Finally … we arrive at end of the trail –The Apache Trail.
From Panoramio Maps http://www.panoramio.com/photo/5692604
This is rugged country. The Apache Trail is billed as a “scenic drive”, but I’m sure there are folks who might challenge that. So if this kind of hilly desert country isn’t your cup of tea, and the slow (often only going 5 or 10 miles an hour) drive for three hour (or more) over a gravel road that it pretty rough in places, then you might want to do something else. But we braved it … and it was pretty good.
MFW: Warning: some information posted here may be contrived, fabricated, exaggerated, outright lies, … or attempted humor.
After The Mining Camp Restaurant Rose and I headed toward The Apache Trail … until I spotted a rather unusual looking venue called Goldfield Ghost Town. What the hell, I wanted to get some water anyway …
Seems somebody rounded up a bunch of old buildings, wagons, mining equipment etc. and built this Western Town. Turned out to be rather interesting and fun.
Goldfield Ghosttown has aA nice little gift shop and confectionery.
Below: See that guy standing on the rock? He stood there for 10 minutes, texting somebody – and me without my gun.
Below: Local wildlife …
The water tower … and vultures …
Below: Goldfield Ghosttown Coffee Cantina and Bakery
Below: Rose resting at the Antique Photography place …
Below: Yodelling or yawning ??
We’ll never know.
Below: Goldfield Saloon
What’s the difference between a bar and a saloon?
I can walk past a bar.
Below: Rose at the Goldfield Walmart
Below: Rose in front of the Goldfield Bordelo.
What’s the difference between a bordello and a brothel? Answer: Who cares? (just kidding)
Below:
Behind the bordello I met Dutch, the town tarantula.
Somebody has definitely been feeding Dutch.
Below: Goldfield’s Boot Hill is also behind the bordello.
Think about it.
Not everybody dies with their boots on.
Below: After the bordello we figured we outta go to church.
Twice.
Below: the big nuggets are stashed out back.
Below: At the jailhouse. The possee will never look for me here.
Finally …
Below: Goldfield Ghosttown Bar and Eatery is an interesting Western style bar with a nice patio deck
and a view of Superstition Mountain.
How duz a guy get a drink around here?
Just sit at the bar.
________________________________________________________
There’s gold out here all right …
but maybe it’s not in the ground.
After Rose and I escaped Yuma, we bolted across the Sonoran Desert to Phoenix – stopping briefly to gas up our steed and grab a quick milkshake at Dateland oasis.
Come morning Rose had a hankering to go exploring and found a old map of a thing called The Apache Trail Circle Route. I figured (wrongly again) that this would be just a nice drive amongst some touristy venues in the area …
See that gray windy road called “88”? That’s a gravel road … with some rocks thrown in …
Imagine my surprise to find that it turned out to be thousands of miles of driving through sweltering desert over razor sharp boulders in rattlesnake, scorpion, and Indian infested wilderness … to nowhere.
OK, OK … I’m exaggerating …
Things started well …
Superstition Mountain
Seems that Apache Trail starts near Superstition Mountain – a nice happen-stance as I always wanted to see that. And as you can tell by the map (above) there is a lot of tourist venues in the area – including Superstition Museum, Lost Dutchman State Park … etc. Many other attractions are not even on our map.
Jutting up out of the desert landscape Superstition Mountain is indeed an impressive and imposing sight. I can imagine many tales and legends surrounding it – even if the famous Dutchman and his legendary gold mine never existed.
Superstition Mountain
The Mining Camp Restaurant
Rose and I were getting lost … we didn’t have a map. So we turned into the first likely looking place to get one. It was called The Mining Camp Restaurant.
Inside we found a nice gift shop and a large Western style restaurant.
We picked up our map and took a few pics outside.
The Prospector’s Mill … has seen a better day.
Some of the old mining equipment was interesting …
Excerpt: ” … The acting is first-rate. Ford and Holden were Columbia contract players at the time The Man From Coloradowas made. Both were among the major stars of the period and turn in stunning performances. Ford is all the more impressive because he mainly played standard heroes. However, Gilda (his character) suggested a darker side of Ford’s acting ability that had been unseen, and this film showcases that quality. Ford’s acting is realistic and true in every scene. We do sympathize with his character even as he does reprehensible things. Holden’s work here anticipates his turn in The Wild Bunch by about twenty years: the dirty hero. We understand why he takes the route he has chosen, and his performance imbues his character with real human qualities. Both men deserved Oscar nominations … “
“… a rip-roaring western melodrama … Most of the film is told in flashback, relating the exploits of Jacob Walz (Glenn Ford), the greedy, homicidal owner of the legendary Lost Dutchman Mine. After conniving and killing his way to success, Walz is destroyed when he falls in love with equally mercenary Julia Thomas (Ida Lupino at her nasty best) … “
“An engagingly offbeat Western, Lust for Gold (1949) is an oddly structured and luridly scripted yarn about hidden treasure, some $20 million in gold stashed away in Arizona’s “Lost Dutchman Mine,” a real-life mystery. http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/15049/lust-for-gold/
Turner Classic Movies says:
” … The story is based on an actual legend; that of the Lost Dutchman Mine, believed to be located somewhere near the aptly named Superstition Mountain east of Phoenix, Arizona. According to lore, the rich vein of gold was known to the Apache for many years, who refused to touch it for fear of the gods who guarded it. The first person to allegedly work the mine was a wealthy rancher named Peralta who, along with his workers, was massacred by the Indians…” http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?id=159651%7C159659
Also appearing in Lust for Gold: Gig Young, Jay Silverheels, Edgar Buchanan, Will Geer, and Paul Ford …
