Jim Butler, a grizzled sourdough made camp at Tonopah Springs that day. He had been looking to strike it rich for a few years now, but he never managed more than a few nuggets here and there. He ,at times, had to ask his friends for a grubstake (loan), he figured he was too young to retire from chasing his luck in the inhospitable Nevada desert. Freezing one day and boiling the next. His Jenny (burro) was with him for a while now, but she still did what burros are good at, which is being stubborn. So was it this day, she just would not listen. Jim was frustrated, did not know what to do. He finally picked up a rock to throw at that stubborn animal. The rock seemed heavy, so Jim stuck it in his pocket and made his way to the nearest essay office, which was in Tonopah. It turned out to be a fabulously rich specimen of mostly silver, but with traces of gold. One of the mines, the Mizpah, operated for over forty years, unheard of in Nevada for longevity. To this day the town of 2,500 souls (down from about 10,000), celebrates Jim Butler day. It is a real interesting place, not entirely dead, and with defunct mines all over the place. That famous old west sheriff cum gunslinger Wyatt Earp was the sheriff for a while. The Mizpah hotel is haunted, Jack Dempsey, the famous boxer, was the bartender there at the same time. History galore. Tonopah is about 200 miles north of Las Vegas. It is a long ride through mostly desert, with only the occasional brothel providing relief. Here the well heeled customers fly in, most of the joy houses have a landing strip. .http://www.tonopahnv.com

We are very invested in helping local artists. We donate this expensive area to help them. Three books are on the list for this month. They are: Nevada a Strange State, Silveropolis, and The Great Lake Mead Water Caper. They are on Amazon. All proceeds will go to the artist. Remember, every little bit helps.