Trip 2006-Part 3:
An Arc of Jewels Over the Head of Tonopah

Trip 2006: Day 3, May 29, 2006

Exiting my sleeping bag cocoon, I noted that the morning wasn't near as chilly as the previous one. The sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky. There was more life sounds here at Pine Creek as opposed to that at Grantsville the previous morning – the rushing creek, a multitude of birds calling and singing, an occasional human voice of one of the other campers broke through the noise of the creek.

Graham and Toby were up shortly after myself, all of us quite hungry this fine, sunny morning. Graham and I combined our eggs and with his camp toaster, we cooked up and wolfed down four eggs each on sheepherder bread toast; followed by second and third helpings of sheepherder toast and jam. All washed down with copious cups of hot coffee.

By 9:35 AM we had our respective camps packed up and ready to roll. Before leaving I had used the Pine Creek Campground bathroom and found it very clean and well stocked – a pleasure over having to use my dreaded “Hassock,” which is basically a small bucket with a toilet seat attachment.

Our immediate destination was Belmont. Graham and I rolled down the road/creek back to the main north-south road through Monitor Valley and turned southward. Along the way I did some movie directing – I had Graham stop while I went up the road a mile or two, then radioed him to come ahead at speed, while I videotaped and photographed him while standing atop my open tailgate. Just south of the Pine Creek Ranch, Graham noticed a memorial to a 19-year old girl who died here in 1997.

At a point 22.0 miles after leaving our Pine Creek campsite, we hit the ruins of East Belmont. This site is dominated by the huge ruin of the Highbridge Mill; as well as the large smokestack of another mill nearby. I was surprised to find two or three newer homes built among the ruins of East Belmont. Though I was a bit put off by this, I did find one hilltop cabin to be particularly appealing as it had a tremendous view of the Monitor Valley and range.

Graham and I spent about an hour poking about and photographing the ruins of the Highbridge Mill, then we decided to make our way up a trail that climbed the face of 7,850 foot Cemetery Hill to the west. Midway up we hit a level bench, upon which we dropped our tailgates and enjoyed a light snack with a incredible view. Looking about a few yards away in a draw, I found the remains of four stone cabins, each with an intricate stonework fireplace. Driving to the top of Cemetery Hill, we found a couple more stone ruins and impressive views. Several individual cactus' were blooming.

Driving back down to the Highbridge Mill, Graham noticed something in the trail – a unique horseshoe. We continued down to the smokestack. A newer modular home sits at the bottom. This stack was unique in that upon closer inspection you will find countless pockmarks in the brick work. During World War 2, pilots from then nearby Tonopah Air Base used this stack as a target for their machine guns mounted in their planes.

After spending a couple hours in East Belmont and vicinity, Graham and I then head over the low saddle and into Belmont, located at the head of Ralston Valley.

Instead of a lengthy historical narrative of Belmont here, briefly noted that Belmont started life in 1865 and quickly grew in size and stature. It grabbed the seat of Nye County government early and kept it until that upstart Tonopah – sixty miles to the southwest – took it away in 1905. Belmont has never been completely ghosted and a handful of people still live in this idyllic nook nestled at the head of the valley.

Graham and poked about the ruins and picturesque occupied structures that is Belmont. Since my last visit to the town in the early 1980s, the prominent photographic wooden structure of the Cosmopolitan Saloon had collapsed into a pile of rotting lumber enclosed by its stone walls. The main business block of Belmont is a collection of stone and brick walls. The former Nye County courthouse has been restored some years back and still stands conspicuously on Belmont's west side.

I noticed that Dirty Dick's Saloon, which was a popular attraction upon my 1980s visit to town, was now for sale and had just closed down the day previous to our visit. Indian Maggie's Saloon, located within a block of wooden buildings that appeared to make up a bed & breakfast type establishment, was open and Graham, Toby and I popped our heads in for a beer. I paid for a Miller Genuine Draft for Graham and myself and paid $5.⁰⁰ – a reasonable price given Belmont's relative isolation.

For those with a desire to learn details of the history of Belmont and East Belmont, Alan Patera's fine book, WESTERN PLACES-BELMONT, NEVADA is a detailed narrative of the town's history.

While in Indian Maggie's Saloon, Graham and I discussed our itinerary for the few hours that was left of our day. We needed to get home, but wanted to eat supper at some quaint location before making a beeline for Big Pine. Graham struck up a conversation with a woman at the bar, who lived in nearby Manhattan. She told Graham that the Full Moon Café in Big Smoky Valley was a good place to eat. From the description that Graham gave me, I was thinking it was located in Hadley's, the community which basically replaced Round Mountain – now nearly buried within the monstrous tailings piles of the big gold mine there. So Graham and I decided to make our aim at Hadley's, by shooting our Tacomas over the Toquima Range via Manhattan.

Graham and I left Belmont at 5:00 PM sharp. We headed south on the paved road into Ralston Valley, then after about eight miles turned west up the dirt road to Manhattan. Crossing the summit of the Toquima Range, we found ourselves in Manhattan.

Manhattan was basically an early 20^th century camp, although initial discoveries were made in 1866. The area was ignored until the boom cycle brought about by Tonopah/Goldfield beget Manhattan and Round Mountain in the Toquima Range and Big Smoky Valley, when those who couldn't make it big at Tonopah and Goldfield began to widen out in their search for precious metals. By 1906 Manhattan was a full fledged metropolis of 4,000 eager souls. The 1906 earthquake and subsequent Panic of 1907 caused Manhattan (as well as all regional camps) to wither a bit, but Manhattan rebounded and remained an active mining town until World War 2. Afterward, Manhattan remained as a small community, which still operates a post office and has a steady population living in old and new homes scattered along its two mile main street located in a descending canyon among a thick piñon pine forest.

Graham and I drove slowly through Manhattan, but picked up the pace as we exited the canyon and out into Big Smoky Valley. We then sped north along NV376 to the turnoff to Hadley's, it located nearly three miles west of the highway. Graham and I drove around Hadley but found no businesses except for a small market with gas pumps. Driving by the school, we asked a couple of kids where the Full Moon Café was and found out my hunch that it was located at Carver's farther north. Graham and I decided that due to the late hour we best not go out of our way another ten miles further north to Carver's, but best head south to Tonopah. While at the school, Graham and I aired up our tires – which had been aired down since we stopped at Ione on our first day.

To facilitate the speed of airing up, Graham shared his small scuba tank that he keeps for airing up his tires. My 12v compressor takes about a half hour to air up my tires from my usual 18-20psi up to my road pressure of 35psi. With Graham's 3,000psi scuba tank, it took only seconds per tire to bring it back up to road pressure.

Graham and I then head south to Tonopah, located 55 miles from Hadley's. Our bellies were growling and with each rumble of our stomach our speed increased over the wide open highway. The artificially low speed limits imposed from a point about three miles west of Tonopah on US6 is excruciating when you're hungry.

At a point 432.4 miles after beginning our trip, we pulled into the Tonopah Station casino to have dinner. The time was 6:06 PM. Graham and I ordered the chicken fried steak dinner, which was on special that night. The food quality was of typical casino fare, but the waitress ran her butt off as the restaurant was very busy. I leave her an ample tip in appreciation.

Graham and I left Tonopah Station at 7:00 PM. I pulled in a short distance down the street at the Shell gas station, Graham went on down to Giggle Springs. I paid $3.⁵⁰ a gallon at the time.

Given the late hour, our Tacomas sped west at 75 miles per hour into the setting sun – based upon my speedometer. Graham's speedometer was reading about three miles per hour slower than mine, his odometer readings toward the end of our trip was reading substantially higher mileage, by the end of the trip his trip odometer read about 20 miles more than mine.

Entering California, we dialed back our speeds to a legal 65mph for the remainder of the way to our respective homes in Big Pine. As Graham pulled off on his street a mile north of town, I bade him goodnight via FRS. At 9:20 PM I pulled into my driveway. 563.2 miles and three fun filled days had rolled under my tires and I was satisfied – and ready for a comfortable bed with an electric blanket!

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©2006 D.A. Wright
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Page Revised: 12/25/2006