Visiting a Ghost Town: Ophir Canyon

 

This place was used to be a busy mining town called Ophir. It is more or less 10 miles from the highway of Smokey Valley, Nevada. 

There used to have school, churches, various lodging houses, saloons/bars , offices, and a mansion in this area, not to mention the very costly stamp mill worth $200,000.00 in mid 1800s with a population of 400. Now it is a ghost town. 

The road going to this ghost town is pretty rough, steep, and narrow. I highly suggest to drive a 4-wheel drive truck. My husband's suburban has only a 2-wheel drive and I thought we can not make it. We made it, thank God, but it scared the hell out of me.

The wild flowers along the road are just  pretty so I took photos to share them here.

Thank you for visiting my site. Have a good one!

Bechay

A Closed "Bat" Cave in Manhattan, Nevada

This was a man made cave which had been used in gold mining in the 1800s. Now it is inhabited by bats and is protected by the US government. It is just more or less 5 miles away from Manhattan, Nevada going to East Belmont, Nevada. When I peeked from the entrance, it looked like it is wide inside and goes long ways to wherever it ends.

There were mounds of dirts and different colors of rocks  in the vicinity which I collected some. 

I find this place very interesting and it is good to know that it's been protected in order to preserve it and to protect the habitat of bats as well. Thanks to my little model friend, Tamara.

I hope you find this post interesting too. Thank you for dropping by. Have a good one.

Bechay

Combination Mill in East Belmont, Nevada

The weather was just lovely yesterday, the sun was shining but it was not hot. It was a perfect time to go out and connect with Mother Nature and with rural Nevada's remarkable ruins and past treasures. My husband and I, together with Adan and Josefina and their children, had a wonderful time!

This mill was built for gold milling when gold mining was still active in Belmont, Nevada in the 1800s. As you can see in one of the photos, there was some kind of a big fire place, maybe they used it to fire up the mill, or, something like that. I find it really very interesting. The mill reminds me of a castle.

Thanks to the models, siblings Adam and Tamara.

Thank you for visiting my site, have a good one!

Diana's Punch Bowl Hot Spring in Monitor Valley, Nevada

This hot spring is located at the top of a hill in Monitor Valley, Nevada. It looks like a punch bowl, hence, the name. It is not known to me why it was named after a woman's name, Diana. Perhaps Diana is a Goddess of some kind or maybe they named it after Princess Diana, hahaha, just kidding, of course this hot spring has been here before the late Princess was not even born.

You cannot soak in the water because first and foremost, there is no easy way to go down, second, maybe the water is very hot and, third, maybe the US government prohibit the public (there was no sign though) of doing so to preserve this geothermal feature.

My friend's daughter found a long snake coming from a small hole in the vicinity so watch out for this creature when you come this place.

Thank you for dropping by at my page. Have a good one!

Bechay

An Encounter with Wild Horses in Nevada Dessert

It was a lovely afternoon, the husband and I went out "cave-ghost town-rock-hot spring-coin finding" yesterday with a Mexican family when we saw these beautiful animals crossing the wide and nicely bladed dirt road of State Route 376.

They are just so beautiful! 

You don't know what kind of wild animals you might encounter in rural roads of Nevada. Last February, we saw flocks of  Antelope near Carvers and 2 weeks ago we saw wild donkeys alongside the road in Beatty.

I took a video of this sighting if you are interested. Please click this link http://youtu.be/_lZ_DbfuaMI, thank you very much. Have a good one!

My Arizona Trip: The Amazing View Along the Highway

The husband and I just came from a 3-night vacation at our son's comfortable home in Arizona. We really had a great time!

Along the highway, I enjoyed the beauty of the Saguaro cacti and other types of cactus in their natural setting, Joshua trees (4th photo) and Mesquite trees (bottom photo). They are just breathtakingly pretty!

We did not go to the Grand Canyon, it's a shame, I know. Hopefully next year we can go.

Thank you for dropping by. Have a good one!

Bechay

A Trip to Grimes Point Archaeological Area

Hello readers, please refer to the second photo to read about this place. Thank you.

It was pretty amazing to know that ancient people had to perform rituals before hunting. In this trip, I learned a new word, "petroglyph" aka rock engraving. Cool!

Thank you for visiting my site. Have a good one!

Bechay

Wild Horses Alongside the Highway 50

The husband and I were traversing Highway 50 when we saw these beautiful animals alongside the road. We stopped by to take photos. They started walking away slowly when they saw me approaching them. I love the white one! 

Just sharing. Thank you for dropping by. Have a good one!

Bechay

A Beautiful Trip to Kingston, Nevada

I've finally been able to sit behind the wheel of hubby's GMC Suburban, almost 2 years after I wrecked and totaled his Yukon XL and almost 2 years of only driving my Impala car because of trauma. The destination: Kingston, Nevada. A 45-mile town, north of Round Mountain, about 5 miles from the highway.

Beyond this welcome sign I've seen a neat, quiet and beauteous little town that I never thought existed out in the middle of nowhere. I love nature that is why I thought this place was just amazing!

This place is just breathtakingly beautiful! Ooops, did I mention that there is an airport here? And I heard that people who live here are kind of well off.

Anyway,  Hubby and I are definitely coming back in the summer, fall and winter!

Thank you for visiting my site. You have a good one! 

Bechay