The Big Castle

I realized that I never posted the pictures from the second half of the Bottomless Pit trip. After visiting the pit, Scott and I headed out to a large, castle-looking structure on the west side of the mountains east of Santaquin, Utah. I'd always wondered what it was up on that mountain and since we were out there, we figured we'd check it out.

The entire structure is incredible, with multi-tiered concrete basins jutting out from a maze of chutes and pillars.


The erosion on the rebar was so heavy you could actually smell it. Really. A rich, iron smell hung in the air as if the ruins were actually bleeding.


The graffiti that littered the walls was interesting, but this took the cake. I have to wonder if "lady" saw it.


The view from above was nice. Below are pools of water that are tainted with very high amounts of heavy metals. We spoke to a local who said that the cops are always kicking the Mexicans out because they like to swim here. I smiled, as the scene he described reminded me of my mission to Mexico.

A nice ore sample, marbled with precious metal - probably silver, but maybe gold.

The local guy we talked to out there explained to us that the complex was a smelter back in the day. It serviced mines from the entire Tintic District and when they all went under, so did the smelter. Now it stands as just a crumbled echo of what it once was. Buildings are like wine, though - with age they only get better.

-Barry