50th Anniversary Trip - Ash Meadows

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For this first entry I'll keep it short just to get things started.

Sunday, 12/24, Christmas Eve. Had a very early flight out of GSP, connecting in ATL, and then on to Las Vegas, arriving around 1:00 PM. Since it was Christmas Eve, Anne had baked cookies to give to TSA workers, gate agents, and flight crews. All recipients seemed surprised and grateful! Drove to Beatty, NV, by way of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Did a little bit of walking around the refuge where an underground aquifer surfaces to provide fresh water in the middle of the desert with several springs feeding a pretty large lake called the Crystal Reservoir. Spent the night in Beatty after having dinner at a Denny's (not much choice in the desert on this holiday night!) located in a casino which, to my knowledge, is the world's only Denny's with access to a full bar.

The next morning we headed to Death Valley via the Titus Canyon Road and our first, and as it turned out, our best hike of the trip.

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Photos

Ash Meadows Sign
One of the few places in the desert with good fresh water.

Ash Meadows
The desert around Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.

Sunset
Over Ash Meadows' Crystal Reservoir

Death Valley National Park
This is the sign along Titus Canyon Road that welcomes you to the park.