Hello fellow walkers! Walking is about the ONLY exercise I have engaged in since California’s Stay-At-Home order on Friday, March 20. Believe me, I am happy and grateful to walk outside in my neighborhood, and my dogs never complain, but why does it feel like it’s been longer than 9 days?
Thankfully, we can ride our bikes on the nearby bike trail, which I did last Sunday. Lots of people were enjoying the glorious sunny day, walking, bicycling or running. It is easy to maintain 6 feet of social distancing here.
As part of our three-week road trip in December and early January, we spent the last leg of the trip in Las Vegas. My brother lives there now so we spent time with him and his partner. They had not yet visited the Valley of Fire State Park, and we were happy to re-visit and show them the sights.
Our first stop was to the Visitor’s Center at the west entrance to the park (only $10 per car) to grab a brochure and map of the area. It can take up to two days to see everything. Just driving through all the red rocks is quite stunning.
The first area to visit, because it gets busy, is the White Domes area that is also home to the slot canyon.
I played around with some photo-editing of the image of me walking into the entrance of the slot canyon, camera at-the-ready.
I feel like this image really defines me! Thanks, Ingrid, for the inspiration!
Once inside, the light is incredible.
After much “oohing and aahing” from my brother and his partner, we stopped for a picnic lunch then drove on to other areas of the park. The park covers over 40,000 acres, so driving is a must, but you can park and hike to suggested points-of-interest. In the shot below, my brother is blazing a trail with me on his heels to the area where the petroglyphs can be seen up close.
Yes, the sand is also this red!
One more point of interest after spending nearly 8 hours in the Valley of Fire, was to stop and gawk at the Elephant Rock, at the east entrance of the park.
If you didn’t get your 10,000 steps with me on this outing to the Valley of Fire, you can click here to take a cold walk with me on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
If you can get outdoors to walk, I encourage you to do so! Intermittent rainy weather kept me indoors this week and I found a good yoga practice on Youtube. I also own some fitness bands and do a series of calisthenics with those. Any kind of exercise is good for our bodies and spirits now!
This post is partially inspired by this week’s Lens-Artists challenge hosted by Tina this week for Distance. To help you get your steps in today, connect here for Restless Jo’s Monday Walk.
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge resumes next week as we kick off April with a whole new set of themes. Visit my Sunday Stills page for a preview.
Second Wind Leisure Perspectives 
What is YOUR perspective? Please include your name if WP identifies you as “anonymous.