Northern Nevada Expedition - Part 2: Pine Grove, Bluestone & Ludwig

With so much to see and with so little time to see it all, Cindy and I decided to head back out to the Northern Nevada Desert and do some more exploring! On this trip, we started off our day by heading out to the Pine Grove Hills and explore an old ghost town there bearing the same name. From there, we headed north up toward the Singatse Range to climb the ruins of the massive Bluestone Mine and beyond before making our way back to Tahoe. Below are highlight photos that we took along the way.

Back on dirt again and ready to do some exploring...


A pretty butterfly that stopped by to say hello while we were airing down...


Just up the road, we came across this old, half buried, military train tanker filled with water...




Well you just know we had to take a look inside...


At the top of an electronics site near Lobdell Summit looking down on Dalzell Canyon...




Gorgeous yellow flowers we found along the way of which I believe are Giant Blazing Stars...




Rubicat parked in front of an old barn or garage of some sort in the old Pine Grove ghost town...




Back in the 1870's this grand 2-story hotel would have provided comfortable lodging to weary travelers making their way across the Nevada desert...


Taking a look around inside...






Amazingly, after 140 years, there are still pieces of old wallpaper clinging to the timbers...


And, even more amazing is that if you look real carefully, there are even bits of old newspaper that were used as insulation still clinging to corners of the walls...






A resident of this charming hotel came out to greet us...


Shot from behind the building...


Down the road and parked in front of the Wilson Mine stamp mill with the old Post Office in the background...








Time to check out the old Post Office...


For being as old as it is, it's surprisingly in good shape...


Well, aside from all the crap carved into the walls and the rubber on the floor from some jackass doing a burnout on the hardwood floors...




Paying a visit to those who found their final resting place here in this town...


A heartbreaking grave belonging to Alice Maria Robinson who was only 15 years old and who's last requset was "...to be an angel. And with the angels stand. A crown upon my forehead. A harp within my hands." A sad reminder that so many of those who died on the frontier were the childeren...




Many of the Pioneer Headstones you find are intricately carved and shaped in this manner of which I've been told resembles slot machines during that time - a sign of success and wealth...


More times than not, a mound of earth or crude wooden fence is the only indication that a person was buried...


Looking back across town on our way out...


Parked at on the eastern edge of town next to an old stone building and wooden sign containing information about this wonderful old town...




After driving miles off road, we touch pavement once again but, even here, little remains other than a ghost of a sun-bleached stop sign...


More pics below...

Our next stop was over at the massive Bluestone Mine...


One of the oldest in the Yerington District, the Bluestone was mined between 1890 and 1930 and utilized a sophisticated system of electric ore carts on narrow gauge tracks. Unfortunately, all that remains to day is the heavily vandalized, burned out, shot up and spray painted foundations of the old mill...








Just below the old mill site, there is a large area where sedimentary run off from processed ore had collected for 40 years and then started to erode. If not for the odd color and metallic taste you have in your mouth while walking around this place, you would think that it was natural and formed over thousands of years...








On top of the hill looking out toward the old transformer building that provided electricity to the mine...


Driving out to them, this is the first of two buildings...


This the main transformer building. With the exception of the vandalism, it really was an amazing sight to see...












Finally, our last destination for the day would be over at the old mining town of Ludwig which was worked between 1860 and 1930. The towering structures that made up the mill were removed back in the 1960's and the massive concrete foundations were later painted by art students who enjoyed using the area as a backdrop...


Walking among the foundations, it's was hard not to think you were in a ancient city long forgotten by time...










And, as a parting shot, here's us driving doorless and topless into a massive storm...


I hope you enjoyed following us on our adventures deep into the northern Nevada Desert. To see all the pics we took on this trip, simply click on the link below:

Northern Nevada Expedition - Part 2

WOW, seems like it was an awesome trip:thumb:

wayoflife said:

Well you just know we had to take a look inside...

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Cool pic...was the water reflection used to take this?

Rusty said:

WOW, seems like it was an awesome trip:thumb:

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northern nevada is really an awesome place to explore - very remote

StrizzyChris said:

Cool pic...was the water reflection used to take this?

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LOL!! very good, as a matter of fact, it was

Great pics!
Much of what you explored is less than 2hours from my doorstep, I need to get to these areas and check them out!

LoPo said:

Great pics!
Much of what you explored is less than 2hours from my doorstep, I need to get to these areas and check them out!

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there's a lot of stuff we wanted to explore northeast of you but never could find time to do it. sure would have been nicer if it were a bit cooler out too :crazyeyes:

Neat Shots

Love the HDR and Egyptian "ruins".

Awesome pics as always!

I really need to get out and see these places given their proximity. Sharkey, LoPo...you ready? LOL!

I'm thinking the fall would be a good time to check some of these places out. It will not be as hot out and the snow will not yet have started to collect. And as always there will be plenty of sunshine, just not as long of days as July. :yup:

MTG said:

Awesome pics as always!

I really need to get out and see these places given their proximity. Sharkey, LoPo...you ready? LOL!

I'm thinking the fall would be a good time to check some of these places out. It will not be as hot out and the snow will not yet have started to collect. And as always there will be plenty of sunshine, just not as long of days as July. :yup:

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I'm game, just let me know. We don't need sunshine necessarily that's what Aux lights are for :rock:

beautiful

the pictures on this thread are absolutely gorgeous. i love seeing all of the places you guys go to when you post your pictures. i think im going to have to start a bucket list of places to see like this. the inn in the ghost town with the old wallpaper and newspaper was amazing. unfortunately it was sad to see how people mistreated a lot of the other building through vandalism. keep posting this stuff up. love following the threads and seeing the beautiful sites :thumb:

May i ask what camera and lens you are using? Beatiful pictures btw.:thumb:

wow for the desert it sure is Beautiful! :thumb: I love exploring old ghost towns and its something Iv been wanting to do in my Jeep.

MTG said:

Awesome pics as always!

I really need to get out and see these places given their proximity. Sharkey, LoPo...you ready? LOL!

I'm thinking the fall would be a good time to check some of these places out. It will not be as hot out and the snow will not yet have started to collect. And as always there will be plenty of sunshine, just not as long of days as July. :yup:

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LoPo said:

I'm game, just let me know. We don't need sunshine necessarily that's what Aux lights are for :rock:

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fall would definitely be a good time to head out to these places. if you're looking to throw it into low range and wheel, you should know that these trails are all easy and really just cool places to explore. it's not for everyone but, we love it.

Drayko88 said:

the pictures on this thread are absolutely gorgeous. i love seeing all of the places you guys go to when you post your pictures. i think im going to have to start a bucket list of places to see like this. the inn in the ghost town with the old wallpaper and newspaper was amazing. unfortunately it was sad to see how people mistreated a lot of the other building through vandalism. keep posting this stuff up. love following the threads and seeing the beautiful sites :thumb:

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i will never be able to get my head around why some people do what they do. it really pisses me off to no end. what they do is in fact part of why we try so hard to explore and document all that we can. i guess you can say, we feel that if we don't get out and see it now, it probably won't be there for us to see tomorrow.

JKJody said:

May i ask what camera and lens you are using? Beatiful pictures btw.:thumb:

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most of these pics are taken by cindy who is using an old sony a700 with carl zeiss lens. a few are taken by me using a sony nex5.