Adventurer who blew life savings on California mountain ghost town reveals how his gamble has gone

A man who spent more than a million dollars to purchase a California town with plans to turn it into a vacation destination is now telling the story of how it all came together.Brent Underwood bought Cerro Gordo, an abandoned silver-mining town near Lone Pine, California, for $1.4 million in 2018, using his “life savings” and a high-interest loan to purchase it.“I’ve always had a love of history and hospitality,” Underwood told The Post, recalling a childhood spent watching Gunsmoke with his grandfather.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story “There’s a romanticism to the West that’s pulled millions of people out here, and it had a hold on me early.”More recently, he explained to the Daily Mail what it has been like living in the desolate town and working to rebuild it.“I’ve always been a bit of an introvert, so the solitude doesn’t bother me much,” he said of the village.“I don’t have neighbors for dozens of miles in any direction, which means any way that I look there is an adventure to be had.I love that.

There’s something very beautiful about living so far away from [other people].There isn’t the ambient noise that you have in cities but don’t really realize until you’ve left,” he added.Underwood also explained why nighttime in the area is especially appealing to him.“The stars here are as bright as stars can be, because there is no light pollution to interfere.

I feel much more in touch with nature and my thoughts since being here,” he told the Daily Mail.“I never run out of things to do and even after six years, feel like I’m just scratching the surface.”He recalled how he first found out about Cerro Gordo in 2018.“I was sent the listing for Cerro Gordo from my friend.

He sent it in a text in the middle of t...