Forbidden Universe
Paranormal => The Paranormal & Ghost Society => Topic started by: AngelOfThyCosmos on June 02, 2018, 01:50:20 AM
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My Birthday Expedition To Aurora Nevada & The Lucky Boy Mining Camp May 26th 2018
I have spent seven years trying to get up to Aurora Nevada lets just say the first time I went to Bodie I missed Aurora by a couple miles and since then this ghost town has been on my mind for ages. So for my birthday I decided an expedition to the Aurora area was in the works because truly this is one of Nevada's greatest boom towns and today not much remains but that does not take away from its enriched history.
What many do not understand is there are many other historical areas surrounding Aurora but most know it for the fact that Mark Twain lived up here for a few months and tried a hand in mining with his brother who also purchased claims. I have spent years following Mark Twain's wild western journey to all these boom towns he lived in and its just been an awesome journey to tell you the truth. In addition to the town site you have historic ranches, mines, mills, springs, oasis's and other cool places you can adventure at if you want to get a grasp on the area as a whole.
I did not realize it but their is four to five ways to get to Aurora but the route I planned was easy so easy you could take a car if you wanted to. But I enjoy my truck to much because I generally leave many roads crossing the desert or going on jeep trails to find new locations to check out. But if you had a car you could get here just saying so something to keep in mind if you want to visit this place and thought it was to difficult its not trust me.
Our day would be filled with very beautiful places such as Fletcher Springs & Stage Stop, Aurora, Lucky Boy Mine Camp, Nine Mile Ranch and even a stop at the Long Doctor Springs. I generally plan my expeditions to be extensive because if your going to visit a ghost town you want to also visit other sites connected to it. These locations all played some role in connection to Aurora.
The one thing that intrigues me about Aurora is how many bad things happened here such as murders, hangings, shootouts, bad accidents etc. People were dying constantly here and most were just buried out back. While the town has a cemetery I do not think everyone is buried in it. I believe Aurora is a very haunted places there are some thick books about it but I hear from the grapevine that the ghost town is haunted I do not know because I did not experience much but damn fine exploration.
I realize people tried to sway me its a waste of time to go and honestly I am disappointed because everyone says to me their is nothing here. That is not true just search the national forest, hit some dirt roads and hike on foot you will find remnants of the town. Yeah the brick buildings and mills are long gone sure but when you wander around everything points to Aurora being a large city at one time. Sure its shocking most of its gone but you have to use some imagination as to what was based on the vintage photos.
The other thing was is people ditched me for this trip which has left a sour taste in my ability to have faith in others because I know the only way these ghost towns ever get done is because I do them not because others help me with them. I cant understand why some join my ghost town group live a few miles away and wont participate. These places will not be around forever and lets face it some locations are hard to get to so if you snooze you lose I do not run a tour group you go when we go or you miss out and do not go at all.
I brought plenty of food, beer and bud on this trip and yes I do share treats with my friends. Friends that go with me are friends that get to toke all day long the best of the best. Who knows they might even get to fly my drone and play with some of my other toys. But people are just plain out inconsiderate while I am so generous to all of you nobody gives a fuck about me and that is the truth. Its nice to have friends to adventure out with because it allows you to make memories but also watch each others six!
I was a bit worried about rattle snakes generally I do not go out into the Nevada wilderness in May to dangerous to many rattlers. But we have had a really cool May with chilly nights, rain storms etc so I figured we would go up to Aurora and I called it right. I hiked through sage brush all day never seen one single snake so great for me since if I got bit the medical center in Bridgeport would be hard to get to since its a 12 mile rocky road so good thing I did not get bit by a snake eh?
For me Aurora was a dream come true it was also a birthday gift to myself because it is a place I have read and was curious about. So I would put my curiosity to rest so that I could share my journey with all of you to one of the greatest mining towns in Nevada's history. It does not matter what others think what is important is that every day I strive to protect history and educate the public. This is why so many schools utilize our website because at one time people like you and me lived in these towns braving the wilderness trying to make lives for themselves.
So our journey would begin at about 4am before the sun came up as I took this sixty mile dirt road which takes you to a stage stop known as Fletcher Station & Springs. But also a place called four corners where four different stage routes meet its pretty awesome. The road out here is awesome to it follows the river so for miles crossing old bridges. You also will see big ole cottonwood trees following it with pretty mountaineous backdrops and a very green high desert mind you because of all the rain this year we have had so yeah its awesome. With that in mind our adventure begins here!
Aurora Nevada
Fletcher Springs is simply an oasis in the distance because from afar all you see is this green patch of grass and trees especially once you reach four corners. This use to be a stage stop on the way to Aurora and how far? Maybe four or five miles away so we were really close to heading up into the canyon where we would end up in downtown Aurora. But first I had to check out Fletcher Springs because it is a historic site and you should at least visit it. H.D. Fletcher was the first postmaster here which how the springs had gotten its name.
When I pulled up to the Springs giant cottonwoods grew everywhere as a matter in fact nature was really abundant here. Their is plenty of wetlands but the trees do well here because water is seeping up everywhere including over the roads around it which you have to drive or walk through so you may get a bit muddy or wet here lol. It was memorial day weekend so a family had camped up here there was tents, atvs etc scattered on a grassy knoll in the center of the oasis.
I visited about four different sets of stone ruins remnants of the ranch and station that once stood here. There is a big long 40' wall when you pull on up make sure you check it out its worth getting out of the vehicle for. If you go deeper into the oasis you can find a few stone walls that are overgrown with foliage. This stage and ranch had to be huge because I found quite a few stone walls.
Their is a dugout or structure remaining in the side of a hill its the only free standing structure historically left to explore. I mean at one time the railroad from Bodie to Hawthorne came through here and there was a post office where passengers could get off the train mail a letter then head off to some smaller mining camps. Keep in mind that this is near the border of Nevada and California so this is as wild west as you can get and most of the roads in this area at one time were actual railroad tracks.
With that being said the structure signifies how valuable six mile station was now called Fletcher Springs. It is made of stone and wood. Well the walls are made with giant stones fitted together while the roof and beams are held up by wood. Their is a hole in the roof not sure how long this will stand its reaching the point of no return only because of its age then you have the element factor. If you go up above this structure and climb the side of the hill on top of it is two more sets of stone ruins one has a wall that overlooks the entire set of springs pretty cool eh?
I would eventually move on to Aurora I think my feet got wet we hiked through high grass on some paths to look for any more stone ruins and when we seen what we could see we moved on to Aurora. The trip into the canyon is very nice believe it or not the road is really good except when you make your final climb into the town there is an uphill portion for 75' that is rocky and steep. You could still bring a car but take it slow unless you have a truck like mine with giant tires and 4wd.
I knew we were in Aurora because to the left in this ravine near the creek we seen this smelter/ore crusher made of stone with a giant rusty iron stack. The canyon is really awesome heading up to Aurora but to the left is a brand new mining operation and yes there are huge earth movers, miners and machines operating everywhere. So you will want to stay out of the new mining claims area and keep to your right when making your climb into Aurora which resides at about 7,500' in elevation.
Also not many folks know this but Aurora sits on the edge of a massive crater they call this crater Aurora Crater. It is about a mile across and is an extinct volcano although earthquakes have stemmed form it and its about 250 thousand years in age. You can see the brim to the crater while heading up to the ghost town pretty amazing geology and their is obsidian in abundance near the crater and probably miles of lava tubes that run under Aurora so when you think about it this hole area is a super volcano and if it ever were to go off it would be a force of nature. This area is very ancient especially to the natives who had villages in this area before Bodie and Aurora sister towns brought an influx of pioneers to the region. My friend said to me there are many ancient sites, caves and other things to check out. He use to come up to the Aurora area to find arrow heads told me he found once a old glass bottle and some other ancient artifacts so you have to really admire the area as a whole because exploring is about discovery so you do not know what you might find here!
Anyhow, my goal was to visit the cemetery first to me its important to pay respects to the dead that is just how I roll. So I wanted to stop here first walk around and right before you go into the cemetery there is a huge rock with a historic plaque which signifies downtown Aurora which today is just a few dirt roads with national forest surrounding them. Its a very pretty area just down the road from downtown there are pink and white cliffs or off in another direction these bright red rocky cliffs. Plenty of great scenery to see here all nestled in the national forest of Nevada near the Cali and Nevadan border. To be precise its about three miles from the California border and Bodie is probably a seven mile journey over the mountains so you could say that Aurora and Bodie were sister mining town.
When I pulled up to the cemetery there was another plaque and it talked about the history of Aurora. It also talked about Mark Twain and showed a few historic photos. In one of the photos it showed Aurora when it became a ghost town for the first time and it was just a bunch of scattered buildings. As a matter in fact all the forest around town was cut down it was not even woodsy as in comparison with today's times where the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest has pretty much consumed this place.
The cemetery is scattered or graves I should say rather on a forested hill. One of the grave sites was a US Senator but another one was of five children that passed away in a short time from one another all side by side which really struck a nerve with me the entire trip. Just to think about losing five little babies like that is hard and I can only imagine the pain the family went through in the 1800's when all their kids perished one by one.
Their appears to be three different sections you have graves to your left scattered and some to your right across from the parking lot. Then you have a small fenced in area with quite a few gravesites. I am not sure if each burial area signifies a different fraternal group or theology. You have to understand that while Aurora has a cemetery many folks were buried anywhere just about. Today the big brick buildings are all gone but more then likely this cemetery signifies only a small portion of the death that occurred in Aurora.
There is a monument to honor Civil War, War Of 1812 and Mexican War Vets buried here. I seen a few wrought iron enclosures too. Some gravesites were unmarked rather just a pile of stones. I remember seeing some burials here that took place in the 90's so it appears that on occasion folks are still being buried up here. I cant say I blame them this really is a gorgeous little gem in Nevada even from the cemetery you can still see a few scenic peaks.
Some of the graves were tipped or vandalized but most of them were in fairly decent shape. Aurora does not get many visitors really. Most folks do not even know a cemetery exist high up on this road above town. But really this is the best part of Aurora some people expect to see buildings then when they do not see them their reaction is their is nothing here. So not true the cemetery is not nothing these people were pioneers some of them who founded or first came to this town are found buried here in a wrought iron plot.
Their are also a few wood enclosures one brick one which is collapsing. I noticed someone came up here and put a bunch of artificial flowers at multiple gravesites. So someone right now is keeping this place up not sure who but whoever is a big thanks from The Paranormal & Ghost Society organization. I am glad to see some still care about this place people automatically assume because the town is gone that the cemetery means nothing and that is not the case.
I did take some readings with my EMF and EVP back here and I did get some mild readings nothing major could be nothing or it might be something. I am sure at night this cemetery is very creepy but when we arrived it was the morning so the birds were chirping, flowers were starting to bloom and the trees were all green providing much of the plot with shade.
There is many rocks and boulders surrounding many of the gravesites I also found many pieces of broken glass some rusty metal laying around here and there. Many of the stones are from the 1800's I seen a few masons also who built the town back in the day. I mean I have seen photos of Aurora this place had three story buildings made of brick, stores, saloons, cafes, shops, mills, mines, platted streets etc. It was really a nice looking town to live in and the their was a railroad in the region to, stage stops, springs and even a post office now today all fading from time.
I enjoyed the cemetery but we decided instead to have lunch below it near the historic plaque which signifies downtown where two cross streets meet. We had some good food apples, mozzarella sticks, pudding, fresh eggs, turkey subs, beer and many other snacks. Since nobody came I was kind of stuck with all this food, soda and beer myself to bad so sad lol. I did not spend more then about fifteen minutes on lunch because I wanted to explore.
Tammy took out her new metal detector I bought it for her birthday and its top of the line. It has a depth of 12 inches so we can get to the good stuff. We had tons of hits but most of the time you get nails, pieces of metal or other debris people have thrown away. We still have to sync the detector so it can only read certain metals rather then all metals. But while she was downtown I backpacked in the forest for awhile. At times in the woods I found a few wooden boards sometimes a pile of stones where maybe a miners cabin or some other building stood. There is many piles of rocks in the forest but none of the walls appear to stand.
You have to be very careful hiking through the woods here its easy to get lost it all looks the same. I was turned around for a few minutes because I was walking around remnants of a stone foundation when I was like oh shit where is the road because I was surrounded by pinions everywhere and no matter what direction I went it all looked the same just woods, rocks and patches of open areas where something may have stood at one time. Luckily I found my way out then crossed the road and tried the other side to downtown.
When I was in the woods I came face to face with a mountain lion sitting on some rocks as soon as he seen me he jumped behind the pile and took on off. When he did that all I seen was his long tail and he was gone probably hiding and watching me. Unlike most people this did not scare me even though I knew that mountain lion was in the same area I was probably thinking about pouncing me. But I could see he was more scared of me then I was scared of him. The past few years I have gotten pretty close with the wildlife this includes bear and cougars. The closest I been to a bear is a couple feet away and this cougar was about 15' away so yeah I got quite the resume with wild animals lol.
I walked the road downtown streets like Winnamucca, Pine, Silver Oak etc all typical names for streets in most ghost towns really in Nevada. I did not find much so I got back onto the road and begin to explore in my truck. There is a road you can take which goes to the mining and milling area. I actually found two sets of stone ruins on a hill. Also there is a single wall standing not sure what it was maybe a mill site. But I climbed up on this platform and stood in the doorway of it despite having to push through brush to get to it.
In this big open valley there are remnants of the town for example I found three different sites that contained piles of wood, bricks and TNT boxes scattered everywhere. I have to assume these massive piles of stone and wood were probably mills. In the middle of all these mill sites stands a small stamp machine or ore crusher which you can walk down to and check on out. Its pretty cool because its a piece of American history and its there for everyone to enjoy.
Up this hill I could see mines I think I saw some remnants of a mine cart. The industrial area of Aurora is a bit extensive you have to get out and walk around. But there is pieces of sheet metal, stones, broken glass, bean cans, piles of wood and other remnants everywhere. I seen photos back in the day of the mills and the operation in Aurora was huge. Its sad to see so very little remains but the wall, stamp machine, a set of two stone ruins and a few mill sites do signify to me that the milling operation in its heyday had to be something monolithic in size and now its just an open area where today sage brush grows.
We actually seen a few trucks offroading up here they moved on maybe to the Esmeralda town site but I am not sure. I did not have coordinates of Esermalda nearby actually Aurora and Esmeralda are really a mile away from what I read. I think gold was discovered here first then the town of Aurora came to be. Sometimes you just have to drive around and explore. I did what I could do took about six different roads around Aurora documenting stone ruins, foundations, mill sites etc and by the end of this trip I had found plenty of cool things to check out and photograph.
The trek down from town is even nicer because you can see for miles below into the forest and high desert. Their is so much to explore its vast probably there are caves high up on the cliffs. The native Americans have many ancient sites up here my friend said he once found a ritual circle made of volcanic rock and found some Indian caves. If I had more time id set off into the wilderness because this area offers allot of things you wont see on simply a dirt road.
I did make a stop at the old Aurora Mill which today is in ruins but it resides on an overgrown hillside just above the new mine and quarry. Though mill looks like an ancient temple with many concrete series of ruins. There are beams, tint boxes, piles of wood and rusty machinery just scattered on the hillside. I would say the walls and ruins go down for about six stories maybe more. This was a large mill I seen photos of it and it does not look like anything in the photos. But its a must visit site if you want to see the mill that processed the ore which lead to Auroras longevity.
The wood beams and concrete ruins had rebar protruding everywhere so you have to be careful climbing around here. Their is so much debris everywhere it extends into the forest and all the way down the hill to nearly the new mining operations. I could see earth movers stripping the mountain away and thought that someday this mill may be gone right now though it stands and you should visit it. Because the ruins are very extensive and well you can climb down the hill but its dangerous many boards have nails.
Eventually we went over too the smelter which is this giant stone structure with a stack on top. I call it a smelter but I am not so sure anymore. I think they dumped the ore into the stack where it had gotten crushed because inside this stone building was some kind of mixer or keg that seemed to flip outward down a ramp. Then below that ramp was a set of wooden ore chutes which appear to be falling apart. We had to climb down this rocky bank and cross a creek to get to this place. But the stone work was amazing something you would see perhaps in a castle just giant stones all tightly fitted together.
That was about it for Aurora though mostly what is left is just debris, foundations and a few remnants remaining of the mills that once processed silver and gold here. When you think about it this was a scary town not many kids or women some but not enough to really say this was a family orientated town. Murders, shootings and violence would happen in the street. In fact people were often just drug behind a building and a hole was dug. This was a town full of bad asses like outlaws and outcasts even. Although when it had its second boom it was less lawless and more like a peaceful remote town where you could go down to the cafe have a cup of coffee and breakfast.
I am glad I had gotten to visit here but again do not say their is NOTHING here and do not cast doubt on me. This was a relatively easy exploration not much climbing, roads were good, weather was great but about half way hiking around it did get very cloudy and overcast. I think what makes Aurora exciting is that you can hike back anywhere and your going to find remnants of the town. I remember when I was deep in the woods I found a few older wooden boards from back in the day. Hell I even found an old corral or something so their is things to see which signify a town once existed here.
Now my trip could have been more difficult if I took the wrong road in or their was a bad storm up here. But we had nice 60 degree weather give or take all day long and it was definitely a trip well worth taking even just to see the cemetery alone and admire the scenery. This is a part of Nevada not many have gotten to see let alone have gotten to. I hope to get more folks coming out this way in the future and besides ill be back I have other sites to check out in the region. Its one of the best 60 mile dirt roads I ever took even there is a private airport not far from here which is pretty awesome too.
When I left I had wondered if I missed anything I see pictures of things that I never found but most pictures are ten years older. It is possible I may revisit here with others if someone wants to show me some stuff I missed then again I might just stop in Aurora again while visiting other sites. I wish more people came out they missed a damn fine ghost town adventure. Its a relatively safe ghost town compared to other recent ones I been to. There are a few small cliffs you drive along but for the most part the roads are very easy to navigate and their is much to see if you get out on foot to look around.
Our next stop would be the Lucky Boy Mining Camp of course we would also visit Nine Mile Ranch which by the way will go with our Aurora Expedition on our site because the ranch has many ties to Aurora. You had to have ranches and farms to provide these mining towns with livestock and fresh grown crops. But Mark Twain he spent time at Nine Mile Ranch visiting his friend Captain Nye perhaps playing cards some late nights before heading back home to Aurora where he resided.
Lucky Boy Mining Camp
If you head east of Aurora for about 15 miles you will drive through Lucky Boy Pass which resides above Hawthorne a Military base and small town in the middle of this massive desert valley. The fun thing about this ghost town is that it offers some million dollar views below. I was not sure what I would find lets face it not much remains of this small mining town. Mark Twain had some ties to the camp as a matter in fact this town became a major exporter and focused on milling. It had a post office, mill, mine, businesses and stage stop too. I believe the railroad also came through here as well before it made its descent down onto Hawthorne.
I am not a huge fan of Hawthorne but in the mountains around this town are ghost towns and mining camps. Most of you know Hawthorne for Walker Lake nearby which btw is one of the largest lakes in Nevada not the largest but its a good journey by vehicle to travel alone its western shore before you come into Hawthorne. I did not see the lake from Lucky Boy but man the view of the massive desert below with this little oasis which is the town is amazing. By this time though the dark clouds rolled in and it was raining on and off this did not stop me from exploring.
Also for those that are not aware Hawthorne has a weapons depot meaning missiles, nukes and other weapons are stored here. I know because I have been told this by numerous folks and when you drive through there you can see the massive concrete bunkers which protrude from underground where they store the weapon caches. Which is why I find this place to be scary because if anything ever went off accidentally you would be roasted like a marshmallow lol.
The span between Hawthorne and Aurora is about 22 miles and Lucky Boy sits in the middle of it all. I remember reading a story that back in the day a terrible stage coach accident occurred near the town site when six horses took off in fright dragging the passengers down the pass at such a high speed that it was a horrifying site to see after the incident. The miners built the road through this pass from Aurora to head further east and of course when a train station was built in Thorne you had folks traveling east just to catch the train. Lucky Boy resides on the east slope of the Wassuk Range and its a very scenic canyon that this camp once resided in.
The settlement only was built here because some prospectors came across a piece of silver while on this stage route then started to mine it which in turn led to folks coming here to form the town. But when you think of Lucky Boy you do not think of just mining I mean you had a post office, saloons, stage stop and supply center which received imports and also exported some goods to because their were businesses in this pass. You can see along the dirt road areas that had been mined but the large mill, businesses and other structures along this road are long gone. So you kind of have to get out explore on foot to see anything here plus this pass does contain forest so nature has kind of consumed the area once again just as when the town was first founded nothing has changed it still looks the same.
The first stop in the pass I made was what they call the waterworks its this giant square foundation about 15' deep. If you fall in you wont be able to climb out trust me. Their was allot of dumping and junk I found inside of here. I also found this rusty pipe which came out the back end. I am not sure what this was maybe they stored or processed water for the town here back in the day and so this could have been some water facility.
If you go down the road on the edge of these overlooks there is a small cemetery most of the graves appear to be peoples pets but one of them appears to be a father, grandfather and veteran. All the graves had piles of rocks mementos and crosses on them. Only one of the graves had an actual gravestone with an epitaph. I stumbled upon the cemetery by accident and you can sit on this bench overlooking the entire valley its a real peaceful place.
Further down the road we found a foundation I believe it was part of a mill or could have supported a tram or ore cart systems since it was directly across from the Lucky Boy Mine across the road. Below that foundation was a mine I went inside and it appears to split left and right then dead end about 10' back. Honestly I was hoping to go into the mines that is truly my thing and I love exploring even alone.
I drove down a few side roads never found anything but you could tell a town was once here and if you look around on foot there is broken glass, bean cans, dynamite canisters etc around. But most of Lucky Boy really does not exist if your lucky you might find a foundation or two up here but its very very minimal. So I wont have much to put on my site but we did film and photographed what we could.
I finished off Lucky Boy myself was dropped off by Tammy she normally does not do the dangerous stuff that is left for me. So I begin to climb down the side of this slope full of rocks till I reached three to four dump piles. I actually found some mill ruins, stone foundations and a mine which also split two ways only going a few feet back that I had to climb on into.
I found quite a few piles of wood and debris the mill site was small but it was near a couple entrances into the main mining shafts. You have to be careful climbing around here I found two to three massive open shafts. When I stood near the flimsy fence I looked down into the shafts and who knows they might go a thousand feet down its just a black hole into the earth. That definitely was not a good way to explore the mines not without climbing gear. The one mine sloped gently then dropped off into a hole straight down so do not think you can actually get into these mines unless you want to fall to your death.
I figured id find a way to enter the mines below the shaft went down the hill and found no entrance into. Most entranced been sealed I even found a shaft but somehow it was filled in with rock and collapsed. The mine here was rather large or a large operation I could not get to it but in a ravine I saw a cave entrance it was not a mine but an actual cave. I could have found a way down but it would have eaten into the rest of my day and I needed time to go to the Nine Mile Ranch.
I never found a way into this mine I heard it exist and you can explore it. But there is many forested hills, dirt roads that dead end and if you do not know where anything is you wont find it at Lucky Boy. I took some good photos of the Lucky Boy Mine many dump piles, pieces of wood, small foundations, mine shafts, mangled rusty metal etc etc. But mostly everything is in ruins also if you get to the bottom of the pass and look left you will see some dump piles and a larger series of mill ruins but they are on someone's private property.
I was able to see much of what was left so I am not disappointed but the winds started to whip and yes it begin to snow. Snow in May mind you I had snow on the sleeves of my shirt you could see flakes. It was only flurrying but it was getting cold here and it was just me myself and I with a backpack trying to squeeze in small holes looking for a mine to explore or anything left of the town. I have old vintage photos and this was a pretty little place back in the day and many buildings stood here. Its ashamed that all of it is gone really. Their is another foundation I never found but its listed on some sites and I was setting off to look for it till I ran into a problem.
When I was parked on the side of the road I begin to hike up this dirt road it was one of the last locations to film and photograph. This vehicle goes past me stops I am thinking wtf does this psycho want. Then this lady starts running at me screaming at me. I could have filmed her but I put the camera away because I thought she was in need of my help. Sometimes people need a big strong guy like me to push there vehicle or help them out and generally I do. But this woman was like what are doing back here I was like ummm taking photos. I mean my truck was running and I was standing on this dirt road taking photos of the canyon. I told her taking pictures she says why then I got chastised like what!
Then she says I am trespassing that her and her husband own the entire pass which btw folks is a public road that many locals utilize who live in Hawthorne. She says the own the entire pass and I was thinking okay so you own all the mountains, forest, ravines, creeks, canyons and every dirt road that you can offroad at that stems off Lucky Boy Pass she is like yeah. I honestly do not think they wanted me hiking around and I could have kept going because I am armed and if you touch me it will be a mistake especially if I am in the middle of nowhere. But I try to reason with folks I really do so I spent time talking to her about the town.
She claims she owns the ghost town of Lucky Boy but yet she knows nothing about it or where anything is. If you own the pass and the ghost town then you should know what is left for preservation purposes. She tells me she wants to preserve the town and does not want anyone knowing about it. Well to late this place is on multiple ghost town forums some with photos and video. Personally I am starting to doubt she owns the town site if you own a ghost town your going to know what it is you own your not going to just buy land and not know what it comes with.
Her husband was in the vehicle and her kid the kid was climbing all around looking at me. Nobody with kids normal and sane is going to stop while some dude with a gun is climbing hillsides along a road. The lady shows me a no trespassing sign which I could hardly even read it looked like a piece of wood and some faded paint. The thing is the road I was walking on had no signs on it if she is so concerned with ghost town explorers hiking around here why not gate the dirt roads by putting a chain with a no trespassing sign hanging off of it? The cat is out of the bag lucky boy is in my ghost town book so if she says she does not want anyone knowing to bad so sad I found it and hundreds have to.
Then she told me the real reason she does not want anyone trespassing is that someone this past month stole 300 thousand dollars in gold out of there mines. This does not make any sense to me I mean if someone stole that much gold out of your mine don't you think you would have known it and called the cops. It takes machinery, manpower, vehicles, tools and mining for gold makes noise. How this woman knows that someone stole this much in gold confuses me. Lucky Boy died a long time ago because gold was scarce and veins were exhausted so I am NOT buying her story. How does she even know she had 300k in gold nobody knows how much a mine is willing to give up in gold worth. You may have a mine that does not mean its worth millions or even thousands.
She told me I could talk to her husband about the town he could give me history I was going to then told her nahhhh I am just going to go. She said she has had folks arrested here which I find funny because its six miles to Hawthorne and by the time any cops would have came I would have been long gone over the county line in the middle of the desert. I am not sure what was back on that small dirt road I wish I made it to the end to photograph what was there but she stopped me. If someone is stealing that much out of your mines then its simple weld some iron around it and a gate with a lock or put signs up or CCTV outdoor cams etc but don't go bitching about it to me who is harmlessly taking photos.
I find it hard to believe someone owns the entire pass with all the places to off road, hike, rock climb and explore. This is why I hate this part of Nevada their are some strange people some of them looked hopped up on meth and others have ill intent anothewards some folks can make you disappear. Ill never be a victim of that like I said go ahead and touch me A. I may shank you B. Beat your ass or C. Shoot you in the arse for entertainment.
I have no fear going out into the bush alone as long as I go in prepared and I always have plenty of gadgets, gear, safety supplies, food and water when I go ghost towning. But what you cant prepare for is people acting like fools in the middle of nowhere or folks who think they own everything and see you as the outsider even though I am a Nevadan and outdoorsman. People look at me with my tats, black nails, gothed out look and assume I am trouble or that I am a thief when in turn I am one of the good guys here trying to document history and preserve these locations.
I decided to just leave the area screw it I seen what I could see the lady thinks I am trying to rob her gold when every mine I came across was a shaft to hell. Does it look like I am a miner with my expensive camera, black painted nails, rings on every finger, backpack etc I mean come on people need to use their own judgement and stop being so paranoid. I generally never see a human soul and I had to run into this crazy lady. She looked honestly like she was on meth 90lbs and full of attitude. I really do not care either way you want to arrest me arrest me for trampling around nothing because that is what is here nothing! Their are no homes nearby and really this place seems forgotten perhaps dilapidated since the town is long gone.
To be honest I am not sure there is even a decent mine here maybe they own the Lucky Boy and the other mine was under some name. Maybe they do not own the pass maybe they lied because they did not like how I look its hard to know for sure. I mean there are two not one but two geocaches at the Lucky Both both are public property sites and they are listed as such. Yet this person tells me otherwise despite what geocaching sites say. So I am not totally convinced I do my research before I go anywhere and I am telling you nobody owns that entire pass many of the remnants are on public lands.
This will NOT stop me from adding Lucky Boy on our sites I wont pay for what someone else did if someone stole these peoples ore from the mines it is not my problem like I said put a gate on the mine or on the dirt road to keep people from exploring but don't just leave it all wide open with no signs and expect folks to know. She told me maybe come back in a few months I was like ummm nahhhh thinking what is the point if I am going to get subjected to this shit? I mean the entire mining camp is near the road but it is a pretty pass with mountains, woods, creeks etc so id want to see more if I came back but I am afraid to even now park up here because who knows!! But I did manage to climb around steep hill sides, a ravine and I did see the main mining area from the 1800's.
The weather was looking grim we had downpours, winds, dark clouds over us so after my spat with supposedly the owner of the entire Lucky Boy Pass I decided we could finish off the day up at a place called Nine Mile Ranch. Nine Mile Ranches photos and video footage will be included with Aurora it might also be attached on our site with Lucky Boy since its the last project we did in the area. So for me it was a 16 mile drive back up the pass and to four corners where we kind of escaped the bad weather for awhile.
Nine Mile Ranch
I really love this place its not far from Aurora but see they called it Nine Mile Ranch because it was exactly nine miles from Aurora and only a few from Fletcher Springs Stage Stop and Four Corners. I did stop on the way back at four corners to get a panorama and have Tammy take my photo with the oasis behind me. Imagine four roads going N, S, E and W. It reminded of somewhere a crossroads demons would bid for someone's soul at lol.
The ranch is very strange when we arrived a dirt road runs right through it. Can you imagine owning a farm and having folks pass right through it via vehicle? Back in the day it was stage coaches carrying the most important men and tycoons of the wild west. The ranch is abandoned someone did recently buy it a few years ago actually its a wildlife firm maybe they are planning on turning this into a retreat or something.
But as of now this ranch is in serious peril its still be used there are corrals with horses in them. As a matter in fact there is quite a few pastures surrounding the ranch and a brand new trailer parked here where someone might stay while trying to fix up the property. There was a rainbow off to the west it was amazing the band of the rainbow was extremely wide just looming across the pasture while I was hiking around.
Do you know what is strange? Is that to the north we also came across another rainbow. They seemed to be sprouting all over around us while out in this valley. I mean it was raining and cloudy on every peak so maybe a glimmer of sunlight caused it hard to tell. To me it was just dark and dreary out which made the Nine Mile Ranch even more creepy.
The ranch house is built out of massive stones which were cut into blocks. It took quite a few years to build the mansion from what I read. But right now its in peril a earthquake caused the stone ranch estate to basically crack apart. There are entire walls with huge cracks right down the middle. Some walls are crumbling like on the upper floor a wall is leaning forwards and on the second story roof or porch a bunch of blocks fell onto it. The entire attic on the third story is missing a wall so you can look up into it.
The ranch house is really eerie it has these old white drapes over each long window so when the wind blows through the cracks of the mansion you can see the drapes move up and down which at first made it seem like someone was looking out the window. One window has something leaning against it so the drapes look like a face or body is leaning against the glass its uber creepy.
The ranch is amazingly a wonderful cultural and historic site to visit but pay attention and you will see cracks in the earth from a quake. The quakes derive from Hawthorne Nevada where the military base is. Do any of you know why? Because in order to store nukes underground you need a underground network of tunnels maybe even a base. So every time the military expands this underground base they hit fault lines or agitate them which in turn causes earthquakes down the road. Just study geological seismic readings their are more earthquakes in Hawthorne then almost anywhere in the country. I do not feel them well we felt one a year ago because I live a couple hours to the north of it so yeah!
I did explore the barn a stone wall had collapsed in the quake and half of the wood portion was collapsing including the roof. The barn had tires, rusty bed frame, a trough, wood stove and a few other things. It was in really bad shape I heard it had gotten damaged along with the ranch house. There is another barn attached to it did not go in just because of the conditions. Next two the two small barns adjacent to that was a carriage house or workshop perhaps even a garage. It was white and had a couple big doors on it.
Behind the ranch house there was another workshop, shed and even a green house. Then next to the ranch house is a dugout which is this stone building built into the side of a hill. This stone dugout is the oldest building in Mineral County. The property dates back to the 1860's but at one time it was a hotel, stage stop and when the property was sold it was transitioned into a ranch. This ranch would export crops, livestock and hay produced here to Aurora see the connection? So yes the ranch will go onto our site in the Aurora section in the future. I also read that there was a few other homes on the property including a small stamp mill which btw is long gone.
When Captain John Nye owned the property he got gravely ill and since his wife could not manage taking care of him Mark Twain spent a week here to help him out. I read Samuel Clemens would come up here to play cards back then this was known as the Lone Star Stage and Hotel. Strangely though old maps from that time period call this the Cobbs Rancho which would serve as a toll road on the Carson Valley and Esmeralda toll road. This is why the road runs right through here because they had a toll station here to. I also read that when the land was purchased it contained over 7000 acres and it even had an airstrip back in the 1900's even.
Their was a name on the front of the ranch house and it did not say the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation which was supposed to be the present owners. Whoever bought this appears to be fixing up the property because it seemed to have been stripped maybe they are getting ready to do renovations. I hope they do but if something does not get done soon the dugout, barns, stone mansion etc are going to collapse and then their will be nothing here but empty pasture land.
Still today white picket fence gates can still be seen and many original fences. Just as in the dug out you can see old wooden shelves and it looked like someone used it for livestock perhaps chickens. There was some old wooden frame someone built its really old but it was leaning on its side. Their appears to be some old wooden crates also but things are not looking good. The roof is about to give way their was some holes where sunlight was peering through. One more earthquake and this place may collapse. You see the roof is composed of giant wood logs but the cross beam is staring to break once it does the entire roof will come down.
I really enjoyed this place I seen a historic plaque use to be here but its gone maybe someone took it out I have no idea. Maybe they removed it because the place is in peril and they may not want to attract folks. Honestly, this is unusual for me because as an urban explorer I do trespass often and go into most places. But since its the wildlife foundation that owns it they have hidden cams or deer cams to make sure nobody enters the ranch house. So I did not go into the house but I did check out the dugout, barn and walked around the property. I just did not want to disturb anybody who might be living in the trailer and trust me out in Nevada some people shoot then ask questions later TRUTH!
I ready there is a small farm cemetery here too I never seen it hard to know where it is. I was not even sure if someone would cause me issues because some weird individual drove past me slow watching me as I was taking photos of the front of the ranch. It may have been a local but I already dealt with that woman up at the Lucky Boy so I was not about to deal with another person telling me what I can photograph or where I can go.
Also if I remember currently their is a wall in the front of the ranch house and even stone steps leading up to the front of the property. There is also a wrap around porch on most of the second floor. Tammy was creeped out she did not even want to go near the mansion and she said I bet you don't care if you went in I was like your right id go in if I could even alone lol. Ya know I realize its just a feeling but I felt watched here. It took me a half hour to calm my nerves walking around this place. Honestly its a creepy little farm in the middle of Nevada miles and miles from nowhere surrounded by mountains which were covered in fog with dark clouds looming over us.
Since I may go out here again I may stop to explore more it was getting dark and I had an 70 mile dirt road to take so I had to wrap it on up. I did not want to its so green and pretty here plus I was watching some horses. Someone is using the ranch even if they do not live on site its obvious a couple years ago the property has changed hands and as far as I know it still belongs the wildlife and fishing foundation in the region. But this is a special place and Mark Twain called it Nyswanger in his book called roughing it if some of you are familiar with his writings.
This ranch was not built over night though I guess for nearly three to four decades they would do rock work which including cutting the stone blocks. I know the ranch changed hands many time and some folks probably died on this property that is why the cemetery is somewhere nearby because it probably contained some ranchers who may have lived here and died here. Many ranches in Nevada their are small cemeteries where some farmer passed away and wanted to be buried on the ranch.
This is a nice place but we had to hit the road rain was coming down on and off. I begin my long journey down a dirt road I never took because I wanted to visit the semi ghost town of Sweet water. Besides the sweet water mountains are one of the prettiest mountain ranges in Nevada and go right up into California. So to drive along them was a treat and I would have checked out Sweetwater more because I have a historic ranch that is abandoned there but I could not find it and it was getting nearly dark. So I may come back out here once I get more Intel on this ranch so we can do some sites out in Sweet Water. Believe it or not Sweet Water has about 100 homes in the area most are new and well this is in the middle of nowhere but wow some of the homes back here are gorgeous and private.
I enjoyed driving through Sweetwater but it was foggy, raining and I did not get to see much here. But believe it or not the road through here is good that is why folks had new homes and ranches built out here. Its a real green area as the river flows right through here and I followed it for many miles. As a matter in fact there were quite a few cars not trucks but cars driving through Sweet water. I mean these people have to go probably sixty miles just to go get groceries so its not near anything. There is even an airport here but I never seen it like I said the fog, rain and clouds cut down the visibility so I did not get to see much when I went through here.
As a matter in fact its all dirt road and the Walker River which is the east fork goes right through town. Since their have been many rain storms and snow melt off the mountains the river is up to full capacity so when I was driving my truck I was driving right near the bank of the river as the water came right up to the road. Their was rapids and the river was deep you get swept up in that you can kiss your ass goodbye but I bet the fishing is good here. I was fishing in the Walker a few weeks ago and we caught some trout. This is a massive river and it flows through this region so no matter which way you take up to Aurora two routes to Aurora follow the East and the West fork.
This is why these valleys for nearly sixty miles are green with old cottonwoods because the river keeps things lush and this is why many ranchers are building ranches along it despite the seclusion. I seen cattle and horses all along the journey home. I seen many ranches and some beautiful homes as well. I really wish I found the old stage stop, post office and barn in Sweetwater but unfortunately I could not even see past the fog on some of the peaks so its hard to know what historic sites are existing since Sweetwater resides just below the mountains which were in a shit storm.
Eventually when we went north some of the sunset was peering through the clouds but man some of them storm clouds were black as night. I stopped at a woodsy place known as Long Doctor Springs. Honestly I was going to strip down maybe even go nude and jump in to take a swim boy was I wrong. When I pulled up to the springs it was just this concrete square structure built into the ground with a tiny square opening. Everything was green around the springs but there was no way I was going to dive into a three foot opening in a concrete slab.
The water did not even look right I thought this was a spring that you could swim in this looked like a horse trough or something lol. I have been to some cool hot springs throughout Nevada where ill dip my feet in but after a long day of ghost towning all I wanted to do was take a dip sooth my aching body. These springs were not even hot just a small square opening thus I ended up not swimming. Some hot springs in Nevada though can be an awesome place to take a dip. A few years ago I took my son to a series of hot springs which were little three to four foot pools and the water was crystal clear. So next time when I go up near Aurora ill try to find some springs I can enjoy I seen a few on the map but chose Long Doctor which turned out to be a bust. Plus it was getting cold out which is abnormal for this time of year but like I say life in the mountains brings you plenty of surprises one day it might be 90 next day snowing.
By the time I walked back from the springs it was almost nightfall the storm clouds all around us made it all the more darker. I wish it was clear out because I could not get scenic shots of the Sweetwater Mountains. This is one of the most beautiful ranges but boy when its storming out its nothing to play with. This is Bodie Country up here even Bodie died in this region during a snowstorm. The weather up here can change in a heartbeat sometimes snowstorms that dump five feet other times flash floods. You do not want to be out here when its storming and we were in the middle of a massive thunderstorm.
I enjoyed my break at the springs I toked my bong, ate a few healthy snacks, took my medication, drank some Gatorade then made the rest of the journey back home. The nice thing about this dirt road is it goes out to this lonely highway so really their is more pavement then dirt road once you get to it. So after a short while you will come up on pavement as the road changes that quick from dirt to pavement. But at one time this was a railroad and stage route. Their is even a road called Hudson which can take you up to the ghost town of Hudson which we already explored. So I have been on and off exploring over the years that includes even Bodie, Pine Grove, Rockland and a few other ghost towns.
I eventually made my way out of Nye Canyon area we passed by this old ranch I once visited and a road that takes you on this old stage route through Rockland but boy is it rough. I remember a few years ago taking that road and I hit a massive snow drift on some dirt road so narrow the brush was scratching the sides of my jeep lol. I was thankful I did not leave the route I was on because trust me once you do their is many rugged canyons that branch off of this road and some do lead you to mines or mill sites but its wild country. I enjoyed the ride home but by the time we left Sweetwater it was dark out so with that being said I was out on this journey from before dawn to after dusk so yeah it was a long day. But I enjoy smoking my bud, playing my tunes, opening up the moon roof so I can see the stars and just enjoying that ride down a lonely road.
It was a great day a journey most of you should not have missed. When I go ghost towning I go big I do not spend a couple hours exploring I explore the entire day and I take many unknown dirt roads sometimes finding some cool stuff nobody knows about. The point is you have to get out there and explore but doing this is better with friends not alone. I try to install that in my members that you need to get involved. People miss out or they spend time thinking about going with me and by the time they want to go I already did dozens of hard to get to ghost towns that I wont be returning to. Aurora was not hard to get to but some places are and they are one time shots because of the danger level. You do not want to press your luck in the wild west if you had a hard time getting to a place because the road was out or you had to rock crawl I generally make it count the first time and be as thorough as I can be.
Therefore if you snooze you lose I know some of you do not own good enough vehicles to get to these places while others want to get into this but are to afraid because of the seclusion. But trust me you learn by experiencing things and the risk come with rewards. But what we do is important because some day most of these places are gone and I am trying my best to document what is left so that you can enjoy these places the same way I enjoyed them.So some of you get to see these places on our youtube, through our pictures online and our website with solid history. But nothing beats being a part of it or on site to be able to explore these remnants of the past which helped shape the wild west we know today.
I am so tired of people doubting me I been doing this for half my life. I take 100 mile dirt roads, climb cliffs, hike for miles on foot, go deep down in mines and explore some of the greatest ghost towns in the country. I do a bit of everything some paranormal investigating, urban exploring, rock climbing, off roading, adventuring rain or shine and historical research. I know my shit and you can assume I am some dumb stoner but I have gone out with others who never even come close to being as prepped as I am and most of them people have no experience driving in all weather or on these old stage roads. I have one thing nobody can take and that is experience.
I do what I say and say what I mean safety is my number one priority this is why I spent years and years taking my kids out to ghost towns when they were younger and plenty of friends because I am the man you want taking you into a mine or on these treacherous roads. I am top of the line when it comes to jeeping and offroading also I know my shit because I map out everything and have coordinates to everything! I suffer from major medical issues but I still continue to do this and I cant say I have had bad experiences exploring the wild west. I have good memories you never see me roll my vehicle or end up off a cliff or stranded a 100 miles from nowhere. My record is impeeccable and success rate therefore some of you should go out with me. I am tired of people going out there thinking they are me then they get broken down, flip there vehicle or end up bitten by a snake. People need to understand my knowledge and vast experience is PRICELESS.
I have driven in blizzards in ghost towns and even flash floods where half of the cliff was missing and I still managed to pull it off. I remember once a giant wave of water was coming down a canyon and I had to escape it before it washed me off the cliff and I am proud of the amazing things I have done over the years. So sure you can go out give this a go on your own but if you come up missing, dead or worst I will tell you I told you so. Work with us and work with me together as a team lets do this make some memories, form some bonds and do credible work that we can put on the PGS website for the world to see. So many schools utilize my website right now especially out west since one of the major requirements is that schools out here have to take some local history such as studying the frontier, pioneers, historic figures and of course many of the towns that we have on our site. So the work we do is important I get teachers writing me all the time because their students might do a paper on a certain town like Aurora or want to use one of my photos.
Ghost towning is a way for me to preserve but also give back to my fellow Nevadans even others across the world. I am very disappointed some of you did not come and maybe you do not like me smoking bud but I am not some shit faced disorganized stupid moron. I manage my shit and those that go out with me always go out again because they are safe with me. I carry firearms and always a spare, food, extra water, medical supplies etc etc. I even own a drone, two way radios and a bunch of other stuff. I am out here having the time of my life living the dream people can share it or continue to piss and moan or find something to bitch about. I cant worry about what might happen I live in the here and the now. When I go out I go out based on my own experience and I am always safe because I am safe. If you want to be safe you go out with me if not I seriously wish some people luck ghost towning is not a joke nor what we do here over the past two decades.
With that in mind I try not to mention Chris Geigle's name but I spent years not wanting to go out with the guy especially after he told me their are no rattle snakes in the summer in the desert. Eventually I let him take me to a couple ghost towns normally I drive because people I go out with are lousy drivers. I can smoke pot all day long and not once will you ever seen me swerve, lose control or act retarded. But this man drinks a couple beers and he has one wheel off the cliff even though the dirt road is three car lengths wide. The man carries no spare tire, no extra water, no medical supplies and a children's backpack with a six pack in it and that is it. The man nearly hit a car head on taking me home and his wife nearly hit a police officer which got them nearly arrested if it were not for me knowing the cop they would have been screwed.
Point is I went out with the guy twice and it was a nightmare when he took me out the second time. Because he is a drunk who does not care about safety and thinks its funny that he does not know what he is doing then goes online with his massive ghost town group of Nevadans who think he is some great adventurer when the guy does not own a camera but uses others to take photos for him then takes credit for someone else's work. I cant understand why people are so naive think about it you can go out with me the cool dude who actually cares about his friends or go out with someone who will put you at risk and take you for granted think about it. I am here to make friends, form memories and the work were doing is for a righteous cause.
You can see I have done hundreds of places and if you know where those places are then you know it took experience and skill to get to them so its your choice. But do not go judging me because of what he tells you. He is a bad ghost towner someone who does not carry a spare tells me they are to cheap to care about someone else's safety. Just as someone who makes racist remarks or tells me because I was born in NY that this makes me a poor ghost towner tells me that he is ignorant. It does not matter where I am from what matters is my experience. I would never take my family out if what I did was not safe and when I do something less safe I do it ALONE end of story.
The only reason why I mentioned this is because some people talk shit and they judge me. You cannot judge me unless you physically get in a truck with me and I take you somewhere. Only judge me after I take you out because I can promise that any of you id take out you would want to go again and you would end up having nothing but nice things to say. Because I have plenty of experience at this and I go in prepared. I am not some cheesy ghost hunter chasing dust or some curious guy that wants to see a ghost town. Ghost towns, urban exploring, paranormal investigating for me is a way of life actually it is my life and I do right each and every time. I am my own worst critic but also a perfectionist so therefore my goal is not to be reckless but to apply what I know and learned to research these locations. I am not drunk I do not do drugs a beer or bowl in the middle of nowhere is fine therefore nobody is getting shit faced like some people assume. I spend entire days rock climbing, off roading, exploring mines etc if I was not safe don't you think by now id be dead? falling to my death? stranded in the desert? bit