Traveling Tami

How long has Tami been traveling and exploring?

Someone recently asked me this question. Using my big degree and license, I can tell you that personality traits generally stay the same. I remember always wanting to be out exploring; I have never been one to sit still. From committing my first “jailbreak” as a toddler so I could explore to driver’s education classes visiting ghost towns, I never stopped. 

Moving to Nevada and purchasing Ghost Towns and Mining Camps created a monster. Family vacations, weekend trips and free days revolved around ghost towns. In 2020, I decided my goal was to visit every ghost town in Nevada. Little did I know where that would lead me.

Tami the Toddler

If you ask my mom, she will tell you the same thing; I have always been on the go. Early pictures are of me in a walker, listening to tunes, and going somewhere. I never stopped, even for nap time. Neighbors would call to tell her, “Tami is on the road again.” Finally, my poor mom resorted to locking me in my room so she could nap. She couldn’t figure out why I had grease on my hands when she would get me up from nap time… until she opened the door. It hung by only one hinge; I had removed the other two pins to end my incarceration.

One day, my mom couldn’t find her keys. I had taken them, climbed into the stroller, and inserted the keys in a slot to “drive.” Even at an early age, I knew keys were magical, a combination of freedom and exploring.

Tami the Teenager

I got my driver’s license and the first car at 14-and-a-half; it’s an Idaho thing and seemed reasonable to me as a teenager. Now, as a mom of teenagers, I have a different perspective. Driver’s education was trips to the semi-ghost town of Idaho City.

I joined every club and activity in high school, so I had an excuse to drive to school and avoid the dreaded hour-long bus ride. The Grand Prix went everywhere: school, town, skiing, and of course, ghost towns.

Tami in College

In college, I commuted between school and home, the ski team at Pebble Creek, and Lava Hot Springs. I visited ghost towns and historical sites along the I84 area during those few years. My favorite was an abandoned teaching school in a small rural town; I wonder if it is still there.

On spring break in my sophomore year, I took a road trip to Murphys to see my Grandmother and explore the Gold Country. I don’t know what possessed us, but when we left at zero dark thirty, we decided we needed to bring Bubba the Bear. We got some pretty funny looks with the bear in the backseat. One time on a trip home, I think he got me out of a speeding ticket;)

Tami in Oregon

I completed my post-graduate training in Klamath Falls. I met Hubby a few months after I moved and on weekends, we would head toward Bend, Medford, and Ashland, visiting along the way.

Backpacking with a friend outside Bly, I stumbled across a WWII memorial. At the site on May 5, 1945, a woman and five children stumbled upon a Japanese balloon bomb. Before her husband could warn them, the bomb detonated, killing all six, making them the only civilians to die by enemy weapons on the United States mainland.

I wanted to revisit and photograph the memorial on my trip to Thunder Ranch, but it was too far away for my limited time.

Tami in Nevada

Flash forward to 2000, I married a third-generation Nevada boy and moved to Carson Valley, where his family had a ranch. Hubby had been away many years, and for our first vacation, he wanted to see more of the Silver State. So while planning the trip, I headed to the history section instead of the tourist shelves of Barnes & Noble. My first purchase was Stan Paher’s Ghost Towns & Mining Camps of Nevada. Using Stan’s book as a guide, I planned a week-long Nevada ghost towns trip, and we had a fantastic week in Death Valley, Gold Point, and Belmont.

Family Travels

We took other ghost town trips and vacations over the years. When my son was a baby, we took him ghost-towning in Unionville. While visiting Star City, we ran into Stan Paher; I didn’t have his book with me that day. Years later, Stan remembered me as the only person who took a baby to ghost towns.

We spent several family vacations visiting ghost towns: Jarbidge, Berlin, Tuscarora, and Ward Charcoal ovens. Unfortunately, kids, work, and the ranch kept us busy, and we didn’t explore as much as I would have liked.

Nevada Tami

Fast forward once again, my kids were older, and I had more time to spend on my interests. A friend’s goal was to drive every back road in Nevada. I liked her plan, but it wasn’t exactly right for me. So I decided my goal was to visit every ghost town in Nevada.

I turned to my well-loved copy of Nevada’s Ghost Towns & Mining Camps. I started making more frequent trips, checking off towns, and making notes in the book’s margins.

On January 1, 2020 I said that year would be my “Year of Travel.” I planned trips to the gold county, Florida Keys, and a girl’s trip to Poland. My first trip was to a photography workshop and ghost towns in early March. Everyone can guess how that worked out; the first shutdowns were the weekend of the conference.

I couldn’t make big trips, so I visited local ghost towns. Despite shutdowns, isolation, and social distancing, I traveled extensively and met many people sharing Nevada’s history. I don’t know how many miles I have traveled and ghost towns I have visited since starting my website.

Do I think I will ever stop driving? Probably only when it is no longer safe. Will I stop exploring? I doubt it. I need to set up a retirement home for all my exploring friends. It can be equipped with a 4WD, lifted bus.

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