Traveling Whartons: Pahrump NV

I am running behind on the blog. I hope to catch up over the next few days.

We spent a week in Pahrump as we slowly ease into RVing again after the Covid break.

We visited Death Valley which was not what I expected. My initial thoughts was dry, sand dunes. Nothing like that. Yes the valley is dry, mostly scrub brush about 18" high. Mountains all around.

As we approached Death Valley we saw a side road for Dante's Viewpoint. The last mile of the drive was switchbacks, 15 degree road to get to the top. This was well worth it. What a view, we could see all of Death Valley, 5500 feet below us. Temperature was a rude awakening, got out of the car and the wind is howling, temperature was 54, we had started at 71 and didn't realize we would have such a temperature change. Of course, no jackets.

For most of the day we wandered around Death Valley, visited the lowest point at Badwater, -282 feet. We spent most of the day below sea level.

Nevada has a sense of humor for their scenic drives, this one is called the Death Drive. Others are Burner, Cowboy, Extraterrestrial, Great Basin, Cowboy, Loneliest Road, Rubies and Free Range Art.

As an added benefit there was a balloon festival in Pahrump. Where we are parked at an Elks Lodge we overlooked the town. The balloons were scheduled to lift off at 7 AM but took off early so we missed the initial take off. It wasn't like the Albuquerque Balloon Festival but still a nice bonus.

Enjoy the pictures

Death Valley: