Having failed to reach Cerro Gordo through the ridge road blocked by snow, we drove up the classic route. This is an abandoned mining town that was home to 2,000 people between 1856 and 1930. It had up to 7 saloons and the basement is dug over 35 miles (55 km) of galleries. It generated the largest amounts of silver from all the American West at this time.
 
 
1. Some buildings of this mining Ghost Town are made of corrugated sheet.
 

 
 
2. General Store transformed in a museum.
 

 
 
3. A 1946 truck.
 

 
 
4. Splendid furnace in hotel.
 

 
 
5. A restroom…
 

 
 
6. The next day, we stopped at Trona Pinnacles.
 

 
 
7. the sun is going Under the clouds.
 

 
 
8. This is tuff chimneys such as Mono Lake, which formed in a lake between 100,000 and 10,000 years before our area.
 

 
 
9. Some are 140 feet high.
 

 
 
10. Flaming sunset.
 

 
 
11. Unlikely colors…
 

 
 
12. Light reflected by the purpled clouds…
 

 
 
13. Another discovery : Red Cliffs Canyon.
 

 
 
14. The errosion sculpted amazing forms, sometimes colored…
 

 
 
15. … sometimes gray.
 

 
 
Change of scenery! We stayed for three days at the “King of the Hammers”, an off road race! The event takes place in the desert and alternates very fast sections on sandy tracks and pure rock crowling passages in canyons full of large blocks and obstacles. The winner took almost 9 hours to browse through three rounds of 45 miles.
 
16. Vehicles are buggies which most are between 800 and 1,000 hp!
 

 
 
17. This one has a distant silhouette of Jeep…
 

 
 
18. Back Door canyon entry.
 

 
 
19. Winching an obstacle, here a more than 10 feet high step! The co-driver is also the one that will tie the winch.
 

 
 
20. Some buggies are single seater.
 

 
 
21. Power passing…
 

 
 
22. Up in Back Door canyon, more than 600 feet above the desert.
 

 
 
23. Another obstacle that seems less impressive than reality on this image.
 

 
 
24. It is a city of nearly 30,000 inhabitants that rises from the desert during the race week.
 

 
 
Here is a short video taken with my cell phone…
 
 
 
 
Once the race is over, dozens of private vehicles are trying to hit obstacles of the race with the encouragement of hundreds of spectators that beer makes quite noisy ..! Here are two more videos, just to give you an idea of the atmosphere. They were shot around midnight…
 
 

 
 

 
 
After this fun experience, VivaLaVida began his eastward migration toward East travelling back to Arizona for a few days, still followed by Baja Shaker… To come soon. 😉