Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ghost Towns and Rock Hounds

Want a great way to celebrate Halloween in Utah??? How about a visit to a freaky little ghost town that no one has ever heard of???Introducing Ophir. Living Population: 50. Dead: Who knows.... And while you're there, why not check out the abandoned pyrite mine...there is quite a bit of pyrite still lying around. We found a few of our samples:Of course, you do need to hike up to the old mine to get it...Make sure you bring your rock hounding gear.And if the old mine doesn't freak you out...This thing probably will...We think someone lives here.It was starting to get dark, and we didn't know who would be out once the sun went down...So we came down and quickly looked around the rest of the "town."It's about 40 min. outside of Tooele. It was such a nice drive. I love road trips and pretty much slept the 90 min. drive there. Then Clint and Derek slept on the way home. Good times.



The buildings are all deserted, but well kept.


There are lots of places for the kids to climb on and run around.But it started to get cold. There was a nice picnic area, and a campground right outside the city limits. And there is suppose to be an old cemetery around here somewhere. But we couldn't find it. We did find a few small pieces of pyrite.


We are planning to go back next summer. It was a fun place to go, and we totally recommend it...if you don't mind getting dirty.

7 comments:

Greg & Andrea said...

THat is so cool! Greg would love it there. I love all the old buildings although it does sound a little creepy....perfect for Halloween.

Shelli said...

You always do such fun and unique things. Your boys are going to have such great memories of their childhood with their awesome mom and dad!

Kimmby said...

Wow!!! This place looks awesome! What a great find!

Ginni Bingham LeVar said...

This place looks so great! How did you find it?

Tom & Michelle said...

How fun! That was a good way to spend Halloween!

Rita said...

Love your travels! Grandpa Clair has been to Ophir and Mercur too! As boys, the scrambled through the wild, wild west. Love that desert!

Michelle said...

"And there is suppose to be an old cemetery around here somewhere. But we couldn't find it."

I think you are referring to the Mercur Cemetery, which is SUPER SUPER cool! It's the next canyon over, about 10-15 minutes further South of Ophir: http://www.enjoyutah.org/2010/11/spending-halloween-in-haunted-cemetery.html

Michelle Powell
Enjoy Utah! - founder