Amargosa Opera House

We finished our walk in Shoshone, left California and drove to the Prefered RV Resort in Pahrump, Nevada.That evening we went to dinner at the Symphony Restaurant which is attached to a desert winery and has it's own helicopter pad. When the economy was better high rollers would come over for dinner from Las Vegas a short distance away. This was not our first visit as we had camped in the adjoining campground originally owned by the owners brother.

The next morning March, 8, 2017 we had planned to drive to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Nevada  unfortunately the road we had planned to use was closed. As a result we took a different  and longer route  back into California through  Death Valley Junction  where the Amargosa Opera House and hotel invites visitors and ghosts to stop awhile.

Death Valley Junctionmemorial stone for Marta becket

Part of a company town, mostly gone now, built by the Pacific Coast Borax Company a recreation hall was attached to the hotel. Marta Becket was An American actress, dancer choreographer and painter. She appeared on Broadway in Show Boat, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Wonderful Town. On a 1967 trip out west she discovered the abandoned recreation hall and fell in love. She rented and renovated the hall renaming it the Amargosa Opera House after the Junctions original town name.

Amargosa Opera HouseMarta Becket

For 50 years until her death in 2017 she put on shows. At first only audience was the one she herself had painted.

Audience in Athe Amargosa Opera Houseaudience in the Opera house

including several  cats
painted catscat

poster

In 1970 she was profiled in National Geographic and Life a documentary called Amargosa featuring Becket was produced in 2000 and several television shows examining the ghost in the hotel were made as well. In 1974 Becket created a non profit which still operates the hotel ,Cafe and Opera House still putting on performances without Becket. We unfortunately visited when everything was in Limbo following Becket's 2017 death.

After a guided tour of the hotel and Opera house we continued our day by going to the Ash meadows National Wildlife Refuge. (I did my best to take pictures of the Hotel and Opera House it wasn't easy and the pictures aren't the greatest but I did post them at httpS://www.debbyandcharlieyaker.smugmug.com in addition to those above.)

Ash Meadow is the largest oasis in the Mojave Desert and home to 30 species not found anywhere else on Earth.

"Water is very precious to us..." Native Elder

Poolswater

boardwalkBoardwalk with display of a mountain sheep

Mountain in the distancedisplay

And a solitary pup fish 1.5 inches long
pup fish

We returned to the campground went to dinner at a
Thai Restaurant with our campground neighbors and the next day we went to Las Vegas