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We had a blast in Nevada!!! The Ely area has got to be one of my favorite places to explore. Things are spread out big time in that area but all the driving around is well repaid in the amazing things one can see and do. We made it all the way up to the actual Belmont Mine location at about 9K feet!! This has got to be one of the most impressive mine sites I've ever been to! When you come up on this place comming up on the road it's very striking as there are three old buildings literally stuck into the side of the mountain and the first thing I thought of is where are the 7 Dwarfs??? Of the three buildings one is the Upper bucket Hoist building, the second building looks to have been shops and offices and the third one was the living quarters. There is also a bilding up at the mine proper which probably housed a compressor and shops. Considering this place has been off line since 1952 the buildings are in amazing shape(as is the lower actual Mill). A huge tailings pile is up the mountain a short distance from the buildings and the mine is still accessable although I didn't go in. When we headed back down to the Mill proper we ran into a guy that lives in Lund, NV. His uncle was the Super at Belmont Mill. He told us they got high grade gold ore out of the mine from 1875 until it closed in 1952. After that they began an operation on the west side of the mountain to pit it out. The pit operation over there is huge and would be accessable by ATV and is shut down. On the way out the guy we ran into at the Mill told us to go over to Hamilton Ghost Town via a certain Canyon called Treasure Canyon. I'm glad we ran into him and he told us to go that way because that canyon was full of old mines and ruins of cabins. At least one cabin was still completely intact, many were built up against a sheer cliff eliminating the need for a forth wall. There is way too much over there for just three days of exploring! I want to get a group back over there and explore the mine as well. Link to pics is below. I need to get info from Mike so I can upload pictures into this site!!! To many good pics to post in this thread!!
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That does look like a fun place to visit. I would be interested in possibly going to see it. Thank you for the awesome write-up and pics!Troy E. -
Lets plan a trip!-Derek
Mojave Mine TeamComment
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Agreed! I can't believe it's only 4.5 hours away!! Let's go!!
Thanks for the trip report Mark.Comment
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Crystal,
You must be counting an hour stop at the Rainbow in Wendover to eat
. I don't think it took us that long to get there or back. Anyway, count me in again, I love this area!! There is so much to do around there and I've only touched the tip of the iceburg in the several years I've been going over there!!! Lots of cheap motels but not really alot of good places to eat at that I am aware of yet... just two or three that I go back to. Hotel Nevada has a passable restaurant, Big Apple is probably the best plce to eat but they have a limited menu. The good thing is that there is not even much fast food... even the Pizza hut has turned into a Chinese restaurant. Anyway I'd be happy to serve as guide when you all want to go.
I uploaded more pics so also see these sets...
MarkComment
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If you stop at the Rainbow on Friday evening, the seafood buffet is great! I used to get up there pretty regularly and always enjoyed sitting down to a plate of crab legs.....yum!Originally posted by Mark1955Crystal,
You must be counting an hour stop at the Rainbow in Wendover to eat .
JoanneLove to camp? Love to eat? Here's the place! www.camp-cook.com
View my ghost town & mine exploration photos: http://www.asolidfoundation.com/mines/mine_home.htmComment
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Originally posted by Mark1955
Count me in if you go back. That place looks amazing!
Éirinn go BráchComment
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Agreed! The interesting thing is that you can eat at any of the restaurants in Wendover Casions on Friday night and they all serve the exact same Seafood Buffet!!If you stop at the Rainbow on Friday evening, the seafood buffet is great!
MarkComment
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I remember our trip up to the Belmont Mine like it was yesterday. It was one of my absolute favorite trips. That was the first Ghost Town Rally I attended back in 2003. It was so beautiful and I would so love to go back. I was awestruck when I first saw the mill. We had to stop and explore it and everything around it and then we drove up to the mine. At the time we didn't have a truck so we rented a Jeep Cherokee and pinstriped the hell out of it. Needless to say we're banned from renting from them anymore, LOL. God, I would love to go back! The area around Ely is also one of my favorite places to explore.Rachel Heath
ghost_town_huntress@yahoo.comComment
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I absolutely agree Rachel! When I got to the mine on top I quite expected to see the 7 Dwarfs running around... The whole scene with the buildings built right in the side of the mountain is like it's out of some fairy tale... An interesting thing happened to me at the Mill on the last trip. I was standing outside and an old guy on an ATV came riding up. We got to talking and it turned out this guy's uncle was the foreman at the mill till it closed in 1951. He told me that it was a Gold Mine that produced very high grade ore. There was so much of it that in 51 they closed the mine and pitted out the other side of the mountain instead. If you've ever been over to the west side you'd be blown away by the size of the operation that was over there... It's all closed now though.
MarkComment
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If you ever go back you need to locate the Eberhardt adit. just outside Hamilton. according to some Military docs I happen to come across it was picked as a site for civil defense supplies in the 50's in case of WW3. They stocked it with 3064 pallets. To see whats in there search for my thread titled "california/arizona border mine. This mine was stocked with 5000 units, and the pictures don't lie the stuff is there.Comment
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