Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada - February 5, 2025

I've been to Valley of Fire a few times before, but this was my first visit with a workshop. It's only a day's drive from San Diego, so I took the opportunity to add a new stop along the way — the Red Rock area. But first, a detour to the Seven Magic Mountains! Red Rock is a fascinating BLM-managed area with a one-way loop drive, narrow roads, and very few places to pull over.

The next day I set out to find Little Finland, a spot I'd been hearing about for years. It's another area known for unusual sandstone formations. Based on photos I'd seen, I expected them to be quite large — but they turned out to be surprisingly small. They're also perched along a ridge that requires a bit of a scramble to get close. I made it partway up but wasn't comfortable shooting on that slope, so I admired them from below.

One of the great perks of the workshop was early access — we were allowed in before and out after general public hours, which opened up sunrise and sunset shoots that wouldn't otherwise be possible. We hiked out to Fire Wave for one sunrise, then made our way back through what passes for a slot canyon in the area. It's nowhere near as tall or dramatic as the ones in Page, but it had its own charm. We also tackled part of the White Domes loop, though the best light actually hit while we were still in the parking lot! There's a striking arch — more of a large hole through the rock — that's worth seeking out. And on two separate drives through White Domes road, we spotted bighorn sheep, which was a first for me.

On the drive home I decided to skip some of the interstate and wind through the Mojave Desert via Kelso and Amboy into Joshua Tree. Just outside of Twentynine Palms there's a newer sculpture called Transmission that I'd wanted to see. There's a pullout where you can get a decent view, though you can't get close enough to walk around it.