The Racetrack
This is the place with the skating rocks and some weird depth perception issues. It's 30 miles down a dirt road so you really should not get a flat tire.
Lost Burro Mine
Lost Burro had around 7 mine shafts that we went into. The rickety supports were not deterrent enough, so we stumbled over rail tracks and rat eaten miner clothing in the dark.
Darwin
Darwin is one of my favorite modern ghosttowns (up there with Eagle Mountain and Desert Center). When we arrived, there was a coyote running down the road chasing a rabbit. Someone who lives here is obsessed with Aliens.
Cerro Gordo
The caretaker did not answer the phone. This place is a hairy drive and you need a tour to really see it. The view of of Keeler and Mount Whitney is amazing. It also has hanging ore carts, one of my favorite things.
NOVEMBER
Known as just "Mine" on the map, this fluffy place in northern Death Valley was probably a rhyolite mine. We felt like we were being poisoned just by being there because there were fluorescent green rocks and white puffy fluff everywhere...and there had obviously been some crash alien landings.
Rhyolite, a Nevada ghosttown, was full of great desert art and some of the tallest ghosted ruins I've seen.
Keene Wonder Mine. Still one of my favorite hikes in the world so far. Madeline and I did it in February as the sun was going down. This time D and A and I started early. We hiked past the main frame, threw rocks down caves we shouldn't have been near and then headed down the canyon rather than on the ridge. We saw a baby rattlesnake, bottles of old miner's drugs and fallen mine carts. The only thing better than a fallen mine cart is a hanging mine cart.
This house is at the old Harrisberg site close to Skidoo. We scared a motorcyclist who had slept there to get out of the rain.
Yosemite is too beautiful to be real. We had to get out of the car to make sure this wasn't a mountain mirage.
7 comments:
Wow, that looks really fun. I have to go to the desert with you sometime as long as you can promise there won't be any rattlesnakes.
I want to plan another long trip for my birthday in February b/c it lands on Pres day. Might need two cars that can handle rough roads. Let's do it!
Can I come to? I don't mind rattlesnakes a bit! I like the blue bandanna btw - makes a nice touch!
Yes of course! And don't you have a 4-wheel drive? We'll need that. :)
I do have 4-wheel drive! (I guess I am useful for something!)
And so much more...
Me and WD are coming too!
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