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Par Value Mill

Par Value Mill

Late autumn of 2017 found us tracking down a very unusual stamp mill high in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. The mill was a unique hammer design called a Pratt Ideal Stamp Mill. Very few of these mills were ever put into use, and even fewer (if any!) still

Cary Ranch Pictographs

Cary Ranch Pictographs

Back in 2013, I was invited by Dick Cary to visit his historic Cary Ranch and examine some of the pictographs there. The Mountain Cahuilla Indians first inhabited the ranch area. The site is near a natural pass and an old Indian trail that connects inland Southern California shrublands to

Sound Democrat Mill

Sound Democrat Mill

The Sound Democrat Mill is an awesome find and one of the highlights of the San Juan Mountains. The mine was first discovered in 1899. Gold and silver ore from the mine was packed on mules over a 13,000 ft ridge to the Sunnyside Mill in Eureka Gulch. In

Summit Mine

Summit Mine

High up in the spires of the Sierra Nevada, there lies a hidden and seldom visited mine. To reach it, you have to follow a steep trail that threads its way across jagged granodiorite cliffs with views of the old mining camp of Lundy, a thousand feet below. Once the

Palmetto Wash Petroglyphs

Palmetto Wash Petroglyphs

Over the years, I have visited this small petroglyph site many times. Just off of highway NV 266, it makes for a nice spot to take a break from driving. During a recent visit with my family, we were saddened to find some drill holes had been made into the

Ramshorn and Skylark Mines

Ramshorn and Skylark Mines

I took a trip in 2016 to a couple of mines high up in the Central Rocky Mountains of Idaho. I love finding old mines with tramways, and these two were great. A large silver-lead strike was made at the Ramshorn mine (and the Skylark above it) in 1877, and

Catalonia Mine

Catalonia Mine

Not too long ago (in the late summer of 2015, to be exact), we drove to this little abandoned mining camp in the backcountry of Nevada. As we got closer, we discovered the old road was completely overgrown and lost in the willows. So we got out of our trucks