Amazing Desert

On the way to Death Valley you see signs for Ash Meadow National Wildlife Refuge. We have driven by the sign a few times and finally decided to check it out last weekend. Turns out it is the largest oasis in the Mojave Desert.  An effort in the 1950's put an end to farming and development in the area. The vast system of natural springs were being tapped for agriculture and possible development in to a city center like Las Vegas and the water table was dropping dramatically putting endangering many rare plants and animals. Today efforts are still ongoing to restore the area to its natural state.

We turned onto the rough dirt road and were fascinated to see a hill covered with very small green rocks.  Not sure yet where they came from or why they were so different from the rest of the landscape.

A different kind of green hill!

More green stones and the refuge entrance

We visited Devil's Hole, Crystal Reservoir, Visitor Center and Longstreet Spring. All on crappy, washboardy dirt roads.

Loving the old-style power lines.

Typical desert but with a few interesting variations.

Our first stop was Devils Hole. A short walk brought us to a heavily fenced in restricted area.  We walked through a chain link enclosure to get to Devils Hole Overlook. This is the only place in the world where you can find Devils Hole Pupfish. Devils Hole is a water source tucked in the side of a mountain.  The small entrance leads to an underground cavern more than 500 feet deep.  No one knows how deep it really goes but earthquakes in other parts of the world will set the cavern waters in motion.

Crystal Reservoir was on our left as we headed to the Visitor's Center.

The Visitor Center is brand new and beautiful.  Inside are interactive exhibits, a movie about Ash Meadows and a gift shop.  Outside is a boardwalk that guides you to Crystal Spring which pours out 2800 gallons of sparkling water per MINUTE! We didn't visit the boardwalk today as it was in the high 90's and Dan was breaking in a new pair off sandals. Next fall we will return!

California mountains in the distance.

We watched the movie and I snapped a photo of the pup fish.

Another 4 miles of road not recommended for regular sedans (no problem for a Subaru Forester) we arrived at the Longsteet Cabin and spring.  We didn't have any idea why someone would want to live way the heck out here until we saw the spring. Apparently gunslinger Jack Longstreet saw what we saw and built a cabin here using a hill as the back part of his cabin.

The cabin faced the gorgeous Longstreet Spring.

In the center of the spring you can see a disturbance were the water is flowing out of the ground at a rate of 16 gallons a second!

Onward to Crystal Reservoir for a lunch break. Beach day.  Apparently you may swim and boat here but the water level is a bit lower during the hot summer months and no one was partaking. Actually we were the only ones there!

One more shot of the green stones.  We will be sure to ask about them on our next visit.

Today we are headed to Tonopah, Nevada in the mid northwest of the state about halfway to Reno. Hey we just celebrated our first year anniversary in Las Vegas. Still loving it!

Enjoy your weekend.

It's all about the journey! 

Nancy and Dan