Wanting to take the road-less-traveled, at least for us, we found ourselves cruising through the Amargosa River Valley on our way to Death Valley.

First stop was at the history museum to learn what we could about this darling crossroads town of Shoshone Village. It has a surprisingly colorful history as a railroad town and a rich mining district.
Our super cool second stop was at Dublin Gulch, not your everyday ghost town. Most of the town is underground. In the early 1900s, miners and railroad workers carved out living quarters in the cliffs near town. The cave dwellings served two purposes: to escape the searing summer heat, and as insulation from the freezing Mojave Desert winters.
These caves were home, at one time or another, to people inextricably linked to the history of Death Valley.


Most of the cave dwellings have only one room. One of the more extravagant dwellings has several rooms plus a garage. Several of the caves were heated by fireplaces. Stove pipes can still be seen protruding from the top of the bluff.

Dublin Gulch was inhabited on and off up until the mid-1970s. Miners, hobos, hippies, and derelicts all called these caves home. When one person moved out or died another moved in.


Last stop was a brief visit to the cemetery. The first burial was a little boy in 1924. It was the perfect place to conclude today's history lessons.

We are camped in desert peacefulness. Tomorrow, Death Valley.