Starbuck's Exploring

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Central Nevada

Central Nevada, including the Toiyabe, Toquima, and Monitor ranges

25 posts

"Catalonia" Mine

"Catalonia" Mine

In the late summer of 2015, we drove to this little abandoned mining camp in the backcountry of Nevada. As we got closer, we discovered the old road was completely overgrown and lost in the willows. So we got out of our trucks and hiked in. I was interested to

White Caps Mine

White Caps Mine

The 75-ton mill is the first thing you see when you come to this mine site. The mine was discovered in 1905 and first worked in 1912 for gold, later for mercury and antimony as the ore tenor changed with depth. The new mill was built in 1917, and

Hornsilver Giant Mine

Hornsilver Giant Mine

The Hornsilver is a fairly remote silver mine and camp. It was a good producer early on and had its ore hauled to a local mill, but like most mines, it was worked only intermittently. The original road to the camp is long overgrown and washed away. We tried heading

Star of the West Mill

Star of the West Mill

We met up with Dan and drove out to explore a forgotten corner of Nevada’s mining history. We weren’t sure if we would find anything, as is often the case. We ended up driving over one hundred miles (one way) on dirt roads. After battling a steep, rough

Park Canyon Millsite

Park Canyon Millsite

In 1867, the La Plata Company moved a ten-stamp mill from the mining camp of Yankee Blade to Park Canyon and built an extensive mill from native stone. The mill ran ore from a few different mines, including the Giant mine, but mainly the silver ore from the Buckeye

Mountain View Mill and Arrastra

Mountain View Mill and Arrastra

The history of Mountain View seems to be lost to history. It is spread out into a couple of different sections. A camp with a few wooden cabins, the mill, and mine with its own little camp and the arrastra. Judging from the large mill foundations and careful masonry, it

Willow Witch Petroglyphs

Willow Witch Petroglyphs

We visited a small petroglyph and pictograph site out in the middle of a lonely Nevada valley. The petroglyphs are primarily around a rain-filled tinaja in a basalt lava flow. The tinaja is the only source of water for some distance. This would have been an important stop while