We headed south out of Oregon to warmer and drier weather in southern Nevada. Talk about a change in climate and scenery! The Mojave greeted us with vast expanses of some of the driest desert we’ve ever seen. On top of that, we enjoyed spectacular sunsets just about every evening.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is the largest remaining oasis in the Mojave. It is quite the sight to see a spring-fed wetland in the middle of such a dry and often desolate region. Because of how isolated it is, it is home to 26 species of plants and animals that do not exist any where else on earth! Click below to see our adventures at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and a goofy, nearby attraction:

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Big Bovine of the Desert

Why is there a giant fiberglass cow in the middle of the desert? Because, why not? Apparently, it began its life on top of the Holy Cow Casino and Brewery in Las Vegas. They went out of business and when the building was demolished in 2002, the owner of Longstreet Inn Casino & RV Park purchased it and hauled it out to it’s new home. It makes for quite the unexpected sight and continues to lure in customers. It certainly made for a humorous stop on our way to Ash Meadows.

More on Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

It’s free! There is enough to see that you could easily spend the whole day there and we wish we had. Pack a meal because there are plenty of places to picnic. Also make sure to bring plenty of water. After all, it is a desert. If you plan far enough ahead (we did not), they also have tours available.

Where to Stay

We drove in from Pahrump, NV where we spent our holidays. Since the refuge is fairly remote, Pahrump is actually the largest town around and is about 30 minutes away. The RV Park right next to the great big cow is actually the closest thing around. We didn’t look closely at the RV spots while we were there, but they do offer full hook-ups. Outside of that, there is a fair amount of BLM land in the area where you could camp for free, but we weren’t aware of any spots in particular.

Any questions? Please leave us a comment on the video above so that we can answer them!

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