In doing so we changed elevation by over 7,000' and temperatures by over 30F°. During the first 20-miles of the route we went from -200' in Death Valley to over 3000' at the exit from the park.
During this time we averaged a whopping 5.4 MPG climbing out of the valley.
At about the half way point of our route we arrived at the town of Pahrump, NV (pop. 44,738). It was here that we filled up ROVER's tank with $3.47 gasoline, did our grocery shopping for the week and ate lunch. It was the perfect stop to break up our travel day.
Pahrump is at an elevation of about 3000' and our campsite is only about 20-miles from here as the crow flies. Unfortunately ROVER and THE POD don't fly, so we had to drive the 80-miles around the mountain to get to the other side.
For the next 60-miles we got back on the roller coaster ride taking NV-160 north before changing over to US-95 south.
It was when we turned off US-95 onto Kyle Canyon Road that we started our climb to the campground.
Over the next 20-miles we gained 4000' in elevation and ROVER had me a little worried when the engine temperature started to rise. Putting ROVER into manual shift mode and downshifting two gears to get the RPMs up did the trick and we were soon back at normal temperatures and arriving at the campsite.
We are at 7000'+ here at the Fletcher View Campground in the Toiyabe National Forest. Within the National Forest is a region called Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. They have an office complex just up the street that they call the Visitor's Gateway.
Think of it as a place to recieve all kinds of information about the outdoor recreation opportunities in the three canyons that make up this general area just 25-miles from the heart of Las Vegas.
While I was gathering information on what there was to see and do for the day, Tricia was purchasing the newest addition to her hat collection.
Another hat simply stated "the forest is strong in this one".
KYLE CANYON - DEER CREEK - LEE CANYON
ALL PART OF THE SPRING MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
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On our way into the valley yesterday we saw quite a few blooming Joshua Trees along the road.
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Today we went back to stop and take some up close photos of the beautiful blooms.
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While Tricia was taking photos I spotted a gravel road that went high up on a plateau.
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Up on the plateau we saw many more Joshua Trees and even a few Cholla Cactus.
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Cactus and Joshua Tree in the foreground and snowcapped mountains in the background.
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High up on this plateau the only sounds you hear are the winds.
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The road noise is far down below and nonexistent up here on the plateau.
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Still the valley views looking up to the mountain peaks are just as spectacular.
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No, that's not Death Valley down there, but you are looking in the right direction.
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We've been seeing warning signs along the roads for wild horses and burros.
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That's when we spotted this guy in an unfenced clearing chowing down on some grass.
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The small town of Mount Charleston can be found at the end of the paved roadway.
How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List?
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