Bayhorse Ghost Town in Idaho
Bayhorse Ghost Town in Idaho
As I mentioned yesterday, our Friday drive took us to some beautiful, and also interesting places. After we left the dirt road, we got on Highway 75 and headed towards to Challis. We thought we better get gas in case we decided to do more driving around. On our way there, we drove past a sign that said, Bayhorse Ghost town 4 miles. We love ghost towns, and figured we had better stop. When we don’t have the RV with us, stopping at random places is much more doable. We Drove the 4 miles of dirt road, and discovered that the ghost town is now owned, and managed by Idaho state parks. I am always impressed with Idaho state parks, they are always well maintained, and generally free. Bayhorse was both of these.
Like most ghost towns in the west, Bayhorse was a mining town. In the late 1800’s the town had 300-500 people, and the mining was for silver, gold, and lead. Life would have been harsh here though. The winters can be cold, and snowy.
I learned that the Idaho state parks took over the area in 2006 so they could control the safety of the old buildings, and the mine shafts in the area. I can only imagine how many people got in trouble prior to that. There are several of the old buildings still standing, mostly, and of course mine shafts everywhere. Now there are small wood fences around the buildings to keep people from going in them. But that doesn’t detract from experiencing the town.
This stone building was built by Italian workers, and is still straight, and just as strong as the day it was built.
The front of one of the buildings.
This is by far the largest, and coolest of the buildings there. This is where they crushed the ore, and by gravity feed it went through all the washing and separating process.
There are pieces and parts of old trucks, and machinery.
The mountains in this area are slate. This roof for the outhouse was a good use of the slate I thought.
We left the main part of the town, and drove up a very narrow dirt road. Tons of fun in the big ass truck. A couple miles up, there is this old tram system. The man who is the caretaker of the park, told us this tram carried men and ore to the top of this 9000 foot mountain. The men actually lived there all year long, which would have been so harsh in the winter months. This is the lower tram pulley.
And way up on this steep slope, is the building were they lived and the other end of the tram. I shot this photo with my telephoto because the building is just tiny when you are looking up.
How on earth they built, maintained, and actually lived in this is beyond me. Al wondered how they ran the steel cable all the way up there. The miners in those days were are tenacious bunch, that’s for sure.
We were really glad we took the time to stop and visit Bayhorse ghost town.
While we there I took some photos of the old machinery, and this image was perfect for this weeks 2LilOwls prompt of Patterns.
The Dogwood 52 Prompt this week is a technical challenge, Light Painting. Since it is so dark here, I thought shooting the milky way, and light painting the RV would be cool.
I love being able to see the stars, and especially the milky way. This is a couple of other shots of the milky way.
Good morning Mary!
Growing up in Southern California, my father would take us once in a while to his favorite ghost towns into the interior of California. Barstow was one of his favorite places and I remember seeing my first ghost town. To this day, it’s fascinating to me that authorities have not torn down these remnants of peoples’ lives; you have captured the details of these miners’ lives in such rugged and beautiful detail. And those stars? OHHHHHHH, the last time I saw such a display was when we were up in Big Sur, 35 years ago. Fabulous work Mary!
I’m really glad they don’t tear down these towns, anywhere. It’s a piece of history that leaves me pondering every time.
All those old buildings and things are so fun to see. We really want to find some, but it is hard to do around here. Mom has been to ghost towns, but it was years ago before she was into photography.
I love the slate roof! And wow — what a find. Years ago, my youngest daughter and I on a trip to Phoenix drove to Jerome — we were in awe of how they preserved the town to create such a vibrant artists community.
Jerome is pretty awesome. They have repurposed that town very well.
That looks pretty darn cool! I love those old places, and finding out how people lived even 100 years ago!
Seeing the stars they way you see them is on y bucket list. We have too much light pollution for me see that many stars.
Jodi come west, and I will show you the stars and some cool old places.
OMG, Jodi and I must have some sort of telepathic connection going on … I was going to say almost the exact same thing she did!
But seriously, I love ghost towns like this that are so well maintained and preserved! It’s so much fun to see history unfold and be able to write stories in your mind! I haven’t been to a ghost town in about 30 years…you don’t get to see many (if any) in South Carolina.
LOl..Great minds think alike. I’m surprised there aren’t ghost towns in the east. People were living there before they came west. I suppose they just stayed and the towns grew.
Too many “Carpetbaggers” I guess. The ones that didn’t move west after the “War of Northern Aggression” moved south to scoop up what land they could and turned it into “suburbs” of the larger southern cities of the time.
I loved exploring the backroads around Mackay last summer. Oh the stories those buildings could tell. You’re photos and tales are always an inspiration – I think I’ll head over to Jerome today ?
I love, love, love places like that. History is so fascinating!
Hi Mary,
My wife and I got to see some of the old mining towns above Silverton, Colorado many years ago. I remember being at 12 or 13 thousand Feet.
Lloyd
There is always something very fascinating about ghost towns. Your images capture these magic of time gone by, particularly the first one in this awesome series.
Magnificent milky way shots! :)