Death Valley #6 - Day Trip to Vegas & Inn at Furnace Creek

GET-YUR-MOTOR-RUNNIN'  ROAD TRIP

(Astoria - Santa Fe - Death Valley - Astoria)

Furnace Creek, Death Valley - Las Vegas - Furnace Creek 

November 13, 2013  (Day 30 of 44)

Miles Today: 270 / Trip Miles: 3,594

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Photos:
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All photos © 2014 Leon Jackson. All Rights Reserved. 

Mary flies home today, so we drove to Las Vegas' McCarran Airport. I returned to Death Valley, and will be driving homeward tomorrow. The weather was sunny—in the high 60s-low 70s F. The high desert air was crystal clear until we arrived in Las Vegas where it was smoggy. Vegas is a boomtown, with lots of major construction going on downtown. Blue Springs Road is an example of how Vegas is growing/has grown. This surface street runs primarily through residential areas from Las Vegas Blvd toward Pahrump. It resembles a freeway with its 55 mph speed limit and eight lanes (excluding turn lanes).

On the route to Pahrump, the highway travels through the Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest and over a 5,500 foot summit. 

Pahrump, Nevada:
Pahrump is an unincorporated town at an elevation of 2,700 feet with a population of 36,500. One word sums up Pahrump—tacky. Upon entering Pahrump, a traveller is visually bombarded with an endless stream of billboards and advertising signs. I stopped at the Gold Town Casino for a taste of a small town Nevada casino, and a bite to eat. The casino reeked of tobacco smoke. The patrons in the small casino coffee shop and buffet were mostly locals stuffing themselves at the buffet. Many appeared to have lived a very hard life. 

For years, I wanted to visit Pahrump because of Art Bell, a Harvard-educated radio broadcaster. Bell was one of the founders, and the original host, of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast-to-Coast AM. For many years his broadcast studio and transmitter were located near his home in Pahrump. I envisioned Pahrump as kind of an eerie mysterious place in the desert. Pahrump turned out to be more ugly than eerie.

After leaving Pahrump, the route to Furnace Creek through scenic desert land was even more beautiful in the late afternoon sunlight.

High Desert Moon

Desert terrain along the highway between Pahrump & Death Valley Junction. Barely visible, below and to the left of the moon, is an airplane and its contrail.
[flickr]

Death Valley at Dusk #10

The Inn at Furnace Creek at twilight—under a little moonlight.
[flickr]

Death Valley at Dusk #11

Twilight in Death Valley, looking toward the southwest from the Inn at Furnace Creek.
[flickr]

Today's Route:
Furnace Creek to Vegas via US-95:
Scenic rating: C+

Driving fun/road rating: C+

Vegas to Furnace Creek via Pahrump:
Scenic rating: B
Driving fun/road rating: A-

Tomorrow:
West to Lone Pine, CA situated at the foot of Mt. Whitney. Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,500 feet.