Remnants of the MOJAVE DESERT | Ghost Towns of Searchlight, NV & Nipton, CA
Рет қаралды 8,286
Күн бұрынAcross the Mojave Desert dot numerous remains of ghost towns, both forgotten and still alive. Today our adventure examines what life was like and the remnants of an industry that put these towns on the map and what remains of them today.
Legend says that Searchlight got its name in May of 1897 when prospector George Frederick Colton stated it was going to take a searchlight to find gold ore out in the desert. Not long thereafter, Colton found the gold he was looking for and began the Duplex Mine. Word spread quickly and many people flooded into the area. Searchlight quickly became a boom town and to really put it in perspective at the time it had a larger population than nearby Las Vegas. After 1917 the great boom was already coming to an end and by the 1920s the population almost dwindled away to nothing. There was a small resurgence in the 1930s and 1940s due to the excitement at nearby Hoover Dam but by the early 1950s, the remaining mining operations closed shop. Fast forward to the day and there's a population likely south of 500 people.
The origin of Nipton was a small mining camp located at the crossroads of two wagon trails. It sits at the northeastern edge of the Mojave National Preserve and feels like a tiny oasis against the backdrop of the vast Mojave Desert. Nipton really came to be when a railroad eventually passed through here in 1905. Back then they called it Nippeno Camp. Then in 1910 when the previous railroads merged with the Union Pacific Railroad, the name of the town changed to Nipton. In its heyday, Nipton served as a cattle loading station for nearby ranches in the area. It also serviced prospectors and miners who worked mines out in nearby areas, serving as sort of a supply and social nub for an otherwise sparsely populated and isolated community of desert dwellers. Today the highlight of the town is arguably the 1910 five-room adobe hotel.
VIDEO FILMED: 11/26-11/27/2022
▬▬ R E L A T E D V I D E O S ▬▬
⚪ Exploring the Historic Desert Ghost Town of RHYOLITE | Nevada - • Exploring the Historic...
⚪ ORGAN MOUNTAIN DESERT PEAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT | Boyd Sanatorium & Van Patten Camp | New Mexico - • ORGAN MOUNTAIN DESERT ...
⚪ Abandoned BORIANA MINE | Our First OFF-ROAD Adventure! | Hualapai Mountains, Arizona - • Abandoned BORIANA MINE...
⚪ Tour of JOSHUA TREE National Park's Many Things to See | California - • Tour of JOSHUA TREE Na...
⚪ Following the Footsteps of GRAM PARSONS in Joshua Tree National Park | Californi - • Following the Footstep...
⚪ How to Find (and Not Find) the HALL OF HORRORS | Joshua Tree National Park, California - • How to Find (and Not F...
▬▬ T I M E S T A M P S ▬▬
00:00 Searchlight, Nevada
15:45 Walking Box Ranch
20:18 Nipton, California
26:46 Chloride, Arizona
▬▬ L I N K S ▬▬
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Welcome to the Cactus Atlas! We are Glenn and Amy and invite you to join us as we visit all sorts of locations across the American West. We tour both natural and man-made attractions.
Our base of operations is in the Phoenix, AZ area. We do a lot of hiking and day trips as well as campground reviews and hope that we will be a great resource if you are planning a trip to the American West. We also hope to delight you with our exciting adventures!
@user-bd5nh5eb4b 6 ай бұрын
Thanks, great trip, glad you allowed me to tag along ❤
@CactusAtlas 6 ай бұрын
Our pleasure 😊
@chrisleggett685 23 күн бұрын
I used to deliver flyash to the castle mtn mine a few miles east of Nipton. About 1999-2002.I got stopped at those trax many times waiting for the train to move. There was a restaurant there that was actully very good. Often the train would stop and the guys in the train would go get food there.
@renegade_ia430 9 ай бұрын
We were at the Colton mine in Searchlight last weekend. We stayed with friends that live in one on the trailers on the property. We also got to meet Kim Coleton, the great granddaughter of the original owner of the mine. Very cool place & was great to get to explore the are a bit!
@CactusAtlas 9 ай бұрын
Oh, wow! That is very awesome! Sounds like a lot of fun. 😄👍
@haleymckellips3602 Жыл бұрын
Your videos bring me so much peace! You talk very calmly, and the music with the beautiful footage! I appriciate your appreciation for the desert! 🙏 thank you for making these videos!
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for letting us know and we're super happy that we could bring them to you. We both enjoy making them so much. 😊
@fullmoonAZ Жыл бұрын
Your videos are the best examples of what KZfaq can be. Thank you so much! You're a great narrator.
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Wow, thank you! We're glad that you enjoy our work. 😊
@tpseeker3367 Жыл бұрын
Ahhh Haaaaa. I knew there was something odd & different throughout this whole vid & at 26:45 it hit me. Glenn wasn't wearing his Hat. Well that was a cool little adventure. Thanks for taking us along.
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Hahah! The hat does in fact sometimes gets left behind. 😅
@SidetrackAdventures Жыл бұрын
Great video as always. You are right on how fragile some of these places are. I drove by a bunch of buildings in Mojave Preserve a few years ago and when I went back there were just piles of wood everywhere with a few roofs and door frames here and there.
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Man, such a loss. So many places will just disappear or even become off limits to the public in the years to come. Makes one wonder what some neighborhoods or other areas we see daily might look like in 100+ years.
@Askjeffwilliams Жыл бұрын
The mine you started at is called the Southern Nevada Mine ( Gold ) the mill is the building that you were at and has been removed by BLM. We have explored and documented every mine in that district and currently own one of them. We filmed all them in the early 90's on VHS and have been to the bottom of most of them ...most now sealed off. The Duplex mine on the hill is the most famous as it is almost still intact .....we have video of the underground workings on that on as well. The largest of all the mines is around the hill and they are called the Quartette mines. ( 1700 feet deep ) So much History at WB Ranch and down the road from the is the Hart mining district in the Castle mountains ( Viceroy was open pit - heap leaching it ) Small town of Crescent as you got to Nipton. 2 of the rooms at the Nipton Hotel are haunted. Big John of Searchlight made that rock garden out front of the Hotel in 1930. Could tell you a lot about Chloride too and the Cerbat mountain range .... be safe out there and keep'em coming
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Wow! Thanks so much for all that info! We keep meaning to get back to Chloride as we just didn't have time when up there that time. Loads more to see. Just so little time. 😅 Thanks once again!
@alexmineff5596 Жыл бұрын
Another wonderful travel vlog loved it. Been by there but now I will think about it more than before when passing that way. These videos make me think about the people and places. Thank you so much and happy new year to you both. Look forward to seeing you on your travels in 2023.
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Thank you! We're looking forward to what adventures await in the new year. Hope yours will be great as well! 😄
@jane112wedge Жыл бұрын
Always enjoy watching your videos! So well done. I just watched the one you did in Grafton, a place I've been to many times...I have a love of Old West towns and Ghost towns too. If you've never been....put Bannack State Park ghost town on your list. It was number one on my must go to list and I was able to get there last year. It is fantastic! I spent four hours there....so much to see!
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Thank you! 😄 Bannack State Park has been on our radar for a while. Just not sure, unfortunately, if we'll be making a trip that far north any time soon. Would LOVE to, just hard to squeeze in with the distance it requires to get there and the time off from work available. But it looks like an amazing place!
@jane112wedge Жыл бұрын
Someday you will be able to! I retired in August 2021(after being laid off due to the covid mess) so I was able to take a trip to Utah and back to Pennsylvania without any time constraints! Saw Bannack, Virginia City, and Deadwood in that trip! And many other places too. Maybe someday I'll meet you when I'm out West!
@marshmallows5641 Жыл бұрын
Love these ghost town adventures! The Mojave is so beautiful!
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
It really is! Hitting up more remote ghost towns has become so much fun. Have a great new year! 😊
@tominvermont9157 Жыл бұрын
Anither good one! I love roaming around the boonies with you. I wonder if Nipton will ever be opened to the public again. I hope whoever bought it doesn't use it for their own personal use, but it looks like that's what is going to happen.
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Nipton's current restrictions are such a bummer. Especially since we've seen so many other videos from the past. Hoping things relax again but only time will tell. 😞
@IDNHANTU2day Жыл бұрын
Love your content. You are definitely my scout for interesting road trip destinations. Some people don't get it. But I enjoy being in places where relics of the past exist. To think that those things, being a brick or nailed board, are what a person assembled many years ago.
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
That is a good way to summarize it! I always try to envision the who and how and what life was like. Even down to the smallest rusty nail.
@franklentz5388 4 ай бұрын
In the video, right when you transition leaving searchlight via nipton rd, that property on the right, looks like it’s now a maintenance yard or something, that property is where Harry Reid and his family lived. I worked near there at a Chevron gas station right at the north end of town.
@CactusAtlas 4 ай бұрын
Very cool! Thanks for sharing! 😄👍
@mojavedesertsonorandesert9531 8 ай бұрын
🌴🏜️👋🏼Greetings from the Colorado Desert, Chiraco Summit, CA.
@DovieRuthAuthor Жыл бұрын
I’ve always wondered how Searchlight got its name. I’ve never heard of Nipton before. I love the sound of rain on corrugated metal. Right outside my bedroom is a huge patio cover, which I have to admit, is in much better shape than the one in your video. I enjoy waking up to the rain pounding on it.
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
I can imagine that the sound can be somewhat soothing at times - especially when the rain is very needed. 😊
@SomeplaceOrAnother Жыл бұрын
Those clouds looked pretty cool 😎
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Was some pretty interesting weather during that trip. 👍
@SwiftyTravels Жыл бұрын
Interesting history in Nipton! The Joshua trees at the ranch were so beautiful as well!
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Yes they were. Seeing them from a different perspective really has become a fun new thing. 😅
@brookingsbeachcomber Жыл бұрын
Nice surprise, Happy New Year
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
Thank you! You too! 😄
@gstiles7 Жыл бұрын
Wow, what a neat trip! You should have used the drone to get us into the restricted areas 😂. I wonder if they'd copyright strike you if you played a little "In the name of love" or "Where the streets have no name" just to go with the whole Joshua Tree vibe? 🤔
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
😂 Probably would not be favorable but it can be the Pink Floyd / Wizard of Oz experience. Just queue it up and press play.🤣
@pameladutton9076 8 ай бұрын
Hey, just passing along something I learned watching other mining exploration KZfaq posts, the pile of rocks that are usually close to the mine adits are called waste rock that's not crushed, tailings are the result of the rocks being crushed and processed by a mill or some other method of extracting the wanted minerals, usually don't see rocks in the tailings
@CactusAtlas 7 ай бұрын
Ah! Yeah, we have lots to learn when it comes to mining, processing, etc. It's truly interesting to us but not something we're experts at. 😅 Thanks for the info!
@scottsmith5774 Жыл бұрын
Walking box ranch was by rex bell and clara bow lived there until mid 1940's now part of burea of land management
@Jezahb Жыл бұрын
Totally sounded like something growled at you at 6:48 😳
@modspell Жыл бұрын
Love shack. That’s where it’s at.
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
😂 I kept hearing that in my head while editing.
@kreggossmer2029 Жыл бұрын
🤠👍👍
@010bobby Жыл бұрын
Just wondering where do they get water in these desert communities?..
@CactusAtlas Жыл бұрын
A lot of areas around here use the Colorado but further away I'm not sure unfortunately. 😅
@datmixednut1254 8 ай бұрын
Generally 1800s wood only after 1910 wood with metal roof
@richardweaver9682 Жыл бұрын
The American southwest desert is the ONLY place in the world where the Joshua Tree grows.
@datmixednut1254 8 ай бұрын
Won't step on glass but will touch a high voltage cable 😂
@CactusAtlas 8 ай бұрын
🤣 Somehow the thought of glass in a foot seemed worse at the time.
@noahmichael-7652 23 күн бұрын
Looks like they mined an old pyramid…
@me12-17 Жыл бұрын
Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter
@kukifitte7357 3 ай бұрын
It’s a nice little place but there were lots of roman looking soldiers there crucifying gang members and burning decapitated bodies last time I went through
@ericnevin3768 5 ай бұрын
Surprised no one confronted you. Not all those people out there are very, let say happy. Stay off their land.
@johnnynitro7523 11 ай бұрын
Yes..alot of history...you have seemed to have forgotten...or intentiollay left out the legacy of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe people. Its a Christian thing...I get it...
@CactusAtlas 11 ай бұрын
The scope of the video we intended was simply exploring remnants of old mining history. However, we are interested in the history of Native American cultures and have covered several in many videos we've filmed. You can check them out in our back catalog and btw, we're not Christian. 😉
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