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"We thank you so very much. We absolutely loved our Minister Kathy Russell, photographer Amanda, Pilot John and the wonderful limo... "

- Liz and Bill

MAVERICK WEDDINGS

PAINTED DREAMS VALLEY OF FIRE WEDDING

Our coordinator is looking forward to helping you create a romantic destination wedding. Call 0800.098.8492.

Beautiful bouquet of roses and matching boutonniere

Highlights: Soar into the sky departing Las Vegas and over Hoover Dam and the country’s largest man-made lake, Lake Mead. Continue to the Valley of Fire, where you will land on an exclusive plateau overlooking incredible red sandstone formations with brilliant contrasting color. The Valley of Fire is one of the most unique and picturesque desert landscapes in the United States. After your ceremony enjoy a champagne toast, hors d’oeuvres and many incredible photo opportunities. Conclude your adventure with a breathtaking flight over the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas.

Our Platinum Wedding Package Includes:

Round-trip transportation from your hotel to Maverick Helicopters' terminal for you and your guests in a luxury limousine.

Wedding ceremony performed by our minister (fees included in package price) — your choice of religious or civil ceremony.

A beautiful bridal bouquet and matching boutonniere (your choice of roses or mixed flowers).

A professional photographer package that includes digital photos on CD from takeoff to landing plus a video of your wedding ceremony.

Wedding cake (selection of traditional white or chocolate).

Champagne toast, hors d'oeuvres and beverages on all landing flights.

Complimentary in-flight DVD (if available).

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No. of Guests: Bride and groom, minister and three guests, if body weights permit (note: other helicopters can be chartered to accommodate larger wedding parties at an additional cost)

Duration: Approximately 3.5 hours (from hotel to hotel)

Departure Point: Las Vegas terminal

PLATINUM WEDDING PACKAGE $3,799

Price includes all taxes, fees and a $400 Hualapai Indian permit fee
Other packages available at $3,199

Terms: Deposits are not required. Full payment will be due 10 days prior to your flight. Contracts and credit card authorization forms will be required for confirmation. All cancellations will be fully refunded with a 48 hours written notification.

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REVIEWS

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From: Doug & Vera Hass, Chilton, Wisconsin

October 2009

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your assistance durin...

From: Dominique

September 2009

I just wanted to thank you for such an amazing wedding. Everything went s...

From: Jeff and Sara

July 2009

Just wanted to quickly write to thank you all, our wedding was amazing and fa...

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Photography Tips

Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire are among the world’s top travel destinations. Every year, millions of people come to enjoy these natural and manmade wonders. And when they visit they take lots of photos—hundreds, maybe even thousands of them! Most will go home with okay snapshots, while others might give up—deciding to buy postcards or a book instead. Want to make the most of your photo opportunities? Here are a few tips to help you best capture these breathtaking destinations:

Cameras: It doesn’t matter whether you have a disposable, manual or digital camera. Just be sure to bring the one you’re used to shooting with—along with some spare batteries. Large-format, Polaroid or video cameras are also fun to try out and can provide different perspectives of the landscapes.

Film: If you aren’t using a digital camera, you may want to have a couple of types of film on hand. Generally, film is given an ASA or ISO speed rating between 100 and 800, based on its sensitivity to light. Higher numbers are better suited to landscapes where these isn’t much light. You’ll want to use a 100-speed film during the brightest daylight hours. If you’re shooting in the morning or early evening, a 400-speed film is the better choice. TIP: Black and white film can make for remarkable pictures at these destinations.

Lighting: Strong, direct sunlight can wash out a landscape. Sometimes it’s better to photograph during sunrise or sunset, when the light is softer—plus, you’ll capture deeper shades of red and orange in the rocks. TIP: You may want to use your flash for evening shots—when photographing people or wildlife. A flash can also fill light in some of the darker, shadowed sides of the canyons, rock formations or dam.

Composition: Though landscape shots seem like a cinch, they are quite tricky. Generally, the faster your shutter speed, the more detail and sharpness your photo will have. You also might try framing a distant scene with a strong foreground object—a tree, rock or person. Just make sure you are standing only an arm’s length away from it. This technique lets you spotlight the distant background and creates a three-dimensional effect.

Stability: With helicopters, there is often vibration and movement due to the engine and rotor blades. Professional photographers usually have a VR (vibration reduction) lens to address this issue. The best thing you can do is to try not to let any part of your arm touch the frame of the helicopter while you’re shooting.

Patience: When you visit these remarkable destinations, almost every moment—24 hours a day—is a photo opportunity! So relax and don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of chances to get a great shot. In fact, the opportunities are so abundant they’ll reveal themselves at every dip and turn of the helicopter.

10 Ways To Enjoy The Valley Of Fire

Want to explore one of Nevada’s largest and most amazing state parks? From hiking to taking photos and studying geology, here are 10 of our favourite ways to enjoy the Valley of Fire.

Get a tan. During late spring and summer, temperatures at the Valley of Fire are well over 100° F, while autumn and winter tend to be quite mild. Since the average annual rainfall is four inches (with most of that coming from sudden thunderstorms), you’ll almost always be able to catch unobstructed rays!

Study the rocks. There’s no better place for a geology lesson than the Valley of Fire. Along with loads of the famous, fiery sandstone, you’re also likely to discover a variety of limestone, shale and conglomerate rocks.

Climb the rocks. In front of the Valley of Fire State Park Visitor Centre, there’s a giant rock that people—especially kids—like to scramble up. Or you can ascend Atlatl Rock, a giant boulder that sits on top of a sandstone outcropping. A stairway has been built there that leads to a platform where you can get a close look at some of its petroglyphs.

Scout famous film sites. Did you know that scenes for the films Transformers, Total Recall, The Professionals and Domino were shot at the Valley of Fire? Trekkies love to visit the spot where Captain Kirk fell to his death in the film Star Trek: Generations—it’s located on Silica Dome.

Watch a film. Inside the Valley of Fire State Park Visitor Centre, you can see a short film detailing the park’s history. Then, you can walk through an exhibit of critters native to the area—including snakes!

Take photos—and lots of them! Opportunities abound at the Valley of Fire around every turn of the road or trail. This place is truly a photographer’s dream, as the rock formations take on completely different hues depending on the time of day. From sunrise to sunset, the scenery is simply spectacular!

Spot Nevada’s state animal. The bighorn sheep is known to roam at the Valley of Fire. Ask a park ranger for the best places to try to encounter them. It’s amazing to catch a glimpse of these regal and massive desert animals in the wild.

Tour The Cabins. In 1935 the Civilian Conservation Corps built three stone cabins near the base of some high cliffs at the Valley of Fire. They are located just a short stroll from the highway. You’ll be surprised at how cool the air feels inside these rudimentary one-room shelters.

Hike…or don’t hike. At the Valley of Fire, you’ll be able to find several challenging treks if you’re the athletic type. The White Domes and Arrowhead loop trails are two good examples. And, if you’re a non-hiker, you can enjoy some excellent views from the car. There are also two short trails—Mouse’s Tank and Elephant Rock—that are less than half a mile in distance.

Get married. You’ll never find a more romantic place to be at sunset than the Valley of Fire. Imagine this: you look into your betrothed’s eyes, and off in the horizon you also see the sun reflecting in a way that makes the rocks look like a sea of flames—the perfect symbol of your love! Plus, you can make your wedding even more dreamlike by being transported to and from the Valley of Fire in a Maverick helicopter!

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Valley Of Fire Facts And Trivia

Formed more than 150 million years ago, the Valley of Fire certainly provides you with a glimpse back in time. It’s also a place of rare beauty where the rocks take on every possible shade of red imaginable. Here’s some trivia about this natural wonder located in the Mojave Desert just 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas—so you’ll be well informed when you join all the other visitors who flock to it annually.

By The Numbers

At 36,000 acres, the Valley of Fire is Nevada’s largest state park.

Don’t get the Valley of Fire in Nevada mixed up with the Valley of Fires in New Mexico, which is a popular recreational area comprised of many miles of black lava fields.

The bright red colours at the Valley of Fire are a side effect of iron oxide (better known to many as rust!) found in the rocks. Manganese and other oxides are responsible for the black pigmentation, called “desert varnish,” that you’ll see on other rocks.

You’ll want to bring water with you because you won’t find much of it at the Valley of Fire. The area receives only four inches of rain each year—and often that comes from a single thunderstorm in July or August.

You can get some water from the Valley of Fire State Park Visitor Centre. A well was drilled 1,500 feet beneath the ground. Power lines that provide electricity to the centre are also buried 940 feet underground.

Among the species of wildlife you can see in the Valley of Fire are bighorn sheep, badgers, coyotes, white-tailed antelope squirrels, rattlesnakes, ring-tailed cats, desert tortoises, ravens and lizards.

There are nearly 20 miles of roadway in the Valley of Fire. The main road runs from west to east. You can enter on either side and the drive is gorgeous in both directions. A scenic six-mile loop also forks northward from the visitor centre, where you’ll find viewpoints and the most popular trails.

When the Valley of Fire first opened as a state park, it averaged 9,000 visitors each year. Today, about 250,000 people visit annually.

By The History

Petrified logs and stumps from ancient forests that existed 225 million years ago—before the Valley of Fire was formed!—can be seen at two locations in the state park.

About 200 million years ago, a deep ocean basin covered the area that would become the Valley of Fire.

The Valley of Fire was formed about 150 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs. First, the floor of the ocean rose, and in the years that followed, a great shifting of sand and shaping due to the geological process of wind erosion took place.

Among the prehistoric users of the Valley of Fire were the Anasazi Pueblo peoples. They visited from 300 B.C. to 1150 A.D. for the purposes of hunting, gathering food and conducting religious ceremonies. Since there was little water, it was impossible for them to settle in the area.

In the 1890s, a renegade Paiute Indian named Mouse worked on a ferry that crossed the Colorado River. After a drunken episode where he shot up an Indian camp, his employers fired him and dumped him off in Arizona, where he killed two prospectors. Intensive searches for Mouse were conducted, but he hid in a natural basin in the rocks at the Valley of Fire. On July 11, 1897, a posse finally tracked Mouse down and he was shot and killed. His hiding spot, now known as Mouse’s Tank, is located at the end of the most popular trail at the Valley of Fire.

A large brick monument of a cross was erected at the Valley of Fire in June of 1949. It honours pioneer travellers including Captain John J. Clark. The retiree of the 13th New York Volunteer Cavalry Regiment had been driving a wagon along the Arrowhead Trail and died of thirst in June of 1915.

The Valley of Fire State Park was established in 1935. It is Nevada’s oldest state park.

You don’t need a horse and buggy to get to the Valley of Fire today. Every mode of transportation is possible. You can go by car or bus or even by helicopter—where you can land on top of a remote plateau.

The Valley of Fire State Park Visitor Centre was built in the late ’60s. It was remodelled in the late ’80s and features the same red colour as the sandstone cliffs behind it. There are plans to remodel and expand it in the near future.

Since 2005, every year in November, the annual Valley of Fire Marathon is held.

Written By Yvonne Newman

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