I’ve just finished posting the report of my 2013 Nevada ghost town trip on my website!

http://www.raydunakin.com/Site/Nevada_Trip_2013_Part_One.html

My 2013 trip was a real adventure in every sense of the word! I saw some wonderfully preserved sites, many historic ruins, and a mine big enough to drive a car in; ancient log cabins and fascinating machinery; thunderstorms, flash floods, wildlife encounters, and a blue sphinx! I also had a variety of car problems, a near-disaster, and my first-ever call to 911, and being on the receiving end of Mineral County’s Search and Rescue! I visited many interesting sites, most of which I’d never seen before, and a few I had not seen in many years.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading about it. If you discover any broken links or other issues, please let me know. Also I’d appreciate hearing any suggestions as to how I could improve the site or make it easier to navigate.

Thanks for sharing, Ray.
Renting the satellite phone sure was a wise investment
Ralph

I wouldnt call this an other hobby…thsi s reasearch for all those great structures you build!

Bart Salmons said:

I wouldnt call this an other hobby…this is reasearch for all those great structures you build!

Very true!

Ray,

Very interesting. Thanks for the effort to make it available on your website.

If I had your hobby, I think I’d be looking into a bigger, tougher off road vehicle.

I used to love exploring old ghost towns back in the 70’s. Back then I had a Toyota Landcruiser.

Big winch on the front. I foolishly sold it. Now they are worth big bucks, if you can find one.

(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/jebouck/landcruiser.jpeg)

Unfortunately these days, all the so-called SUVs seem to be designed for soccer moms rather than for serious off-roading or true utility.

And I’d like to give a head injury to whoever it was that decided “all SUVs shall have hatchbacks instead of rear doors.”

Very, very cool! Thank you for sharing your trip.

Its only getting worse Ray. Today’s SUVs and alot of pick-up trucks, even the 4wd versions, aren’t designed for much more than lightweight off road use, to get something serious can take some major rebuilding today. I think this has been a concerted effort by both the auto industry and the insurance industry to discourage off road use as its often bad for their warranty depts and insurance companies bottom line. I know my last 4x4 had a ridiculous coverage rate, so much so I intentionally made sure my Frontier had 2xd. If I had money I would buy an Icon BR, but I’d have to hit the lotto first, as they are VERY expensive:

http://www.icon4x4.com/overview/br/models

John Bouck said:

Ray,

Very interesting. Thanks for the effort to make it available on your website.

If I had your hobby, I think I’d be looking into a bigger, tougher off road vehicle.

I used to love exploring old ghost towns back in the 70’s. Back then I had a Toyota Landcruiser.

Big winch on the front. I foolishly sold it. Now they are worth big bucks, if you can find one.

John here ya go, a little temptation to get the day going:

http://www.icon4x4.com/overview/fj/models

Ray, I envy you and your hobby of driving roads and looking at mines in eastern California and Nevada. What fun! I am also envious of your ability to make a really interesting and well crafted web site. Terrific! What application do you use?

Have you ever visited the mining remnants in Panamint City? I was there a couple years ago and posted my images at: http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/sylvester/Surprise_Canyon_Hike/Surprise_Canyon_Hike.html

In my younger days I used to work for a mineral and land surveyor in southern Arizona. Our job was to survey mining claims for patent. One summer we surveyed a lot of mines in the Clifton and Morenci area of eastern Arizona, including one called the War Eagle, before much of the area was turned into a great open pit. We had a lot of fun poking around a lot of old buildings and mining facilities much like the ones you have captured recently in Nevada - but we stayed out of the underground workings: Too darned dangerous!

Ray,

A lot of Nevada desert is “Guvmint testing grounds”. (USAF, etc.) Do you have maps showing where you can explore and where you can’t?

Ray- It’s been a long time since I’ve been jealous of anyone’s vacation destination! Your post has done just that ( in a pleasant sort of way ) Reminds me of the times in the late '70s when I lived in Alaska, and was capable of making those kind of trips! Thanks ever so much for posting this narrative and the wonderful, wonderful photos! For a few minutes I felt 40 years younger