FOSSILS, COOL ROCKS, AND GHOST TOWNS, OH MY!

So here we are.  Life has come full circle.   We left Quartzsite last season and came here to Beatty for a few weeks.   We had lots of awesome adventures out in the desert.  Let's face it, we had way more than our share of fun.  Since then, we have traveled around Nevada, and been to Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Alaska, and Idaho- and lots of places in between.  And so here we are.  In Beatty again for a couple of weeks before opening in Quartzsite.

Beatty, NV is a small town in the middle of the desert.  And when I say middle, I mean middle.  90 miles to the north is Goldfield and Tonopah.  Las Vegas lies 150 miles to the south.   To the east is Nellis Air Force Base, and to the west is Death Valley.  In between there is vast expanse of desert, and equally vast amounts of opportunity for outdoor adventure.  There are old mines, ghost towns, rockhounding and fossil hunting sites, cool rock formations, gold prospecting areas, hot springs, and more.  Wild burros roam the streets and bighorn sheep can be seen in the mountains surrounding the town.

The Bullfrog Hills surrounding Beatty are rich in gold and brought settlers to Beatty in 1904.  The Montgomery Hotel was built in 1905 and was one of the first businesses in Beatty.  Other businesses sprang up in Beatty to serve the mining communities of the Bullfrog mining district.  Beatty became the economic center for the large but sparsely populated region consisting mostly of mining camps.   During the peak mining years, Beatty was the business and transportation hub serving the surrounding mining camps.  Horse or mule drawn wagons and rail lines connected Beatty and the camps to Tonopah and Las Vegas.  For more  history and stuff go to the "Official Website" of Beatty http://www.beattynv.info/ and the Chamber of Commerce Website http://www.beattynevada.org/.

There are a few mines still in operation in Beatty.  One of the largest ones is the Carrera Marble mine south of Beatty.  Many interesting abandoned mines can also be found  throughout the desert and offer plenty of opportunities for exploration.   A network of jeep trails takes the explorer to many different mines.  Besides gold, some of the minerals that have been mined near Beatty are Gypsum, talc, limestone and diatomite.  Or, for a more modern mining experience, take the drywasher out for a spin in the washes and in the Amargosa River which runs through town.

The ghost town of Rhyolite is well worth the short drive out of town to visit.   Rhyolite began in 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprung up in the Bullfrog Mining District.   The Montgomery Shoshone Mine just outside Rhyolite  produced ores assayed as high as $16,000 per ton at 1905 prices.   At its peak, Rhyolite is estimated to have up to 5,000 people or more, piped water, electric power, railroads, telephones, newspapers, and its own stock exchange.  Remains of several of the buildings are still standing, including the train station and an interesting bottle house.  The website for Rhyolite is http://www.rhyolitesite.com/.  Yes, I did say website.   How funny is that...a website for a ghost town.  I wonder if the ghosts have Facebook pages, too?   Guess they wouldn't post very many pictures, but their stories would probably be awesome!  

Other things to do in and around Beatty include some interesting limestone formations called Swiss Cheese by the locals, and a fossil site called the Mud Mound containing fossilized sea creatures about 450 million years old.   Petrified wood and coprolites can also be found in the deserts and canyons around Beatty.  For hot springs enthusiasts, Bailey’s Hot Springs is just outside of Beatty to the north.   Beatty is also a gateway to Death Valley.  For a 4-wheel drive excursion into Death Valley, you can take a trip through Titus Canyon.  If you just want to take a leisurely drive into Death Valley, take 190W out of Beatty.  For lots of great historical artifacts, photos, and information visit the Beatty Museum and Historical Society.  Their website is http://www.beattymuseum.org/.  You will pass their building if you drive to Rhyolite and Death Valley, so stop there first.   They have lots of antique mining equipment, photos, and other memorabilia- like Stock Certificates from the old Bullfrog Mining District mines- even miner's paychecks!

If you are heading to Beatty within the next week, consider staying until the end of October.   That way you can be here for BEATTY DAYS!  Join us for Live Music, Food and Crafts, Parades, Tricycle Races, Bed Races, a Chili Cook Off, Bike and Antique Car Shows, and lots more!   Visit the Beatty Days Website for the complete line-up of exciting events here in the desert of Nevada.   While you are here, come by our booth in the "Beatty Mall" - the swapmeet vending area along Hwy95S, across from the Death Valley Inn and Campground.   We are open in Beatty from October 16th until the 29th.  Come by our booth for lots of great rocks and fossils from Nevada, including ones from the Beatty area!   We have Nevada rockhounding books, Nevada gold and gem maps, and Nevada gold prospecting books, too!

For photos and great stories about our adventures in Beatty, visit our Archive Blog Posts:  Ancient Fish and Old Piles of Mud,   To Sea or Not to Sea,   Deserts, Plankton and Bighorn Sheep,  Mine Shafts and Old Piles of Talc, and The Giant Playground Called Desert.  You can also go to our Facebook page to see photo albums from Beatty.  For a great article on other places to see along Hwy 95 in Nevada, check out Exploring Nevada's Scenic Hwy 95.

We will be open in Quartzsite at A37 in Rice Ranch in the beginning of November.   Happy traveling and we’ll see ya’ online and in Quartzsite- and maybe even in Beatty!   In the meantime, remember:  Life is Short.  Go Outside and Play!