Tuesday

Elephants in Stone

Elephant Rock (Fig. 01), is a fine example of a sandstone arch in the shape of an elephant. It is billed as one of the highlights of the Valley of Fire State Park. Its overall shape is clearly visible, and is striking in it's resemblance to an elephant, complete with trunk. I titled this magnificent formation, “Red Bull”. Formed by weathering over hundreds, if not thousands of years, there is little doubt that it will one day collapse. As unique as this is, imagine my surprise when I located another one that I have never seen mentioned anywhere. While hiking around the Redstone Loop Trail at the Redstone Picnic Area on Lake Mead’s Northshore Road with the rock-hounds from the Henderson Senior Center, I captured yet another elephant (Fig. 02). Due to its much smaller size, it looks more like a baby elephant. I named this one “Baby Calf”. A few more of these sightings and I may have to retitle this page “elephant herd”. As many times as I have hiked some of these areas, I seem that I almost always find yet another formation that resembles a recognizable subject.
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(Fig. 01)  Title - Red Bull
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(Fig. 02) Title - Baby Calf