WAYALIFE Wild West Weekend - Kick Off to Summer 2017

[wayoflife]

Every Memorial Day Weekend for about as long as I can remember, Cindy and I have been kicking off our summer by heading up into the mountains and camping out with our good friends. This year, we decided to change things up a bit and did so by trading in our tents for cheap hotel rooms and instead of just chillin in one place, we spent the whole weekend roaming across the Nevada desert. Along the way, we explored several of it's living ghost towns, partook in libations at their watering holes, visited old mining camps, rock hounded in an ancient swamp and stopped to see the Walker River flowing once again into Walker Lake. Below are some pics from our trip, I hope you enjoy.

Trek to Tonopah
Rubicat all packed up and ready to head out on a wild west weekend of fun!

It was nice to be able to meet up with Trail Bud for the drive down. Here's a shot of us stopping along the shores of Walker Lake.

Truly amazed to see the water level is actually rising again and for the first time in over 6 years.

Shake Break! Being the beautiful day that it was, we decided to stop over at Sscorros in Mina and order up a couple of strawberry milkshakes.

Down in Tonopah, our home for the night, Trail Bud was so excited that he could bearly contain himself.

Time for some refreshments!

As luck would have it, Chris and Jen showed up just as we were about to start drinking - CHEERS!

And look here, Moochie just arrived. Time to switch over to some whiskey - CHEERS!

Yea - Jason, Tony, Steph and Tina showed up and just in time for dinner - CHEERS!

After dinner, Moochie started to get fresh with Ms. Senior Golden Years USA and so Trail Bud had to intervene.

Just before calling it a night, Mike, Wendy and their kids showed up - guess it's time for a nightcap CHEERS!

 

[wayoflife]

DAY 1 - Drinking with Ghosts
One of the things that Cindy and I love so much about Nevada is that there are literally more ghost towns than populated ones and of the few that are still clinging on to life, the only business you'll find in them is a saloon. Needless to say, our first day on our Wild West Weekend would be one that was spent traversing over 150 miles, all off road (or close to it) and with the purpose of drinking with the ghosts that inhabit 3 very remote watering holes.

Good morning! With Adam having come in late the night before, everyone was present and accounted for and it was ready to head out and have some fun!

Our day out on the dirt would start right from the edge of town and as you can see here, would stretch as far as the eye can see and beyond. Hope everyone has enough gas!

Being that the road less traveled can also be less smooth, we decided to make a stop at the top of this pass to take a little air out of the tires to soften things up a bit.

With a more comfortable ride for everyone, we picked up the pace as we made our way down to the valley below.

Just follow the dust! The faster we went, the more dust we kicked up and the more everyone spread out.

On our way to our first stop, we came across something cool along the side of the road.

In the early 1900's, old stage and freight routes became overland auto routes that provided transportation services to towns in and around the Goldfield and Tonopah area. Unfortunately, it would appear this old car wasn't able to make it to its destination.

On the move again, we made our way west, across the Clayton Valley. Here you can see the cinder cone know as, "the Crater" just ahead.

Our first stop of the day, the old mining town of Blair. Here's a shot of us checking out the historical marker before proceeding up the hill.

Heading up to the old mill.

The Pittsburgh-Silver Peak Gold Mining Company established the town of Blair in 1906 and by 1907, they built an impressive 100-stamp mill. All that remains today are the foundations of this once massive structure.

Looking out across the Clayton Valley.

Climbing up to the top of the hill to check out the old powerhouse.

Standing inside the powerhouse looking at The Crater through a window on the north wall.

Some of the graffiti scratched in the plaster dates all the way back to 1927.

Standing at the doorway and looking down at the stamp mill foundations below.

Climbing further up to see what else we can find.

At one point and time, there used to be 2 very large water tanks built of iron and set on concrete foundations.

Looking back down at our Jeeps below.

As we made our way back down to our Jeeps, I came across the lid of an old Ghirardelli Chocolate tin.

Just down from the mill, we stopped over at the old Blair townsite. It's hard to believe this once thriving town was all but deserted by 1920.

Exploring one of the few structures that are still standing here.

It sucks that people have tagged the walls of this historic structure but I was glad to see efforts have been made to erase them.

Looking east toward another small cabin that still remains.

It's faint and hard to make out but if you look real close, you can just make out the word "Coors" written in script on the side of this old tin can that Chris found.

If it wasn't cool enough to be out exploring old ghost towns, the beaver tails were in full bloom to highlight the beauty of the desert.

Chollas and other flowers were blooming as well.

Back in our Jeeps, we made our way down the hill and out to our second destination of the day.

Established in 1864, Silverpeak stands as one of Nevada's oldest mining communities. In place of gold and silver, Lithium is now mined in this area and it's in fact the only source of the valuable mineral in the U.S. While there isn't a gas station or even a general store to be found here, there is a saloon that was setup in the town's old school house and it is aptly named, Old School.

Time to head on in!

To all our good friends - CHEERS!

Couple shots of the ceiling.

99 bottls of beers on the wall... or maybe more. :crazyeyes:

Whiskey time!

That's odd, I could have sworn Adam went into this room.

Yeah, I think you're cut off...

Ummm, yeah. I'm at a loss for words. :crazyeyes:

Hey! I'm talking to you - yeah you!

Mike and Jen come across some folks who've been here a while.

The bartender said they were customers who didn't pay their tab.

Back outside, Jen tells Chris to make her a sammich!

It's all good if nobody knows who you are.

After having some lunch and sobering out a bit, we posed for a group shot in front of the Old School Saloon.

 

[wayoflife]

After our fun over at the Old School Saloon, we headed south across the desert and to our next destination of the day.

Along the way, we came across a sandbox and just had to make a stop to play in it.

After our fun in the sand, we got back on the main trail and continued along our way.

Every now and then, there were bits of pavement we had to cross and one such location was over at the old townsite of Lida.

In its earliest days, this area was known as a contact point for Shoshones and Northern Paiute Indians. In 1867, a mining district was laid out and by 1872, the town of Lida was established here. Unfortunately, mining declined after 1880 and even though it did see a brief revival during the Goldfield boom, it all but disappeared once again by 1907.

Crossing over the Palmetto Mountains, we came across a beautiful Joshua Tree forest and a carpet of wild flowers.

Heading down into the Lida Valley.

And here we are at our next destination, the old ghost town of Gold Point.

Originally settled by ranchers in the 1880's and named Lime Point for the exposed lime deposits that can be found near by, it later became known as Hornsilver in 1902. After gold was discovered in 1927, the town was once again renamed and called Gold Point and it was during this time that the town saw its greatest success. Mining for gold ended with the start of WWII and while there was renewed interest after the war, it ended in the 1960's after a cave in made it unprofitable to pursue. Among the structures that still stand in this town, the old saloon is one of them and as you can guess, it's still serving libations.

Time to head on in.

Imagine that, it's whiskey time again - CHEERS!

Chillin out on the Gold Point Saloon porch and waiting for dinner to be served.

After sobering out a bit and enjoying a delicious tri-tip BBQ dinner, we hopped back on the trail and made our way north.

A view of Mount Jackson as the sun started to get low on the horizon.

Making our way along an old 2-track.

Gold was discovered in the Goldfield Hills and by 1902, the town of Goldfield was established. Just 2 years later, 30% of Nevada's gold production came from here and it was worth $2.3 million. At its peak, there were as many as 20,000 people living in Goldfield making it the most populated town in Nevada and among its residents were Wyatt and Virgil Earp. Today, there are still about 250 people who call this ghost town home and among the few businesses that still exist, the Santa Fe Saloon is one of them. In fact, it's the oldest continually running business in town and home to “Nevada’s Meanest Bartender".

To good times, good friends and a great day - CHEERS!

A couple of the locals sitting in the corner.

Guess the mice were a bit bigger back then.

A poster with all the different kinds of ass you can find in this world.

The final stretch of our 150+ miles of dirt would take us deep into the desert and well into the night.

 

[wayoflife]

DAY 2 - A Day of Exploration
Our epic day of ghost town saloon hopping ended back where we started in the town of Tonopah. After a good night sleep, we packed up and got ready to head out for another long day of exploring the wild Nevada desert and mountains.

Making our way west toward the White Mountains, we pulled off of pavement and headed up a canyon known as the Sump.

And here we are - our first destination of the day!

It's hard to imagine now but millions of years ago, this area was a forested swap filled with prehistoric life.

Spires like the one that Jen is walking up were created as the earth eroded around the root systems of the petrified trees that once stood here.

Mounds of petrified wood look like they were shredded in an wood chipper.

You can see petrified logs and roots laying in the rock formations.

Colorful canyon walls surround you.

The snowy peeks of the White Mountains in the distance look similar to the ancient volcanic ash.

On the move again, we headed out into a big valley and said hello to some of its residents.

Unfortunately, we started to have steering issues and so we pulled over to give things a look.

After driving out to Moab twice in the last month, spending a week wheeling there and then driving back home all the while racking up a few thousands miles, it probably would have served me to make some time to do some basic maintenance. But, being that I was too busy playing, I now had to pay the price of losing a bolt.

On the off chance that a needle in a haystack can be found, a few in our group headed back down the trail to give it a try. The rest in our group used the opportunity to relax and enjoy each others company.

Coming up empty handed, I ended up using a bolt that Trail Bud had that was the diameter but the wrong thread and just made it work. A crossed thread is a tight thread, right? Anyway, the fix worked and we were on our way again.

Climbing up a canyon and working our way up a mountain range.

Nice plateau in front of us.

This is where things start to get a bit more interesting.

It's hard to see in photos but it's a long way down on the driver side.

The winding path ahead.

A view between the mountains reveal the valley we just came up from.

Getting closer.

And here we are at last - one of our favorite old miners cabin situated between a rock and a hard place.

View looking to the south.

If you can believe it, bacon used to be packed in tins like this and shipped across the United States for consumption.

Geological time includes now! Heading up to the mine to explore its depths, we found that a very large rock had fallen in front of the entrance. I can tell you that it wasn't there the last time Cindy and I were here.

Time to head on in!

Sure, these timbers look strong enough to hold up the ceiling.

Back outside.

Looking down at the cabin.

 

[wayoflife]

After a relaxing visit, we made our way back out the way we came.

Now the passengers get the fun side!

Working our way up another pretty canyon.

It isn't much but there was a fun obstacle we got to take on.

Further to the north, we blasted across the desert to get out to our final destination of the day and with any luck, before the sun went down.

Getting closer and it looks like we still have some sun.

We made it!

Looking back at our Jeeps as we hike out to the Walker River delta.

And here we are - the Walker River. First time water has flowed into the Walker Lake in over 6 years.

Walking down closer to the lake itself.

Back in the town of Hawthorne, we settled in at our home for the night.

To another crazy fun day out on the trail - CHEERS!

Of course - to all our good friends that joined us on this wild west weekend adventure out in the Nevada desert. CHEERS!

And finally, a parting shot to those who gave everything so that we may be free. It is because of them that we were able to enjoy a fun filled weekend like this.

And that's how Cindy and I kicked off our summer for 2017. I hope you enjoyed following our adventures over the Memorial Day Weekend.

 

[Moochie]

A very good time! Thanks for planning and leading us to some old time watering holes! Excellent photos! [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

 

[TrainWreck618]

Looks like you guys had a great time. Lots of cool stops along the way[emoji106]


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[jeeeep]

very cool! love ghost towns..

I would've needed a 2nd driver so I could sleep off the whiskey :cheesy:

 

[Rb1boxer_3]

That's awesome. I wish to explore like that one day.

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[rgk401]

Very cool trip. Thanks wayalife

 

[Fridge81]

Looks like a fun trip! Thanks for sharing!


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[ROBnTANK]

Eddie, once again thanks for sharing your trip with us. With me living in Utah I need to head out to Nevada todo some exploring.


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[benatc1]

Looked like such an awesome weekend with good friends! Lots of cool things to explore. Wish I could have made the trip! Thanks for sharing!!


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[HighwayTrout]

Looked like a fantastic weekend! Thanks for sharing.

 

[SKT]

.

Looks like another awesome trip - thanks for sharing!

.

 

[Sherman Tanks And Napalm]

Great story and wonderful pictures thank you felt like I was there


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[WJCO]

Looks like a fun adventure. How did the coopers do in the soft sand?

 

[MF3R]

I always love reading and following your adventures. Looks like an amazing time with some amazing pictures [emoji1303][emoji1303] keep em' coming!


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[OverlanderJK]

What a blast! Such a fun way to kickoff the summer! Thanks for planning and having us along!


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[piginajeep]

Great pics! Great time as always !


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