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Pah’rump is a Paiute expression meaning water rock. Refreshing and stable, this growing desert town is located an hour outside of Las Vegas and provides most amenities that traveling nomads need. With access to desert, mountains, springs and the wild west, there’s always a new day trip to explore.

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Goodsprings, NV

Nevada has over 700 ghost towns and mining ruins, so continuing our new hobby of ruins-hunting was a cinch from Pahrump. Goodsprings is located an hour south of Las Vegas in the Spring Mountains and was established by Mormons in 1856 to mine one of the first lead mother lodes in the state. The Pioneer Saloon has been in continuous operation since those days and still provides a much needed watering hole in the dusty hills. Tourists and celebrities frequent the historical place. Clark Gable spent three days here waiting for search and rescue news of his wife, Carole Lombard, when her plane tragically went down over the Spring Mountains. Sadly, she did not survive and the saloon has a room filled with memorabilia of the famous couple. About 200 residents remain in Goodsprings, and the town is filled with 19^th century mining boomtown buildings. We drove back to Pahrump on one of the desert roads leading out of Sandy Valley.

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Rhyolite, NV

Rhyolite contains some of the most expensive ghost town ruins in the state. The school building cost over $50,000 to construct back in the 1800’s and four bank buildings of multiple stories lined Golden Street. The train depot served three separate transcontinental railroad trunk lines that connected in Rhyolite. And the bottle house is made from over 51,000 used whiskey and beer containers. Rhyolite’s legendary Mona Bell is memorialized at the edge of town. She was a red light district worker turned saloon owner who was shot and killed by her outlaw lover. Over the years, visitors have decorated her memorial with a variety of items including beads, shoes, champagne glasses and more.

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China Ranch Date Farm

Heading over the border to California, we revisited the beautiful and historic China Ranch in Tecopa. A working farm since the mid-1800’s, the ranch originally supported the borax mining workers. The ranch is now dedicated to groves of domestic and exotic date bearing palm trees which attract birds, coyotes and other wildlife. Burlap covers are placed over the bunches of dates to protect them from the freeloading predators. People come from all over the world to sample the variety of dates and famous date shakes. The ranch is adjacent to the Amargosa River Trailhead which leads into the desert. Borax mining ruins including railroad grades and bridges, assay office, and rusted remains are found along the trail to the slot canyons and secret waterfall. Located at the edge of Death Valley, temperatures soar into the 100’s for eight months of the year. Extreme preparedness for hikes is essential, but the payoffs in scenery and vistas are worth every drop of water carried!

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Desert Wildlife Refuge

The Desert Wildlife Refuge is the largest tract of land set aside in the continental U.S. It is adjacent to the famous Area 51 and Nellis Air Force Range. Most of the Refuge’s roads require an OHV to travel with only a few small walking trails near the Visitor Center. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful place and, as a Ranger once told us, “It’s a WILDLIFE refuge, not a people refuge.”

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Lovell Canyon

Located along the Old Spanish Trail between Pahrump and Las Vegas, Lovell Canyon extends into the Spring Mountains from the west side. Joshua trees, juniper and pinion pine trees, sage, creosote, and wildflowers are found throughout the canyon. Dispersed camping and several hiking trails are available along the dirt road access. Fall and Spring are especially beautiful and the higher altitude and shade give a nice escape from the summer heat.

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Mohave Desert Magic

If you’ve followed along with our travels for any length of time, it comes as no surprise to learn that the Mohave Desert is a favorite hiking destination of ours. From the Mohave, we have seen eclipses and thunderstorms, encountered lizards of every variety, as well as tarantulas, jackrabbits, desert tortoises, and burros, plus enjoyed the cactus and tiny wildflower blooms. We’ve come across rusted fencing, animal tracks, old bottles, rock cairns and unusual markers. In a wash, we discovered an incredible grouping of barrel cactus plants of various sizes arranged as if on purpose by a master gardener. We like to call this special place, the Temple of the Barrel Cactus, and we visit it often. Years ago, we had even discovered a labyrinth built with rocks in the middle of the desert landscape. Upon returning to Pahrump this time, we found the labyrinth had been desecrated. And, in perhaps the most magical Mohave moment of all for us, three wild horses appeared just as we were wondering if and where to build a replacement labyrinth. We took it as a sign to proceed…the desert had spoken.

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CAMPGROUND REVIEW: WINE RIDGE RV RESORT

We have stayed at Wine Ridge RV Resort several times now. Their sites are back-in with full hook ups. Sites are gravel, level and separated by a small amount of vegetation located near the rear of the site and contain a concrete patio. Picnic tables are available for premium sites only. A common outdoor area has several picnic tables and an outdoor kitchen for use by guests and the clubhouse has a full kitchen for use by guests as well. There are two separate pool areas, a hot tub, and two gas fire pits. Other amenities include ping-pong, quality horseshoe pits, fitness facility, pool table, library, and pickleball courts. Individual bathroom/shower rooms are cleaned daily and conveniently located near the clubhouse. Coin operated laundry is clean. The staff is very efficient and kind. The resort accepts package deliveries in a very organized and secure manner. Cottages are also available to rent and are spacious and clean. We had good T-Mobile service but intermittent Wi-FI service at our site. Strong and reliable Wi-Fi is available at the clubhouse, however. Located next to the Charleston Peak Winery, the park is surrounded by a beautiful vineyard and desert landscape.

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Next Up…Heading South!

• Historical
• National Wildlife Refuges
• Nature
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• Wilderness