Eliza Turner

What was once a luxurious retreat for the rich and famous is now forlorn and forgotten, a decaying husk of what it used to be. To anyone that drives by, this crumbling old building probably wouldn't seem like anything special. Just another closed down something or other. None would guess this was once one of the most desirable places to stay while vacationing at Lake Mead? Construction of the Lake Mead Lodge began in the late 1930s, shortly after Lake Mead itself came into being with the construction of the Hoover Dam. The hotel officially opened in October, 1941 as the Hualapai Lodge; it was the first hotel built along the shores of the new lake and instantly became a very popular tourist destination. Lake Mead was the first National Recreation Area in the United States, and the novelty of seeing one of the largest man-made lakes in the country as well as the dam that created it caused a massive influx of visitors to the area. For instance, there were 844,733 visitors to Lak...

(The Post Office building where the evening began and later concluded with a bang; Photo by Osie Turner) I first learned of Dinner With A Ghost two years ago when I was invited to attend their annual event in Gold Point, Nevada. An opportunity to work with them again didn’t present itself until last May, when I was invited to take part in the dinner and investigation around Gold Point once more. Dinner With A Ghost is exactly what it sounds like—a gourmet dinner hosted by professional paranormal investigators followed by a formal investigation with the team. For a little more background, my first experience with the team can be found on Living-Las-Vegas.com . Upon arrival, I met up with John Cushman, the founder of Dinner With A Ghost, and Justin Cimock, the Vice President of Operations. They filled me in on the plans for the evening; namely that dinner would be held in the old Post Office turned museum and the investigation would take place in a few of the original buildings ...

Legend has it that, when passing through the flood tunnels between Charleston  Blvd and Sahara Avenue on Sandhill Road in Las Vegas , you can hear the ghostly whisperings of a long dead couple within them. The couple, according the story, were driving down Olive Street on a motorcycle and crashed into the construction debris from when the tunnels were being built. Their bodies were not found until hours later. The spot has long been a local legend for ages, so I decided to check it out on night. Due to the spiked fence, I did not get to walk into the tunnels. From where I could observe, I did not hear any ethereal whispering and nothing out of the normal occurred during my time there. I took a short video and a few pictures though (the video is at the top of this page; the photos are below). I got a lot of “orbs” in the pics taken around this area; however, I do not think they are anything paranormal. The orbs are likely dust reflected off the flash fr...

Photo by Osie Turner The infamous Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, is one of the area’s most unusual roadside attractions. A clown-themed motel in the historic mining town of Tonopah, right in the middle of nowhere, and located next to an old cemetery to boot seems almost made up. But it is real; in fact you can’t miss it if you drive through the town. I wrote a three-part article on the history and background of the Clown Motel already, so I’m not going to rehash all of the details here (links are provided at the end of this post). What I am going to focus on is my own experience while staying at the motel. If the sign and name don’t scare you away from getting a room here, you will have to enter the lobby—where the bulk of the clown collection is to be found. Hundreds of clown figurines, masks, pictures, and various other mediums of clownery cover the walls and bookshelves. And of course the life-sized doll, Bozo the Clown , spends his days sitting in the corner greeting ...

"Truck Cab in the Desert" by Osie Turner (2014) Abandoned vehicles are a common sight on the backroads of Nevada. This classic truck cab was a great, unexpected find. I found it alongside Nevada State Route 375, also known as the “Extraterrestrial Highway” because of its proximity to Area 51, near the turnoff from US Route 6.   The remains of this truck were too nondescript for me to identify much about it; I don’t know what type of truck it was, what year it is from, or much else. I would guess that it is from about the 1960s or so, but that is, of course, just a guess. What I do know is that this rusting old shell has sat there, a short walk off the highway, for so long that it has become a part of the landscape. It was probably used by some rancher back in the day until it stopped running—possibly where it lies today. I also know that this is not just some lump of slowly decomposing metal; this truck has a story—of that I am certain. How many miles was it...

A few months ago, I got a full-access tour of the historic Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada, and wrote a three page article for Examiner.com about the hotel. It would be redundant to go over the same info again here, so I will post a link to the article at the end of this post. The purpose of this post is to show some of the photos and share some of my personal observations that didn’t fit in with the previous article. As you could probably guess, since the hotel is well over one hundred years old, it is said to be home to a few ghosts. The Lady in Red, the ghost of Senator Pittman, and some impish children are some of the resident spirits of the old hotel. One oddity that I noticed was that my camera had a hard time focusing in certain areas of the hotel. Specifically, the shots taken in the basement and on the 3 rd floor of the hotel all came out strangely blurry. No apparitions or anything like that, but the photos were atypically blurry, sort of like an Orton-ish effect,...

I recently heard about a new Catholic mission being built somewhere outside Pahrump. It caught my interest, as this mission was rumored to have relics of a saint, as well as an impressive new cemetery. I looked into it and had the opportunity to meet with Randy Dizon, whose family owns and operates the St. Therese Mission of Old Spanish Trail. As it turns out, the mission has an office in Henderson, which is where I met Randy, the president of the Dizon family owned Magnificat Ventures Corporation. (Both Magnificant Ventures and the non-profit mission are owned and operated by the Dizon family.) The mission itself lies just over the California border on the Tecopa turnoff from the SR 160 (it is about eight miles from the intersection.) While I would like to see the mission, I thought it best to meet up with Randy at his office and get the background information before making the pilgrimage. Randy says that the mission’s aim is to make it into a place that is as much for the ...

I am not a paranormal investigator. I have no interest in paranormal investigating. I enjoy these types of TV shows as much as anyone else, but that’s about it. I partake of paranormal shows as entertainment. It isn’t that I don’t believe in the supernatural at all, I simply take these types of things with a grain of salt. Earlier this month I wrote an article on examiner.com about the Boulder City Pet Cemetery and got some great pictures in the late afternoon. I decided to return to the pet cemetery at night to see if I could get some good nighttime photos. The setting is perfect; rustic old graves in the middle of the desert make for a very dark, gothic subject. Just the type of pictures I love to take. This is the first photo, unedited. I took a friend with me on this outing. At the time it was mainly for company, but looking back I am glad I was not alone. I did not feel anything macabre at the cemetery during the day. Upon visiting after dark, my main concern was co...

I recently began writing for examiner.com as a freelance journalist. Today, my first article with them went live. I will be focusing on the unique places and people in the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada area (my official title is “Las Vegas Places and Faces Examiner”). I have wanted to write about our local oddities and unique history for some time and this seems to be a good medium to do so through. Blame it on the scorching desert sun, but there is never a shortage of eccentrics here; from Howard Hughes to Lonnie Hammargren to Scotty’s Castle in nearby Death Valley, Southern Nevada is a mecca for the bizarre.   The link to my first article is below. It’s about Sloan Canyon, a local spot loaded with Native American petroglyphs, or rock art. Sloan Canyon has one of the highest concentrations of petroglyphs in North America! I have attached a few photos I took there as well. Here's the link: Sloan Canyon: The Sistine Chapel of rock art

Anyone who has even driven on Sandhill Road between Tropicana and Flamingo could not have missed the one strange wall with all sorts of things barely visible over it. Old casino signs, spaceships (some complete with little green men), and bizarre rickety structures are all visible in short bursts. Who lives there and what is all of that stuff, and—more importantly—who wouldn’t want to go inside and see what else is there? The house, well actually it’s three houses morphed into one, belonging to Dr. Lonnie Hammargren, a retired neurosurgeon and former Nevada Lt. Governor. Yes, he really does live there. The concept of this Las Vegas landmark is to preserve Nevada’s history via Dr. Hammargren’s personal collection. He purchases anything and everything that catches his interest. Some of it may be invaluable to resale, but these are overshadowed by the incredible rare pieces that he has. For instance, the original Batmobile sits in his garage; the roller coaster from the top of the ...