exploring rhyolite ghost town

Before crossing the state line into California, we decided to make one last stop in Nevada at the Rhyolite Ghost Town. 

I never really imagined that I would visit a ghost town, but am so glad that we did because this is such an interesting piece of history. Like many of the now abandoned ghost towns of the West, Rhyolite was originally settled during the Gold Rush. 
In 1905, just a year after gold had been found here, the town of Rhyolite was born. It was built up fast with people flocking there by the thousands. But they had grossly overestimated the amount of gold in the mines and within just 5 years, the mines were barren. The town's population dwindled with the masses leaving in droves. 
Remnants of some of the major buildings still stand, such as the school, bank, main saloon, and jail. So it's interesting to see what's left of this 100+ year old gold mine town. And it's crazy to me to know that they abandoned it completely. 

the old saloon---always one of the most pivotal buildings in western towns. 

our favorite was this old Union Pacific Railroad car that would have been used to transport the gold from the mines

the bank

another favorite was the bottle house 

it's the only fully intact home remaining and has been restored to help preserve this relic of history 

Wood was a scarce expensive resource in the desert so the home is constructed primarily of glass bottles and clay. So creative and actually pretty beautiful. 

This stop started out as a way to break-up our drive. It was the quickest detour for us with only spending an hour here. But it turned out to be an unexpected highlight of the day because we travel to learn and to be influenced. Rhyolite definitely checks all those boxes.