As we exited Death Valley on our way home from Las Vegas, we took a short detour to visit the the town of Rhyolite, NV, or at least where it used to be.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2016 challenge. Here’s the full list.

Gold was discovered in the surrounding hills in 1904, and not long afterwards there were electricity plants, a red light district, a school, and everything else you’d imagine for a small town.

It didn’t last long, though. The largest mine was shut down in 1911, and the electricity turned off in 1916. The whole town existed for just 12 years. Super creepy, super fascinating, and well worth our stop.