Some of the best stories in the desert are hidden underground.

On a bright October morning, we drove the winding road into Tecopa, the little hot-springs town on the southern edge of Death Valley country, and turned toward the hills for Tecopa Mine Tours. Owner Ross Dykman met us at the mine yard, where a vintage Jeep, weathered timber, and a towering ore chute stand against the bare mountains. He handed us hard hats and switched on his headlamp. This was not a museum tour. We were going down into a real mine.

Above ground, the place already tells a story. Tecopa’s mines once produced lead and silver that helped build the West, and the workings Ross cares for still wear their history openly — rusted machinery, hand-built carpentry, and rails running straight into the dark. Ross calls it some of the most intricate machinery and carpentry you will find anywhere, and once you are inside, you understand what he means.

The mine rewards anyone willing to duck, climb, and look closely. Ore carts still sit on their tracks, including one fitted with attachments for the mules that once hauled it. Ross and his crew took one cart completely apart, and it still rolls smooth as glass. In the heat of summer, he told us, miners would sleep underground, where the earth kept the tunnels cool. Look carefully and you can still find candle wax on the walls, left by men who did all of this by candlelight.

Our favorite moment came at a fault line — a sliding fault, polished so smooth by the movement of the earth that it shines in the headlamp beam. Nearby, a hand-lettered board dated October 27, 1943 still marks one of the rooms, a small signature from the miners who worked these stopes generations ago. Every turn of the tunnel offers another: mineral-stained walls, ladderways climbing toward daylight, and chambers that simply keep going up.

What makes the tour special is Ross himself. He knows every board, bolt, and story in this mountain, and he shares them the way a good storyteller should — one tunnel at a time. There is no script and no rush, just a working piece of California mining history, kept alive by someone who clearly loves it.

Tecopa Mine Tours pairs naturally with a soak at the nearby hot springs and a date shake at China Ranch Date Farm, making for a perfect desert day out of Las Vegas. Tours are led by Ross and arranged in advance, so plan ahead, wear sturdy shoes, and bring your curiosity. Some of the best stories in the desert really are hidden underground — you just have to be willing to go down and find them.

By Elaine and Scott Harris, Cuisineist