"Wild Nevada"

The Trip:
This trip we travel into Death Valley National Park. We explore some of the park and visit Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge before heading into Pahrump for the night. The second day, we tour the Pahrump Valley Vineyards and attend a performance at the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction.

Chris with one of the Lost Burro City residents. We begin this trip at the Lost Burro City near Scotty's Junction, where State Route 267 intersects with Highway 95. Lost Burro City offers a bit of local color with burro rides and painted life-size cut-outs for photo opportunities. If you stop here, enjoy petting the burros, but do not stop expecting services.

State Route 267 serves as one of the major paths into Death Valley National Park. The park encompasses over 3 million acres of desert wilderness and is shared by both Nevada and California. The park is a popular tourist destination, attracting more than a million visitors every year. We explore a small corner of the park, stopping briefly at Scotty's Castle. This massive spanish style mansion was built in the 1920's as a vacation home and private resort. It was incorporated into the park in 1970 and is now open to the public.

Hiking the Ubehebe Crater rim trail. Located 13 miles west of Scotty's Castle is the Ubehebe Crater, which is half a mile across and around 800 feet deep. We take the opportunity to hike one of the trails in the crater area. There are a number of hiking paths at the crater. One even takes you to the bottom of the hole, but if you choose this trail be prepared -- the trip back up is much more challenging than the one down.

The boardwalk as Ash Meadows Visitor's Center. We continue through Death Valley on Highway 190 and make our way to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The rangers at the Ash Meadows work to preserve more than 22,000 acres of spring-fed wetlands and alkaline desert that provide habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals. Several of which are currently considered to be endangered. When visiting Ash Meadows, be prepared for dirt road travel with some major wash-boarding. The refuge is still in the early stages of its development, but more visitor facilities are planned.

Our day's final destination is Pahrump. This desert town is 60 miles west of Las Vegas and 60 miles east of Death Valley. With a growth rate of about 15% and a population of about 33,000, Pahrump is the fastest growing rural town in the United States.

The first day of the trip, we explored the desert. On day two, we are in search of two of the area's unusual oases.

The Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction. We make the short drive through Pahrump to Nevada's only winery, the Pahrump Valley Vineyard. The winery is open for free tours daily from 10am to 4:30pm, and offers a tasting bar, gift shop, and restaurant. We have the opportunity to enjoy a tour of the grounds and the tanks, a tasting of the winery's offerings, and a great lunch before we head on to our next adventure.

We head on to the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction. The Junction, just a few miles from the west of the California-Nevada border, was once a thriving mining town built and owned by the Pacific Coast Borax Company. After the company abandoned the complex in the early 1930s, the community began to fade into a ghost town. But that all changed when artist/dancer Marta Beckett unexpectedly discovered the town and its potential. Now the town comes to life on the evenings, October through May, when she takes the stage.

Thanks to Wild Nevada Advisors and Guides, Program #105:

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