Ghost Towns | MrZip66

Currant Nevada 2016

1 Comment / Random Thoughts / mrzip66 / September 9, 2016

Currant Nevada. I’d been here before, and posted about it: https://www.mrzip66.com/2008/07/29/currant-nevada/

I shot this earlier in the year. Currant is a ghost town that has haunted me over the years, always wondering what this place was all about. It’s out in the middle of effing nowhere, Nevada. From what I’ve found, it was one of 2 towns that were ever evacuated from nuclear testing from area 51 in the 60s. There’s always ghosts in a ghost town, and I always love to know the stories. From this place, I haven’t found any.

I posted this video on my youtube channel, and I got this yesterday:

the currant video.. I love it. I grew up there is went to school in ely… drove every day. so may good memories when my dad had it all the gangsters from Las Vegas used to come up there and hide my dad threw parties there that would last for weeks at a time and just before he died Jimmy Durante came up there and was the bartender for a few weeks I remember him so well now look at it the shell of what it was there used to be trailers there some of the hookers from the Mustang Ranch used to come there and work and staying the trailers my dad had because of all the Oil Workers my first horse there was a Mustang they caught right off the desert floor

Jimmy Durante tended bar here. Thats more than I knew last year. Pretty cool. I hit the guy up to tell me more stories, if he will…

If anyone can tell a story about this place, please email alan@mrzip66.com

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Halsteads Blackjack Inn – Nevada

Leave a Comment / Ghost Towns / mrzip66 / March 26, 2016

There’s something about Nevada that I love. Its mostly nothing but a 2 lane, straight ass highway through most of it, with a few little surprises along the way. To me, its a great road trip. There something strong about the desert that I love. Whether you’re a lizard, a cow or a human being – You have to adapt and be tough if you live out here. I likey.

A few road candy Icons along the way — The Stage stop Bar and Cafe. From the looks of it, its pretty much closed down. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, and if you have stories I’d love to hear em:

One more place was the club 50 in McGill Nevada. It looks like it hasn’t had a guest in a while.

Club 50 McGill Nevada — The Club 50 Cafe in the 80’s

We Stayed the night at the Hotel Nevada in Ely. The missus and I gambled a bit, had a few drinks and enjoyed the night. We Stayed in the Tennessee Ernie Ford Room. Heh, the Lusty Land….

Easy Rider Poster Hotel Nevada — They had an Autographed Easy Rider Poster in the Lobby. You can tell this is a classy joint.

We woke up in the AM and headed out into the most empty road you’d ever want to know. I swear in 180 miles, we passed 2 cars.

The Halstead BlackJack Inn: I wished I knew the story of this place. I’ve heard from a few friends that it was open as late as 20 years ago, but it doesn’t look like it to me. This is a pretty old building, and from the siding it looks like it was built in the 40s. If anyone knows a story or two here, I’d love to hear it. The last time I was here was 2008, and its changed a little. Please post below — There’s some ghosts here, and I’d love to know a thing about this remote place.

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McGill Nevada Drugstore is a Time Machine

7 Comments / Ghost Towns / mrzip66 / March 26, 2016

McGill Nevada. Its an old company mining town of about a thousand people, and like a lot of small towns in Nevada – It’s got a lot of old history.

We rolled through here a couple of weeks ago and found an old drugstore that started in 1907, and finally closed its doors about 40 years ago in 1979. We poked around and managed to find the caretaker of this place and gave him a call. He was pretty gracious, and came down and turned on the neon signs and gave us the nickel tour and history of this place. I was eating it up — It was like I’d stepped back in time.

The owner wished to preserve this place, and left things just as they are; Products, pharmacy records, advertising — everything. Daniel was a great tour guide, and told us stories of McGills history, and his time in the military with Chuck Yeager, who’d learned to fly not far from McGill before he went and broke the sound barrier a few years later.

Pretty cool. I remember a lot of these products and advertising when I was a kid. If you ever get a chance to go to McGill, this place is worth a stop at:

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Dividend Utah Ghost Town

1 Comment / Ghost Towns / mrzip66 / March 30, 2015

It’s spring. Its way nice in Utah right now. I’m nowhere near route 66 anymore, but I still have the itch to explore a thing, and figure out a mystery. It’s fuel for the fire. I Did some exploring for some ghost towns.

The southern part of Utah County has a pretty long and rich history of mining. Like most ghost towns, They were boom or bust and not all of them survived. Hell, I just needed to ride. If there was something cool to see, then that was a bonus.

Dividend_Utah_Ghost_Town_0059 — Great Day to ride. In the upper 60’s. The road King was as ready as I was.

Dividend Utah Ghost Town — The Road into Dividend.

Then I rounded the corner into Dividend. They started working Dividend in 1907, and by 1916 they struck it rich. It was called Dividend because how much money it had payed out to their stock holders. A company town soon sprang up: with a golf course, baseball fields and upwards of 200 residents. It was one of the first towns in Utah to have indoor plumbing.

The History of Dividend pretty much came to an end in 1949 when the mine had run its course. I was able to get some stories from people who remember it as a kid. People played, worked and made their living here. Dividend was home. Ahhh, I love a good ghost town.

1 day, 3 counties, 138 miles

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