Ash Meadows, Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon

March/April

This post is a continuation of our Spring trip in April. Just realized I didn't finish so here goes.....

Our base camp is at Nevada Treasure RV Resort in Pahrump for the next month. From here we did day trips to Ash Meadows, Death Valley, and Red Rock Canyon.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

Ash Meadows is about 45 minutes from our base camp. The road into Ash Meadows is dirt and gravel with a lot of washboards, pretty rough. Its the largest remaining oasis in the Mojave Desert. Stunning....an oasis with the prettiest crystal clear blue springs with very rare endangered pup fish.

Crystal Spring Boardwalk is located right behind the visitors center. The boardwalk leads to a brilliant blue spring flowing at 2,800 gallons of water per minute.

Longstreet Spring and Cabin is a short walk from the parking area. This boardwalk leads to an old stone cabin built by gunslinger, Jack Longstreet, a mysterious man of the wild west. The spring pool near this cabin is sometimes called the boiling spring because fine white sand bellows up from the depths gives it a "boiling" appearance.

The desert blooms of Ash Meadow was a surprise.....

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley is about 1 hour 15 minutes from our base camp. We did a couple of short hikes and a drive to see Artist's Palette.

Our first hike was to Dante's Ridge. Just a half mile to the first summit. This is the most breathtaking viewpoint in the park. This mountain top overlook is more than 5000 feet above the floor of Death Valley.

Overlooking Badwater Basin

That's Joe hiking up that hill

Natural Bridge Canyon was another short hike. It was an uphill walk through a narrow canyon. Was suppose to be an easy hike but it was a gravel road so not as easy as we thought it would be...maybe because it was getting very hot!

Artist's Drive is a scenic loop drive through multi-hued volcanic and sedimentary hills. Artist's Palette is especially photogenic in the late afternoon light. The 9-mile pave road is one-way and is only driveable with vehicles less than 25 feet in length.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon is about an hour from our base camp. This is our first visit to Red Rock Canyon. After going to the visitors center, you start a 13-mile scenic drive. This scenic drive is one way for the full 13 miles. Once you start, no turning around....have to continue the whole loop.

Flowers in bloom

The scenery here is breathtaking. We did a couple of hikes but there's a lot more hikes that we'd like to do. Our visit was on a Saturday...big mistake. It was very, very crowded on the road and also all the hiking trails. Next time, I'll make sure we come on a week day.

The Calico Tank hike is rated moderate which means uphill sections up to 1,000 feet of elevation gain; uneven terrain and some rock scrambling. This particular hike winds through a wash and there may be seasonal water in a natural tank at the end. Supposed to  be about 2.5 miles and around 2 hours to complete.

We started out okay but after about an hour of rock scrambling we decided this hike was too much for us. I wanted to do another hike after lunch so we decided to turn around.

We drove to the Willow Springs Picnic Area and ate our lunch. Then decided we had enough energy to do another short hike. Supposed to be an easy hike around 1.5 miles. I guess we took a wrong turn some where because I know we hiked more than 1.5 miles. Joe wasn't too happy with me.....

I think it was still worth it....

This completes our 2016 Spring trip. Didn't do too many miles on the RV this time but had a wonderful time camping at Nevada Treasure for a whole month. It was nice to just relax and do things at our leisure.

We're headed home to help Miki with her first May Day program at Kahuku Elementary. Then we await our second grandbaby due in August, Jade Marie.

💖Life is good 😍