Roadtrips around Las Vegas part 1- Southwest USA 2018 - 11
Sunday, 2018-05-06 - Roadtrips around Las Vegas part 1
Today is the first of two roadtrip days. I want to visit some places north of Las Vegas I missed until now. But especially today is more about the drive and the lonely landscape than the places to visit. Unfortunately, it's totally clouded until noon. After that more and more blue patches are visible.
First stop after quite a while is Rhyolite, a ghost town just outside Death Valley. Here you can find an outdoor museum with different sculptures. Some years ago, it seemed that no-one cares and that the pieces will fall apart, but now they look as if they have been renovated. Even new sculptures are added over time.
Second stop and the main reason to drive this way is Goldfield. Originally, I wanted also to stop in Gold Point. But the address I've entered into my GPS belongs to Goldfield itself and as I check the coordinates, my Garmin wants to send me back for some 30 minutes 🙁 - next time.
Goldfield itself is an old town that seems to get too much attention to die, but not enough to really make something out of it. Some old houses are in decay, in front of others you can find old cars, machines or utilities. Nice for taking pictures, but nothing they can live on.
The key attraction, even if it’s a little bit hard to find, is the "First international car forest of the last church". It is at the southern end of Goldfield on the right-hand side if you come from Las Vegas / Death Valley.
Some years ago, we've been at Cadillac Ranch in Texas. This is a little bit alike, but while the cars there are all aligned, they are placed here in a way that at least I do not see any concept. But it is fun to walk around and the paintings on the cars are not as chaotic as at Cadillac Ranch, where it is the idea that everyone should spray.
Except for one other couple I'm here on my own. It's not a secret tip anymore, but obviously not known to most of the people who just stop in Goldfield for the obvious things.
To avoid driving back the same route I decide to use the US-6 and the NA-375 to go back to Las Vegas.
These are now really lonely roads. You can drive 70 mph most of the time, but no one to pass and only once and a while a car will come from the opposite direction.
I make a short stop at the "Little A'Le'Inn" in Rachel, but next to nothing has changed since nearly 10 years ago.
