Caretaking History: Living In A Real Ghost Town

csusbgeochem1 (57)in #life • 6 years ago (edited)

One Crazy Experience, No Boo Sheet

Welcome all of you out there on Steemit! Today's post will concern a period in my life where I had the opportunity to be the live in caretaker of a real life ghost town. No I am not talking about Knotts Berry Farm owned Calico Ghost Town, located off the 15 freeway. That is a tourist trap that was built by the theme park. NO, I'm not talking about BODIE, a well known REAL ghost town off Highway 395 that is also a tourist trap as it has many rules and not enough fun. I am referring to Cerro Gordo, a little known but very important ghost town located off the 136 near Lone Pine California. The town sits at 8200ft / 2500m, up a dirt road, In the Inyo Mountains The town has a great view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This piece of history has been largely forgotten by the general population of California. I was fortunate enough to relieve the full time caretaker for the span of almost a year. I wont go into the history of the town but rather my experiences living there. Lets start from the beginning shall we.

While growing up in the city of San Bernardino California, I became friends with a new family that moved across the street. There son was about my age and we ended up being friends for years on out. Throughout our friendship I always heard his dad (Robert) talk about rebuilding a ghost town. There was always a large pile of used wood on the side of the house that he would take up to the town and then refill only to do it again. I had no idea what town but for years this went on. Robert went on to teach me everything I know about Toyota mechanics as he had been teaching at the high school I attended for 30 years. My friend and his dad Robert have since moved from that house, but he never stopped caretaking and living at the ghost town.

After graduating college with my Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, I was having trouble landing a job. One day I get a call from my friend saying his dad Robert had gotten shingles and needed to get off the mountain. There were a few others that helped to caretake the property but none were available and it was an emergency. Of course I would take over. Food was taken care of and I was payed very little but it was still worth the experience. I was rushed up to the town during a rain storm that had almost washed out highway 190 leading to Death Valley. I had been to the town a few times before but it was leisurely with my friend and we mostly explored the mountain and left the town largely alone.

The road leading up to the town is a steep shale dirt road, 8 miles long and can be treacherous in some spots or if the weather conditions are right.

4 wheel drive vehicles are recommended simply due to grip but if the road is smooth then 2 wheel drive cars can traverse it, although at the owners expense. Using a vehicles low gears helps get through the steep sections.

I was one of those owners that had to use a car to get up to the town. My little black Toyota Paseo was a manual transmission so it made it easier to navigate the mountain.

The town consists of several buildings in various states of disrepair nestled under Cerro Gordo Peak. While I was up there it was my task to give tours as well as revitalize the town.

Several Large Tailing Piles are the remnants of all the earth moved to extract the ore. The tailing piles are east of the town right next to the Hoist House.

When I first arrived the Hoist House had most of the side panels off and was open to the elements.

From the saddle, Saline Valley was visible.

The property is littered with mines that burrow into the mountain. Some are closed shut and others, only accessible to the owner of the property, are open and can be explored.

The temperature in January when I showed up was very brisk but it was a sunny one. The state had not experienced much rain that year so it was more of a sunny cool winter. The first week or two I resided in Roberts place he had built up. I would start a fire to warm my bones as the temps were usually around freezing, even if it was clear.

The town has satellite internet and power lines going to it due to the fact that there are several cellular towers that reside on the separate peaks, as well as an Federal Aviation Administration flight control tower that is imperative for Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. In the entire time I stayed in this ghost town, I witnessed a wide variety of craft and the town often gets buzzed by fighter pilots utilizing the canyons for maneuvers.

The views down on Owens Valley dry lake bed were amazing. At this time the lake bed was at some point in trying to keep down the toxic alkali dust.

The first few weeks consisted of cleaning and tidying the entire town. This was more than a week long job as I would spend a day at least on every building, making sure it was swept of all the rat nests and feces that had invaded the older buildings as well as cleaning the more modern ones so that those visiting would find them pleasantly clean. With 10+ buildings this made cleaning a fast passed task. I was also making sure fire wood was cut, stacked at every location and accessible at all times. The cold mornings made fire a necessity, I knew it was warm when it was 15 F/ -9.5 C but a cold morning when it was less than 10 F/ -12.5 C. Temperatures usually ranged around 45 F/ 7.5 C to 60 F/ 15.5 C on warm days. The town has a huge rat problem due to its location and cleaning and resetting the traps was just a part of the job. Often I would find traps gone, or misplaced. I have also found traps with TWO mice in them as well as critters I had not intended

Several signs littered town notifying those that ventured up the long steep road where they were located and who to contact. In Roberts house he had beepers set up to let him know when a vehicle had crossed in front of the sensor and entered town. Often when I was brewing coffee I would hear the BEEP BEEP letting me know an early morning adventurer had wandered through.

I was tuned into the beep and as the valley is pretty secluded you could hear any vehicle working its way up the road. Ready to give a tour I would guide those willing through the town and lead them down memory lane. Once Robert was well he came back up the mountain and I moved into a different building. The Belshaw building is larger and more of a family home but I refused to sleep in the bedroom. It gave me a creepy feeling and often was very cold even when I had the fire going. Roberts son told me his son would not sleep in the room and complained of shadows. I would just close the curtain and slept on the couch near the fireplace and TV that was in the building. There was another smaller room that had a bed but it seems to be built later on and was also very cold. I closed the door to this room every night only to open it to guests (yes i would hide my stuff so they could get the whole tour). Every morning I woke up and looked out this window down into the valley.

It was around this time, being about February that the weather started to take a turn for the worse. A large snow system gathered over the Serra Nevada's and worked its way to the Inyo Mountains. It dumped a good portion of snow for that year. When it really came down I couldnt help but be drawn to the cold, but also to nature.

The road down to town was fogged out and In that condition, I would not have taken it. I made sure to get a picture during this storm.

After the storm cleared it was a winter wonderland. I had never been to this town when snow was on the ground so I was awestruck.

The Belshaw house I was staying in had a nice pack in front of it.

_{The general store}

_{The church}

_{The Bunkhouse}

_{The Gordon Mansion}

_{The horse stables}

_{The Chinaman's Hut}

The look down on the valley after this storm was heaven. Being able to see the Sierra Nevada mountains with fresh powder almost to the valley floor was new to me and bliss.

Shortly after this snowstorm, @derekrichardson was able to make his first trek up to the ghost town. He showed up in this car blown away by what he was presented with. Over the next day we decided to hike up to Cerro Gordo Peak, but not walking the roads....the hard way, climbing strait up. And that is what we did. We started at the saddle and hooked it up behind the hoist

And away we went, climbing even higher up. I was surprised he didnt want to take a more scenic route, but I mean cmon its @derekrichardson.

We eventually reached the top of the peak and looked around at all to see.

On this particular day the dust storms off the Owens dry lake were serious. The City of Los Angeles and the people of Owens Valley have been in a perpetual war over this lake for the last 100 years. After Los Angeles drained the lake for the people of its city, the dust began to pose a health risk to those living in the valley and they eventually sued in state court. The Los Angeles Times has an article written by Kevin Roderek April 02, 1989 titled Owens Lake's Dust: Airborne Health Hazard that details the hazards presented by the dust:

That was the day the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared that a risk to health was carried in the harsh mix of fine-grained salt, clay and sulfates that are swept off the lake bed when winds whip through the Owens Valley, a gash of high desert between the Sierra Nevada and the White and Inyo mountains.The dust can be caustic, can cause bloody noses, watery eyes and irritated lungs, in part because of mining chemicals dumped on the lake bed, according to local doctors and environmental studies.The worst risk comes from the extremely small size of the dust particles. Smaller than 10 microns in diameter, the particles penetrate farther into the lungs than ordinary dust and become embedded, the EPA says. (A human hair is 100 to 200 microns thick.)

After the EPA found the lake dust to be a health hazard it ordered the city of L.A. to start refilling the lake to keep the dust down. To this day it has been a constant uphill battle for the people of Owens Valley. Courthouse News Service has an article written by Matt Reynolds February 17, 2012 titled L.A. Blasts California in Owens Lake Water War that goes into the legal fight:

Los Angeles claims the program could cost $1.5 billion – “the most expensive dust control program in the entire nation, and likely the world.” The city asks the Superior Court to order the State Air Resources Board to conduct an independent hearing to review Great Basin’s 2011 Supplemental Control Requirements Decision. State Air Resources Board Executive Officer James Goldstene is also named as a defendant. “This action arises out of a long running dispute between LADWP [Los Angeles Department of Water and Power] and Great Basin over the City’s lawful transport of water from the Owens Valley to the City’s 4 million people through the Los Angeles Aqueduct,” the complaint states.

Derek and I knew the hazards of being up there at the time but we didnt care. I snapped a shot of the USGS marker with the peak name.

We hung about on the peak for a bit before heading back down.

The snow storms promted Robert to move me into the Chinamans hut, as the Belshaw was set up for tours and to allow those that payed to stay overnight. The building needed me out, so we plumbed up a small wood burning stove so that I could survive in the little hut. I ended up doing various repairs to the building so that it became more like home.

Over the next few months I explored the valley, often armed with a small 6 shooter for any snakes.

There were various minerals and objects on the mountain to collect.

I was able to view one under a microscope and it was filled with color.

The local wildlife was interesting as well.

At one point I even tried growing a Giant Sequoia up there that I had purchased online.

But the wildlife ate it and I was devastated. I had been growing that tree for 6 months.

Living in the town was not without its experiences. I had never been down to the hot springs in Saline Valley at this time so I was constantly hearing about the nudist hot springs down the hill and how everyone was traveling to them. A lot of tourist visiting death valley would wonder up wanting a tour but not understanding that the town is self sufficient and a tip is highly advised. One day my friend (Roberts son) brought his family up and his young 2 year old son was outside Roberts place with his mom while I was near cutting wood. All of a sudden she yells at me "Did you hear that?". In my bewilderment I look at her and say "No? Was I supposed to hear something?". She goes on to say that her son pointed towards the Bunkhouse (located across the town and pictured below) and said "Cowboy!". At that point in time there was not a single person in town besides us and no one was near the bunkhouse. These same kids will not sleep in the bedroom of the Belshaw (like i wont, creepy feeling).

My friend also constantly tells me that when he has stayed in the bunkhouse he has heard footsteps going up and down the hall. In all the times I have stayed there, I have not heard a thing. But oddly enough I have brought a few other friends to stay in that building and a number of them have corroborated that story, one getting so mad that I fell asleep before him and wouldnt wake up when he freaked out.

Every fire season is not without its huge fire in the Sierra Nevada's

It was almost a year after I had first started that a colleague from college called me telling me he needed a person to fill a lab position. With what little I was making up there, I quickly took the position and bid Robert a fair well. The town has come a long way since being up there. Robert has built it up very nice. Recently the original owner could no longer hold on to the property and it went up for sale. A bunch of investors bought it up and it went world wide. I called Robert worried about the town and he assured me the new owners would have money to invest. @beckymeep and I headed up for a weekend right as it sold. We wanted to experience the town as it was before the new owners invested.

Thank you for following along with this part of my life and I hope anyone coming to this part of the planet please visit this amazing part of history. Take care and Steem on!

All photos, unless otherwise stated or sourced, were taken by @csusbgeochem1 and may not be reused without permission. Animations and cover photo created by @csusbgeochem1 using GIMP.

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