Unable to withstand Las Vegas, we made our getaway to Death Valley. It was hot – 115 degrees in the shade. In fact, we discovered later that Death Valley turned out to be the hottest place in the United States that day.
We stopped at Zabriskie Point, where the cover of U2’s “Joshua Tree” album was photographed.
The Artists Drive.
After spending the greater part of the day touring from the comfort of our air-conditioned car, we headed back via different route.
On our way to the town of Beatty, we saw a sign pointing to a ghost town. Curious, we took a look.
Well, the former town of Rhyolite or what’s left of it, turned out to be pretty neat.
But the craziest thing was, right before we reached Rhyolite, we saw some odd sculptures by the side of the road. One looked like a giant Lego lady. Another appeared to be the silhouette of a miner and a penguin. Yet another was a mosaic covered couch. All sitting in the middle of nowhere. Our first thought was, “Maybe it’s those crazy Burning Man people?”
After walking around, we found some pamphlets which explained that these works were part of the Goldwell Open Air Museum, a outdoor sculpture park founded in 1984 by Belgian artist, Albert Szukalski. After his death in 2000, the museum became a non-profit organization to care for the pieces and continue Szukalski’s artmaking vision. In addition, the nearby Red Barn Art Center holds exhibits, performances, and workshops on weekends for the general public throughout the year. Visit the website for more information.
Sit Here! By Sofie Siegmann.
Lady Desert: The Venus of Nevada by Hugo Heyrman.
Tribute to Shorty Harris by Fred Bervoets.
Ghost Rider by Albert Szukalski.
Icara by Dre Peters.
An interesting exhibit we missed at the Red Barn Art Center.
I love the idea of being able to “interact” with the art outdoors and enjoy them against an ever changing landscape. And I’m still blown away we found an art museum where we least expected it. What a fitting end to this trip it was.
This concludes my Nevada recap. Perhaps you’ll be inspired, next time you visit Hawai’i’s “Ninth Island,” to get out of Las Vegas and find some fabulous design as well.
Driving back from Eureka to Las Vegas, we decided to drive a different route since the Extraterrestial Highway turned out to be a disappointment. Most of the way featured the same desert scenery punctuated by small Pinyon Pine forests.
By chance, we decided to take the turn-off to the little town Pioche. What a pleasant surprise that turned out to be.
Due to numerous mining claim disputes, 19th century settlers resorted to guns to defend themselves. And Pioche quickly earned the distinction of being one of the roughest towns in the Old West. It’s been said that 75 men were killed in gunfights there before anyone had a chance to die by natural causes. Pioche even made Tombstone seem pale by comparison.
Today it’s a pretty sleepy place full of quaint storefronts. (Sorry, many of my digital pictures didn’t turn out so great.)
We wandered into the Lincoln County Museum, which boasts an unbelievable collection of vintage mining equipment, mineral specimens, and everyday items.
Another cool looking Opera House.
Lots of antique stores. Almost everything was closed because it was Sunday.
A wall full of signs.
A little touch of Vegas.
After our little detour to Pioche, we drove a bit further and encountered the scenic Cathedral Gorge. We also took a quick stop here and poked around in a few caves, as it was recommended to us by the woman at the museum.
It was no getting late, so we headed posthaste toward Las Vegas.
Continuing on the journey through Nevada, we arrived in Eureka to attend the wedding.
Eureka is one of twentysomething Eurekas in the country. But this one, like many other towns in Nevada, was a former mining center founded in the 1860s.
This photo was taken near the abandoned mine site called Ruby Hill. (It was awfully hazy due to the Northern California wildfires.)
The tiny town has it’s own quirky charm – kind of like the Old West meets a ‘60s hunting lodge.
Some views of the main street. Love that Louie’s Lounge!
Lots of great hand-painted signs.
Mounted stags in the supermarket, of course! (OK, maybe that’s a little creepy.)
Clever use of old wagon wheels.
The wedding was held in the Eureka Opera House. Here’s a picture of it with the historic Jackson House hotel on the left.
The opera house has a fantastic hand-painted curtain.
This was probably the most unique wedding venue I’d ever been to. I must say the cool locale made for a great event.
However, with the conclusion of the nuptials, our time in Eureka was up and it was time to move on the next morning.
Next stop: Stumbling upon one of the roughest towns in the West and a gorge.
Well folks, I’ve finally returned from my short vacation to Nevada. It was a wonderful whirlwind few days of road-tripping, in-laws, ghost towns, and desert heat. As I promised, I’d blog about interesting design I encountered along the way. Since there were so many places we went, I’ll be breaking it up into several posts over the next week.
So here begins the tour. The first leg required us to drive from Las Vegas to Eureka, Nevada, where the wedding was being held. We decided to take the Extraterrestrial Highway (Route 375) which runs past Area 51, as it was only a slight detour to our destination.
Unfortunately, most of the drive was pretty boring. It looked like this.
I thought there would be more sights along the way. But no. Nothing. And no UFOs.
The biggest attraction on the highway, besides the numerous unexplained sightings, is the little town of Rachel, named for the first child born there.
As I found with Nevada in general, there’s a lot of retro kitsch to be appreciated if you’re into that. I am, so I enjoyed the populuxe signs and the crazy clutter of the world famous A’le’inn.
The proprietor’s daughter told us that just last week Hannity’s America passed through, interviewing everyone (again) for Conspiracy Month. They didn’t use her interview though, since she doesn’t believe in any conspiracy. Guess it doesn’t make for good television. (You can watch the finished clip on their site.)
Here’s my husband sitting at the bar of the A’le’inn. Surrounded by alien art and knickknacks.
Close up behind the bar. Currency from around the world and more knickknacks.
Shots of the interior. Lots of little green guys for sale.
Check out the family in the back. Photos of “sightings” taped to the wall. Slot machines too.
I loved this poster.
Other than that there wasn’t much else to see, so on we drove…
Next stop: Discovering the charm of the old west in Eureka.
Next week, I’m off to the mainland to attend my sister-in-law’s wedding. It’s being held in a little town in Northern Nevada, so we’ll be flying in and out of Las Vegas. Blogwise, I’m starting my vacation a little early, so there’ll will be no new posts until I return, around the middle of July. I’ll be sure to keep a lookout for interesting design on Hawai’i’s “Ninth Island” and all along the Extraterrestrial Highway, which we plan to drive along. I’ll blog about what I find when I return.
In the meantime, you can check out Artspree 2008 at the Contemporary Museum on Saturday, July 12, from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. It will be a fun-filled day, especially for keiki, with a ton of art activities including clay, straw, and foam sculpture, Chinese opera face-painting. Storytellers, synchronized swimmers, acrobats, slam poets, and KTUH DJs provide constant entertainment.
