Thursday we were provided with the rare opportunity to tour New Ryan, a mining town that closed in 1928. The doors were locked while everything was left intact. The entire refuge staff was granted permission to tour and what a treat it was.
Colemanite, from which borax is extracted, was being mined in the Calico, CA area at the turn of the centuryand it looked as though the ore was becoming depleted. Operations were moved to the Lila C. mine near Death Valley Junction and the buildings were moved to Ryan as the camp or town was named. Once again, in 1915, the town moved to be near a larger mining operation that became known as New Ryan. Closed in 1928 it is now in a state of "arrested decay".
This photo was taken previous to our tour day from atop the mountain. Closed to only those who have special permission we never dreamed that we would set foot on any of this magnificent place.
But here it is......
The opening scenes of Spartacus with Charlton Heston were filmed at this exact location in the late 1950s althought the building which housed the power plant for the town was kept from sight.
One of the "bunkhouses". After the mine closed the town buildings were used as overflow lodging by Pacific Coast Borax Co., the owner of the mine and Furnace Creek Inn in Death Valley.
Complete with pull-chain johnnies
Our happy group. We were told the pointy rock behind us was "Poison Rock". Of course someone had to ask (yours truly) the story behind the name. "Because one drop is all it takes!"
View down to Death Valley
The school house
This road follows the original railroad bed. Notice that this was a cut that had to be filled. All the rock was laid up by hand - on both sides.
We could no longer follow the RR bed due to the rock slide
There were hundreds, if not thousands, of mines according to Mike the on-site caretaker. This is what remains of the town of Coleman, which mostl likely was a site prior to the building of New Ryan.
6 graves. It was a harsh life.
We found this prime example of a cookstove. The inner can was filled with sand. Kerosene was used to soak the sand and then it was lit. The outer can held the pot above the fire. A pot of beans would cook all day.
A beautifully-built structure a miner called home. Few were constructed with such pride in workmanship.
A beautifully-built structure a miner called home. Few were constructed with such pride in workmanship.
Another view of the laid-up roadbed. Both sides look the same. This is only one of many areas where this type of work was done. 
Desert Evening Primrose
On the return to the refuge we stopped for a wildflower search and were not disappointed. From the forget-me-not or borage family, also commonly called Hidden Flower.
Desert Evening Primrose
Lesser Mohavea
One of the fifteen or so phacelias
There are so many different Evening Primroses that all I can be sure is that this is one of them. 
This little guy or gal, a horned lizard, is only 2" long including his/her tail.
One of the fifteen or so phacelias
There are so many different Evening Primroses that all I can be sure is that this is one of them. 
This little guy or gal, a horned lizard, is only 2" long including his/her tail. Another lizard, a Zebra-Tail, this one is about 6" long from end to end.
