Rhyolite
Ever since my disappointing trip to a ghost town in Death Valley last year, where all there was to be found was some rusted cans and tens of abandoned mines, I've been hoping to go visit Rhyolite, two hours northwest of Las Vegas. This past weekend, that guy from fantent/snakesonablog and I finally made the trip.
Rhyolite, one of the better preserved ghost towns in southern Nevada, had a population nearing 10,000 at its height in the late 19th century, but was empty a few decades later. Several large buildings still remain, including the jail, a residence/brothel, the bank, and the train depot. There are also abandoned mines peppered around the area, and a small cemetery.
In addition to the historical landmarks, Rhyolite has also become the unlikely home for a modern sculpture garden. You can find these sculptures near the road approaching the town. The oldest sculpture, an odd portrayal of The Last Supper with white-robed ghosts, has been around since the early 1980's.
I took a small number of photos of the town and the sculptures.
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i liked lego-babe and the wooden, kneeling outstretched "arms" guy the best....
you know the guy from fan tent???!!
also, did you get a new camera? the quality looks much better than your older one, and flickr says it's a sony.
flea's camera. much better than my 2mp canon. i plan on upgrading as soon as i can.
The naked lego woman seemed very out of place.
She was really hot.
Rhyolite?! Wow, isn't that where they filmed parts of Cherry 2000?
Rhyolite is a fairly well-known, as far as ghost towns go, so it's marked on most maps. But there are lots of smaller, random ghost towns and ruins that are only marked on USGS or other special-interest maps.
I'm surprised there's not a kitchy store there. (Surprised in a good way) How far is it from the closest town with a gas station?
Looks cool. Are there signs that mention Rhyolite? Is it on maps? Or do you just have to know where to go?
Beatty is about 4 miles to the west, and it's about 30 miles away from Death Valley's main visitor center. Beatty's a small town, but they have some tourist stops such as a jerky/pistachio store, and an old brothel converted into a motel. No kitschy souvenir shops, though.
Ah. Have you been to Scotty's Castle?
No, I've never made it out to the Castle, even though I've been near it.
A "jerky/pistachio store"? Are you referring to Death Valley Candy & Nuts?
That might've been the name, not sure. You been there? On the way to/from Reno?
I still contend that the jerky/nuts/honey store was a chain, each run by its own grizzled franchisee prospector.
Is that Contact Me link new?
no
I've been to that store twice, which is sort of odd. Probably because it's the first place you come to in a while, going either direction. Also, probably because they sell delicious candy and nuts.
Here are pictures I took on the same trip:
http://www.rumorsdaily.com/pictures/lasvegas/index.htm
Exactly one casino picture. Probably on the low end of the casino/noncasino ratio for vegas vacation photo shows. Excellent.
Also, I like how you found a mojave phone booth! It couldn't possibly be THE mojave phone booth, as it no longer exists. So which one is it?
I have met many people from "the isolated valley[] of Jackass."
I liked the picture of crazymonk standing at a worshipful distance from the bubble-butt lego goddess.
it was a phone booth at rhyolite, probably for the occasional 'g'hosts who live there. it didn't work. plus, it's not as cool as THE mojave phone booth, because rhyolite is right off the paved road heading into beatty.