Living Ghost Town

March 26/2015 Weather 79 sunny, night 48.  This is perfect weather for riding in the day and sleeping at night.   

the cacti flowers are so brilliant in colour you think they are fake,,,, but they are real

 

The north west area of Arizona is old, old mining country.  A short ride from our campground is the living ghost town of Chloride where back in the 1860's it swelled to 2,000 miners and now about 1/10 that size at 200.  It is a quirky little place.  Haunted by miners,soldiers, Native Americans.....???  About a dozen abandoned mines spatter around the hills of the town.  Locals have preserved many of the old wooden buildings - the 2 room jail,  the bank vault, and the Sante Fe railroad station.

original Sante Fe train station

 Luckily they did not loose them to several fires in the bygone times.  There is a mock gunfight staged during certain times of the year.  A few artistic shops, very eclectic looking store fronts.  There are murals painted a couple miles past the downtown on the granite cliffs.  Nope, we did not get to them.  2 miles of soft dirt road.  This time we asked a bit of detail before trying to see something we had heard about.  Found out someone had dumped their motorcycle trying to get to it.  No more dirt roads if we can help it!!!

metallic artsy fence entering Chloride

But no need to feel bad we saw  the artistic yards that were decorated with junkyard-style monstrosities, welded sculptures using discards such as barbecue grills, bicycle wheels, motorcycle gas tanks and bowling balls.  One yard had numerous old tractors rusting into the ground.   Even the fence entering into Chloride is unique in a metallic way! 

yard art welded and salvaged

Driving the few (4) paved streets in Chloride we decided to stop at the local bar and grab a burger which was homemade and really hit the spot - not to mention it had some stuff on the walls and ceiling to look at.....we didn't know where to look first! 

lots to look at in Digger Daves Bar

we have some Excavating friends that might get a kick out of this clock...... Hey Jim and Bonnie!!!!!

Story in the town is that American author Louis L'Amour visited Chloride sometime between 1927-1929 after the Weepah, Nevada gold rush.

 Louis had bought, and then sold a claim for $50 in Chloride.  While he was mining the town caught fire. L'Amour assisted the town citizens in a bucket brigade that ultimately failed to stop most of the town from burning to the ground.   Well maybe?  He had to get all those Wild West stories from somewhere. 

the Bank Vault