TRACES OF THE AGES A DIVERSE HUMAN HISTORY HAS LEFT ITS STAMP ON VALLEY OF FIRE.

Byline: Story and photos by Eric Noland Travel Editor

OVERTON, Nev. - The plight of prehistoric man was often a desperate and constant quest for sustenance and shelter, but in southern Nevada, more than 3,000 years before Las Vegas established the zenith of adult recreation, native people were presented with an unthinkable concept.

Leisure time.

Mild temperatures, abundant water and plenty of tasty bighorn sheep could be found in an area several miles northeast of what is now the Strip, according to G. William Fiero, a former science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. So, with all that extra time on their hands, these primitive people took up art.

In a red-rocks area now encompassed by Valley of Fire State Park, they would scratch figures and symbols on ``desert varnish,'' rock surfaces turned black by the leaching of iron and manganese.

Hunters. Sheep. Weapons. Spirits. These and more perplexing images survive today in impressive petroglyph displays that are less than an hour's drive from Las Vegas.

The park is worthy of a half-day trip for other reasons, too, offering a jumble of multicolored sandstone contortions, crystalline air and little-traveled hiking trails. Out here, a Vegas visitor benumbed by climate control and sensory overload can exult in a world with not a speck of falsity to it.

A number of petroglyphs can be seen on the easy, quarter-mile hike to Mouse's Tank (named for a renegade Indian who used to hide out near a natural rock catch basin).

But the park's mother lode of petroglyphs is at Atlatl Rock, where a staircase climbs to an observation platform that affords viewing of a vast display of rock art.

Sadly, however, more recent visitors have felt the need to add their own expressions to this ancient message board, such that park rangers have had to install a plastic shield to protect the ancient images.

``Even where that screen is, they still seem to get around it and do some damage,'' park supervisor Jim Hammons said with a sigh. ``Basically, they want to add their own name to posterity. It bugs the heck out of anybody in the natural history fields. But unless you put a person there all the time, it's impossible to prevent.''

It could be much worse. The Valley of Fire used to be a lesser-known retreat, but with the sprawl of Las Vegas' Summerlin housing development and a Strip construction boom that has continued unabated for the last six years, the park's visitation numbers have been climbing accordingly, from 200,000 annually 20 years ago to about 1.4 million today.

The park's more recent human history is intriguing, too.

In the earliest days of cross-country auto travel, the Arrowhead Trail meandered through this area on its way from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles.

An adventurous Los Angeleno, Charles Bigelow, publicized the route by driving through here in 1915 and 1916 in his twin-six Packard, ``Cactus Kate.''

Stand in the eastern reaches of the park and you might marvel over what such a feat entailed at the time - bouncing along a sandy track, gasping in the presence of the strange rock sculptures and vivid colors.

One such traveler of the era found it to be tragically inhospitable. A memorial at the side of the park road honors Army soldier John J. Clark, who was riding a buckboard wagon through the Valley of Fire in 1915 when his horse died. He wandered helplessly in the desert before returning to lie under the wagon, where he was later found dead.

Subsequent travelers would find welcome shelter in crude cottages. The Cabins, found off a short spur road, were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and when you step through the dark doorways or peer out the windows, you might conclude that these were barely a step above camping in the open.

Many miles to the south, the vintage motor courts of Route 66 receive a lot of fawning attention from nostalgia buffs, but they were modern palaces of luxury compared to the Cabins. Plunked down at the base of a scraggly cliff, there are three of them, built of sandstone blocks, with curved, pueblo-style walls and rough timbers protruding from flat roofs. Each has a fireplace, undoubtedly a godsend for winter travelers of the era.

An even more recent human imprint on the region can be found on the White Domes Trail. It's the tumble-down ruin of a Hollywood movie set. In the filming of the 1966 western ``The Professionals,'' the Valley of Fire stood in for Old West badlands as Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin tracked a Mexican desperado played by Jack Palance.

Still later, these dramatic backdrops lent an otherworldly feel to ``Star Trek: Generations'' (1994) - the park's Silica Dome was passed off as the surface of Viridian 3.

All of this is readily accessible, lying just a dozen or so miles off Interstate 15. On the approach (after taking Exit 75), you'll careen along an undulating desert road, rising and dipping into desert gullies, and ultimately burst through a cleft in the aptly named Muddy Mountains.

A broad gash of red spreads across the landscape, made all the more dramatic by the formlessness of its surroundings.

The erosion of rainstorms has contorted the porous sandstone into some odd shapes - ridges, arches, stacks, catacombs - and complex geologic processes have colored it like swirls of marble cake batter.

According to Fiero's book, ``Nevada's Valley of Fire'' (available in the Visitor Center for $10), sandstone formed from the ancient lake bottom, and groundwater percolating through it leached out minerals, creating the rich variety of colors. (The red rock? It's literally rust, produced by the oxidation of iron.) Limestone and shale also contribute to the palette, such that at any turn you might discern red, cream, ocher, light lavender, orange.

For an immersion in this world, head out on any of several short hiking trails. Five of them - all less than two miles in length - are included on a flyer available at the Visitor Center.

We delighted in the White Domes Trail. In addition to the old movie set, the 1 1/4-mile loop trail navigates a narrow slot canyon and ultimately opens onto a dazzling red-rock vista to the north.

The visitor is nicely accommodated at this park, and will find clean pit toilets at nearly every trailhead and comfortable picnic areas - with shaded tables - here and there. (The Seven Sisters site is a great spot for lunch, but hit a Vegas deli before you set out; there are no food services here.)

At some point during your visit, head onto the unpaved but well-maintained road into Fire Canyon from Rainbow Vista. Here, in a garden of angled upthrusts, is a ridge with precise layers of red and tan, like Neapolitan ice cream. When the rays of the afternoon sun set it ablaze, it's positively dazzling.

Imagine one of the earliest residents drinking in that spectacle around 2000 B.C. With no particular imperative to hurry on.

Eric Noland, [phone]

eric.noland(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: The West Entrance Station of Valley of Fire State Park is 51 miles from the heart of the Las Vegas Strip (Interstate 15 and Flamingo Road). Since all but about 12 miles of that is spent on I-15, the drive takes a little less than an hour. From I-15, take Exit 75: Valley of Fire/Lake Mead and follow the signs.

HOURS, COSTS: The Visitor Center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is an entry fee of $6 per vehicle per day; it can be paid at the Visitor Center or at a self-pay station at the entrance. The road through the park is open 24 hours a day.

INFORMATION: [phone]; www.parks.nv.gov/vf.htm.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) A rich display of native petroglyphs lures Las Vegas visitors to Valley of Fire State Park, where there is also evidence of more recent human history, including crude tourist cabins from the 1930's, top.

(3 -- 5) Erosion has sculpted the porous sandstone of the Valley of Fire into arches, stacks, catacombs - and even holes in the rock, such as one framing the scenery, top, along the White Domes Trail. That path also winds through a foreboding slot canyon, above; other trails in the park include Mouse's Tank, above right, one of the shorter treks.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)

Map:

Valley of Fire State Park

Jorge Irribarren/Staff Artist