Just outside of Ely, Nevada is a hill called Garnet Hill. While visiting Ely, take a ride up to Garnet Hill and find some real garnets. Many people find them lying on top of the ground just waiting for someone to pick them up and take them home. Some are embedded in rocks and can make nice souvenirs. They are free for the taking.
On the way to Garnet Hill is an old ghost town called Lane City. It was originally called Mineral City in 1876. It is the site of the first major discovery of Gold close to Ely. The mine was called Elya Mine. The mine is the site of one of the greatest ghost stories. There were 12 Chinese miners buried in a cave in. No one bothered to try to get them out. The mine was closed after the accident. One hundred and twenty years later, Alta Gold opened this mine in 1987. Lane City had a population of 2000 at one time. In 1898 the entire town was purchased by Charles Lane and therefore the name was changed to Lane City. It was a town until the 1960s. Stephen King used this town and the story of the accident as a basis for his book, "Desperation".