Nipton, California

On a two-lane highway between Searchlight, Nevada and Interstate 15 in California is the small unincorporated village of Nipton, located slightly less than 3 miles on the California side of the border with Nevada.  In Nevada, the road is state route 164 and the Joshua Tree Highway, while in California it's Nipton Road and has no number.  After visiting the Nelson ghost town and having a late lunch in Searchlight, I proceeded westward on NV-164 and Nipton Road to Nipton.  I arrived and found the Trading Post and Whistle Stop Cafe & Saloon, but they were closed.

I also found a place where I might have been able to check out whenever I wanted to, but could never leave.

Near the Trading Post and Whistle Stop were these cacti and a trapezoidal monument.

On the other side of the monument was a plaque telling the story of Nipton.  Behind the monument and the cacti, from this angle, were railroad tracks.

If you drive through the place too speedily, or otherwise misbehave, Nipton's finest might get after ya.

This wooden building was a short walk eastward along Nipton Road from the Trading Post.  Part of it may have been used as hotel rooms at one time.

To learn more about Nipton, go to DesertUSA, Digital-Desert, Total Escape, and the official site of Primm, Nevada.  Primm is just on the Nevada side of the border with California, along Interstate 15.  As reported by 8NewsNow, Nipton is privately owned and has been sold several times, the most recent sale occurring earlier this year.