CASTLE DOME MINE MUSEUM & WESTERN GHOST TOWN

THE KOFA MOUNTAIN RANGE

Weatherman was calling for rain again today & when I checked the computers weather map last night there was large amount of rain headed our way from southern California.  It never got here:))

PUDDLES LEFT FROM SATURDAY’S RAIN

When I let Max out this morning at 5 there wasn't a cloud in the sky & the stars stretched from mountain top to mountain top.  What a great feeling to know we were not going to be stuck inside the motorhome all day under gray rainy skies.

 

CHECKING OUT FUTURE BOONDOCKING SPOTS

A few days ago & I had taken a photo of a 5th wheel near us flying some flags.  A day later we received a comment in our blog from that 5th wheel saying, "hey, those were our flags you to took a photo of."  Now how did they know we were here.  Must have been our 'Bayfield Bunch.com' logo on the back of the rig.  This morning we walked down to the fifth wheel & met Kris & Steve from Sacramento California.  Nice folks:))

CASTLE DOME MUSEUM COMPLEX

It was a picture perfect day with deep blue skies & fluffy cotton ball clouds as we headed south down highway 95 towards Yuma looking for Castle Dome road in the Castle Dome mountains.  And, where were we going?  Castle Dome Museum..........of course:))

ENTRANCE TO A REPLICA MINE SHAFT

Seemed to be a lot of RV's heading the other way towards Quartzite as we turned east off the highway & headed northeast up a paved road which quickly turned into 10 miles of rumbly gravel the rest of the way to the museum.  The mountains ahead of us stood magnificently against the sky & once again I was reminded of how truly fortunate we really are to here in the great American Southwest.

HOTEL SALOON

Castle Dome Mines Museum & Ghost town is quite a remarkable place.  The complex is laid out on 10 acres with a walking tour of the District Silver Mine.   The brochure says, "Castle Dome's silver mining began in 1864 & was mined until 1979.  The characters who have come & gone have made Castle Dome City's history one of old Arizona's most appealing chapters.  'There were shootouts, brawls, & untimely deaths.  Fortunes were made & lost.  The 'old west' way of life is gone, but preserved in Castle Dome City in what they left behind.  35 restored buildings full of artifacts as diverse as the folks who lived here."

          

A SAMPLING OF TODAYS PHOTOS  (click to enlarge)

It is a story in itself how all the buildings & countless artifacts have been gathered together here in this museum in the desert.  Rather than me try to repeat the story, you can check this link for the first hand account of CASTLE DOME CITY & how it came to be.  We spent 2 hours roaming the buildings & pathways today & I’m sure dedicated historians could spend many days here .  Most everything is genuine & as I walked into the first old miners cabin & could smell the old musty wood.  I remembered that smell from the time we toured the old BIRD CAGE THEATER IN TOMBSTONE ARIZONA  That scent is a true stamp of authenticity with decades upon decades of age oozing from the very wood fibers themselves. 

 

KELLY ADDS HER DAD’S NAME TO THE WALL OF VETERANS

So much to see & so many photos to take & as usual I took a ka-zillion million pictures & will put them all in a web album hopefully sometime within the next couple of days.  There is a $6 charge per person to come in & if your in the area & have an interest in the old west & it's wild & wooly mining days, I would suggest to make the drive out to the Castle Dome Museum but if you can't make it be sure to watch for our photo album sometime in the next day or so.  Photos have made it through the Picasa editing program & I just have to caption them now.

On our way back to Quartzite we took a side trip into the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge mountain range again turning east off highway 95 just across from the historical Stone Cabin site.  I am in continuous awe of this land's elegance all the time we are here in the southwest & today was no exception.  The multi peaked spires of the great Kofa mountains against the deep blue azure sky flanked by large cumulous clouds was truly inspiring.  We followed the reasonably good gravel road in for about 5 miles checking for good boondocking places.  Saw a few rigs scattered about so we knew it would be a future boondocking place for the Bayfield Bunch for sure.  And to think that we had been to Quartzite for the past 3 years in a row & never knew the beauty we were so close to.  I had repeatedly taken pictures of the these mountains from near Quartzite over the years but never took the time to explore the mountains themselves.  What another great area we have discovered.........10-4:))

Welcome to new blog follower, Azequine.  Hope you love the American southwest as much as we do & we're glad to have you aboard as we travel the mountains & canyons of New Mexico, Arizona, & California:))

HEADING BACK TO OUR RIG SOUTH OF QUARTZITE

I got a kick out of Rick's & Mike's comments in last night's blog.  Not to worry boys, there will no social butterfly metamorphing out of this fellow.  Been there, done that & priorities have thankfully changed!!  Nice try guys:))

SUNDAY NIGHT KOFA MOUNTAIN SUNSET

4:30 A.M. Monday morning Arizona time update…… Just finished the web album for today’s photos & they are at… CASTLE DOME MINES MUSEUM & GHOST TOWN

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A distraught senior citizen phoned her doctor's office."Is it true," she wanted to know,"that the medication you prescribed has to be taken for the rest of my life?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so," the doctor told her. There was a moment of silence before the senior lady replied, "I'm wondering, then, just how serious is my condition because this prescription is marked 'NO REFILLS'."

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.