Ash Meadows

Friday, we were leaving Death Valley.  We woke up to another gorgeous sunset.

It was our last morning so we enjoyed the view before having breakfast at the hotel.

Then we checked out and headed back to Nevada.  Our first stop was in Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge at the visitor center.  After talking to the friendly staff, we planned out a couple hikes in the refuge.  First, we hiked the Crystal Springs Boardwalk that started from behind the Visitor Center.

The trail followed a boardwalk through the surprisingly lush area to the Crystal Springs Creek.  The warm spring water was steamy in the chilly morning air.

The boardwalk continued to Crystal Springs, the source of the water.

The spring produces about 2,800 gallons per minute of water at a constant 87ºF and was a beautiful turquoise blue color.

The boardwalk then looped back around to the visitor center.  Our next stop was at the Point of Rocks trailhead, about 10 minutes away.  The short trail led out to another spring and we saw some velvet ash growing, the refuge's namesake.

There was a small bridge across the creek in the boardwalk.

Just past here, we came to Kings Pool, another beautiful blue spring-fed pool.

There were a lot of little Amargosa pupfish in the pool.  These little fish are endemic to the springs here in Ash Meadows.

The far end of the loop came to an amphitheater with nice views of the desert.

We spotted a little cactus, maybe a cholla, along the hike back.

Finishing up the hike, we were successful in finding the rare pupfish.

From here, we started making our way back to Las Vegas.  We made a detour into Spring Mountains National Recreation Area to again try to get a waterfall in Nevada.  Being a weekday, we could drive into Kyle Canyon.  The Echo Trailhead was blocked by snow sow we parked along the road and hiked back to the trailhead.  Little Falls Trail was very snowy, but we had nice views of the mountains.

After passing the connector trail, the trail got steep as we headed into the small canyon.

Near the top, the canyon got very closed in.

Soon we made it to Little Falls at the end of the canyon.

It was too cold and snowy for and water flow but was really pretty.

And kind of ironic that our waterfall in Nevada was frozen.

On the hike back, we took the connector trail back to the road.  There was a great view of Cathedral Rock.

From here, we drove back to Las Vegas and checked into the M Resort.  It's off the strip, so parking is free, but similar to the casinos on the strip.  There was a beautiful sunset from the hotel, our last one in the desert.

We had dinner at the casino and got ready to head home the next day.