9/1/08 -Photos are dead! Sorry! I shall have them mended toute de suite. -Ben
Yes, we are a bit late with this one, but it's worth the wait!
BEATTY EDITION
First, let me start by giving you some insight into the town of Beatty. Beatty is a little town (maybe that’s an overstatement) located on the Amargosa River in Nevada. It is 73 VERY boring miles from Pahrump.
Well, that is, minus the gas station/brothel/casino on the side of the road, along the way.
This sign could apply to both the casino, and the brothel.
Sadly though, there will be one less set of blinking red lights to greet you on Highway 95 as you enter into town. One can’t help but wonder if it was the brilliance of its owners that lead to the downfall of Beatty’s very own brothel…”Angel’s Ladies”
The story here is that back in the 50’s there were a lot of planes that would fly over the brothel. The deal was that if the pilot could land within the property line of the brothel, their “services” would be free for the night. The girls, trying to attract the attention of the pilots would go to the hot spring in the back and flash the pilots, getting them to stop. One day, a pilot was so distracted, that he crashed the plane into the brothel. They decided to keep it there, where it remains today – even though the brothel has long since closed.
The population was 1,154 at the 2000 census. When I asked the locals at the Space Station RV Park/Grocery Store (the only grocery store in town), they told me it was closer to 200 now.
The town was named after Murray "Old Man" Beatty who settled on a ranch in the area at the end of the 19th century. He was Beatty's first postmaster when it opened on January 19, 1905. In 1905, Beatty became a railway center for the Bullfrog Mining District which included mining towns such as nearby Rhyolite, Nevada (A now famous Ghost Town).
Beatty is home to the Beatty Museum and Historical Society, and don’t forget the very nice Chamber of Commerce….or the tourist info gazebo.
It is also home to a very quaint B-of-A….yup, that’s right,
This is not a house, this is a Bank of America….one that clearly, the locals and not pleased with…
Not to worry though, they are very pleased with their gas station…
The Death Valley Nut and Candy Company located on the north end of town bills itself as the World's Most Beautiful gas station (really, in the scheme of things, where does the “World’s Most Beautiful Gas Station” rank) …furthermore, is there an actual voting process for this? The gas station is located between the Motel 6 and the Stagecoach motel….that should tell you everything.
Though there may not be a road sign to announce it, the nearest fresh fruits and vegetables are also 73 miles away. There’s not a single fruit in Beatty! (Take that any way you like.)
All that said, Beatty does have its charm…but there are still quite a few things that really make you go “hmmm….”
The locals
Which one of these things is not like the other….which one of these things is …not the same…
One might ask what great things you can find on Craig’s List, well…if you ask the locals of Beatty, they might just let you get in and take pictures inside one of their great finds.
Or if Craig’s List doesn’t do it for you…you can shop locally…there’s plenty of parking, and spots for the spelling challenged too…
And Lots
Unlike the residents of Beatty, I learned everything I needed to know in kindergarten…including how to write a capital “N”
Yup, I’d say they had several sizes. Our favorite; however, was this one…(below)
Yes, it’s official….the government checked and there was no intelligence to be found in Beatty…so they sold the case, and moved on to the next town…
AND SO DID WE….back to the “Big City”… I never thought I’d say it, but this place makes me miss Pahrump!
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