RAPTORS HAVE ALL THE FUN Series – DAY 2
Day 1 – Old Spanish National Historic Trail and Date Milkshakes.
GOLD RUSH RAPTORS AND THE LADY IN RED
We awoke to a sunny hot day in the Amargosa Valley at the Longstreet Inn & Casino with anticipation of our second Ford Raptor day promising adventure and nothing short of a good time. BAJA FORGED was founded on the premise of forging your own path – in life and in all things – and today we were delighted to discover more than just our own. We shared a unique experience with our friends shadowed by the memory of many that came before us and experienced what relatively few are fortunate to know – that off-road life.
The Big Dunes cover five square miles and tower approximately 500 feet. We took a left onto dirt at Big Dunes Road, aired down our Nitto Tires, and with the flick of a button, switched our ULTRA4 Raptor’s drive mode from ‘Baja’ to ‘Sand’. We entered the soft white sea of sandy hills and bowls, picked our line and throttled down. Immediately we noticed the transmission shifting reliably and staying on top of the loose ground. The Raptor’s system keeping itself in lower gear providing more torque needed to gain traction while counteracting at the crest of a dune offering more speed. Our kids in the back seat squealed at every turn before begging to join the other kids who opted to surf the sandy slopes on boogie boards. I may or may or may not have had a go at it… I did. I had a go at it and it kicked my butt. Laughter was had by all in Big Dune.
As we descended upon the scorching desert, we made our way to Gold Point, NV. Gold Point is a special place; a living history lesson with about 50 of the 225 original buildings still standing with the current town owner operating as the sheriff, event organizer and bartender to only name a few. We took a seat in the saloon and wet our whistles surrounded by decades of town artifacts like an old cash register from 1902 next to giant lottery check given to the owner in the 1980’s who used the winnings to buy most of the towns historical buildings, keeping the area preserved by the support of donations. In fact, they don’t charge you for drinks in the saloon. They survive on the generosity of their visitors where tip jars are labeled “donations”. Here we took our lunch break and Curt Leduc busted out a snow cone maker and treated the group with a refreshing treat in the blaring summer heat.
After lunch we once again loaded up into our trucks and headed north to the International Car Forest in Goldfield, NV. This area is the brainchild of artists Chad Sorg and Mark Rippie, who after Sorg saw the single car standing on its nose in the sand there from another artist (Rippie) moved to the city to help him expand the “forest”.
It’s truly a unique place with school-sized buses erected on theirs ends up to the sky. A perfect location for some Instafamous photos.
The sun began to set as we left the car forest and jumped on N-95 northbound to Tonopah to stay a night in one of the US’ most haunted accommodations, the Mizpah Hotel. The Mizpah shared the title of tallest building in Nevada with the nearby Belvada Building until 1927. Named after a local mine, the building predated the Mizpah Saloon, which opened in 1907 during this mining towns boom. The hotel is even said to have a ghost called the Lady in Red, her portrait hangs in the lobby. To learn more about this haunting, check out Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures Season 5 Episode 6.
Stay tuned for DAY 3 in the RAPTORS HAVE ALL THE FUN Series. We will explore Fish Lake Valley, remote hot springs, Bodie Ghost Town and June Lake. Hope you enjoy this adventure blog series and that it inspires you to go out and seek adventure on paths less traveled!
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Happy Trails,
Words and Photos: Coelette Chenier
Sources: National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Wikipedia
