The Paranormal & Ghost Society Private BBS Hosted By Lord Rick At www.paranormalghostsociety.org
Our Bulletin Board System is designed for our subscribers and friends. It is a series of forums hosted by PGS where we discuss the functions of our organization and an innovating BBS which revolves around many functions within our group sign up its free!
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:18 pm

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Forum rules


Please click here to view the forum rules



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: This Past Weekends Adventure In Virginia City, NV - 2/24/13
PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:25 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:38 am
Posts: 944
Location: Las Vegas, NV
This Past Weekends Adventure In Virginia City, NV - 2/24/13

Virginia City to me is a home away from a home. Sure we do some investigations within the Comstock Lode but many of them come from parts of it not everyone gets to see. The hills and mountains surrounding this once booming town are full of surprises. I prove that through our photography and videos some of you get a first hand look at what others do not get to experience.

Not saying that the town is not a fun spirited place to be but most of my time I spend in the hills just outside of town. Which often gives us great views of valleys, canyons, local towns including Virginia City from afar. While I set out to mix it up I decided to do three unique locations as a second visit to the Flowery Mine, Yellow Jacket Mine & Mill and the Silver City Mining District.

I mixed it up quite well for our viewers as I wanted them to see beauty, mystery and the paranormal all interconnected. Even though most of my friends are jealous just remember there is not much stopping you from coming out west. I put my own personality into the west so that our viewers can experience a unique way of seeing it through our projects.

I am not like allot of local groups I am not a tour business nor do I just stand in one area for a few and call it a night. I watched a local group put a video of one there investigations up where they walked around but didn't go into anything. Either you go balls out or do not go at all its the only way to produce the results necessary to bring the unknown to so many people who enjoy what we do here.

One thing I enjoy doing when it comes to Virginia City is packing up my family. These investigations generally are black & white so you know your going to spend a day out there exploring. I have so many more projects here but we are slowly getting through them all.

So I packed up the truck it had been a bit shaky as to going up here especially after the tire incident in Winnemucca we had to mainly park and hike it on in via foot. We packed our lunches, backpacks, paranormal gear, sodas, cooler and food. I had planned on doing a few really intense explorations the first one not so much and I give to you our second excursion at the Flowery Mine.

Flowery Mining District & Flowery Mountains
Investigation 2

There is actually a short cut that require less then a half of mile hike to get to the mine and pond. The pond was formed by an open pit mine meanwhile a half of entire hillside is gone do to the mining in the region.

More or less things would be much different on this adventure as I would not be climbing to any summits or icy cliffs. I would not be sledding through snow or wandering the night for hours in the wilderness.

This time around we parked at an old mining road which quickly was consumed by natural between this canyon which led us to some beach front property of the pond. A couple weeks ago it had been iced over and there was much more snow back here.

On my way through the wash I did seen the cross of someone who passed in 2004. The cross was made out of metal not wood with an engraving etched into the metal. I generally see this all the time grave markers that is in mining districts. Sometimes its an old miner other times its a kid who probably was in some sort of accident on there four wheeler. Its sad to see I love the places I go just not enough to die at them no matter how crazy of stunts I pull.

I decided to show my other son and Tammy where we found our way to the road at night. Strangely we spent hours hiking only to come across a giant mine we could not photograph at night. This set the tone for another hike up here so that I could bring photos of how massive of a mine this is.

The mining district does have other mines in the region but most of them are not tunnel shafts they are just open pits or strip mines. During the day here the Flowery Mountains look more friendly however at night when you start to go through thick brush, tree growth and steep hillside you realize its not as friendly as a little short walk down an old mining road.

We brought the metal detector found an old bullet but also allot of shot gun shells on site. Not to mention littler and peoples garbage everywhere. It probably is a nice party spot hell there was a tent ripped up camping too.

While I was taking photos a father and his kids showed up with there poles starting to fish in the pond. Perhaps they stock it with fish hard telling but its amazing how a pit mine can now become the place where a man drinks his beer fishing. Not allot of people know about this place I am sure you have to be a local to know about allot of the places that I hike around in surrounding Virginia City.

I took some readings and EVP's surrounding the mine and gravesite. My son went to the top of the ridge to see if we could find an actual tunnel mine to check out above the debris pile. There was nothing back here to indicate that other then a series of rolling hills and a few mines that brought in millions of dollars in gold.

I had promised in my last video we would return and report. I returned mainly to examine this part of the Flowery Mountains during the day. You have to understand that mining districts like the Flowery one had camps. These camps were similar to towns some of them at one time had houses and businesses. Not much remains but the mines and an occasional piece of mining history left behind.

I did not spend much time here as I did have to go check out a house in Virginia City. I thought it was abandoned our photos revealed wooden pained windows. But instead they turned out to be someone's wooden blinds. Although I was not fully disappointed I did get to photograph some of the largest homes in Virginia City one with lion statues outside of it the real deal. No doubt houses like this do not present some level of ghostly activity.

I did spend sometime downtown its almost a tradition to visit all the little shops and buy a few things. This time around I bought my boys rings and Tammy a silver ring. The shop owner took money off of it most of the shop owners have done this for me this is why I love shopping there. I do not have allot of money sometimes I will let the shop owners know because its the truth ghostbusting is not a paying job it never will be. Its something I do voluntarily to provide the public with a feasible honorable service.

We also had Grande hotdogs for lunch I was very pleased the food is always good downtown no matter where you go. It was a nice little stop and go we had a nice break before getting ready to head out to more investigation sites.

We did screw around near the old jail and I was shopping for a wicked T-shirt. But my one store I shop at was gone boy was I upset. Its a place that sells nothing but bad ass shirts skeletons, grim reapers and horror stuff. With the economy new shops come and go so you never know what you might see here. The guy at the visitors center was pretty cool with me I was able to take all sorts of event calendars for activities in VC and region.

I could see from the hilltops in Virginia City the Flowery Mountains way off in the distance. It is hard to believe a couple weeks ago I stood on its peak. I still have no answer for the strange tracks I found out of the blue in the snow in the middle of nowhere.

I do know this working up an appetite up in the hills then coming into town for a bite to eat creates the best adventures. It also really enhances our ability to gather good paranormal evidence as were not rushing any of our projects. We experience everything not just the ghost but the old music, food, coming into contact with old relics of the past, historic sites etc So we understand all ends of the spectrum when it comes to the Wild West.

Leaving Virginia City was hard especially knowing the fun was over and it was time to get back to the grinder. We had a big challenge ahead of us as we would visit the Yellow Jacket Mill & Mine. Most people when they think of this site know that the fires that took place in here in those mines below the mill killed allot of men some were never even found again. Sure some rumor the property to be haunted so my goal was to give you an inside look into one of the most tragic mining accidents in this regions history.

To be able to visit its mill and peer down its black deep shaft were both an honor. Not only that but its one of the best preserved mills in the west. Every piece of machinery may be rusting away but its all still there entirely. If every machine were cleaned up it probably could still today separate the ore its a massive mill with allot to see. Not to mention that to a degree its not very difficult to feel out the eeriness that surrounds this place inside and outside. So off we went to Gold Hill to take a look at a mill in another mining district one that was very prominent in the 1800's The Yellow Jack!

The Yellow Jack Mill & Mine

I actually hiked around here last year ago and I told Tammy just watch me come back next year to check out this place. I do not care night or day I learned going into these old mills is creepy. They are dark no matter what you sometimes hear things that do not add up and just as every corner holds a surprise.

The mill, mine and assembly is built up along the entire hillside. Its actually a very interesting system they have. The mine was one of the first things we peered into on the investigation. All you see when you look down into it is a massive shaft with mine cart rails going down into the dark at a very steep angle.

The ore bins as well as the housing above it operates the mine carts as well as carries the ore down this long structure which houses conveyor belts. Eventually the ore drops off the belt down this massive chute where it comes on out into the main mill to be processed.

I would check out the housing above the mill which houses the conveyor belt. Its not very safe as there are holes in the floor one that leads to a 35' fall below. However all the machinery, belts, ladders etc are all in tact. I taught the kids a bit about milling in the west so this was a good place to start.

Above the conveyor belt line was another structure that houses a massive motor or piece of machinery. We would head out of here then climb on all fours to the top of the hill where we found another building that had machinery only. There was also big iron parts and fuse boxes. This may have been the power house which powers the entire mine and mill.

There was a donkey out back and a caretaker who lived in the front of the mill itself. The door to the mill was open so we looked for the caretaker to ask some questions. To our luck no avail were they around however on the ground in the mill itself was a dead pigeon missing its head.

The inside of the mill had a few stories starting at the top of the mixers all the way to being able to go underneath them. The stairs were as steep as ladders the floors and railings shook. Despite some of the mills flaws it is for the most part safe as long as you are aware of your surroundings.

We found a work shop inside with a bunch of parts and allot of machinery. What I found strange is most mills have allot of rat droppings but this was not the case here. I was actually surprised believe it or not the condition in most of the machinery we found inside.

There was also some sort of cat house hell maybe it was a giant rat trap hard to say. But it was the size of a safe with a little doorway on it. Everything within the mill was covered in a coat of dust it is obvious that man has not touched this place in years. One of the staircases taking a short cut towards the back of the mill was nearly all missing.

My son and I climbed this wall along a narrow ledge to get up to this one area of the mill that had some cart of sorts. It looked like a mine cart suspended above everything else. I sat inside while he snapped a photo.

Earlier in the investigation we did get some EMF readings but my son put it in the truck halfway into the investigation so we did not use it on the mill itself. So I cannot really say if the mill is haunted however we did run a few EVP sessions inside. Some people claim that you can hear the machinery running even when there is no power to it anymore.

There was also belts, motors, cog wheels and many other pieces of machinery that I have not seen in other mills. However for its time this mill was considered state of the art hell it may have been one of the highest technological ore processing mills in the western sea board.

There was a very old newspaper even a photo we found of what the mill looked like 50 years ago. Along with the photo the newspaper next to it claimed on the front page that you could get historic tours of the Crown Point aka Yellow Jacket.

This is what I like history you got to love it I became probably more into the history then the ghost. For me getting EVPs and ghostly photos comes easy. Real experiences have occurred many times in my career so we know ghost exist we have proven that. However this was more to seek out its history some highlights as well as dark times like mining deaths. Deaths that shatter the strongest of men dying thousands of feet below this very mill.

One section had piles of old aluminum buckets just as a bookshelf had a bunch of spare parts. There were walkways on every story and the floor below was full of many mixers some with a diameter of 30' across. The pipes throughout the inside of the mill are very intricate just as much as the wood stairwells.

There are many narrow passages between the mixers or massive tubs which stirred the near final product before it was exported. Being inside was more like a factory every large iron machine was engraved with large letters. These type of machines were made all over America and with that in mind millions of dollars were made here. So it was an honor to walk through the mill I made sure I whipped out the cam and made some videos of us exploring. So you will get to see a media walking tour of nearly the entire mill inside top to the bottom.

We had allot of fun inside the mill its amazing what you find exploring. I never touch anything as what is left behind gives the mill character. Everything is as is you could tell some renovations were made perhaps at one time to give walking tours. But when the mill closed the ore was left on its conveyors and the machines were all frozen in time. This is what gives the place that eerie feeling it is knowing that the very men who lost there lives once walked the series of wood planks throughout the mill.

Now here we are today wondering what our photos reveal or if we caught anything during our EVP sessions. I also thought I seen a few old TNT boxes and these giant turbines. My son also found a tunnel made out of concrete that went back away's. There was yellow caution tape around the turbines at first I thought it was police banners saying crime scene lol.

All in all I was quite pleased with exploring this mill. When I first seen it back in 2011 it sort of sucked me in. My real goal is to do all the mills surrounding Virginia City and so far I have done nearly close to all of them. As some of you know that many of the mills today are either gone or just in ruins. At one time surrounding Crown Point many mills surrounded this one. Today standing on the hill comparing it to photos over a century ago really has seen major change. The train trestles are gone that surrounded the mill and downtown was booming.

We would leave the mill with great excitement the kids and I just said wow cool. I know other groups have tried investigating the outside of the mill. But this is an investigation to give others a look inside a mill that very few people ever get to see.

I will say its an eerie place I always felt watched a few times its kind of a feeling that some energy is present. Perhaps residual maybe a few ghostly miners haunt this location. Given its history your looking at a mine that went 3k underground connection to other mines. Allot of ore, rock, debris etc was processed within the mill since the mid 1800's so its a phenomenal place and I cannot way to share it with all of you.

Our next place would not be as exciting as the mill but it would involve a great scenic hike one full of missed history called the Silver City Mining District. We would leave Gold Hill so much history and it will interconnected with some of the locations we visited surrounding the mill.

Silver City Mining District

I drove to a high point that overlooks Silver City below parking above Devils Gate. If all of you remember we visited the gate and investigated it not to far after relocating to the area. There is also a mine and old miners cabin in the canyon below.

We took to an old mining road which is littered with mine debris piles including a pipe that goes under the road. My son found this out by using the metal detector as we followed the pipe for a few hundred feet.

Being above the gate is very unique as we were following a road that some of the richest silver in the world was discovered and mined here.

To the right of the road was the mines to our left a narrow canyon a couple hundred feet below us. Off in the distances I could see the town of Silver City. Although Silver City is not as popular as Virginia City the two are minutes apart.

We came across two mines that were caved in however one of them has a small hole that leads into a giant room. The hole is so small that if I were to go in it I would barely fit. This has caused me to contemplate on going in sometime as this is the second time I have put a light inside to see if it was an explorable mine.

We found an old rusty car buried by brush and earth. Along the way we also found a pile of wood with these metal rusty pipes protruding out of the ground. What is even more amazing is the fact that as the road meanders through this canyon the view down into the great basin is gorgeous. I can promise you some of the photos we took here are super scenic.

We eventually took the road to the right as it went around the back side of this giant hill then climbed it to an area I call the overlooks. At the overlooks you can see down into all of Silver City then miles below the valley floor. Its a beautiful desert type of scenery here and this time of year is the best time to hike it.

We also found surrounded by barbed wire a mine shaft it was deep and there was no way I was going anywhere near it. It could have been a ventilation shaft that led to the Sutro tunnel or even connecting with the Yellow Jacket Mine hard to tell but it was shaped like a funnel then after 20' it drops off into a square pitch black hole.

I also found at the overlooks old mill ruins and foundations. Some of the giant bolts are left behind that protrude out of them as the stone slabs were crumbling and what is left of the walls. Which I sat on and had me a hikers dinner which includes beef jerky, Gatorade and some cinnamon hot tamales lol.

Near the mill ruins was a massive pile of bricks some of them buried under the earth while others were broke scattered about. The sun was going down so we had to get back on the trail. This trail would take a steep descent but I had realized that it was taking us back to our truck as the mining district is a loop.

Not to far towards the bottom of the road we encountered off in the distance an old head frame and building. I did not visit it because I already checked it out last year ago. Its just a long gutted wood building surrounded by aluminum with a head frame with a caved in mine. However to the right prior to getting to my truck we did find a nice gem to finish off the mining district.

A female Rottweiler came up the hill out of nowhere and wanted Tammy to scratch her head. As you know our team which is generally my family loves dogs. It seems dogs like us to especially when they know they are going to get attention. The poor old girl was following us along on our investigation. But what stopped us in our tracks was a guy in the residential area who was being mean to his male Rottweiler. My son said the guy hit the dog and was chasing it. He was a big male as I wondered where did he go.

The male dog actually climbed the hill and out of nowhere he was standing also near Tammy. I was not sure how he would react he was allot bigger then my dog. Then he was staring me down as I approached the kids and her. I went up to the dog patted him on the head his tail was wagging. This dog actually followed us also we had to tell the dogs to stay as we made our way back to the truck. Not before we checked out a mine site that had allot of structures surrounding it.

The dogs just sat watching the kids and I hike around. Not sure what it is but Rottweilers really like me one of my buddies has one and that dog even though he weights 200lbs is such an awesome dog. So being I been around this type of dog breed many times I really was not intimidated by there presence.

There was a massive ore chute, miners cabin, outhouse and some other collapsed building. We also nearby stumbled across some mill foundations. Thus we investigated an old mining site that includes the massive cabin or office building. Which I did get some EMF readings back here so it was a nice finisher for the evening.

There was also some very large debris piles all of it is what came out of the mines minus the gold and silver. By the time we wrapped up our final mine investigation within the district it was time to depart. The moon was shining just over the ridge line of the mountains.

All in all it was a great day not only that but weekend as I investigated the old Pony Express Stone Homestead a day prior to this. So it was a full weekend of many investigations and adventures. All the way from the high sierras in California to the high desert of Nevada.

All in all your going to find out the reason for our exploration of the district. It also surrounds other nearby mills, cemeteries, mines and Devils Gate. So all my projects are sort of unifying together in this region something very few groups have failed to achieve in this region.

The mining districts are as important as anything else if it was not for them there would be no town let alone camp. There may not be much left but the foundations, collapsing mines, head frames, ore chutes, debris piles and structures all tell a story. A story about one of the richest Silver found in the world that went from boom to bust eventually.

Whether we captured the paranormal at these locations is another story. We generally take Gauss EMF readings, EVPs, videos and photo blast our locations. So between the Flowery Mountains and Mine, Yellow Jacket Mine and Mill as well as the Silver City Mining districts will make beautiful additions to our website.

All in all it was a great day it does not get any better then this people often think of the wild west as just a bunch of ghost towns. But what came with them are mines, 150 year old roads and pieces of the past where miners lived working underground under harsh conditions.

Its a great region to work in and were proud of the places we visit. I am all for preservation that is why we do what we do. We want others to learn but we want them to see the wild west in a way nobody has shown it before. With not just a story but a piece of us that goes into every expedition.
Peace,
Lord Rick
Founder

_________________
Love is like a ghost sometimes you cannot see it but it is There


Top
 Profile E-mail  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 42 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Chaos Hell designed by www.chaosburnt.com © 1995-2007 ChaosBurnt
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group