Desert Messenger

May 3, 2017 www.DesertMessenger.com 15 Desert Messenger offers FREE Classifi ed Ads! Here's the small print: Items for sale under $1000. Private Party Only. 1 per month. Yard/Garage/Craft Sales, Wanted, Give-a-ways, Free, Lost & Found, etc. (non-commercial) For more information, contact Rain at 928-916-4235 or Email: Editor@DesertMessenger.com READER'S OASIS BOOKS 690 E. Main - Quartzsite (one block east of Family Dollar) 928-927-6551 QUARTZSITE COMMUNITY THRIFT STORE 177 W. Main St. (end of Showplace Lane) Behind Silly Al's Pizza SUMMER HOURS April thru October Thurs. Fri. Sat. 9am-1pm Call us and schedule a donation pickup 928-927-6039 or 928-916-7338. 100% of our proceeds remain here in Quartzsite! WINTER HOURS November thru March Mon- Sat 9am-1pm QUARTZSITE COMMUNITY THRIFT STORE mines. Besides gold, some of the minerals that have been mined near Beatty are Gypsum, Talc, Limestone and Diatomite. For a more modern mining experience, take the dry- washer out for a spin in the washes and near the Amargosa River which runs through town and then goes underground before coming back up near Pahrump. The ghost town of Rhyolite is well worth the short drive out of town to visit. Rhyolite began in 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprung up in the Bullfrog Mining District. The Montgomery Shoshone Mine just outside Rhyolite produced ores assayed as high as $16,000 per ton at 1905 prices. At its peak, Rhyo- lite is estimated to have up to 5,000 people or more, piped water, electric power, railroads, telephones, newspapers, and its own stock exchange. Re- mains of several of the buildings are still stand- ing, including the train station and an interest- ing bottle house. Other things to do in and around Beatty include some interesting lime- stone formations called Swiss Cheese by the locals, and a fossil site called the Mud Mound containing fossilized sea creatures about 450 million years old. Pet- rifi ed wood and coprolites can also be found in the deserts and canyons around Beatty. For hot springs en- thusiasts, Bailey's Hot Springs is on the edge of town to the north. For lots of great historical artifacts, pho- tos, and information visit the Beatty Museum and Historical Society. Beatty is also a lesser used entrance to Death Valley. For an exciting 4- wheel drive excursion into Death Valley, you can take a trip through Titus Canyon. If you just want to take a leisurely drive into the park, take 190W out of Beatty and enter the park near Stovepipe Wells. For Photos of Beatty, please visit www.AdventuresWithRocks.com. We have lots of great rocks, fossils, gemstones, craft supplies, as well as recent article archives. You can also reach us at sales@Adventures WithRocks.com. And, as always, happy travels. ADVENTURES WITH ROCKS ™ By Jenn Jedidiah Free • www.AdventuresWithRocks.com As we are planning our trips out of Quartzsite, one interesting route to consider is Hwy. 95 north through Nevada. Heading north from Laugh- lin and Las Vegas, there are several unique and historic mining towns along the way. A great one to stop in for a few days is Beatty. Beatty is a small town in the middle of the desert, 75 miles south of Tonopah and 150 miles north of Las Vegas. To the east is a military reservation, and to the west is Death Valley. In between there is vast expanse of desert, and lots of opportunities for outdoor adventure. There are old mines, ghost towns, rockhounding and fossil hunting sites, cool rock formations, gold prospecting areas, hot springs, and more. Wild burros roam the streets and bighorn sheep can be seen in the mountains sur- rounding the town. The Amargosa Toad is endemic to the area and can be seen in the evenings along the banks of the Amargosa River. The Bullfrog Hills surrounding Be- atty are rich in gold and brought set- tlers to Beatty in 1904. The Mont- gomery Hotel was built in 1905 and was one of the fi rst businesses in Beatty. Other businesses sprang up in Beatty to serve the mining com- munities of the Bullfrog Mining Dis- Fossils, cool rocks & ghost towns, oh, my! trict. Beatty became the economic center for the large but sparsely populated region consisting mostly of mining camps. During the peak mining years, Beatty was the busi- ness and transportation hub serv- ing the surrounding mining camps. Horse or mule drawn wagons and rail lines connected Beatty and the camps to Tonopah and Las Vegas. There are a few mines still in op- eration in Beatty. One of the larg- est ones is the Carrera Marble Mine south of Beatty. Many interest- ing abandoned mines can also be found throughout the desert and offer plenty of opportunities for ex- ploration. A network of jeep trails takes the explorer to many different Read Desert MESSENGER E-edition online @ www.MyQuartzsite.com

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