Humboldt City, Part 1

Yearning for another investigation, Rebecca and I discussed going to the town of Unionville, NV. After doing a bit of research and talking with a friend who had recently been there, it sounded as if the current residents were very protective of the area and didn't really want anyone poking around. I had seen another ghost town on the map that was on the way, so we changed our plans. We were now going to Humboldt City, NV. I hooked up the tent trailer and went to pick up Rebecca.
Humboldt City was a small mining town NE of Lovelock, NV. It was established in 1860. At it's peak in 1863, it is said to have had a population of 500 with about 200 structures.
We hit the highway around 11am. It was a beautiful day for a road trip. We drove for a couple of hours and decided to grab some lunch in Lovelock. A very quaint little town. The Cowpoke Cafe seemed to be the hot spot on this particular Saturday, so we parked our rig and went inside. This place was packed! We placed our order then found a table outside. The burgers were so-so, but the fries were great! Real potatoes! After lunch, we topped off the gas tank and made our way back to the highway.
We came to our exit, then proceeded to drive right past our turn off. Once we found a place to turn the rig around, (I haven't quite got the hang of backing up the trailer yet.) we made our way back to the turn off and began our journey up the canyon.
In the beginning, it was your typical desert landscape, but the further up we went, the more beautiful it became. Trees, lots of old, old trees. It had become an oasis nestled in the canyon, invisible from the highway.


A stone cabin revealed itself to our right, then another structure to our left. We had reached our destination! We chose a spot in the shade of a big tree for the trailer. Now for the challenge of getting it there. After many attempts at backing it up under the tree, Rebecca suggested backing further up the canyon, then swinging up under the tree. Why didn't I think of that? Piece of cake!

Once we had our camp situated, it was time to do our initial walk through. I grabbed my camera and Rebecca went to get hers. It wasn't where she thought it was. Oops. After searching through her belongings a couple of times, Rebecca finally succumbed to the fact that it had been left at home.



After looking at all of our options, it was decided to drive down the canyon until we had phone service, then call G. and see if he was up for a drive. We told him how beautiful it was there and how much he would like it. Oh, and where to find the camera. He said yes!! Papa G. you're the best! Rebecca, you are so lucky! I'll put the coffee on.

We began our walk through in the first cabin. The roof was starting to collapse so we had to pay careful attention not to run into the beams. It was good sized for a cabin of that time. Most miners had no family with them and housing was generally minimal. There was nothing to be seen, just a hole in the center of the roof indicating that a stove had was occupied that space. Moving on to the second building, it seemed to have more of a "feel" to it for me. Maybe it was because there were still items in it.


A broken sink, bed springs and a wood burning stove. I found it interesting that the entrance to the mine was directly outside the back door. As if this man didn't want anyone to see what he was pulling out of there. It gave a whole new meaning to "working from home". From here, we decided to drive further up the canyon to see if there were more existing structures. We found only partial walls and fireplaces that indicated at least 20 homes that once were.

After returning to camp, we walked down to explore a single grave that we had noticed on the way up. This area was the only place that I noticed grass. It was the perfect resting place. The marker indicated that this man had passed in 1991. Only 42 yrs old. A hunter? A miner? Nature lover? We'll never know. What I do know is that he has one of the best resting places that I've ever seen.

Papa G. arrived with Rebecca's camera and voice recorder and we gave him a tour of the area. I think he liked it as much as we did. He and Rebecca took a stroll up the canyon. I had to return to camp as I had left the stove on with our coffee.
The sun began to set. The mountains came alive in the most magnificent way. The colors were incredible.

I did my best to capture it with my camera. Not only did the mountains come alive, so did the crickets. I found myself totally surrounded by their sound. It was a bit disorienting at first. Kind of like the feeling you get when your ears start ringing. What is this going to do to the chances of catching an EVP? Maybe they'll go to sleep later.

Rebecca and G. returned from their walk, we shared our appreciation for the area and expressed a desire to return for a weekend. We extended an invitation to G. to stay over with us. I think he wanted to, but the teenagers were at home so he needed to get back. He filled his coffee cup, said his farewell and left us to do our thing.
At this point, our thing was to take a little nap so that we could be fresh in the wee hours of the morning.

To see more photos, go to the myspace site.

Next: Part 2, The Investigation

For more W.I.G.S. go to:

hauntedwest.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/w_i_g_s