Thunder Mountain

Rising from the Nevada desert, like a mirage along I80, is Thunder Mountain. Creator Frank Van Zant, known as Chief Thunder, created the one-of-a-kind Nevada monument. He turned trash into a wonderland of art, a fusion of industrial art meets The Flintstones.

Ghost Towning

Growing up in Idaho, I spent many summers driving across Nevada to visit family in the Gold Country. We would stop for lunch in Winnemucca. By the time we reached Imlay, we were five hours into our drive, and the batteries in our Walkman were dead. My sister and I were perfect angels. Just kidding, we fought and accused each other of daring to look at the other. We created a DMZ across the backseat using audio tapes: Juice Newton, Huey Lewis and the News, and Madonna.

Then the strangest structure would appear, rising from the desert on the south side of I80. It was sci-fi in appearance, like giant bones creating a throne for a mythical god. I would watch for the structure on each trip. In the pre-Internet Dark Age, information was limited, and I would forget about the unique site until the next years trip.

Chief Thunder

Frank Van Zant was born in Oklahoma on an Indian reservation and identified as a Creek Indian. After an epiphany, he adopted the name Rolling Mountain Thunder and later added Chief. He left home at age 14 and enlisted in the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Frank served in WWII, where he was severely burned in a tank in Leipzig. After being discharged, he studied for a year and a half to become a Methodist Church minister but became a police officer in Sutter County, California for two decades. The US Forest Service offered Frank a position plotting maps. During his travels across Nevada, he was able to keep items he came across. He settled in Imlay, not with a great calling, but because his truck chose that place to break down.

Chief Thunder had several wives and eight children. He raised his children to live off the land, but when the schools found out, his last wife moved, taking the kids.

Thunder Mountain

Chief Thunder built his unique memorial to the American Indian beginning in 1969 following a series of dreams and visions.

… a monument to the American Indian, a retreat for pilgrims aspiring to the “pure and radiant heart.” 

Thunder Mountain Monument

Thunder Mountain comprised seven buildings, including a three-story hostel for hippies. He used building materials reclaimed from the desert: windshields for picture windows, walls made from bottles, scrap metal into rebar and chicken wire into a statuary.

Chief Thunder was named Nevada’s Artist of the Year in 1983. He lived at his monument until his unfortunate death by suicide in 1989.

Visiting Thunder Mountain

Once a private home, Thunder Mountain is now open to visitors. The monument is open sunrise to sunset. Admission is free, and donations are appreciated and help to preserve this piece of Nevada’s history.

WANT MORE GHOST TOWNS?

For information on more than five hundred ghost towns in Nevada & California, visit the Nevada Ghost Towns Map or a list of Nevada ghost towns.

Learn about how to visit ghost towns safely.

Nevada Ghost Towns Map

References

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References

• Smithsonian: The Story of Thunder Mountain Monument
• Thunder Mountain Monument
• Travel Nevada: Thunder Mountain Monument
• Wikipedia: Thunder Mountain Monument

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