PART TWO:   VISITING  TONOPAH AND GOLDFIELD, NV------
LIVING "GHOST TOWNS"

What is a living ghost town?  That sure does sound like a contradiction in terms, doesn't it?  Well, Nevada has a number of these towns, which are really colorful and historic places to visit.  They may or may not actually have ghosts, but then, that would just add to the fun. They are actually old mining towns past their heyday, but still inhabited by a few people.  They look deserted for the most part, with the original buildings and mine workings still standing, just as they were left when the ore petered out.

Tonopah, NV was known as the Queen of the Silver Camps, while Goldfield, NV was called the "Greatest Gold Camp on Earth"!  They are located 26 miles apart, on Hwy. 95, over 200 miles north of  the metropolis of Las Vegas.  This area is rather desolate high desert with an average altitude of 6000 ft,  with enough scrub to range a few cattle.  Except for the occasional Joshua Tree, there are NO trees, very little cactus, but lots of beautiful wildflowers in the spring and early summer.  This sort of landscape has a beauty of its own, spare and stark at times, while the volcanic hills are a riot of colors due to the minerals present there in such abundance. These same hills are home to many varieties of collectible rocks and minerals, dear to a rockhound's heart. 

There is of course the turquoise and variscite which can be collected at the claim owned by the Otteson's---the famous Royston Turquoise Mine.  You can go to their website www.tonopahturquoise.com for reservations and info about that collecting opportunity.   In addition to that,all throughout the public lands  one can find petrified wood in shades of black, brown, and shades of red and orange similar to Arizona petrified wood.  There is bulls eye agate, opalite laid down in ribbons of muted purples, pinks and grays,  rainbow agate, amethyst, and lots of jasper in greens and blue-greens, as well as the usual reds--browns-- yellows. The bubbly chalcedony occurs in pink, lavendar, white and blue.  You can find ribbon agate, dendritic opalite, and apache tears in all sizes of black and occasional mahogany, etc, etc, etc,!   Who knows what undiscovered treasures are out there waiting to be found?

Tonopah is a great place to stay as your home base, as the town has all the goods and services that you could possibly need, as it is the Nye County seat.   There are several motels to choose from, but only the Best Western has a swimming pool. There is a J. C. Penney Catalog store, in case you need another hat to replace the one the wind blew off.  Gas stations, fast food, friendly people, will all be found here in this picturesque old mining town.  Evidence of past mining is all around you, as you drive past corner statues commemorating the heroes of the mine disasters.  There are two museums plus the outdoor mining displays for you to see as you drive the two miles or so thru Tonopah.  The old Mizpah Hotel, built in 1907, is vacant and up for sale at the present time, while the original  Courthouse with its silver cupola is still standing but not being used either.  There is a real contrast between the old and the new as you stroll up and around the side streets, which makes that term "living ghost town" seem more real.   People (or maybe ghosts!) still live in some of the tumbledown, paintless houses which stand side by side with new painted stucco homes.  

 Goldfield, on the other hand, has little to offer the tourist except a rock shop, small museum, fire station, and some very colorfully decorated cars as  you go out of town toward Tonopah.  There might be a restaurant that is open occasionally, but if so it isn't obvious to the casual observer.  The hills for miles around Goldfield are pockmarked with old adits and tailings pile from the old days, with just a handful of the old miles being worked at present, by people trying  to eke out a living in response to  the current high price of gold.  They are hoping also to "strike it rich" with their discovery of an overlooked seam or vein of gold-bearing ore.  "Hope springs eternal" seems to be their slogan, as they work year round out in the hot summer sun and the cold winter snow and wind.

We really enjoyed our second trip to the Royston Turquoise Mine--we just couldn't stay away after the great time we had on May 7th.  In fact, our group grew from two to five members as no one wanted to be left out!  One of our group really scored, with her find of a turquoise-filled 4" by 7" rock.  After being slabbed and polished, the value of both pieces was estimated at over $1000.00.  Needless to say, we were so happy for her, but at the same time, a little rockhound envy was experienced by all the rest of the group!  Everyone went home with lots of great turquoise to cab, tumble and mount into jewelry.  Not  only that, both trucks were heavy with crates of all kinds of other goodies to enjoy back at home.  Lots of great slabs will result from our many stops around these two great "living ghost towns"---and who knows, we may just have to return again very soon!