| While I was spending the night in
Tonopah, I drove away from town to a few other places that
afternoon. |
 |
| A Joshua tree in the Goldfield
cemetery. On my last trip through this part of Nevada back in 2005 I
drove through Goldfield, but didn't really see much. This time I
spent some time looking around. |
 |
| Here is the Goldfield Consolidated
Mines Building on the left and the Ish-Curtis/Registration Trust on
the right. |
 |
| This is the stone arch remaining from
the Sideboard Saloon, originally built in 1907. The rest of the
building was a wooden structure, so it's no wonder this is all that
still stands. |
 |
| The 1907 Goldfield High School is
undergoing a restoration project. |
 |
| Goldfield is another town that is not
fully a ghost town. There are around 200-300 people living there.
That is the Goldfield Fire Station #1 (1907) in the foreground and
the Esmeralda County Courthouse (1907) in the background. Goldfield
is still the county seat today. |
 |
| No idea what these two things are doing
here. They look like entrances to pedestrian subways for a train
station. |
 |
| The Goldfield Hotel was one of the only
things I remember from my previous visit to town, It still looks
the same, just as abandoned. |
 |
| Out of Goldfield, heading south to... |
 |
| Gold Point. The 2010 census counted
seven people living here. |
 |
| Places like this are a bit odd to visit
when there are people who are living there. You never quite know how
much of it is private property and how the owner feels about
visitors poking around. |
 |
| But there are a lot of old wooden
structures that date back to the old gold mining days. The state
historical marker said that miners were drawn away to essential
World War II industries in 1942 and major mining efforts ceased at
Gold Point. |
 |
| An outhouse. |
 |
| Given the modern windows and door, this
might still be used. |
 |
| On the road to Silver Point, I saw some
dust devils in the distance. |
 |
| I passed a lot of activity on the way.
I don't really know what they were doing, but lots of trucks and
work areas. |
 |
| This is the landscape out there.
According to Wikipedia, they are extracting heavy brine and lithium
from the dry lake bed. |
 |
| This is not a sign you necessarily want
to see on your drive. |
 |
| Silver Peak is still an active town of
a little more than a hundred people. The sign says U.S. Post Office,
but I don't think it is anymore. The real post office is in the
trailer building next door. |
 |
| Probably a saloon back in the day. |
 |
| An abandoned Miners Gas station,
whatever that was. The pumps looks about 1970's. |
 |
| I have no idea what this stone
structure was. It was next to a house with two large barking dogs,
so I didn't investigate. |
 |
| Back in Tonopah. In 2005, the historic
Mizpah Hotel was closed but was apparently going to undergo
restoration. Seventeen years later, I got to stay there, |
 |
| Before we go in, let's see a little
more of town. This is the Belvada Hotel. Built in 1906, it was
originally the Nevada State Bank & Trust Building, The same people
who renovated the Mizpah Hotel also did this one too. |
 |
| Don't know what this used to be. It's a
variety store now. |
 |
| Historic hotels like the Mizpah Hotel
are great. This is a restored antique gambling wheel, circa 1939,
from the Flamingo Casino, wherever that was. |
 |
| The hotel has a bar. I know someone to
whom this would be essential in a hotel. |
 |
| A little corner of slot machines. |
 |
| The hotel is allegedly haunted, which
means it is definitely not because ghosts do not exist. |
 |
| The room had a nice Old West period
feel to it. |
 |