When a World War II veteran named Frank Van Zant’s 1968 truck broke down near Imlay, Nevada, the detour sparked a lifelong obsession—he stayed, found abandoned bottles, car parts and metal, and began molding them into concrete.
Van Zant, then a deputy sheriff and later a Forest Service mapper, turned the wreckage into a labyrinth of structures that would later be dubbed Thunder Mountain, a monument that blended art, spirituality and a tribute to Native American history.
By 1969, the five‑acre site housed more than 200 sculptures, each a collage of recycled objects, and served as a home for his eight children and a refuge for travelers.
A 1983 blaze gutted the hostel and many structures, yet Van Zant persisted until his death in 1989.
Afterward, his son Dan and local volunteers braved vandalism to restore the monument, earning it Nevada State Historic Site status in 1992.
Today, a caretaker monitors the grounds while visitors, free of charge, wander the concrete labyrinth, their donations funding ongoing repairs.