Goldfield Ghost Town

Today we got together with some friends from back home and spent the day at the Goldfield Ghost Town just outside of Apache Junction, Arizona on Rte. 88. Our friends Mike & Debi Richardson were out here for the Fiesta Bowl and we arranged to meet for a little excursion.

At the left is Mike & Debi Richardson, from our little home town of Woodlawn, Illinois. Mike, Debi and I have known each other for more than, well, let's just say more years than any of us care to admit to.

It was great to see you guys. Thanks for letting us know you were coming this way. I just wish we could have had some more time, cause I wanted to show you some more sights.

Here is a picture of the whold gang together just before we boarded the Ghost Town's Train. From the left is my beautiful bride Ramona, her mother Barbara, Me (dressed in old time Cowboy garb), Mike and Debi.

This picture is of the Building that was the Town's Brothel. We went up for the little tour of the building and because I was wearing my lawman's badge with my cowboy outfit, I got in for free. The normal charge was only $2.oo so not that big of a deal, but $2 is $2.

If you look closely in the window, you will see one of the soiled doves looking out over the roadway.

Pretty neat old building. Although all of the building were rebuilt replicas due to the originals being destroyed by fire.

Here is a bunch of the Cowboy Re-enactors doing one of their many shows of the day. While we were there they did about 3 shows that I can remember. There could have been another one while we were in the Restaurant but I am not sure. By the way the Restaurant had some pretty good food and it was also reasonably priced.

This last building is actually the first one you see when you get to the Ghost Town. It is the Mercantile building and has a shop inside of it that sells the usual tourist souvenirs. Now one of the best things about the Ghost Town is that it is free parking and free entry. The only things that cost are to ride the Train ($6.00), the Bordello tour ($2.00) mining or panning for gold (not sure on price but as I recall it was pricey) and whatever souvenirs, food or tips you want to give to the re-enactors.

Well that concludes this weeks posting. Not sure when I will post again but I will always attempt to let everyone know by just forwarding the sight. I hope you enjoy these little trips with us. Till next time, Adios Pardner!

Cliff Dwellings

Hey folks! Sorry for not posting for a while, but just have not been doing a lot. But the other day we did take a little drive and found some neat cliff dwellings.

We started out by driving up Rte 60 to Globe and then we headed up toward Roosevelt Dam from there. We entered the Tonto National Forest.

We found a place off the beaten path which had some cliff dwellings. They were called the Salado Indian Cliff Dwellings. The Saldo Indians dated back before the Apache Indians and actually dated back to the 1400's. They were gone by the 1600's.

The trek up to the Dwellings was very steep and filled with switchbacks. I attempted to make the climb but found that it was just to much for me to make it. So, I sent Mona up to the top (she likes these places much more than me) with the camera and she took a lot of these pictures. This picture shows part of the trail.

Here is one of the many rooms that are seen inside the dwellings. Hard to believe that many people lived in these little hideaways. Must have been really crowded. Not to mention dark at night.

Here is a great view of what the Salado Indians would have seen every day. Mona took this one while standing on the porch of the cliff dwelling. Pretty spectacular views.

And last but not least is a picture of Apache Lake which is on Rte 88 on the way back from Roosevelt Dam. The road is not paved but most any car can drive on it and the views are worth the trip.

That will conclude this posting. In the next posting in a couple days we will visit the Goldfield Ghost town just outside of Apache Junction Arizona. Some friends of ours from back home were in Phoenix for a vacation and got together with us. We had a great time. Till then, See Ya!