Wednesday, October 19, 2011

History

It is hot here in Mesa. Really hot. Like upper 90s every day for the past week. Not conducive to outdoor activities. So yesterday we decided to drive up the Apache Trail, Arizona Hwy 88, to check out Goldfield and Tortilla Flats.

Goldfield is a ghost town today. It was established in 1893 by miners exploring for gold in the nearby hills.



There are a number of neat old buildings still open to the public.











Worship services are still conducted in this church on Sundays.



I'm glad they don't have to depend on this water tank to supply the town.



I didn't know they had cell phones in the 1890s.



What kind of butts?



We liked this wrought iron sign



And this old wagon wheel.



We saw several rusty old vehicles.







Then we drove on northwest toward Tortilla Flats. That was an old rest stop on the old Apache Trail. We had read about the community and the restaurant there in several blogs, so we thought we would check it out.

The scenery along the way was great.



Canyon Lake was formed when its dam was completed in 1925. The lake provides water storage and hydro-electric power.



When we saw the months the Tortilla Campground was closed, it confirmed we were in Arizona, not Colorado.



The wallpaper in the Tortilla Flats restaurant is unique--money.









Outside, we found two wooden Indians. Do you suppose they are Apache?





Shortly after leaving Tortilla Flats, we came on this sign. We should have turned around. Tune in tomorrow to find out why.

2 comments:

  1. No reason to turn around that road is awesome ;)
    by the way I need to send you an E-mail... tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome pics!!! We're long over due for visiting a good 'ol fashion Ghost Town!!

    ReplyDelete