"I hear you are on a road trip of America. Bring your cameras and come on over to my place, I've got a story to tell you." I turned to find Kathy, with a big smile on her face, inviting me to visit her establishment in Crystal, Nevada. It was another of the welcome surprises that happened at Beatty Days.








As we left Beatty, Nevada and headed for Pahrump, we decided to take Kathy up on her offer and visit her in Crystal, Nevada at the Short Branch Saloon. So we took the lonesome road that turned off the lonesome highway and stopped in. We parked in the dirt lot, next to the missile, next door to the Cherry Patch Ranch House of Prostitution and Museum.


Kathy remembered us and was glad to see us. We got there in the afternoon, so things were slow. We sat down for a sarsaparilla and a story. She told us that she was the proprietor here, had been for years in a town of about 100 people. She ran the joint and took care of what needed taking care of, she had her ways.

Known for her meatloaf and steaks cooked to order, this watering hole was a destination ride from Vegas. Kathy claimed the likes of Toby Keith, Nicole Kidman and "tiny little" Keith Urban had spent and evening kicking their boots up here. HBO had filmed for "Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal," out here. This is the wild, wild west were prostitution is legal and you have to be tough to survive. Not too many single women out here with the miners.

Kathy was taking no prisoners. "When I bought this place the man I bought it from told me I would be closed in 6 months. I'm still here and that 'Open' sign never gets turned off in case he drives by. I want him to see I never closed."


There are rooms in the back where a rider who has had a few too many can sleep it off. Patio and fire pit for slow conversations against a desert sunset.