If you arrive in Las Vegas by mid-afternoon, you should have just enough time to reach Beatty, Nevada by sunset. The area’s most interesting attraction is actually a few miles away, at the old town of Rhyolite.
Rhyolite has a number of crumbling, old buildings. But before you reach them, you’ll probably be distracted by a collection of odd outdoor art projects.
Pull off to the side to see a sculpted pile of twisted metal, a ghostly figure hopping aboard a bicycle, and a two-story-tall silhouette of a miner, and his penguin.
Perhaps Rhyolite’s most distinctive art exhibit is this re-creation of Jesus’ Last Supper. The sculpture was created in 1984 by artist Albert Szukalski, based on the famous Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece. But instead of disciples wearing white robes, this version features only the white robes.
The late day sun casts an eerie light over this already spooky scene.
Behind the Last Supper ghosts you can see another of Rhyolite’s artistic offerings: The Venus of Nevada. It was growing dark too quickly for me to get an up-close look, but I did return the following day.
Once you’ve torn yourself away from the odd sculptures just south of town, you can explore the crumbling ruins of Rhyolite itself. Above is the town’s old bank.
With only a few exceptions, Rhyolite’s ruins are barrier-free, so visitors can climb through windows and scale over the crumbling concrete.
Here’s another look at Rhyolite’s old Cook Bank Building. Death Valley’s Chamber of Commerce considers it one of the most photographed ruins in the country.
Here’s another of Rhyolite’s more intact structures.
Once you’ve torn yourself away from the odd sculptures just south of town, you can explore the crumbling ruins of Rhyolite itself. Above is the town’s old bank.
With only a few exceptions, Rhyolite’s ruins are barrier-free, so visitors can climb through windows and scale over the crumbling concrete.
Here’s another look at Rhyolite’s old Cook Bank Building. Death Valley’s Chamber of Commerce considers it one of the most photographed ruins in the country.
Here’s another of Rhyolite’s more intact structures.
From Beatty to Death Valley
OK, it’s time to leave Rhyolite behind and begin the journey into Death Valley. The road stretches out before you for several miles, until you cross into the park.
Once you pass the Death Valley sign, the flat, uneventful stretch of the journey ends. The road takes you through roller-coaster style dips, then twists its way into the Amargosa Mountains.
Here’s an interesting fact I learned at one of the visitor’s centers. The sign pictured above is an old style, used at entrances to the park back in the 1980’s, when it was a National Monument. Signs at all entrances have been updated, except the Beatty entrance, where you can still see the “classic” version. UPDATE 2009 This old sign has also been replaced.
Note: This trip was first published in 2005.
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