That LED canopy you may catch a glimpse of overhead covers Fremont Street, and it is enormous — twelve point five million LEDs stretched across five blocks, about…
0:00
2
Vegas Strip From Behind the Curtain
Mile 2 — Las Vegas
The Las Vegas Strip consumes about 8,000 megawatt hours of electricity every single day, roughly equal to the output of a small power plant running nonstop.
0:00
3
Leaving the Valley Floor Behind You
Mile 12
You're crossing the western edge of the Las Vegas Valley right now, and the terrain is shifting fast.
0:00
4
Blue Diamond: A Gypsum Mining Village
Mile 23 — Las Vegas
Blue Diamond is named after the Blue Diamond gypsum mine that opened here in the 1920s.
0:00
5
Mountain Springs Bar at the Pass
Mile 31 — Mountain Springs
The Mountain Springs Saloon here sits at roughly 5,500 feet, making it one of the highest-elevation bars in southern Nevada.
0:00
6
Descending Into the Pahrump Valley Floor
Mile 41
You're dropping off the Spring Mountains now, losing about two thousand feet of elevation over the next several miles.
0:00
7
Mountain Springs Pass Ecological Boundary
Mile 51 — Las Vegas
You're crossing Mountain Springs Pass at roughly fifty-five hundred feet, and right now you're sitting on a hard ecological line.
0:00
8
Manse Ranch and Thousand Year Springs
Mile 56 — Pahrump
Archaeological digs at Manse Ranch have uncovered artifacts dating back over twelve thousand years, making this one of the longest continuously occupied sites in the…
0:00
9
Ancient Lake Beneath the Desert Floor
Mile 58 — Pahrump
The flat valley floor you're descending into was once the bottom of a Pleistocene lake that covered roughly two hundred square miles.
0:00
10
Pahrump From Ranch Town to Boomtown
Mile 63 — Pahrump
You're entering Pahrump, a town that barely existed on most maps fifty years ago. In 1970, the population was around 1,500.
0:00
11
Crossing Into California's Giant Empty County
Mile 71 — Pahrump
You're about to cross from Nevada into Inyo County, California, a county so enormous it covers over ten thousand square miles, making it larger than nine U.S. states.
0:00
12
The Amargosa Desert's Hidden Water Story
Mile 82
You're crossing the Amargosa Desert right now, and the most interesting thing about it is the river you can't see.
0:00
13
Death Valley Junction's Borax Company Town
Mile 93 — DEATH VALLEY
Death Valley Junction exists because of borax.
0:00
14
Marta Becket and the Amargosa Opera House
Mile 93 — DEATH VALLEY
A classically trained New York ballet dancer named Marta Becket got a flat tire here in 1967 and peered through a window into an abandoned social hall.
0:00
15
Dropping Into the Deepest Valley
Mile 101
You're now descending into the lowest point in North America. Badwater Basin, ahead of you, sits two hundred eighty-two feet below sea level.
0:00
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1
Fremont Street Where Vegas Really Began
Mile 0 — Las Vegas
That LED canopy you may catch a glimpse of overhead covers Fremont Street, and it is enormous — twelve point five million LEDs stretched across five blocks, about…
0:00
2
Vegas Strip From Behind the Curtain
Mile 2 — Las Vegas
The Las Vegas Strip consumes about 8,000 megawatt hours of electricity every single day, roughly equal to the output of a small power plant running nonstop.
0:00
3
Leaving the Valley Floor Behind You
Mile 12
You're crossing the western edge of the Las Vegas Valley right now, and the terrain is shifting fast.
0:00
4
Blue Diamond: A Gypsum Mining Village
Mile 23 — Las Vegas
Blue Diamond is named after the Blue Diamond gypsum mine that opened here in the 1920s.
0:00
5
Mountain Springs Bar at the Pass
Mile 31 — Mountain Springs
The Mountain Springs Saloon here sits at roughly 5,500 feet, making it one of the highest-elevation bars in southern Nevada.
0:00
6
Descending Into the Pahrump Valley Floor
Mile 41
You're dropping off the Spring Mountains now, losing about two thousand feet of elevation over the next several miles.
0:00
7
Mountain Springs Pass Ecological Boundary
Mile 51 — Las Vegas
You're crossing Mountain Springs Pass at roughly fifty-five hundred feet, and right now you're sitting on a hard ecological line.
0:00
8
Manse Ranch and Thousand Year Springs
Mile 56 — Pahrump
Archaeological digs at Manse Ranch have uncovered artifacts dating back over twelve thousand years, making this one of the longest continuously occupied sites in the…
0:00
9
Ancient Lake Beneath the Desert Floor
Mile 58 — Pahrump
The flat valley floor you're descending into was once the bottom of a Pleistocene lake that covered roughly two hundred square miles.
0:00
10
Pahrump From Ranch Town to Boomtown
Mile 63 — Pahrump
You're entering Pahrump, a town that barely existed on most maps fifty years ago. In 1970, the population was around 1,500.
0:00
11
Crossing Into California's Giant Empty County
Mile 71 — Pahrump
You're about to cross from Nevada into Inyo County, California, a county so enormous it covers over ten thousand square miles, making it larger than nine U.S. states.
0:00
12
The Amargosa Desert's Hidden Water Story
Mile 82
You're crossing the Amargosa Desert right now, and the most interesting thing about it is the river you can't see.
0:00
13
Death Valley Junction's Borax Company Town
Mile 93 — DEATH VALLEY
Death Valley Junction exists because of borax.
0:00
14
Marta Becket and the Amargosa Opera House
Mile 93 — DEATH VALLEY
A classically trained New York ballet dancer named Marta Becket got a flat tire here in 1967 and peered through a window into an abandoned social hall.
0:00
15
Dropping Into the Deepest Valley
Mile 101
You're now descending into the lowest point in North America. Badwater Basin, ahead of you, sits two hundred eighty-two feet below sea level.