The Rhyolite Ghost Town

At eh edge of Death Valley National Park and just over the border of Nevada is a place stranger than any we have seen so far.

The mining town of Rhyolite began in 1905, peeked in 1906 and was a ghost town by 1920. The short lived town had electricity, water pipes, a railroad, a hospital, opera house and a stock exchange but the resources were over mined and the town fell as quickly as it rose.

Very little remains of the town of Rhyolite and since it was on the way to Vegas we decided to stop to take some pictures of the crumbling facades as the sun was setting.

We've had our tetanus booster.

Ghost towns are certainly a fun and creepy photo op but the Goldwell Open Air Museum stole the show. A group of Belgium artists decided to set up an "art situation" here and they did not disappoint.

I can only assume these giant wooden miner and a penguin is symbolic for something. Maybe it's his spirit animal or he is daydreaming about snow while working in the Nevada desert.

A miner and his penguin.

The creepiest and most interesting part of the "art situation" are the ghost sculptures. While we don't believe that ghosts could ever be possible, the hint of human form will give you the feeling that you are not alone here.

A ghost rider.

It's not easy being invisible.

The Last Super, Matthew for scale

Nothing and no one around for miles and miles.

A waiter offering a drink.

Here is a stone zen labyrinth for contemplation.

You can sit on an over sized mosaic couch  and watch the sun set.

Be careful, it's sharp.

A sphere with faces on the ground... that is all.

And last but certainly not least, a giant naked blond lady made out of bricks. You really can't make this stuff up.

I will protect your modesty.

 

Up next, VEGAS BABY!!

Yeah!! Though We Ride Through The Valley of Death...

... we will fear no temperature.

We have been saddened by the drought and fires affecting the western states of the US. On our list of places to visit was Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Forest.  We were forced to forgo both due to fires. Another day perhaps.

Take a moment to appreciate the following pictures.

Pretty right?  Waves of amber grain and all that except this is supposed to be green pastures. HERE are some dramatic images of before and after the drought.  We passed a field of cows grazing on apples in the dirt because there was no grass for them to eat.

So we keep on riding. We made a stop in Mojave to check out the Air and Space Port because who doesn't dream of going to SPACE!

Above is a scale model of Space Ship One. The original is located in the Air & Space Museum in DC (we saw it last year).

The significance of this aircraft should not be underestimated.
It was the 1st private enterprise to reach space and is helping to push the boundaries of space travel into a more humanly accessible realm. This is an important next step in our evolution beyond this planet.

The Rotary Rocket above was another pioneer for private spaceflight.
From Wikipedia: "To many, the Roton represents the program that launched Mojave into the Space Age."
Sadly they ran out of funding so had to discontinue.



OK.. Back into the desert, and if this post hasn't made you thirsty for ice cold water yet, just wait. We are riding through Death Valley... on purpose.

You can taste the heat.

The ride takes us below sea level and as we drop in elevation the thermometer rises. Keep in mind we are still wearing our gear and gloves and the air conditioning on the bike is broken.

Yay for nice cold beer! 

This sign is peeling in the heat.

We found the site of the famous Sailing Stones that seem to move without human intervention across the Racetrack Playa. The mystery of the sailing stones has been solved thanks to science!  HERE is a link for the curious.

We're hunting sailing stones in Racetrack Playa.

Greywolf looking badass too

Coyote!

As we rode through Furnace Creek the temperature peeked at 111 degrees in the shade.  The hottest recorded temperature here was 134 degrees in July 1913.

Holy Hot Wings BATMAN! 

 We leave as the sun sets across the valley of death. It is an amazing ride if you can take the heat.

Up next, more ghost hunting Nevada style.