Quirky finds while exploring Nevada’s ghost towns: Sekhmet Temple & Cathedral Canyon.
Sekhmet Temple
According to Egyptian mythology, Sekmet is a warrior goddess and the goddess of medicine. Genevieve Vaughan founded the temple and purchased land between the Mercury nuclear test site and Creech Air Force Base. It is intended to be a place of peace among facilities associated with war. The land once belonged to the Shoshone Nation. In 1992, Vaughan gave the land back to the Shoshone Nation. In 1993, women built the temple. It is open to anyone from sunrise to sunset.
Cathedral Canyon
Roland Wiley was a former Clark County district attorney candidate for Governor. He envisioned creating an open-air cathedral in a box canyon outside of Pahrump. In 1972, he began working on the church. It included a suspension bridge, lights, and niches for figuring. It even included working bathrooms carved into the cliff.
Cathedral Canyon was a non-denominational church and drew over 4,000 attendees a month.
Cathedral Canyon is also the final resting place of Queho, who many refer to as Nevada’s first serial killer or mass murderer. I am working on that story now. I’m not focusing on his life, but the journey of his mummified life remains. The Elks displayed Queho at festivals and maybe even in a parade!
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