Goldwell Open Air Museum

The Goldwell Open Air Museum is a striking outdoor sculpture park set in the high desert near the ghost town of Rhyolite Nevada.  Known for its monumental, often surreal works, the museum features a haunting, life-size ghostly interpretation of The Last Supper inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, a towering 25-foot woman built from pink cinder blocks, and a whimsical 24-foot steel prospector accompanied by his penguin companion. Set against the stark Amargosa Desert, the sculptures feel both otherworldly and deeply tied to the region’s mining past—making the Goldwell Open Air Museum anything but an average art experience. 

Ghost Rider 

Tribute to Shorty Harris

Amy walking the Medicine Wheel.

The purpose is to walk  slowly to the center while

praying or meditating for healing powers

The Last Supper 

The museum began in 1984 with the creation and installation of 

a major sculpture by Belgian artist Albert Szukalski.

To make the life size ghost figures, Szukalski wrapped live models in fabric

soaked in wet plaster and posed them as i the painting. When the plaster set, 

the model was slipped out, leaving the rigid shroud behind. 

Serving Ghost

The Pink Lady

Kilns and Mines

High in the Panamint Mountains west of Death Valley are ten remarkably preserved, 25-foot-high beehive-shaped masonry structures built in 1877 to produce charcoal for nearby Modock Mine smelter.  Workers filled he stone kilns with pion pine logs and fired them. The burning which reduced the wood to charcoal, took six to eight days. Cooling took another five days. 

Looking down on Death Valley 

Me, Amy and Larry

In 1905, Shorty Harris, one of Death Valley’s most colorful prospectors, discovered gold in the Panamint Range on the west side of Death Valley. Working with Pete Aguereberry, the strike led to the development of the Eureka Mine, one of the more productive gold mines in the region. To support mining operations, the small boomtown of Harrisburgsprang up nearby, along with the Cashier Mill, which processed ore

Another great day exploring. 

Death Valley

Death Valley lies at the transition between the arid Great Basin Desert and the Mojave Desert, protecting the northwestern corner of the Mojave and its remarkably diverse landscapes of salt flats, sand dunes, badlands, valleys, canyons, and mountains. It is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the United States.  At its lowest point, Badwater Basin lies 282 feet (86 m) below sea level—the lowest elevation in the country—while Mount Whitney, just 85 miles (137 km) to the west, rises to 14,505 feet (4,421 m), the highest peak in the contiguous United States.  During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several short-lived boom towns emerged as miners sought gold and silver. The only consistently profitable mineral, however, was borax, which was famously hauled out of the valley by twenty-mule teams.  

The Devil's Golf Course

Amy checking things out

Artist’s Palette is one of the most striking and colorful geological features in Death Valley. This gently sloping hillside looks as if it has been painted with broad strokes of color—soft pinks, lavenders, mint greens, yellows, rust reds, and purples. The colors come from oxidized metals in the volcanic rocks.  Iron compounds create reds, pinks, and yellows Manganese produces purples Chlorite contributes green hues

The remains of a once working Borax mine

Each team consisted of 18 mules and 2 horses, hitched in pairs to pull two massive wagons loaded with borax ore and a third wagon carrying water. The wagons were enormous—often more than 30 feet long—and the total load could exceed 36 tons. Despite extreme heat, rough desert trails, and steep mountain passes, the teams traveled up to 165 miles from Death Valley to the nearest railroad.

Swansee Ghost Town

 Swansea Historic Ghost Town is a well-preserved site in the Arizona desert near Parker, best known for its extensive copper mining ruins. The town includes notable remnants such as the 1917 miner barracks and a 1909 smelter. Founded in 1909, Swansea was abandoned by 1937 after the Great Depression forced the mines to close permanently.

At its peak around 1909–1910, Swansea had a population of about 500 residents. The operation included five mine shafts, a furnace capable of processing 350 tons of ore, and a 3.5-mile water pipeline from the Bill Williams River that delivered up to 400,000 gallons of water each day.

The barracks have been re-roofed and plastered to protect them

Sturdy metalwork now covers the opening, 

preventing an accidental fall into the mine shaft below.

The shaft depends a thousand feet

Foundations of the buildings for ore processing 

Hot gases and dust from the smelter were funneled through this dust chamber, allowing valuable fine dust containing metals to settle before the gases escaped through the stack. This salvaged dust was then processed further in a reverberatory furnace.

Lunch Time

Found a double arch

Desert Bar

 Tucked away in the Arizona desert like a mirage with a liquor license, The Desert Bar—also known as the Nellie E. Saloon—is a true off-the-grid watering hole near Parker that operates only during the cooler months. Across from the saloon, a band plays on a fairly large stage, complete with a nice-sized dance floor that invites visitors to linger and enjoy the music. The current incarnation of the bar far exceeds the size of the original three-sided structure used when it first opened in 1983, reflecting its growing popularity and enduring charm.

The road to the Desert Bar

You are welcomed by these sculptures 

Open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6

I like to get there by 11:30 to avoid a long long 

line waiting to order food.

Another great day on the road