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March 2014

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 6, 2014 -

Ladies Night - Open Thursday - Graham Mackintosh - Baja

Graham Mackintosh

Graham Mackintosh
(Click on Image to View Complete Photo)

Graham Mackintosh was born in London and graduated from Leeds University with a degree in Sociology.

In 1983 Graham Mackintosh was a lecturer at West Kent College in England, teaching social sciences and special education to unemployed teenagers. In the hope of showing his students that a shoestring expedition could be the adventure of a lifetime, Mackintosh, who described himself as the "least adventurous person in the world," set out to walk around the beautiful but dangerous coastline of Baja California.

The two-year, 3,000-mile trip changed his life. When Mackintosh emerged from the cactus-strewn wilderness, he returned to England to write Into a Desert Place and there received the prestigious "Adventurous Traveler of the Year" award.

After years promoting Into a Desert Place in the USA and Baja California, and scores of trips below the border, he decided to walk down the rugged, mountainous interior of Baja, visiting many of the old missions along the way. Journey with a Baja Burro, his second book, was the result. It describes his arduous thousand-mile journey with a pack burro from the US border to Loreto – a trip that began exactly 300 years after the October 1697 founding of the Loreto mission, the first permanent European settlement in the "Californias."

In 2001, Graham spent four months in Baja’s Sierra San Pedro Mártir with two street dogs, which became the subject of his third book – Nearer My Dog to Thee.

His fourth book, Marooned With Very Little Beer, appeared in April 2008, and tells of his two months kayaking and hiking the second largest island in the Sea of Cortez – Isla Angel de la Guarda.

Graham Mackintosh became a US citizen in 2004 and now lives in San Diego, California. He continues to head to Baja whenever he can.

The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles thanks Reda Anderson and Dr. Steve Bein who introduced and booked Graham to the club over 10 years ago.


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 13, 2014 -

Mike Polak - What is under Wyatt Earp’s Saloon?

"Wyatt Earp’s Northern Saloon–Tonopah, Nevada A Digging Adventure"

Mike Polak - What is under Wyatt Earp’s Saloon?

From May 4th, 2013 to June 10th, 2013, Ray Forrey, John Forrey, George Morris, and Steve Hartmann, excavated the site where Wyatt Earp’s Northern Saloon (1902-1904) and the adjoining Vienna Bakery were located on Main St. in Tonopah, Nevada.

Wyatt Earp and his wife Josie Marcus owned a saloon in Nome, Alaska during the Alaska Gold Rush from 1897-1902. When news of the Tonopah silver strikes reached Alaska, they headed west. They arrived in Tonopah, Nevada in February 1902 and Earp soon bought the Northern Saloon with partner Al Martin.

Excessive drinking and gambling kept Earp in trouble with Josie, and he sold his interest in the Northern Saloon to Al Martin in 1904. Another bar, the Washington Bar, which used the same slogan as the Northern Saloon, "Gentlemen’s Resort", and looked similar to the Northern Saloon, has fueled speculation that the two Bars were actually one and the same.

The discovery of two "Washington Bar/Granger Coleman Tonopah,Nevada" Whiskey Flasks during this dig (One Mint Condition, the other broken) lends some truth to this speculation.

Beginning May 4th to June 10th, 2013, Ray Forrey, John Forrey, George Forrey, and Steve Hartmann, excavated the site where Wyatt Earp’s Northern Saloon (1902-1904) and the adjoining Vienna Bakery were located on Main St. in Tonopah, Nevada.

The presentation will begin with an overview of the beginnings of Tonopah and it’s rich Silver strike, only second to the Virginia City Comstock Silver strike, and move into a detailed review of the actual site excavation including information on the Vienna Bakery, located directly next to the Wyatt Earp’s Northern Saloon. The display will include a number of the artifacts recovered from the dig along with photos, descriptions, and a slide show presentation.

When the digging was completed, a total of 618 bottles, numerous coins and token, along with miscellaneous artifacts, were found. There will also be detailed information on these items as well.

Background Information on Tonopah Nevada

Leaving Las Vegas, Nevada and traveling north on Highway 95 (approximately 3 hours) Tonopah, Nevada, located in Central Nevada, is the town that became known at the "Silver Queen of Central Nevada". Tonopah, a Shoshone Indian word for "Water Bush", a small desert shrub, was an Indian campground where Jim Butler, a prospector, attorney, and rancher, set up camp one night. That night, one of Butler’s burros strayed from camp to a ledge where the first quartz findings were found to assay out to a value per ton of 640 ounces of silver and $206 in gold. Tonopah was born. The dollar value of ore taken from Tonopah averaged $6 million per year between 1915-1923. During its heyday, from 1902 to 1907, it is believed to have been 3 to 5 times as much as $6 million. A year after the discovery, most of Tonopah was in tents. Between 1902 and 1903, the tents disappeared and 1,000 different types of houses and buildings were constructed. By 1903 all of the mines were booming, and Tonopah became the County Seat of Nye County in 1905. The railroad was completed in 1905, the final step in turning the boomtown into a city of 20,000 people by 1906.

Many of Tonopah’s houses and buildings were destroyed by fires between 1904 and 1909 with the worst fires in 1922. A number of the buildings survived and can still be seen today as well as remains of the old mines. Some of these buildings are the Frank Golden Block Building, State Bank and Trust Company, Tonopah Liquor Company, and the grandest of all, the Mizpah Hotel.

The Mizpah Hotel, constructed on the site where Jim Butler first staked out his claims, grew along with the town as the Mizpah Saloon, then the Mizpah Bar and Grill, and finally the Mizpah Hotel in 1908. The Mizpah was a sight to see with its lush carpets, reading and writing tables, plate glass windows, furniture of polished oak, and rooms with baths, lavatories, hot and cold running water, electricity and gas. As at the Goldfield Hotel, Jack Dempsey also worked at the Mizpah as a bouncer and bartender before beginning his fighting career. In later years, the Mizpah served as a dormitory for construction workers, military personnel during World War II, temporary housing to families at the end of War II, and a terminal for the Las Vegas/Tonopah/Reno Stage Line Bus service. The Mizpah, registered as an historic monument by the State of Nevada, recently went through a major re-model and was re-opened in November 2012.

There are two other highlights of the trip. A visit to Tonopah’s Central Nevada Museum and the Tonopah Historic Mining Park. The museum is located at 1900 Logan Field Road and is one of the finest historical museums in the state of Nevada. Dedicated to the preservations of the history of Central Nevada in Nye and Esmeralda counties, the museum boast outdoor exhibits of mining equipment, a stamp mill, ore cars, a blacksmith shop, and numerous artifacts from surrounding ghost towns, as well buildings moved from nearby ghost towns. Indoor exhibits feature displays of antique articles from Tonopah, Goldfield, and other local towns from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. There are also Native American artifacts, fossils, mineral displays, art, military artifacts and photos, and displays of everyday life in a mining boom camp. For operating hours and other information, call 775-482-9676 or visit the web site at
linkwww.tonopahnevada.com/CentralNevadaMuseum.html

The Tonopah Historic Mining Park is located on the site of the original mining claim by Jim Butler that started the silver rush to Tonopah. The park encompasses more than 100 acres and is brought to life with historic exhibits, video presentations in an on-site theater, and self-guided tours. For operation hours and additional information, call 775-482-9274 or visit the web site at
 
 
 
linkwww.tonopahnevada.com/TonopahMiningPark/

The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles thanks Mr. Steve Lawson for recommending this speaker.


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 20, 2014 -

Mike Clark - Haitian Vodou

Mike Clark - Haitian Vodou

Mike Clark
(Click on Image to View Complete Photo)

Haiti, is home to 8 million people and holds the title of the poorest and least developed country in the western hemisphere. Modernity has not brought any relief to the island or its people. Unrest, violence, high AIDS numbers, low literacy, and abounding poverty plague the country. Deforestation for cooking wood and over use of the land has destroyed the majority of the islands once lush landscape and farmable land. Politically unstable and highly corrupt, Haiti is a major transshipment point of cocaine bound for the U.S. That said, for adventure this is the place; pristine diving, motorcycling, hiking, and a cultural and religious experience that is unique to this island. No country in the Western Hemisphere is so closely tied to its African traditions as is Haiti. The county has few visitors outside the missionary tourists that show up every summer, so it is wide open for exploration.

Vodou ceremonies in Haiti range from the peaceful and beautiful, to violent and brutal. Each practice varies as different peristyle’s (temple area) worship different lwa (spirits), so the results of the ceremony, possession, and subsequent events can be very different.

Folklore and superstition abound in rural Haiti. Of all the folklore, the favorite of the Haitians is that of secret societies and zombification. The society, its powers, and zombies exist both in myth and reality in Haiti.

For over 10 years Mike Clark has traveled regularly to Haiti to document Vodou rituals, study the syncretism between Catholicism and Vodou, and involve himself in the ritualistic aspects of the Bokor’s most frightening knowledge, how to create and control both physical and spiritual zombies.

Mike Clark holds degrees in Anthropology from the University of Colorado focusing on Tribal Cultures and Folk Religion. His interests have put him on every continent and in 92 countries. He is currently working to finish his book "the Goat’s Horn", which is an off the grid adventure guide to visit unique locations such as; Narco Sites in Mexico, Hezbollah controlled Southern Lebanon, Kashmir, Niger, MS controlled areas in El Salvador, Central Africa, and Haitian Vodou rituals.

The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles thanks Mr. Ralph Perez for recommending this speaker.


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles®

March 27, 2014 -

Ladies Night - Open Thursday
Rick Flores & Shane Berry - Iceland Odyssey: Exploring, Hiking and Photography in a Starkly Beautiful Land

Rick Flores & Shane Berry - Iceland, July 2013

Rick Flores & Shane Berry
Iceland - July 2013

(Click on Image to View Complete Photo)

Shane Berry #1093 and Rick Flores #1120 had normally taken vacations together exploring the Colorado Plateau in Utah and Arizona. In July 2013 they decided to do something completely different and embarked on an 18-day adventure in Iceland. Iceland is a starkly beautiful, sparsely populated (300,000 population), and infrequently visited country, at least by Americans.

Join Shane and Rick as they explore Iceland in an SUV to remote, serenely beautiful, and wild places rarely visited by Americans. In this country where the sun never sets, the photographic opportunities were abundant and spectacular; there are glaciers, over 2000 waterfalls, the largest national parks in all of Europe, the largest bird colonies in Europe, hot springs, seismic fault lines, volcanic curiosities, columnar basalt and incredible vistas.

Traveling on the ring road around the country and improvising an itinerary they stayed in guesthouses, hostels, campsites, and huts eating the Icelandic national food: hot dogs. They also enjoyed smoked brown trout, cod, Icelandic lamb and hverabraud which is a rich brown bread baked in geothermal heat. They took a rain check on puffin, whale and sheeps head.

Their adventure ended with a four day backpacking trek from Landmannalaugar to Porsmark. According to some sources, the harsh and otherworldly beauty of the Landmannalaugar to Porsmark route makes it one of the top 10 hikes in the entire world. On the first day of this remarkable hike, Shane and Rick encountered fierce winds, river crossings and were threatened by the possibility of hypothermia due to the extremely wet and icy conditions. The backpacking trek ended next to the still active Eyjafjallajoekull Volcano that erupted March 20, 2010, causing great havoc closing down most European airports.

Shane and Rick hope this presentation will encourage you to plan an Iceland trip of your own.

The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles thanks our members, Rick Flores & Shane Berry, for volunteering this presentation.


 
© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948
 
Iceland North Coast Vista

Iceland North Coast Vista

3rd Day Hills and Clouds

3rd Day Hills and Clouds

Snaefellsnees Peninsula Panorama

Snaefellsnees Peninsula Panorama

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© 1921 - All Rights Reserved
The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles ®
2433 North Broadway, P.O. Box 31226, Los Angeles, CA USA 90031-0226
(323) 223-3948