Beautiful Nevada

[Ladybug 469]

Inside the Berlin mill....a 30 stamp mill complete with concentrating table and rifling table....

 

Looking back into Berlin and its homes that are here.  This is a state park, and well preserved.  

 

We couldn't get to the town of Union, so headed over to Grantsville next.  An old adobe building from the 1860s.

 

And their most impressive mill.  Talk to me if you want more details about some of these!  Many of these mills were stamp mills, or ball and rod mills, and/or included cyanide leaching tanks or mercury rifling tables, etc etc....

 

From the old mill, looking down on the trail.  The assayers office is the building shown.  It actually still contained labeled bags of samples!

 

The remains of the stamp mill at Grantsville.

[Ladybug 469]

And my final for tonight...the last town of this day was Ellsworth.

 

 

And on our way back to camp...a real treat to see!

 

Good night from Nevada!  A Land of Wonder and Vastness and Really Cool Stuff!

[Ladybug 469]

More pictures will come when I get home and have some internet service!

We are on our way home....1500 miles in our RV, 1300 in Gracie...from Wickenburg AZ to Baker NV.

Over 20 ghost towns (of more than 600 in this state) - 18 days so far.

It has been absolutely astounding!  2 RVs, 2 tenting families - and we are all still great friends!

Edit to add that we saw alot of wild horses, pronghorns, and burros! 

3 Dutch oven dinners, 2 Dutch oven cobblers, and Brownies and ice cream.... All my hair dye is about gone, and the grey is showing through, but oh what an adventure!! 

Pics later!

smiles, ladybug

 

ps - next year?  New Mexico or Utah....

Edited September 29, 2022 by Ladybug

[Ladybug 469]

Just a few more pics to share!  After our dry camp site outside of Gabbs, we head to Tonopah.  Along the way, we detour to Hawthorne....the world's largest ammunition depot...Google it and check it out!  Over 2,000 bunkers.  (Hawthorne and the west side of Nevada were originally on our itinerary, but we adjusted the plan in order to return to Ely and catch those ghost towns that we couldn't get to earlier due to all that rain.)

 

Ammo bunkers seen through a dirty rv window.

 

 

The town of Manhattan.  A prior mining town, with businesses, saloons, school, etc etc....Current population is 10.  The big building is its old school - now their library.  And they are very proud of it!  As they should be.  You can see an open pit mine in the background.

 

This room was it's middle school.  The far room was its high school, and the one prior was its elementary.  Its a beautiful building.

 

And this church was moved to Manhattan from Belmont - over the mountains.

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Manhattan was found when they found placer gold here in the 1860s.  In the years they also did dredge mining (with water, ripping up the gulch) and open pit mining.  The doodad with the arms on it was actually an agitator, used in a cyanide leaching tank.

 

You can see the open pit mine from the mill site.  This is actually a small open pit.   We have seen newer and much larger ones, and many still active.

 

[Ladybug 469]

From Manhattan we head over the hills on a much improved trail to Belmont.    You can only imagine that the road was NOT in this condition when they moved their church to Manhattan.

 

 

The County courthouse built in 1876.  The county seat was moved to Tonopah in 1905, but this beautiful old building still stands. 

 

Belmont has a small but stable population, and we found 3 of them at the local bar.

 

 

We drive to East Belmont - the home of Chinatown and the Combination Mill.

 

 

And off into the hills, we found TONS of ruins and mine shafts and this beauty!!!  The brick was moved from the Combination Mill.

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One final shot of the Monitor Mill, as we admire the view!

 

From Tonopah we head north to Elko.  Elko was a major distribution point in the 1860s;  the building of the first transcontinental railroad was started at one end in Iowa and the other in Sacramento.  The east building leg - from Sacramento - stopped in Elko.  Because of this rail road, Elko became a huge hub for mining camps as well as ranchers.   We are headed north to ranching country!  The mountains and valleys of our drive truly awe me!

 

 

Dinner Station.  This stage stop between Elko and Tuscarora fed 75 people per day!  and its barn held 20 horses.  It is now privately owned, which is nice, as it ensures its condition.

 

The ghost town of Tuscarora.  There were actually 2 towns - the first town was flooded with Chinese that were laid off upon completion of their leg of the railroad build.  Initially this area was busy due to placer mining, but then later, 2 miles north at the new town, they found veins of silver.  We could not get to Chinatown - it is now a privately owned ranch.  New Tuscarora is in the background.

 

There are still a few people living in this town.  Population 127

 

And remnants of their old mill.

 

 

[Ladybug 469]

The next day we head to Jarbidge.  This little town is in a deep narrow canyon.  We climb up over 9,000 feet and then drive zig zag down into the canyon.  The delivery wagons 100 years ago had to tie logs to the back of their wagons for additional braking.  Most all supplies came in from Idaho.  There are only 2 ways into town...from Idaho, or over the hills like we went.  

Jarbidge is the Shoshone Indian word for "monster that lurks in the canyon".   We leave from Elko, north across miles of cattle country.  And sheep.  We saw one ranch that must have had over 2,000 head of sheep.  We also saw 5 cowboys on horses bringing cattle in from the hills.  

 

And we see pronghorn.

 

And more awesome views. 

 

Coming into town.  First stop...a tiny store that sells ice cream.  Population 12, who oversee 2 saloons, one trading post (with ice cream), a gas pump, and post office.

 

Jarbidge was the site of the last stage coach robbery in US - 1916.  The culprit - Ben Kuhl - was housed in this jail.  It was said that one prior occupant (early 1900s) used his bunk to lift the top of the jail roof, went to the bar each night, and returned to his cell each morning before anyone knew.  Oh the stories that I read about!!

 

 

Leaving town, climbing the hill out.  To the south of this canyon is wilderness.

 

[Ladybug 469]

Just a few more posts!

From Elko, we head back to Ely to catch the ghost towns that we missed earlier in the trip.  Along the way, we drive through Secret Canyon at the north edge of the most magnificent Ruby Mountains.   (Excuse the shots out of a dirty window)

 

 

We head over to Spruce Mountain for the afternoon.  On the west side of this mountain was the town and mills of Sprucemount - and rowdy miners and noisy nights.  On the east side of this mountain was Jasper - originally Starr King - a company town.  We stop first at Sprucemount.

 

 

We don't make it to Jasper, as the day is getting late...bummer...another trip someday!

But we do get to the east side of the mountain and the ghost town of Monarch.  This mining camp/town was established later....1920s (ok - only 100 years ago) when they reworked this area and dug in new mines.   Lots here for us to check out.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Ladybug

[Ladybug 469]

The next day we take the trail to Hamilton.  This was a long day, and we expected it so....It was a loop that included Hamilton, Treasure City, Eberhardt, Shermantown, and Belmont Mill.  

Hamilton was built on the flat land below Treasure Hill, where silver was found in 1867.  It had a population of over 10,000 and lasted just 3 years.  There are not as many ruins left, so I'm really glad we made this trip.

 

 

There's still some equipment laying around here.  I was glad that I had researched all the various methods of mining...we saw it all....most often just remnants, but still identified...stamp mills, ball and rod mills, jaw crushers, cyanide tanks, and on and on....

 

That is Treasure Hill in the background.  

 

 

Three miles up the trail to Treasure City - on Treasure Hill.  Along the way, wild horses!  They obviously are used to people checking out this hillside.  

 

 

Treasure City was built on a 3/4 mile stretch of flat land along an edge of this mountain top....elevation over 9,000 ft.   Over 40 businesses were built along this stretch, complete with saloons.  It was said to watch where you walk, as you could step out the back door and down a mine shaft...  Due to fires in the town, all that was left was stone foundations.