Under the Sky
After a year indoors social distancing, get outside and head toward Beatty, Nevada, to see the seven huge outdoor sculptures that make up the Goldwell Open Air Museum.
What Is It?
A public museum, Goldwell’s works of art include a life-size depiction of the Last Supper, a 24-foot-tall prospector and a ghost with a bicycle. The works are spread across 8 acres near the eastern edge of Death Valley.
Who Did It?
Belgian artist Albert Szulkowski first displayed the sculpture “The Last Supper” in 1984. After it was damaged by vandals, he bought the land to safely display the art. He and other artists continued adding works. After Szulkowski’s death in 2000, the site became a nonprofit museum.
What Else?
When making a road trip, consider visiting Rhyolite, Nevada, a quartz-mining ghost town. Quartz was first found in Rhyolite in 1904, with a boomtown springing up. In 1911, the nearby Montgomery Shoshone mine and mill shut down. Sitting 3 miles north of the museum, many of the town’s structures are still standing.
Death Valley
Head west from the museum to enter Death Valley National Park, the nation’s hottest, driest and lowest national park. Inside the park, see the lowest elevation in North America in Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level, and drive through Artist’s Drive— a 9-mile path through desert hills.
More Info
For more information on Goldwell Open Air Museum and other places to visit, go to travelnevada.com and nps.gov.