Desert/ruins type areas?

[jadmt]

yes I have been to the san juan area of Colorado many times and pretty much all of the the Montana wheeling areas. My buddy wants to do some desert scenery type stuff but not sand dunes which probably means Utah, Calif, Nev, Arizona etc..

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[hilljumper]

yesterday one of my buddies who I have wheeled with in moab more times than i can remember said he kind of wanted to do some desert type exploring where there might be some neat ruins to check out. I know Death Valley but any other less traveled places that are worth driving from Western Montana to check out?

Death Valley has some interest but there are better places to explore. It is essentially a mining wasteland. Unbelievable how destroyed the land is and how shitty the history is there. Maybe worth a one time visit but as far as desert goes there are so many other places to see. Just my opinion.

 

[hilljumper]

If the Egyptians had a BLM, they would have bulldozed the pyrimids.

WHAT???

 

[hilljumper]

One has to keep in mind that all of these "off road" OHV trails are mining roads that are no longer maintained. Silver, gold, whatever they are, are mining areas that were "governed" or permitted by the State or Federal Government and are pretty fucked up for the most part. I'll put it this way. If you left shit at your campsite like these mines you would be in jail for it.

 

[AZ Hella]

One has to keep in mind that all of these "off road" OHV trails are mining roads that are no longer maintained. Silver, gold, whatever they are, are mining areas that were "governed" or permitted by the State or Federal Government and are pretty fucked up for the most part. I'll put it this way. If you left shit at your campsite like these mines you would be in jail for it.

This is truth.
Old mining sites are literally garbage dumps for the most part.
It's funny, you see an old refrigerator at a mining site and it's cool, but If I dump my refrigerator in the desert I'm a POS.

 

[58Willys]

San Francisco is pretty much in ruins, you drive around there.

 

[runningshoes]

Anza-Borrego is a nice add-on if you are planning the Southern California region. It's been a while since we were there but plenty of really fun drives in dry river beds.

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638

 

[Reinen]

Reds Canyon in San Rafael Swell, UT. Multiple large mines still intact (mostly), abandoned antique vehicles, 100+ y/o old cowboy shelters, natural arches, desert views galore. Nobody there.

Some warnings.
The trail is easy when dry, downright dangerous when wet (very slick mud on shelf roads + multiple dry wash crossings). Gas management is critical, nearest gas station can be 100 off-road miles away. Be very cautious driving near mines. The old timer miners just tossed their metal trash everywhere. Expect to find scrap metal sticking out of the dirt looking for a tire to slash.

 

[Ratbert]

One has to keep in mind that all of these "off road" OHV trails are mining roads that are no longer maintained. Silver, gold, whatever they are, are mining areas that were "governed" or permitted by the State or Federal Government and are pretty fucked up for the most part. I'll put it this way. If you left shit at your campsite like these mines you would be in jail for it.

You have an extremely weird perspective. There's usually a tiny bit of 50 to 100 year old trash (aka artifacts) in these places, but overall they're damn cool. Hell, that trash tells a lot about how those oldtimers lived.

Most of these abandoned camps and mines are in areas where people like you and I would not survive. She lots of them have been preserved astonishingly well.

 

[dstevens]

If the Egyptians had a BLM, they would have bulldozed the pyrimids.

WHAT???

Egypt, 2500 BCE. BLM meeting.

BLM #1: We need to do something about those abandoned pyramids.
BLM #2: Yeah, no one is using them and they are just causing trouble. People are coming out of area to look at them. They are camping near by, climbing all over them, leaving cart tracks and donkey droppings everywhere, generally having fun.
BLM #3: I'm concerned about the damage to the shifting sand and what might happen if someone falls off the top.
BLM #1: Well they might be a wonder of the world but we have a job to do.
BLM #2: Ok, that's settled. I'll petition the pharaoh on Monday to round up some slaves so that we can level them all.

 

[Reinen]

You have an extremely weird perspective. There's usually a tiny bit of 50 to 100 year old trash (aka artifacts) in these places, but overall they're damn cool. Hell, that trash tells a lot about how those oldtimers lived.

Most of these abandoned camps and mines are in areas where people like you and I would not survive. She lots of them have been preserved astonishingly well.

This is what happens when you judge 19th century people by 21st century standards. Their priority was survival, not environmentalism. It's easy to condemn them now that survival is expected, but those who do are the ones least likely to survive walking in their shoes.

Everyone got rid of their trash that way. There were just very, very few "everyones" back then and it didn't amount to anything that would have been seen as a problem. There were much bigger and more important problems to face.

 

[deznut6]

Use Beatty Nevada as a base, gas, food, lodging...go to Rhyolite Nevada...mining town from early 1900...well documented. Not far from enterence to Death Valley.

 

[Eyeball]

There's a lot of cool old mining ghost towns in Nevada but one thing I've seen over the past few years is that vandalism has really taken off and things that were intact in the early to mid 2000's is largely destroyed now. It's sad.

This is exactly why I don't share things like this online. I keep my favorite spots a secret.

 

[rdfact]

If you happen to be near Reno/Carson City, check out Virginia City. It's an old mining town that is basically a tourist attraction now. There's a mining museum, firehouse museum, old church and cemetery. Some good restaurants and bars. You can also take a guided tour of an old mine that goes mostly horizontal into the mountain side, not down vertically so it's an easy tour.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Marta Becket's Amargosa Opera House and Hotel

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