets or doors, each containing a little something for you, like a candy or a tiny toy – every day a treat!

Advent calendars aren’t new. They date back to the 1800s in Germany and have evolved a great deal over the years, no doubt due to commercialism. These days, there are countless themes to choose from, everything from bible verses to perfume to coins to seed packets. What’s in your calendar?

Over a week ago, our camp-host, (a happy-hearted, adventurous, retired traveling nurse), approached Frank with a bag and explained that she had already opened all the little doors of her Advent calendar - she had 24 Rubber Duckies and wanted to share.

“Take two,” she said.

Frank reached into the bag and randomly chose an ear-muffed duckie bearing gifts, and a gingerbread duckie. So, if you’ve been wondering how (or if) we’d be decorating for Christmas, wonder no more. Thank you, Nurse M!

How are you doing? This can be a tough time of year for lots of people. The lack of sunshine, the added stressors and joys of get-togethers with family and friends… Maybe there are heavy expectations to uphold traditions. Or perhaps you’re creating something new and someone’s asked, “What is that supposed to be?”

Please don’t feel alone, just smile (it’s a priceless treasure) and breathe, stay hydrated, and send us a photo of your creation; we’ll celebrate with you!

We’re (still) in eastern Nevada, currently near the Valley of Fire where this beautiful red rock is called Aztec sandstone, (in Utah, it might be called Navajo sandstone).

The colors are intense and varied, natural sculptures with features such as stripes, divots, holes, arches, along with layering of different colored minerals and sediments, and what they call ‘desert varnish,’ (dark, sometimes crusty or shiny, manganese and iron oxide).

As the formations decompose, sandstone pebbles come to the surface. They also make up a lot of what you see on the ground.

When walking on the rubbly trails between these towering boulders, pillars and arches, it is incredible to imagine that over 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Age, when Stegosauruses roamed about, this place was covered in enormous sand dunes.

If you’ve played in sand recently, (and if you haven’t, there’s no time like the present), you remember that it doesn’t take much water to change the way the sand reacts to itself. If you compress moistened sediment (like sand) so that the moisture is squished out, you’ve started the process of solidifying the sediment and if you have tons of time and if there are other fragments present, like quartz, the particles become cemented together and the sand eventually becomes hardened, or lithified, stone. (You can let go of the sand and step away now, because I’m sure you have other things to do). Meanwhile the clock keeps ticking and, in places like the Valley of Fire, wind and water and the earth’s need to move, continue to mark and break down these huge sandstone formations.

If you think about it, they will never again be what they are as you see them right now, and they become more fragile as time goes on.

Three things that are true:

Nature is always shifting, changing, adapting.

Frank loves taking pictures.

You’re never alone in the Valley of Fire.

We are so happy to have been able to (finally) meet so many precious Desert Big Horn Sheep! What a gift!

And we're fortunate that we visited the Valley of Fire State Park at this near-winter time of year. The temperatures have been perfect, between 35•F and 65•F.

There are a lot of great hikes throughout the park and so many little and big things to see.

We have been assured that Valley of Fire is beautiful year 'round but also that Summer temperatures can reach 120•F. That’s why during summer months, Desert Big Horn Sheep...

...(and other authorities, like this white-tailed antelope ground squirrel),

...encourage you to skip the hike and find shade.

We hope that you and yours enjoy this near-winter time of year, together or apart, in good weather or in yuck, with Advent duckies or without… and though we’re way out here, pretty far from wherever you are, you are on our minds and we keep you in our daily Thanksgivings.

Please Write whenever you’d like, we always enjoy hearing from you, & truly, thank you for being here to read Tracks by the Post, we are grateful that you care to check-in!

Wishing you a light and beautiful week ahead,

Gently Be,

Leslie and Frank