Saturday, July 21, 2018

Rocky of Ballarat CA


Rock Novak is everything to the ghost town of Ballarat

ROCK Novak is everything to his town.

The caretaker, the judge, the mayor and the sheriff, he is the single resident of Ballarat — a ‘ghost town’ in California’s Death Valley.

Founded in 1897, in its heyday — 1897 to 1905 — Ballarat had nearly 500 residents, and was home to a Wells Fargo Station, post office, school, jail, hotels and several bars.

Read the entire story HERE

THE MAYOR OF BALLARAT from Mickey Todiwala on Vimeo.


The Blog visited Rock and Ballerat on our 2015 tour.  Emmett Harder treated us to a ride up Goler Wash to Barker Ranch and was the best tour guide ever.  Post HERE

Deb, Emmett, Matt, Patty, George, Stoner, St. Circumstance with Rocky behind him and Jon Aes-Nihil

Thanks Amanda (reader in Australia) for the tip!

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15 comments:

  1. starviegoJuly 22, 2018 at 12:12 AM

    I envy the guy!

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  2. OrwhutJuly 22, 2018 at 1:23 AM

    I had to look up Ballerat Bob. I had him confused with Rock.

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  3. Robert CJuly 22, 2018 at 1:57 AM

    Rocky's looking a little weathered there in all that sun. I've been to Ballarat about 6 times but never met Rocky up close but saw him once. But then we never really stopped at Ballarat for more than a few minutes each time. The one instance I think I saw him he was with a group of good ol' boys sitting at a long table filled with empty beer cans and filled ash trays shooting off a WWII vintage M1 Garand rifle (.30 cal I believe) which makes a helluva intimidating crack. Coming back from Barker that evening we stopped across the gravel/dust road from Ballarat to re-inflate our tires when that gun went off again and I could have sworn it was directed our way because the I heard the 'hum' overhead and felt they were trying to scare us ("we're jus tryin' to have a little funnin' ya know"). While I was legally armed that day I wanted to think Rocky was not homicidal but still .... we were not amused. But the next visit I'd hope to meet him and get the tour.

    And that's my bedtime Rocky story.

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  4. DebSJuly 22, 2018 at 2:37 PM

    Wow Robert C, I guess it's true, guns and alcohol don't mix! Rocky was pretty nice to us but we met Emmett Harder, who Rocky knows, there and he was well behaved.

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  5. beaudersJuly 22, 2018 at 5:51 PM

    Does anyone know did Catherine Gilles really die?

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  6. Robert CJuly 22, 2018 at 11:32 PM

    " Does anyone know did Catherine Gilles really die? "

    Yes

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  7. GKSJuly 23, 2018 at 12:25 PM

    Gillies death: the silence is deafening

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  8. ColScottJuly 23, 2018 at 2:14 PM

    Please correct the spelling in the title


    Cathy died? Details?

    What souvenirs were obtained from Rocky by the group?

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  9. DebSJuly 23, 2018 at 3:26 PM

    We do not know much about Cathy's death, her FB page is no longer up and the FB pages of her children have sympathy/memorial type posts. Queries to people who might know the details have gone unanswered.

    The RXSTR.com page on Cappy states she died June 29, 2018 in Cave Junction OR

    https://rxstr.com/2016/02/20/catherine-irene-gillies-profile/

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  10. ColScottJuly 23, 2018 at 6:44 PM

    what is that site?

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  11. DebSJuly 23, 2018 at 8:01 PM

    I don't know who has the website, maybe a reader knows. They seem focused on the Manson Family and Waco and sympathetic to both though not in bat shit crazy way.

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  12. GKSJuly 23, 2018 at 9:51 PM

    There had been an “update” on cielodrive.com posting that she had passed on 7/4 but it soon was taken down and her profile there updated to indicate she died on 6/29. RXSTR had the similar adjustment of date.

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  13. Matthew July 25, 2018 at 10:47 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. Nobody from nowhereNovember 17, 2019 at 7:42 PM

    Cappy did pass 7/4/2018 from cancer she is dearly loved and missed by her family

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