Hey ya’ll!
Today (June 3) has been a blast. Days like this are days that make staying on this wild ride worth it. We set out early from the Coconino National Forest towards Nevada. We’re still doing quite a bit of desert driving, but it’s not nearly as hot as it was down in Texas.
We made a very quick decision today to swing into Vegas as it was right on our route today. I’ve never been before and Will has been a handful of times, so we felt like it would be worth it to just drive through. We of course stopped for an iconic polaroid at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign and then just drove down the strip in the middle of the morning. Mostly everything was still closed, but it was still fun to drive through and see all of the hotels and shows that line the strip.
We only stayed here long enough to drive through before heading back out on the highway towards Goldfield, NV. Goldfield is pretty much a ghost town. There’s a small general store and a very small school and a ton of wild burros, but that’s about it. Several of the old store fronts are being renovated and will be really cool once they’ve reopened. The Goldfield Hotel is also here. It’s supposed to be one of the most haunted hotels in America. This hotel was said to be the most spectacular hotel in Nevada when it was built in 1908, but it’s been closed to the public since like 1938ish. Apparently several people have tried to have it renovated and reopened, but contractors and builders can never stick around long enough to see a project through to completion.
Not too far from Goldfield is the slightly bigger town of Tonopah, NV. Another small desert town in Nevada, home to the haunted Mizpah Hotel. If you didn’t know, Will and I are both believers in the paranormal. We’re much more on the side of wanting to enjoy the fun that comes along with believing rather than writing things off as completely untrue altogether. That being said, we’ve been looking forward to staying at the Mizpah hotel since we started planning this trip. We saw an episode of Ghost Adventures a few years back where they stayed at and investigated this hotel and knowing that we’d be out this way, we made a point to stop and stay here. First of all, this hotel has been magnificently renovated. Walking through the swinging, double front doors is like walking back in time. There are dozens of finely upholstered chairs for sitting and visiting throughout the open area adjacent to the long, western saloon type bar. The dark paneled walls, the lush carpeting, and the old-fashioned lighting completes the feel of walking into the hotel as it might have been when it opened in 1907.
Tonopah and the Mizpah Hotel also have quite the history, with Tonopah being home to Wyatt Earp for a while and the Mizpah being haunted by the famed Lady in Red and several others from the past. Again, Will and I love the paranormal. We like to seek out weird and unusual places and this was definitely near the top of the list.
The room we stayed in was quite simple with the same feel that the room was similar decorated and furnished like it would have been a century ago. Bonus that the cast iron bathtub was the most ginormous bathtub we’ve ever seen.
Unfortunately, around 3:00 AM we both woke up to the AC not working in our room. I took the dogs out for a quick walk and realized that the entire hotel seemed a bit warm. I let Will know and he went down to the front desk to get some more information. I stood at the open door to our room waiting for Will since I knew he didn’t take a key to get back in. The stairs were almost directly across from the door and I noticed what I though was Will’s reflection coming back up. I thought it was a bit odd that he had some sort of hat on and then I realized it wasn’t Will. I was a bit shocked. I knew that I had seen some sort of shadow of a man’s shoulders and head with a hat on top, but absolutely no one was there. Will came back up the stairs a few minutes later and had his own story to share about feeling someone following him up the stairs. The craziest part about it was that both of our experiences were confirmed by the employees the next day. The women we spoke with had worked there for years and let us know that people often feel someone following them up the stairs and that sometimes people will even see the man in the hat even though they have yet to figure out who he was.
I’m not sure if you’re a believer or if you’re even on the fence, but this place is real. It wasn’t scary necessarily, but those experiences definitely could not be explained in any other way.
All in all, Nevada has been pretty great so far. These small towns are so full of life and they truly honor the history of their humble beginnings. If you’re ever planning a trip to Vegas, make it a point to do some desert driving through these old towns. And if you can, stopover in Tonopah and stay a night in the Mizpah. It’s worth the drive.
Still living life in the right lane,
Rachel
DMG Exploration 