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Bonnie Claire

about the site:

37° 13′ 36″ N, 117° 7′ 15″ W

One of the most easily accessible ghost towns in Nevada, Bonnie Claire is adjacent to Highway 267, just North of Beatty, Nevada.  Driving west from Scotty's Junction, it's only 6 miles off the main route from Las Vegas to Tonopah (Highway 95) As with many of these ghost towns, it was a supply depot for many of the mines around Beatty/Goldfield.  After the minerals were tapped out, it remained a supply station for Scotty's Castle in Death Valley. 
Unfortunately, Scotty's Castle is still under reconstruction from the Oct 2015 flood and a fire wiped out the Visitors' Center in 2021.  The highway that passes by Bonnie Claire is closed a few miles past (West) Bonnie Claire.  The good part of this is Highway 267 is very seldomly used (and will remain so until Scotty's Castle reopens in 2022 or 2023) ...which means you won't be bothered with passing headlights.  The nights I have spent up there photographing, I haven't encountered a SINGLE car passing in all the hours I've spent taking photos.
According to
www.LightPollutionMap.info, this is a Bortle Class 1 location, meaning the sky is as free of light pollution as you can possibly get!
From Las Vegas, take Highway 95 past Beatty about 35.5 miles then turn left onto 267.  After 6 miles, you're there!  The mill and buildings you see here are on the right hand side of the road.  Just drive up an easy dirt road (If my little Z3 can make it, anything can! lol)
 

Bonnie Claire Sky Map.png
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