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Travelogue

Cathedral Canyon: One Man's Vision Now Lies In Ruins

One man's vision now lies in ruins in the Mojave Desert

Cathedral Canyon: One Man's Vision Now Lies In Ruins
Ruins of a Christ of the Andes statue at Cathedral Canyon

Roland Wiley had a vision. That vision was to build a contemplative retreat in a dusty canyon on his Mojave Desert ranch.

Cathedral Canyon was successfully built and attracted visitors from around the world, all of whom enjoyed the experience free of charge as Wiley bankrolled the entire operation. Unfortunately, following Wiley's death the canyon fell into disrepair and experienced frequent vandalism.

(Scroll down to see the video that we made at Cathedral Canyon.)

Sign for Cathedral Canyon on Tecopa Road in Nye County, Nevada.
Entryway into Cathedral Canyon from the mouth of the canyon. During its operation, visitors were able to access the site via a bridge and stairs around the middle of the canyon.
Roland Wiley had the remains of Quehoe, Nevada's Last Renegade Indian, interred on his ranch. We tell an abbreviated version of that story in our video about Cathedral Canyon.
This dry desert canyon even had two restroom carved into the clff walls.
Wiley had this statue of Christ fashioned after the famous Christ the Redeemer of the Andes statue that stands in the Andes Mountains on the border between Argentina and Chile.
There are numerous nooks and crannies in Cathedral Canyon that were once lighted and adorned with religious or inspirational materials.
The Sermon On The Mount mural adorns a wall at the end of the canyon. During its operation, there was a pool of water at the bottom that was pumped to the top in order to create a waterfall over the mural.
The Sermon On The Mount
"Quehoe: Nevada's Last Renegade Indian. He Survived Alone." Quehoe's tombstone at Cathedral Canyon. Note that there is strong evidence that Quehoe lived much longer than his "official" dates. We touch on this briefly in our Cathedral Canyon video.
Cathedral Canyon: One Man's Vision Now Lies In Ruins

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