The Western Outback

Perhaps you're wondering what outback towns there are in the west, towns that I could work or live in. What about Carlin, NV - or Ely or Tonopah or Beatty? What about Midas, NV - now that's an outback town if I ever saw one! And what about Eureka, UT or Eureka, NV - or maybe McCall or Salmon, ID? What about Winnemucca, NV or Wallace, ID? Can towns like Wallace, Winnemucca, or Carlin be considered outback towns when they are on main east-west interstates (I-90 and I-80)? At least one of those towns has a Wal-Mart; at least one of those towns doesn't. And then, what about towns like Mojave or Tehachapi, CA? How about Bagdad or Mountain Pass, CA - or Beatty or Searchlight, NV? What about Safford, AZ or Silver City, NM? What about Cripple Creek or Silverton, CO - or Kemmerer, WY or Kellogg, MT?

And then there is Denny, CA - has anyone ever heard of Denny? Has anyone ever had the great fortune of staying in Denny, camping while conducting chromium, base metal, or gold recon (which was it, AS?). It is so long ago, now, that those field books are probably lost, and I don't really remember much more than the cold creek water, the dense rainforest, and that nasty poison oak.

Anyway, there are numerous "outback" towns in the western U.S. I have named but a few. I haven't necessarily stayed in all of them, and I'm not necessarily living or working in any one them right now. Some have active mines nearby; some have active exploration projects; some may merely have old diggings, old mines, and older prospectors.