The Yuba Gold Dredge had been on our to do list for several years. Finally on a hot June day in 2018 on our way up to explore…
Masonic is a true ghost town just a few miles north of Bodie. Originally founded as three towns by the Free Masons “Upper Town, Middle Town, and Lower…
In May of 2017 on a 4×4 trip from Washington, CA to Alleghany we stopped along side Washington Road at Washington Creek to let the dog go pee. Within…
Some of my favorite mines to explore are the one man operations. The Golden Egg Mine was bought in 1940 by German immigrant Karl Schapel who worked the…
Hite Cove (aka Hites Cove) is small mining camp tucked along the Merced River. John Hite discovered gold here in 1862 and ran the mine for 17 years.…
Aurora Nevada is a fascinating ex-ghost town with almost nothing too see. How can there be an ex-ghost town? Well, that is the interesting part of Aurora. Once…
The mighty Plumbago Mine (aka lower Plumbago) and Stamp Mill has a long and rich history. Millions of dollars of high grade have been pulled from small pockets…
The stamps at the Herman Mine still stand tall as of our visit in May 2016 despite several forest fires sweeping the steep ravine below Deadwood Ridge. There…
With Lake Don Pedro water levels at an all time low in November 2014 and much ado in the press we set out down Highway 49 to take…
The Tarantula Mine can only be seen when Lake Don Pedro is at extremely low levels as it was when we visited in November 2014. Part of the…
The Argonaut is the site of the worst gold mining disaster in California History. On August 27th, 1922, 47 immigrant miners became trapped at the 4,650 foot level…
Its amazing that one of California’s most productive mines has faded into a barely visible steel structure among the trees and has even been used as a cell…
Skidoo, located in Death Valley National Park was famous in the early 1900′s. Producing over 75,000 ounces of gold. But by 1917 the town was abandoned. The only…
USGS historic topo maps show dozens or maybe hundreds of mines around the town of Bodie. Particularly Silver Hill and Bodie Bluff. So much that satellite images of…