Mini Solo Trip to Moapa

I'm often asked, "How do you plan a solo trip?". For this mini 22-hour trip, it all started with a specific reason to go to Moapa. Our school's football team was playing Friday night in a very rural area and it's about an hour away from Vegas. Also, I've been wanting to go to Valley of Fire State Park for a few years, and it was only 20 minutes from Moapa. So, I searched for a hotel near the high school and the state park. There were only a couple of hotels, so I chose the one with the highest star rating and that I felt good about. I booked a room for Friday night. After work on Friday, I drove straight to the hotel. I always park closest to the front lobby and near outside lights when I travel solo. It makes me feel safer. If I don't feel good about an area, I won't stop and get out. This hotel was on the expensive side, but worth the cost. It was comfortable, clean, and included breakfast.

I checked in and got to my room. Laid down for a little bit and researched restaurants. There were only about five places to choose from. One place was right across the street from the hotel, but it didn't look like a place that I would feel comfortable. It received adequate reviews, but the outside just didn't seem welcoming.

Before eating dinner, I went to the football game. Lions played hard but

did not get the win. It was nice to see the families there cheering on our team. I love watching the team play under the lights. It's a very "fallish" feeling.

At the game, I mentioned to some acquaintances that I was going to hike at the state park the next day and a couple of people seemed concerned that I was going alone. I had to assure them that I'm a solo traveler and have hiked many times by myself. People express their concern out of care, so I don't mind it when they say, "be careful" or "you should go with someone". I'm super used to these kinds of comments.

Criss Angel Diner - pizza

Next stop was dinner. My colleague at work recommended the Criss Angel diner. When I turned into the parking lot, I knew it was the best choice. It was well lit and clean looking. Got inside and even felt better. I knew I found the perfect spot to get a pizza and red wine to finish off the day. I read my book, enjoyed my wine, and ate the whole (personal sized) pizza. It was super yummy.

Across the street was a McDonalds so I drove over and finished the night off with a hot fudge Sunday. Yum!

Went back to the hotel room. The front door was locked so I had to go to the side door and use my key to get in. I'm good about always looking all around me when I have to walk alone in the dark. And it was a well-lit up side door.

Traveling solo allows me the freedom to do what I want and when I want. I enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday and then eating a breakfast at the hotel which included a freshly made waffle. It wasn't the best, but it was enough to start my day off right. Moapa didn't have a Starbucks (for my daily iced tea), but McDonalds would do.

I arrived at Valley of Fire State Park at about 10:00 AM. Hiked my first mile on a trail called the Elephant Rock Trail. At first I drove right past it and then started regretting my decision, so I turned around and decided to not drive past potential beauty.

When I hike alone, I take my hiking sticks and my squealer noise maker. The sticks give me something that I can hold on to when I rock scramble. They also make me feel a little safer in case I have to protect myself from a wild animal or a potentially dangerous situation. The noise maker is a device that has a release stick, and when pulled, it creates an extremely loud siren noise.

Another cautious thing that I do is to never take dangerous chances. On this hiking trip, I encountered a 6-foot cliff drop onto another large rock. Instead of taking the chance, I decided to walk the extra 100 feet over to get down the next level. It's just not worth the chance. Smart choices could mean the difference between life and death.

These colors are so pretty!

Trail bridge

My favorite trail was the Seven Wonders Loop. It includes soft sand and rock scrambling. The colors are amazing. It's a 2.3 mile loop with some elevation climbs.

I stopped by the visitor's center and picked up a picture book for my school. I also learned that this state park was the very first state park to open in Nevada.

I will definitely be back to visit this park. I love that it's only one hour away and the park itself isn't overwhelmingly big. The hikes are short, but the variety of the trails makes it all worth it.

This 22 hour mini solo trip was perfect. Friday night out and then Saturday morning hikes and then I was able to be home by 3:00 PM to go out to dinner with my hubby back in Vegas. ❤️

Valley of Fire State Park