HAPPY SPRING TIME TO YOU ALL.

 

We’ll it’s that time again to give you info from the middle of nowhere!!

 Lettuce start with info on the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend.

 First off we have finally confirmed the entertainment this year.  It will be Maria (cantalopez) and her friend Mike.  You’ll remember Maria as our karaoke singer in the past.  This year her and Mike will be entertaining us on our stage Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights with a full band “sound” playing a wide variety of music genre. 

Second off we have Ghost Town Operations returning for “dinner with a ghost” and ghost tours and are planning on adding star gazing at the Gold Point airport.

 Here is some info in their own words—

 It's that time of the year again....

Time to point your RV's Cars, and Vans in the direction of Gold Point Nevada.  Set your Navigation system to Gold Point Nevada for the BIG EVENT of the year, "Gold Point Memorial WeekendEvent"  This will be the Fifth year for GTOPS Ghost Town Operations and your HOSTS Sheriff Stone, Lil, and Walt ready and waiting for the BIG EVENT to arrive Memorial Weekend May 23,24,25,26th. 

 As always, we are planning special events,"Dinner with a Ghost', make your Reservations early, Paranormal Investigation Tours, Paranormal Investigations for any Paranormal Group that would like their own Investigation late into the night. 

Also, we are introducing a new event, "Contact" "Night Sky" at midnight every night we will be looking at the "Night Sky" watching for anything and everything that may answer that question, "Are We Alone"... this will take place in three different locations throughout Gold Point after a "Contact" Kick Off Party in the Saloon starting Friday Night welcoming everyone to a GREAT WEEKEND, then at midnight, Time for "Night Sky".

Food, Fun, Live Music, Drinks, Camping, RV Parking, Showers, Restrooms, Scenery, Dinner with a Ghost, Paranormal Tours, Investigations, and "Contact" "Night Sky" "Home of the Bottomless French Fry"

 Take 95 North from Las Vegas or South From Tonopah and exit LIDA EXIT....See you there!

 "Come One And All to Gold Point Nevada"  at the end of highway 774.

 John Cushman

Ghost Town Operations

 Ok, thanks John for the infomercial!!

 Anyone interested in the flyer need only e-mail us and ask and we will e-mail you a copy.

 Now for some thanks.

 We thank Tom for donating some old chairs to the saloon and two really nice movie posters advertising two of his westerns. 

Rob and family found two post cards left from when he made post cards for Ora Mae to sell in the Post Office back in the mid 60’s.  They are pictures of both of the big mines above Gold Point back when all the buildings were still standing.  We will frame them and put them on display. 

We’ve pretty much got the Post Office and Senator’s home finished the way we like it.  Red Dog got it cleaned up after our working in it and we’ve been renting it out again. 

 Now a little info on our Arizona trip before we get to my favorite part—“tales from the not so old West” 

Watching the fireworks at the Lake Havasu Winter Blast was just that—a blast.  Wow and hats off to them for a great 25 anniversary event.  Four days of fireworks.  We only watched Friday and Saturday nights.  I won’t try to describe them because you can’t.  you have to be there.  I’m sure almost all of you have seen fireworks displays during 4^th of July celebrations but not like these and not for almost an hour each night (not counting the individual blasters shooting before and after the main show) with music and so wide and large an area covered in the sky.  It is well worth the trip in the middle of February if you’ve never been there. 

Now the fireworks are great at night but what to do during the day you ask.  You did ask didn’t you?? 

 Ok, we’ll tell you where we went to be entertained and amazed.

 Friday we drove down to Yuma to visit the old Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park.  That was very interesting and only about 2 hours south of where we were staying in Parker.  They have self or guided tours.  Very interesting to learn the history of it.  Only remnants remain of this historic prison built in 1876, where you can see photographs of some of the prisoners who served time here over its 33 years of operation and get a feel for frontier justice. 

Another historical place to visit in Yuma was on the other side of the river.  The Yuma Crossing State Historic Park.  Once a major military supply point, this site contains the quartermaster depot and officers' quarters as well as restored historic buildings commemorating five centuries of transportation across the Colorado River

 The best hidden gem of the desert was the Castle Dome Ghost Town Mine Museum which we stopped at on the way back to Parker.  "What you will see here is a remnant town which stood larger than Yuma in 1878. Her weathered beaten buildings remain in an area little changed from the 1800's. The mills stand silent, housing original boiler, stamp mill, and elevator, as if tomorrow they will awaken to the thunderous roar of steel crushing rock. The boardwalks still creak, the church bell rings out, the five saloons just await the story of their last shootout. The horse trails are beaten down & lead to the blacksmith. The old stage harness lies empty and the nail bags are waiting to be filled. The old glass has turned dark purple from years of sun. The machine shop has few changes, and old uncovered Roulette table is ready to spin up your fortune. The old Mercantile is still well stocked, the Doctor and Dentist office with all the tools to fix you up still awaits your visit. If you need a Post office or want to buy a lot, the Land office and claim Filing office sits on the hill. All the details that made the 1800's the wild west are here for you to experience. Only the rugged need apply, to the Desert Woman who lived here for Decades. Come by, and you can visit the old Graveyard, or stand on the Balcony of the 2nd floor of the Doc's office and see for miles. Checking out the old buildings with everything from the oldest Levi Strauss pants in the world to the Dainties in the dress shop, are all here and more."  Check out their website at http://www.castledomemuseum.com/allow a lot of time to see everything.  There’s a lot of buildings and each one is filled with antiques and other old things from the period.  We took over 200 photos for our photo album.  Each building had a theme and just a lot to soak up.

 Before visiting our friends Dale and Heidi who live on the banks of the Colorado River on the California side across from Parker, they suggested that we go to the Desert Bar (http://www.thedesertbar.com/) .  It’s built about 5 miles off the Arizona 95 Northeast of Parker on the Nellie E Mining camp.  Once making the turn it was easy to find.  All you do is follow the line of vehicles.  When you go to the website you’ll see and read all about it better than I could explain.  We will tell you that it was a fun time had by all of us.  We were entertained by the band Hard Rain which plays there every Presidents Day weekend.  Red Dog and I split a pastrami hamburger and beer battered garlic fries.  It looked like a ½ pound burger patty with pastrami piled high on top of that.  Yummy!!  Afterwards a helicopter ride over the surrounding desert and up the Colorado River and back.  We were there about 3 hours or so and found it very enjoyable. 

 Now for the next installment of “Tales from the not so old West”

 May 23, 1908 Rhyolite Bullfrog Miner

“F. Hewitt, the sign painter, returned Thursday from Hornsilver.”

“Says Hornsilver is flourishing.  M. Brick, who is associated with John Beckman in the Great Western Brokerage company at Hornsilver, returned from the new camp the first of the week to remain a few days…”

 May 27, 1908 Vol. 4 no. 5 Rhyolite Herald

“Pannings….Fred Kehoe and John Leyshon have established the Crescent cigar and news stand at Hornsilver…M. Brick expects to return this week to Hornsilver, where he and John Beckman have established a brokerage office, under the firm name of Beckman & Brick…”

 May 26, 1908  Goldfield Daily Tribune  Vol. 2 no. 246 Tuesday

“not a stick of lumber to be procured for love or money at Hornsilver.  Hornsilver is still in the public eye, and it is liable to remain there for some time to come.  Those who have secured leases there are just getting fully started.  Good working shafts are going down, but owning to a scarcity of timer the work has been slow.  In the big mine, the Great Western, stoping was started a the 200-foot level yesterday, and the drifts will be continued both ways on the ore shoot at this point, as well as the work of sinking the winze at the 100-foot level.  Assays on the ore being broken at the bottom level average about $70 a ton as the ore is shot down.  The old plant of machinery is to be replaced at once with a much larger one.  A new plant is also being installed on the Silverhorn company’s ground, and a dozen others are talking of following suit.  At the present time there are twenty-seven places where either a smelting grade of ore or good milling stuff is in sight, in the immediate neighborhood of the town. 

 One of the best showing is that on a block of ground worked by Captain Hassell and associates, who have s shaft down forty feet, where assays are being secured that go in the hundreds.  This is one of the properties that is to be equipped with a gasoline hoist at once.  To the south and east of the
Great Western, for miles, owners and lessees are also busy, and good pannings and assays can be secured.  It is not necessary to send the ore away now to have it tested by fire, as there are two assay offices in town.   

Saturday and Sunday there must have been at least 50 people from Goldfield who went to the camp, either by automobile, wagons, or via stage from Cuprite.  One of the men who went down on Sunday tried to get some lumber for the purpose of putting up a little office at his property, but there was not a stick for sale.  He said that in the afternoon a wagon load of old lumber from Palmetto was hauled into town, and it was grabbed up before the owner had time to unload it.  a preliminary survey has been made for the new waterworks to Mount Magruder, where there is a plentiful supply, both for town and mill purposes.

 Owing to the continued scarcity of lumber and building material, a number of new arrivals are coming into camp with shack and houses picked up at the old camps of Palmetto and Lida.  Everything of a portable nature on the southern desert is being carted off to the Hornsilver country, where it is sold at ten times value. 

May 28, 1908  Goldfield Daily Tribune  Vol. 2 no. 248 Thursday

“again hauling ore from the Great Western.  Shipments from the Great Western, at Hornsilver, have been light for the last two weeks, as the company has been too busy opening up ground, and the 16-horsepower outfit owned by Matt Maher has found more lucrative employment in hauling lumber and goods from Lida and Palmetto.  There is hardly a stick of timber, a house or a tent left at Palmetto, and Lida has also been swept with the desire to sell at any old price and get into Hornsilver. Beginning today, the ore team will resume hauling to Cuprite ore that will have to be moved from bins, drifts and stopes to allow work to be carried on to any advantage.  The best showing yet in the mine is in the west drift at the 200-foot level.  The ore body is not as wide as in the east drift, but the ore is of much higher grade. 

Ike McKay, who has mined all his life, and is superintendent of the Adams, Crackerjack and Red Hills, made a pretty thorough inspection of the camp in the past few days, and like all others, is of the firm belief that a sure-enough camp has been discovered…” 

Well that’s it for now.

 Don’t forget to make plans for Memorial Day Weekend at Gold Point.  Lettuce do the cooking of breakfast for you then head out into the hills for exploration and come back for a BBQ dinner and live entertainment or go ghost hunting with GTOPS.  We have flyers of the Dinner with a Ghost Menu and one for the weekend if you want a copy just ask.

 

happy trails and sunsets

 Sheriff Stone and/or Red Dog Lil