In Search of a Last Hope in the Nevada Desert

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Not gonna lie, it's been a tough couple of years for Cindy and I and not just because of all the stupidness going on in the world. And, in spite of the fact that we haven't been posting up videos or even highlight threads of every trip we go on, we still have been getting out and as often as we can. That said, I've recently started going through and categorizing some of the photos we've taken and while they are on the thin side, I thought they might still be worth sharing.

Anyway, here are a few shots that we took from one of our many exploration trips across Nevada. Specifically, these were taken from a ghost town and mining district that two brothers founded back in 1924 and as a last hope to strike it rich. As luck would have it, they discovered high grade ore in this mountain range the town grew to a population 400 people. But, like most boomtowns across the state, the veins played out in just 5 short years and by 1929, most of the residents had moved on. By 1931, it had become yet another ghost town.

Being that this trip was kind of a spur of the moment thing and something we did on our way down to Boulder City, we decided to grab some lunch at one of our favorite restaurants down in Hawthorne, Joe's Tavern. Of course, in addition to the tasty food and good beer, one of the things we love about it, is how patriotic the owner is. And, whenever there's a free spot, we always try to take a pic of our Jeep in front of this mural they have on their wall!
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To good times out on yet another exploration run - CHEERS!
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Heading out into the wilderness! If you look real close, you can just make out a couple of burros.
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As we made our way across the dry and dusty desert, Cindy and I noticed a green patch up on a hill. Fortunately, there was a road leading up to it.
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It always amazes me just how different a patch of desert will look when just a bit of water is present.
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And this is where the water was coming from, an old spring.
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Someone a long time ago was smart enough to try and capture the water in a trough for their livestock.
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Today, it's become a home to a lush micro environment that stays green even in triple digit heat.
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Continuing on, we made a stop at an old mill site and, at least for a time, enjoyed the shade that a single cloud provided.
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Ripley letting us know there is some cool stuff to be seen up there.
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On to the next attraction...
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More cool stuff and Ripley approved!
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Always love digging through the trash to see what we can find.
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On our way to the old town site, we came across a more modern open pit mine but was no longer being worked.
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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Hard to believe now but at one time, there were hundreds of people living here.
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This is the kind of stuff that I really love. Painted on this piece of galvanized steel is the shipping label indicating who purchased the container and where it was shipped to.
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Of course, this is the manufacturer and where they were located.
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And last but not least, after the cyanide was used, the container was cut open and recycled for the purposes of being roofing material. It's this kind of stuff that really humanizes the history of an area.
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And last but not least, a parting shot of us having a drink at one of our favorite destinations - the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada! CHEERS!
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I hope you enjoyed the few photos that we took from this awesome trip. :cool:
 
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Awesome pics and totally understood. The effort it takes to create content is truly unknown by many of those watching, and I'm pretty old school so even just a few pics of a trip would do just the same in telling a story as a full film production would. Gives you a chance to be more in the moment too when exploring and without worry of getting a certain shot in a certain light or something like that. Cool to see you guys spend the time with Jet too 👍
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Nice pics. Thanks for sharing. Love the desert.
Glad you enjoyed the pics :)
Awesome pics and totally understood. The effort it takes to create content is truly unknown by many of those watching, and I'm pretty old school so even just a few pics of a trip would do just the same in telling a story as a full film production would. Gives you a chance to be more in the moment too when exploring and without worry of getting a certain shot in a certain light or something like that. Cool to see you guys spend the time with Jet too 👍
Thank you and we appreciate your understanding. We never got into all this Jeep stuff to become social media "influencers" or "content creators". We got into it to get away from everyone and everything. Sharing what we love with others is just a byproduct of our passion. Albeit, that doesn't get you "views" or "subs" but fortunately, those aren't things that we need to survive or to make us happy.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Sometimes you just gotta slow down and enjoy things. The photo with the single cloud providing shade is killer.
Exactly. And, that is what we do as often as we can. Glad you like the photo :cool:
Nice. Was this perhaps the final Wayalife voyage for Jet?
LOL - no, not by a long shot. This was a trip we did way back in summer and we did a lot more trips with JET after as well.
 

jeeeep

Hooked
The Nevada desert holds a lot of history.
When I was younger and exploring it from the Utah side, I always felt I'd run into some old miner that didn't realize what century it was or that someone was watching me lol
 

Colorado4x4

Active Member
Very cool. Thanks for sharing this. That little spring/oasis was cool. Looked like a lot of little critters enjoy that site too.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
The Nevada desert holds a lot of history.
When I was younger and exploring it from the Utah side, I always felt I'd run into some old miner that didn't realize what century it was or that someone was watching me lol
Nevada holds a lot of history because so much of it, about 70% to be exact is all public land. History is harder to erase when nobody can develop it into a housing complex or shopping mall.
Awesome pics! Love trips like this with lots of history to boot. Thanks for sharing! (y)
You bet! Glad you enjoyed the pics.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member

DZRTJP

Active Member
Hard to believe now but at one time, there were hundreds of people living here.
20210822154842-41f83b34-me.jpg


20220217172321-ea2d70b3-me.jpg


20220217172324-500486cc-me.jpg


20220217172327-3380fd19-me.jpg


20210822154831-538f2edc-me.jpg


20210822154837-9fd0c11c-me.jpg


This is the kind of stuff that I really love. Painted on this piece of galvanized steel is the shipping label indicating who purchased the container and where it was shipped to.
20220217172318-679c976b-me.jpg


Of course, this is the manufacturer and where they were located.
20210822154825-11dddea1-me.jpg


And last but not least, after the cyanide was used, the container was cut open and recycled for the purposes of being roofing material. It's this kind of stuff that really humanizes the history of an area.
20210822154823-22fe5950-me.jpg


And last but not least, a parting shot of us having a drink at one of our favorite destinations - the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada! CHEERS!
20210822154653-ebc37b5f-me.jpg


I hope you enjoyed the few photos that we took from this awesome trip. :cool:
Hey Eddie & Cindy, we really love looking at or watching your posts 😁. These are great pics of a beautiful area.
And, Karen and I are exactly the same as you both are in your YouTube post. Got into 4x4's & eventually Jeep's so we could enjoy going out by ourselves the way you do. We don't mind being in the company of others, but enjoy ourselves most when exploring together 💞😁
 

rich67

Caught the Bug
As always, great pics and great info. Like the previous poster said, I am old school myself and like to see a good old fashioned trip report like this instead of tons of videos all the time. Your pictures are always so nicely composed too. We are on a year long road trip so we could get away from all the stupidity going on in the world. Nothing like towing our teardrop and getting away from it all on some dirt road. F3F01B20-6655-4DB5-9A1C-A977D02B24F9.jpeg
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Awesome pics and looks like a perfect way to spend a day!
Thank you. Glad you liked the pics :)
Hey Eddie & Cindy, we really love looking at or watching your posts 😁. These are great pics of a beautiful area.
And, Karen and I are exactly the same as you both are in your YouTube post. Got into 4x4's & eventually Jeep's so we could enjoy going out by ourselves the way you do. We don't mind being in the company of others, but enjoy ourselves most when exploring together 💞😁
Awesome. Glad you can appreciate a trip like this.
 
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