Mayer...

...Or was it Dewey? Who knows...we went to both places, I don't know...once I leave Prescott, I'm apt to say, "good golly...there's a whole world out here?" Which makes me confuse town names and then faint from shock.

Kidding.

Both Dewey and Mayer are tiny northern Arizona ghost towns with quite a few people still living in them. Both places have small historic down towns (and we can say that a little loosely here, as they're each one street) and some of the cutest little houses. I can usually pick out a place I would love to live in most of the places we've visited...you know? With a little tlc and whatnot.

Whatever the case, it was a short trip...I was absolutely itching to go out hiking this weekend, but there were 40+ mph winds...which kind of made it hard to open the car door and drive...much less walk or hike.

You'll be happy to know as I sit and look outside, there is no wind. Isn't that the way sometimes? Beautiful pre-springtime weather all week, leaving you gaze out the windows while at work...the weekend gets here and it's a crazy windstorm...Which also blew a cold front in (Also? I have a whole outfit layed out to wear, and the weather just will not cooperate, leaving me to wonder when exactly I'll get to wear it? Sometimes I lay out an outfit ahead of time...you know? Just to be totally prepared. Or neurotic. Take your pick.) So, it was both cold and windy.

Which made it the perfect weekend to go see The Watchmen as well. Which was a good movie. Long, action packed and quite graphic...both violently and um...nakedy. Since I didn't know anything about The Watchmen previously, I was surprised and entertained. Which are both good things when one is paying $6.50 to see a 3-hour movie that you can't pause to use the restroom during (or talk...we're both big talkers during movies.) There was a couple of parts I had to look away during the movie, but Rich totally understands and tells me that when it's safe to look back. Isn't that nice?

I suppose it's better than him listening to me shrieking or otherwise flipping out...cause' that happens a lot when we drive out of town already (see above)

Again. Kidding. Totally Kidding.

Cleator is For Lovers...

Yes...there is a Cleator Arizona.

Who knew?

Cleator is a ghost town with the original name of Turkey, somewhere between Bumblebee and Crown King, on an old, but surprisingly well maintained winding mountain road. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but stealthily inhabited.

We decided maybe it was for lovers?

Or for people who wanted to live off the grid...and still maintain their Dish Network:

Or a graveyard for old Airstreams, as we counted at least two in the immediate vicinity:


I wish I could have taken more shots, but there was a rather medium sized young red yappy dog that was interested in keeping Rich and I in line. The person on the porch yelled at the dog.

"Red dog?! Knock it off!!"

ah. Red dog.

Well then.

We also went to Bumblebee:


Bumblebee is also a cute little place close to the main highway. Lots of ranches and pretty scenery...

Falling down buildings...

All sorts of ghost town goodies.

An Almost Wordless...

...Wednesday

I just wanted to let you know that I actually woke up with no new ailments, swollen parts or weird symptoms this morning.

I may just be on the mend...

I've Taken To Hittin' the Bottle...

Especially when the bottles look like these:

Ladies Choice
Apple Cider Vinegar
(oh my)

Sunny Jim
Pure Plum Preserves
"it's Good"

Folgers Coffee
and
Quail Tomatoes


I wonder what happened to all the brands listed above...other than Folgers Coffee, they're all gone now...as is the ability to make an artful and beautiful label for foodstuff (in my opinion)

I think I'm really wondering about these companies because I'm currently winding my way through Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. For the third time in my lifetime. I promised myself that I would reread this book as a gift to myself for the new year. If you've never read it, you should pick up a copy...but be ready for the size...the paperback is well over 1000 pages, and I personally find it an incredible page turner to boot. I also find it fitting perfectly into my life, answering questions that I have been finding myself asking and putting words into my mouth after taking them out of a hidden well deep within. But most of all, making me think. This book has always made me think...it's opened up new pathways of seeing things for me...forever questioning.

Have an amazing weekend...I will be reluctantly finishing up a great classic once again.

Hey Lil' Buckaroo...

This a little something I spied all wadded up on a shelf during our recent tour of the Vulture Mine ghost town...a vintage bag of potato chips! Apparently they were made fresh daily in Arizona...

Complete with the Crispy Kid...

I'm pretty sure that I love the Crispy Kid almost as much as I love potato chips (which may be my downfall in the battle to loose weight...)

Damn my crispy, salty potato lover...

Which probably means I would totally date the Crispy Kid...I love his lasso and his 10 gallon white hat (this is how you know he's a good guy, not the fact that he's on a bag of potato chips, but that he's wearing a white hat...I would assume that maybe the black hat would be reserved for a more bar-b-q flavor) his access to fresh potato chips...

swoon

The way this bag was wadded up made me think that it was more of a piece of trash, which of course, made me want to smooth it out, put it in my pocket, and take a picture of it all at the same time. But, if you've been to the Vulture Mine you would realize pretty quickly these little details are set all around the place so that you can enjoy the feel of a quickly abandoned mine...

It's working.

Well that, and I'm craving potato chips...

The Vulture Mine...

As if the name isn't kind of foreboding enough...there's the ghost town left behind.

Rich and I got up mighty early and jumped in the Titan on Monday for a trip down to Wikenburg...a little town about an hour and a half away from our perch up on the mountain...which means it was much warmer than our 25 degree morning up here.

After driving through the BLM land surrounding the old Vulture Mine area, we were both a little more than excited about the area. Putting it plainly, it is beautiful out there. There are mountains and peaks lush with green (I know...Arizona, weird...but it's this time of year I would think) and covered with bushes and some of the most amazing saguaros I've ever even seen in Arizona. Since this is BLM land, it also means that you can camp. For absolutely free. Seeing as it's so warm down there, this may be close to the perfect time of year to visit (can you tell what I'm angling for now? Giggle)

The old Vulture Mine was once the location of a thriving town of 5,000...which also housed the first house in Wikenburg...complete with large pipe's sticking out of the wall. These were used to shoot out of in case you were being attacked, and if they reached in the pipes without getting shot? Well then, you just cut their hands off.

of course.

This, at least, was the story told to us by the fine gentleman who was manning the desk area...and who was there to explain the maps, accept our entry money (it is $10 per person to get into the ghost town...but totally worth it, as it is wonderfully preserved, they allow you to walk all over...and I personally got more than 100 photos) and who also requested that since Rich is a professional photographer that he please send a disk back of the photos he took in case they wanted to use them in advertising (with plenty of recognition on his part, of course)

This place is still a veritable gold mine for picture opportunities and just the strolling around fun. There are buildings all around, and tons of the original things still left in the buildings. Some of these places seem as if they're still just falling down around you, and yet you can stroll right in if you're brave enough to walk on the old floors. It actually felt a little strange seeing as most of the places we've been are either No Trespassing zones, or there isn't much left, or you can't get anywhere near the inside...

I was totally in love with all the old cans and jugs that were still sporting their original paper labels...

sigh.

There's also ton's of mining machinery left as well...which isn't usually my thing, but it was all so amazing and beautiful.

We also met another couple wandering around out there, and met back at the cars (when Rich and I went back for water...we totally forgot to carry with us...rookie mistake!) where we all stood and laughed and talked for some time. They've been here about a year longer than Rich and are loving exploring the area, they are new to hiking and are enjoying it, they are Mac users, and they are totally fun people who we made promise to call us when they're in the area next and we would take them all around...

We had big plans to hike back out to another area, but both felt a little hot and dehydrated. I'd also been sneezing all day...and I'm thinking I actually feel a little under the weather. Perhaps not getting a fantastic night's sleep the night before (and the night before that) has something to do with it...whatever the case, I'm now wondering if it would be OK to try to go to the gym...since I have my momentum.

Oh wait...before all that.

We had an amazing day!

(more of my favorite shots of the day over at Shutter Groupie)

Stanton...

The middle of nowhere Arizona.

There's actually a lot of middle of nowhere's in Arizona...which is the perfect setting for a ghost town, eh? But, perhaps the strangest sight that greeted us yesterday as we slowly made our way down the dusty dirt road, as we rounded the final corner to our destination, was the appearance of the insane amount of RV's in the middle of nowhere...

Otherwise known as the ghost town of Stanton.

Which, apparently according to legend, someone found a whole bucket full of gold nuggets just sitting strewn around one of the washes. Which could be why the Lost Dutchman's Association bought the land in the 70's (after the gold "dried up") and made it into some sort of RV destination/park for gold miners...

Who are living out there...panning for gold. And, looking at all the pictures all around on the office walls when we checked in...well, they're still finding it! I mean, the actual Lost Dutchman's Mine is in Phoenix...so it all really makes perfect sense.

It was still rather surreal out there...beautiful to boot, but certainly surreal. Rich and I agreed that due to the inordinate amount of people in RV's at least the buildings were intact still and sort of propped up and taken care of...otherwise they may have just fallen down way out there...the extreme Arizona weather kind of does that to buildings...even if you're actively taking care of them!

I found myself walking around with a headache in the front part of my head like I usually do at these ghost town places...It's probably the energy that makes my head slightly ache and make myself feel more tired...because after we pull away, I perk up a bit and feel fine. Molly...is there something out there I can take for this? I suppose it's the simple fact that most Arizona ghost towns were founded around some sort of mineral deposits...and with mineral deposits/mining claims/making money from panning or mining came some serious corruption, jealousy and down right shoot outs. Leaving some pretty heavy stuff behind when these places were later deserted. I mean, according to our ghost town guide book...some of these places were only towns for 9 years...and poof. Everyone gone.

It was also quite pretty out in this middle of nowhere...and even without the gold I could almost sort of see why one would settle out there...you know? As long as there was some sort of water source. Maybe it takes a special kind of person to see the beauty in certain parts of Arizona...but, with Arizona, there's always something very unusual to see...snow, rain, sun, canyons, cactus, sand...rocks. We've got it all.

So, this has definitely been our most surreal adventure yet...but made us both wonder about the possibility of panning for gold...

You know?

For fun and profit...

Today we were supposed to be up and early to catch the perfect morning light and the empty streets of Bisbee. Well, I'm not sure if the streets ever entirely empty out seeing as it's a bit hilly like San Francisco here and people need to park somewhere...and Bisbee is surrounded by little mountains finding itself in a valley...meaning the morning light is a little late in reaching the town, and it goes away behind the mountain about 3...

Making us both tired early. Well actually, it was Rich who was tired and suggested we come home in the early evening and it was me who fell asleep after laying down to rest my eyes...ahem.

But, to be fair...we had gotten an early start.

After a quick stop at the scenic viewpoint at the Lavendar Pit Copper Mine (complete with framed openings in the tall surrounding fence just for us peoples with cameras, so you can get a truly good view of the pit...and what the heck is that weird black stuff in the bottom there anyway?!?) we headed into town and proceeded to start climbing up the many sets of stairs surrounding Bisbee trying to get to that perfect point in which to shoot the whole little town.

I then had a bit of a blood sugar melt-down because I had my morning juice and a bit of decaf and forgot to eat. Mix that with some serious stair climbing and I was feeling a little shaky. Usually Rich and I pack enough food for several people when we're out travelling, but we had about 3 rice cakes and some peanut butter pretzels. Luckily, the little coffee house in town was open, so I was able to get a fresh blueberry muffin.

Which was a good tie over as we headed to Toombstone, Gleeson, and traveled town the Ghost Town Trail to Pierce, before heading back to the park for some more substantial food. We were able to stop many places along the ride and photo our little hearts out while experiencing the ghost towns that are littered around the hills here.

We also talked a lot about the fact that anyone could figure out where to dig to even find silver or gold...how did they know? I mean, there was a huge silver lode in Toombstone...so there was a flurry of people living there, and then the lode dried up...and poof. Ghost town. I mean, there was a whole slew of people living in Toombstone, including the Earp brothers, Doc Holiday, Big Nosed Kate and the like...and there was no water there. None. They had to go to "Millville" (named because someone built a mill there) just to get water...We were driving along at one point and up popped a cannery. A nice new cannery...which left me looking around at the desolate area wondering exactly what they grow that needs to be canned down south here?

There are so many isolated towns, ranches...or just weird houses in Arizona, and I always wonder what these people do for a living? Why did they move to such an isolated place? Why are they still living in these little ghost towns? I mean, we did actually see signs for the Rattlesnake Art Studio...as seen on the Today Show.

Good heavens.

We didn't stop...we had to get to more ghost towns and back to Bisbee to stroll the art galleries and shops instead...

Follow The Sun...

...To the Shady Dell in glorious Bisbee Arizona!

After driving down down down and across Arizona, Rich and I landed in Bisbee Arizona at the most wonderful little trailer park called The Shady Dell...The Shady Dell is made up of several vintage trailers you can rent for the night, and also includes some spaces to park your own trailer if you're so inclined. The owners are wonderful and friendly greeting us by name as we walked through the office to check in (their kitty curled up on the HP printer in the window) There are tons of wonderful vintage accents throughout the park, 50's music plays at the gazebo in the center of the space...and there is a fantastic vintage historical diner (which is currently being restored further and will open quite soon) the whole thing makes for an enchanting back drop in which to spend the first day of 2009!

After unhooking the Airstream and getting situated...taking respective showers to wash off the travel grit, we ran into town. This is Rich's first visit to Bisbee, and only my second. It's just as fantastic as I remember it. I came down years ago for a good friends grandmother's retirement party (she later became the mayor of Bisbee...the grandmother, not my friend) and we mostly visited with family rather than checking out the town. Today gave us a good start to checking out the town...

We have bigplans to check out even more tomorrow...officially starting Tour De Ghost Towns 2009: The Arizona Edition (where we are attempting to visit myriads of different ghost towns in Arizona and documenting our journey) and are looking forward to waking early to photo without all the people and cars here in Bisbee, and to visit the many shops that sprinkle the downtown (most of which were closed for New Year's Day) and Rich will be checking his book to send us to many other ghost towns down this way. Of course, he's realizing that there might not be enough time to do everything we want to (I warned him this may be the case) and I see some more trips in our future...

I did pop into an antique shop this afternoon and found some fantastic vintage Gurley Christmas candles that I will put into my collection (both a huge tree with gold glitter and a huge huge Santa in its original shrink wrap...I got them both for a song!)

Well...I'm wrapping up from the road to eat some early dinner and some after dinner photography before enjoying the rest of the evening in this enchanted little place...why is it every time I visit Bisbee I want to move here? You would too if you saw how cute the downtown is, and how fabulous their old buildings are...Then again, Rich and I have looked at each other several times wishing we owned this little park...both remarking how jealous we are and how much fun it would be to do this for a living...

I wonder if Prescott is ready for a vintage RV park/motel?

(See Dina? We could also have our diner too!! Hon...)