There's gold in them thar' hills!

One of the great things about living in the west is that the land isn't all used up yet. Case in point is the Garnet Ghost Town. This is one of the most amazingly well preserved ghost towns anywhere. Due to a major fire, the town doesn't look anything like it did in its heyday (over 1000 people lived there), but the feel of the town is still very much alive. When you walk through the buildings, like the three storey hotel, you can easily get a glimpse of what life must have been like.

Unlike most mining boom towns, Garnet was very family friendly. They even went so far as to have a cabin set aside for newlyweds in which a young couple could live until they built their own place, or another couple got married, whichever came first. What amazed me was that so many families would end up in such a remote place. It is remote by today's standards, which is to say you have to drive on dirt roads to get there, and there are no power lines or phone lines running to it. (Wait a second, that sounds like our ranch!) However, when you contemplate what was involved to support a town of 1000 people, it boggles my mind.

Today, there are two roads that lead to the town, one of which is narrower and steeper than Mill Creek Road, where we live. (Those of you who have visited the ranch will appreciate how narrow and steep the road must be.) The other road has been developed by the BLM for recreational purposes, and even on that road, you have to climb quite a ways from the valley where highway 200 runs up to the site of the town. What took my pickup a half hour to drive must have taken all day in a wagon!

Here is a link to the location on Google Maps, so you can see just how far back in the hills we're talking about. Even though it takes a while to get there (about 1.5 hours) it worth the trip. If you're ever out here visiting the ranch, this is a must see.