GOLDFIELD, Nev. (KOLO) - If you’ve driven from Reno to Las Vegas, you’ve likely passed through Goldfield — a town with a storied past and a delightfully eccentric present. Once the largest city in Nevada with a population between 20,000 and 30,000 residents during its mining boom, Goldfield is now home to fewer than 300 people. But what this tiny desert community lacks in population, it more than makes up for in heart and creativity.
“I can step outside and see every star in the sky,” explains Nadiah Beekun, who lives in Sparks but spends considerable time in Goldfield. “I don’t have the noise pollution that we have constantly, the constant hum of a town or of a city. The people leave everybody alone unless they want to be there, but you can say hi to your neighbor and your neighbors can say hi to you.”
**The International Car Forest of the Last Church**
Beekun is part owner of the town’s signature attraction: The International Car Forest of the Last Church — a one-of-a-kind art installation that transforms abandoned vehicles into desert sculptures.
“It’s a piece of desert in the middle of nowhere... but it has the biggest heart and a lot of cars in the ground,” says Beekun.
Located off the left side of the road as you head south, the Car Forest was the brainchild of a man named Rippey, who Beeken says decided he wanted to create a car forest with vehicles buried nose-down in the dirt. His ambitious goal? To earn a Guinness Book of World Records title for having the most cars buried in the ground.
The site has become popular with dirt bikers and art enthusiasts alike, offering visitors a chance to explore — and even contribute to — this ever-changing outdoor gallery.
“It’s a changing art venue, so it never stays the same and it’s always about the people who are there, create their own vision of what they want,” Beekun explains.
The newest addition to the Car Forest is a Raiders bus, which arrived recently. While it’s not currently available for decorating, the Raiders organization is using parts of it at events for fans to sign before it returns permanently to the desert installation.
**Goldfield’s Art Car Park**
Before the Car Forest gained fame, Goldfield was already home to another unusual attraction: the Art Car Park, a bizarre collection of modified vehicles created by a Reno man known as Rocket Bob.
These eye-catching creations line the town’s main drag, impossible to miss as you drive through. “People would stop and look at them,” Beekun recalls. “This was why it was important to have those down in Goldfield, the art car park, because that helped bring more people to the community. There’s only maybe one or two shops open in Goldfield every day.”
**Unusual Automotive Art**
The Art Car Park features vehicles unlike any you’ll find elsewhere:
* A 1986 Ford Mustang covered with wood and metal items.
* The House Boat Car: a 1976 Datsun with a 1950s powerboat mounted on the roof.
* The Reno Cacophony Double Decker Work Truck, created in 2000.
* Cars topped with boats, Volkswagen Beetles stacked on other vehicles, and various bug sculptures.
* Even some letters from the front sign of the old Woolworth’s in downtown Reno sit atop one of the cars.
Both attractions serve as testament to the creative spirit that thrives in Nevada’s remote communities. Whether you’re passing through on a road trip or making a special journey to see these quirky installations, Goldfield’s automotive art offers a memorable detour from the ordinary.
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