Oatman, Arizona

The Arizona town of Oatman was born in 1906 as a tent camp, flourished as a gold mining center, producing over 1.8 million ounces of gold. By the 1930's the boom was over and in 1942 Congress declared that gold mining was no longer essential to the war effort. Burros came to the city with the early day prospectors. The animals were also used inside the mines for hauling rock and ore. Outside the mines the burros were used for hauling water and supplies. As the mines closed and people moved away, the burros were released into the surrounding hills.

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Arizona

How did the world famous London Bridge come to make its unlikely home in Arizona? The tale of how the bridge came to Lake Havasu City began over 5,400 miles away in London, England.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

What a great trip we had today to the Grand Canyon. It's such an amazing site - almost mind boggling and I could have just sat there and looked at it all day. But we had a time frame. Upon arrival we went to the Yavapai Point and Geology Museum, then walked the Rim Trail to Mather Point and back.  We then got in the truck and drove the Desert View Drive. There were quite a few lookout points that we stopped at and I took lots of pictures on the whole trip. I have posted some of them here, but most of them will be in my website because I am able to post the pictures as a slideshow, which I cannot do with this blog site. Unfortunately, it was pretty hazy today, but I got the best pictures I could.

Disaster Averted and Work Accomplished

Lately I had been noticing that on one side of the trailer when I put the chocks in between the tires that the chock was getting harder and harder to fit between the tires. By the time we got to Williams, Arizona I could not get it between the tires, so I asked Jim to try, and he could not get it to fit.  I decided to feel the tire and noticed that it was wearing on the inside.  This was puzzling to us and we thought maybe the axle got bent somehow.  We have a Dexter axle which is bolted to the frame of the trailer, and does not bend. He called the company and talked with a technician, who also stated that the axle should not bend.

New Tires

Planes of Fame Air Museum, Valle, Arizona

The Planes of Fame Air Museum has some of history's most unique planes. It has a late version of the most produced fighter plane in history, the Messerschmitt BF109G-10, among its collection. Thy also have the Martin 404 and Western Airlines Convair 240. Although I did not take pictures of all the planes, there are a few I did take. The P-38 Lightning is one they do have, called the plane that changed the course of history. It is often called the most powerful tool in America's arsenal during World War II. 

Shootouts Erupt on Route 66, Williams, Arizona

Every night during the summer the world famous Cataract Creek Gang, known for its raucous, rambunctious behavior, performs each and every night along Historic Route 66. A real gunfight ensues as they argue amongst each other as to the location of the treasure up in the hills surrounding Williams. 

Flintstones Bedrock City, Valle, Arizona

We found the Flintstone's Bedrock City through Roadside America. Bedrock City stands out on a flat, windswept, rocky plateau on SR 64, about 30 minutes north of Williams. Built in 1972, it originally had a live Fred and Barney like the Bedrock in Custer -- but the isolation of the site and the lack of local workers eventually made that impractical. The isolation also meant that this Bedrock City has retained more of its original lumpy charm. 

Jerome, Arizona

Jerome is a ghost town alive and well. From wickedly wild to wildly artistic. Located high atop Cleopatra Hill between Sedona and Prescott, this historic copper and gold mining town founded in 1876. When gold was discovered in Jerome, miners, gamblers and bad boys of the old west flocked here. Saloons and bawdy houses were the entertainment after a hard days work. At one time, Jerome was the fourth largest town in the Arizona Territory with a rowdy population that reached over 15,000.

Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona

Tuzigoot is Apache for "crooked water".  It's the remnant of a Southern Sinagua village built between 1000 and 1400. It crowns the summit of a long ridge rising 120 feet above the Verde Valley. The original pueblo was two stories high in places, with 87 ground-floor rooms. There were few exterior doors; entry was by ladders through room openings. The village began as a small cluster of rooms inhabited by some 50 persons for 100 years. In the 1200s the population doubled and then doubled again. 

Montezuma Well, Verde Valley, Arizona

Montezuma Well has all the surprise of a lake and lush vegetation in the midst of a desert. It is a limestone sink formed long ago, still fed by continuously flowing springs. The Southern Sinagua irrigated crops with its waters. In places, you can see traces of the lime-coated irrigation ditches. The pit house here dates from about 1050. Southern Sinagua dwellings here range in size from one-room houses to large pueblos. Between 1125 and 1400 about 100-150 people lived here.

Sedona Red Rocks, Sedona, Arizona

We drove into Sedona the other day because we have heard so much about the red rocks it is famous for.  Our first stop was the Chamber of Commerce where we picked up a map and other information about where to take the best shots of the rocks. Sedona is a small tourist town with lots of shops and restaurants. This city hosts up to 3 million annual visitors. The center provides information about sightseeing, hiking, recreational and cultural activities, special events, etc.

Montezuma Castle National Monument, Verde Valley, Arizona

Montezuma Castle belongs to ancient farms of the Verde Valley, the world of the Southern Sinagua, who flourished in the Verde Valley hundreds of years ago. For thousands of years, hunters and gatherers roamed the Verde Valley. The first permanent settlements here resembled those of the Hohokam culture from southern and central Arizona. Between 700 and 900 AD some Hohokam moved north into the valley. These productive farmers grew corn, beans, squash, and cotton using techniques like canal irrigation. They also made their distinct red-on-bluff pottery and built ballcourts. One-room pit houses perched on terraces overlooked their crop fields in the bottomlands. 

Masonry Dwelling

Winslow, Arizona

"Standin' on the Corner" in Winslow, Arizona

Commemorating the song "Take it Easy" written by Jackson Browne and the late Glen Frey, and recorded by the Eagles. The song includes the verse "Well, I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my Lord, in a flat-bed Ford slown' down to take a look at me." The park contains a two-story mural by John Pugh, and a life-size bronze statute of Jackson Browne by Ron Adamson standing on a corner with a guitar. The park is surrounded by a wall of bricks, each with a donor's name on it, and a story by each of the donors describing their fondness for Winslow.

Petrified Forest National Park & Painted Desert, Holbrook, Arizona

There are countless colors, hues and shades that paint the landscape that stretches as far as the eye can see. It has been shaped by wind and water, and holds clues to the past. The Petrified Forest is one of the best places in the world to see the fossil record from the Late Triassic Period. The remnants of prehistoric forests, now petrified wood; plant and animal fossils; and artifacts have told us much about this beautiful, wild land. 

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, Candy Kitchen, New Mexico

The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary is for "wolf-dogs" who people have thought would make good pets, from breeders, or rescued from horrible conditions. Most of the animals are not true wolfs, but bred with dogs so are part dogs.  There are others that are just dogs, like German Shepherds, but their owners kept them caged or chained with no human contact.  These animals have been rescued from sad conditions, where they have been abused and abandoned, so it's nice to see them being taken care of.  The volunteers here take good care of the animals, even though some of the animals won't even let a human near them. Our guide was an exchange person from Barcelona, Spain, who comes to the Sanctuary year after year to help the animals.

Our Guide with a New Guinea Singing Dog

El Morro National Monument, Grants, New Mexico

El Morro - it's called Stories in Stone, and Inscription Rock. This cuesta rises up from the desert and has meant oasis to centuries of travelers who then left their mark upon it. Imagine the comfort and refreshment of finding water after days of dusty travel. A reliable waterhole hidden at the base of a sandstone bluff made El Morro (the headland) a popular campsite for hundreds of years. Here, Ancestral Puebloans, Spanish, and American travelers carved over 2,000 signatures, dates, messages, and petroglyphs.

Pond at base of mountain