Mule Tail Mine
The Mule Tail was one of Shorty Harris’ mines, and the rush to the Goldbelt District started in the early 1900s. It is a small mine, and only a single ore car and lonely adit remain out in this desolate corner of Death Valley National Park.
            
        
            Panamint Treasure Mine
Finding this great little gem of a mine is a bit of a hike. The mine was worked as early as the 1890s and again in the 1930s. The miners walked away from the mine in 1941 when World War II broke out, and a presidential order closed many “non-essential”
            
        
            Ryan Mining Camp
In 2013, I joined a Searles Valley Historical Society field trip to see the well-preserved borax mining camp of Ryan in Death Valley. Having never been in the mining camp before, I jumped at the chance to visit.
Francis Marion Smith founded the Pacific Coast Borax Company in 1890. He
            
        
            Lakeview Mine
Over the summer of 2013, I took a trip to the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains and hiked up to the Lakeview Mine. Located at timberline, 10,650 feet up, the mine sits on a ridge overlooking a dramatic landscape of glacially carved cirques, granitic spires, and alpine lakes. It was
            
        
            Coso Ghost Camp
We were lucky enough to be invited to China Lake Naval Weapon Center to do some volunteer restoration work on the historic Coso ghost town site. After work, we checked out several other sites and spent the night on base. We had a fantastic time!