Gladstone Mines
I had the chance to get out on a cold winter day in 2008, so I decided to hunt down some mines I had wanted to check out for some time.
Jake’s Cabin
We’ve been going to Jake’s Cabin for over twenty years. It is a great place to camp out in the middle of nowhere. The cabin is part of an old prospecting camp. A tin can dump is scattered nearby, and a small shaft is hidden down the wash.
Ryan Mining Camp
In 2013, I joined a Searles Valley Historical Society field trip to see the well-preserved borax mining camp of Ryan in Death Valley. Having never been in the mining camp before, I jumped at the chance to visit.
Francis Marion Smith founded the Pacific Coast Borax Company in 1890. He
Alta Silver and Rock Eagle Mines
Way back in 2004, I met up with Dan, my dad, Micah, Lewis, his son Aaron, Werner, John, and his cousin for a trip to some out-of-the-way mines out in the Mojave desert. Some of these are very old mines. This mine was discovered by Frank Riggs, who worked the
Gerstley Mine
Prospector Johnny Sheridan lived in a cave with skunks and chuckwallas while he roamed the southern end of the Resting Spring Range in 1922. He discovered borate deposits that year that would launch the Gerstley Mine, which in a short amount of time created a town and required its own
Columbia #2 Mine
These are various photos from our trips over the years to the Columbia #2 mine in the Mojave Desert. It is part of the War Eagle complex of mines and is well-traveled.
Much of the remaining mining equipment has been stolen since my photos were taken. A May 25th, 2012,
Day Break Camp
I met up with Dan in 2006, and we headed out into the great Mojave Desert to try and find an old, little-known camp called Day Break.