Over the Hump to Pahrump

We decided to drive over the hump to Pahrump during Memorial Day weekend. I had randomly googled “Pahrump pressed penny” during the week and found a machine at a shop. It wasn’t listed on PennyCollector so I wanted to grab some pennies and help the community out.

Nevada State Route 160 makes for a beautiful desert drive once you get past the turn for Blue Diamond/159. At the summit’s top is Mountain Springs where you can stop at the saloon to stretch your legs and grab a drink. I still need to visit it myself but it comes highly recommended by one of my friends. On the other side of the summit lies an open desert as far as the eye can see and jaw-dropping views of the Spring Mountain range. I cannot believe there are places on Earth where it’s so flat you can’t see a single mountain because I’m always amazed by the mountains that have always seemed to surround the valleys of my life.

Death Valley Marketplace was our first stop. I didn’t have this blog created at the time so I didn’t grab many pictures of the place. It’s out on Bell Vista Ave, the road that takes you over to Death Valley Junction. The store is a family-owned and operated business run by Alina and Tim that opened up sometime in the last 5 years. Inside you’ll find locally crafted snacks, body care, and Nevada-themed home decor amongst their selection of craft soda, taffies candies, and Thrifty’s ice cream! The penny machine rolled nicely. The design with the skeleton walking the dog is one of my favorites in my collection. The man who was working the counter was happy to talk to me about it. He mentioned that the store was asked about taking care of another penny machine but he wasn’t sure what happened to it or where it ended up going.

The best part of Death Valley Marketplace? It doubles as a donkey (and horse) sanctuary named Donkeys of Pahrump! Alina decided to use the extra space on their land to help out some animals in need after a BLM roundup had removed them from the area. Bring an extra $3 (minimum) so you can purchase a cup of food inside the store to hand-feed these sweet animals. Please do not feed them anything else. The rescue is currently home to 3 donkeys, 1 mini donkey, 1 mini pony, 1 Welsh pony, and 1 appaloosa horse. Taking care of animals is expensive, so Donkeys of Pahrump can often be found hosting craft fairs to help offset the cost. When I was there, volunteers had just planted a donated tree that the donkeys were enjoying.

I’m glad my random Google search led me to find this place that I would have otherwise never known about. I was able to hang out with some donkeys without the overwhelming atmosphere of Oatman. The money spent here went towards a great cause. I’ll definitely be back.

What’s a trip to Pahrump in the summer without stopping at Seemore’s Ice Cream? The building screams classic roadside Americana. Can we please start architecture fun again? The building bills itself as the “World’s Tallest Ice Cream Stand”. It’s only about two stories tall but I’ve not personally seen one bigger! This ice cream stand is open seasonally, usually between March and November every year. There is plenty of parking and a few tables set up under the shade to enjoy your tasty treats. A long line was beginning to form on the day we visited. Bring a shade umbrella or a hat and some water. Please be patient with the employees. It doesn’t look like more than 1, maybe 2, can work at a time. I got a vanilla soft serve on a sugar cone and I will never be too old for rainbow sprinkles!

After cooling down, we headed back home to Vegas. On the drive back you are greeted with the Las Vegas strip peeking over the mountains. See you soon, Pahrump. Don’t worry… I’m in the passenger seat!

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Mentioned in this blog post…

• Death Valley Marketplace
• Donkeys of Pahrump
• Seemoore’s Ice Cream
• Nevada State Route 160