Exploring The Ghost Trail

On our last day in the Patagonia Lake State Park area, we decided to explore along what is called The Ghost Trail.  This road, which is primarily a dirt road, meanders very close to the US-Mexico border. There used to be several mining communities near there, but that was a LONG time ago!!

To get to The Ghost Trail, we had to drive down almost into Nogales, and then the road wound up thru the Patagonia Mountains.  The views were really quite spectacular!  We came upon an abandoned mine along the road at one point.  Unfortunately, we didn’t take the right fork in the road just beyond this mine, and missed driving through some ghost mining towns – oh, well, we’ll just have to visit again!!

There were some great sites to see on the road we did choose.  We came across a historical marker which memorialized Fray Marcos de Niza, known as the first European west of the Rockies.  Although Friar Marcos (Franciscan) served in Peru, Guatemala and Mexico, he was born in Nice, Savoy, France.

 We stopped for a picnic lunch at the Coronado National Memorial.  The views from the Memorial were quite impressive – the top image is of the road we took heading toward the Memorial.  The lower image is the view of the road we had yet to travel…yet.  This Memorial commemorates the Coronado Expedition, led by (appropriately enough) Coronado.  He set out from Mexico, leading a force of more than 1,000 – 340 Spanish soldiers and more than 700 Indian allies and slaves.

As we drove down from the Memorial, we came across some whitetail deer, often seen in the Patagonia Mountains.  I love how relaxed they are – that one small deer just casually checked us out while laying down under the shade of a tree!  In all, a nice ending to a great trip!

Enjoy!

 

Patagonia Lake State Park

Our last stop on our fall RV trip, before the “push” home, was Patagonia Lake State Park.  We had never been there, and we chose it because it was close to Nogales, AZ, and there was supposed to be some “ghost town” type remnants in the nearby area.  However close Patagonia Lake State Park may be to Nogales, in another way, it was as far away from that desert like, dry and dusty town as one could get!

One morning, we took Max for a walk around the park closest to the campground.  I was taken aback by the loveliness of this small glade.  The stream at my feet actually ran into a small pond and I thought it would be a great place to just sit and reflect, although Max wouldn’t allow that!

Walking on, we came to several lovely views of the lake, and this was one of them.  You can see the boat in the water, and people enjoy this lake for fishing as well as some water sports, like water skiing.  Obviously, we’re not at the largest part of the lake here, so we didn’t run into any water skiers!

When I looked down at the still water along the shore, I felt like the reflections of the grasses along the shore looked almost like a watercolor painting.  There were several spots along the way that seemed perfect for a quiet chat, writing in one’s journal, or simply enjoying nature.

The warm morning sun really highlighted this cattail, and I had to capture it in this image.  It warms me to the tips of my toes just looking at it!

I’ll end this blog post with a lovely bloom.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an apricot cactus barrel bloom, but I have now!

Enjoy!

Yuma Territorial Prison

When we visited Yuma on our fall RV trip, we stopped at the Yuma Territorial Prison.  We had seen a TV show featuring it, and it sounded like an interesting place to visit.  The prison was authorized by Territorial Legislation back in 1875, and opened in 1876.   The prison functioned as a prison until 1909 when it closed, and all remaining prisoners were moved to Florence, AZ.  But, it didn’t remain unused for long.  The following year in 1910, it housed a high school (those children were justified if they referred to school as a “prison”!}, and then in 1914, became the County Hospital.  The hospital burned in 1924, and it wasn’t used again until 1931, when the VFW used part of it.  During the Depression, it was used to house the poor, until the remaining squatters were evicted in 1939.  In 1940, the Museum was built with New Deal funds, and operated until 1960.  In 1961, it became Arizona’s 3^rd State Park.  It’s had quite the varied history, but today, the focus of the prison is as its life as a prison.

Across the Colorado River from the Prison is “Indian Hill”, the site of La Purisima Conception mission.  Nothing is left of this mission, which was destroyed in 1781 when the native Quechans revolted, killing all European males.  Today, the St. Thomas Mission, built in 1922, which serves the Quechan Indian Nation.  Beyond that Mission is Fort Yuma, which was established in 1852 to protect those on their way to the California Gold Rush.  The bottom image is of the Colorado River, although you can’t see it for all the green trees!!

As we completed our walk around the front yard (as I thought of it), we saw the Guard Tower, which is actually just outside the entrance to the prison.  This tower is actually a reconstruction of the original Guard Tower, which served not only as a place where guards could view the inmates in at least part of the prison, but also as the place where the water supply for the prison was housed.  The view in the lower image is what you can see off to the east of the tower, which is the Yuma East Wetlands restoration project.

  

Next to the Guard Tower, is the Sally Port.  The sally port is one of the last remaining original adobe structures of the prison.  It served as the entrance and exit point for the prisoners.  In Oct, 1887, there was perhaps the most infamous attempted escape from the prison, and took place at the sally port.  Seven prisoners took Superintendent Gates as a hostage.  The Superintendent ordered guards to shoot, despite the danger to himself.  When the dust settled, 4 inmates were dead, another wounded, and the remaining 2 were recaptured.  The 3 surviving inmates were sent to the Dark Cell. The Superintendent suffered a knife wound to his neck, which later caused him to resign due to constant pain from the injury.

The next area we visited is the cell block.  It is another original area of the prison and primarily male inmates were housed here.  The top photo collection depicts the “hall” of cell blocks in the left image and the center image is an image where one of the cell doors was open and we could look into what was called the Dark Cell, where prisoners considered “incorrigible” were housed as punishment.  The photo on the right shows how they fit 6 bunks into one cell.  The photo collection below is information displayed in the Museum about a few of the prisoners.  Not displayed were the first prisoner housed here, William Hall.  

The prison wasn’t limited to male prisoners, however.  Women were also incarcerated there, too.  The first female prisoner was Lizzie Gallagher, who entered prison in 1878.  She was sentenced for man slaughter.  However, as there were no accommodations for women prisoners, she was kept in solitary confinement and pardoned and released after only 42 days.    Another prisoner, Manuella Fibres, who was sentenced for accessory to murder, gave birth to a baby boy in 1889.  The baby stayed with her for 2 years, at which point she was pardoned and released, out of concern for the boy.  It is said that although the guards missed the little boy, they were happy to see Manuella leave, as she was rather a trouble-maker.  In 1893, a separate women’s prison was completed, which is shown below (the door between the 2 white doors).  The image in the lower left of the photo collection is the doorway that led to the women’s open area.

There was a rather nice amenity at the prison – a library!  The library was dug out of this wall in 1893.  Today, there is a large mural on the back wall, which seems to suggest that at one point, the library was larger.  However, there was nothing to indicate that was truly the case.  I tend to think that the size of the cut-out was the actual size of the library.

In 1889, a hospital was established at the prison.  It appears that they also had a small infirmary as well.  In the above photo collection, the image on the left is the infirmary.  On the left is an image of the side of the cell block building.  The hospital used to be on top of the cell block, but it burned in 1924.

Only 2 prisoners ever escaped from the prison, and they are highlighted in the image on the left in the photo collection.  I found it rather interesting that neither was heard of again.  It’s possible that they hightailed it out of the area.  It’s also possible that they didn’t make it too far and ran into trouble they couldn’t handle.  The first inmate to be executed was Martin Ubillos, in 1905.  I found it interesting that the sheriff sent out invitations to the execution.

When we were up in the Guard Tower, we could see the prison cemetery about a quarter mile away (top image on the left). Records indicate that 104 prisoners are buried here.  We drove down to the cemetery when we were leaving the prison, and I got some closer images of the graves.  Pretty harsh gravesites, and I didn’t notice any headstones to identify the graves.  My assumption is that those records were kept by the warden, but I didn’t see one in the Museum.

Enjoy!

London Bridge in the USA

As we made our way back south, toward home, we had a few sights that we wanted to see, and the London Bridge was one of them.  The London Bridge had actually been rebuilt and replaced at least a few times over its history.  The Bridge that is now at Lake Havasu City, AZ, was built in England, and completed in 1831.  I really wanted to see this piece of history, and so we made this a stop for us on this trip.  You may be wondering why the London Bridge was being replaced and this one sold.  Well, back when this bridge was originally built, in the 1800’s, no one could imagine what a bridge would have to be able to support in the 20^th century.  And, after years of traffic on it, the bridge was sinking into the river!  Yes, the London Bridge was truly falling down!!

The first thing we saw as we entered what’s considered the “English Village” at Lake Havasu City, AZ is a gate that was part of Witley Court in Worcester, England.  Robert McCulloch bought this gate when the estate it was on was sold off to various buyers, and he had it shipped to Lake Havasu City.  I really loved the look of this gate – a grand entry to a commercial community I was not expecting!

Just after passing through the gate, there was a fountain with lion statues surrounding it on all 4 sides, each lion clearly a part of the overall fountain structure.  It was rather warm (ok, hot) in Lake Havasu City, and all this water splashing felt refreshing, even though no one could actually feel the water.  The fountain was one that folks would toss coins in and make a wish, and Jeff and I were among those who did so.

Ah, the Bridge – what I had wanted to see!  It was interesting to learn that when the bridge was purchased and readied for shipping to the US, each block was numbered before the bridge was disassembled.  The blocks were then shipped to California via the Panama Canal, and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona.  Mr. McCulloch purchased the bridge in 1968 for just over $2.4 million.  The bridge was then reconstructed over a newer bridge capable of withstanding modern day traffic driving on it.  The reconstruction was complete and the bridge was rededicated in October, 1971.  The entire expense of the bridge’s initial cost, transportation and reconstruction totaled $5.1 million.

I loved looking at the details of the bridge’s stonework!  We were able to walk underneath the bridge and get relatively up close to it!  What a treat!!  There was a lot more in the area of the bridge, including restaurants, shops, hotels, etc.!

And, I love this phone booth.  It reminds me of something that one would have seen in London at the time the bridge was perhaps considered relatively new.  I also love the pop of the bright red color against the cool grey of the stonework of the bridge!

And, how could we visit the London Bridge without taking the opportunity to drive on it?  I wasn’t sure Jeff would go for such a touristy thing to do, but he did!  Just rather neat to be driving on history! And, just fyi - this bridge is actually built around a new bridge capable of withstanding today's traffic, so it won't be falling down again!

Enjoy!

History Walk Continued

Although we saw quite a bit of Bodie during the last post, we really are only about halfway through all that we saw on our afternoon visit.  There is quite a bit more of Bodie that remained to be seen that we didn’t get to, but I like to think we hit the highlights to truly get a feel of what it may have been like to live in this town, many years ago!

This poor building, propped up by pole you see on the left side of this image is the Swasey Hotel.  Horace F. Swasey was a Nevada rancher who bought this 2-story hotel in 1894.  In later years, it also was a clothing store and a casino.  What tales the walls of this place could tell…..as long as it remains upright!

The Miners Union Hall is the only building in Bodie that people can enter, primarily because it now serves as the Bodie Museum.  It was built in 1878, and was central to the social life that existed here in Bodie.  It not only was the meeting place for the union members (mining), religious services, balls, masquerade partied, school recitals and annual Christmas parties also happened within these walls.  

Bodie had several fraternal societies, and one of them was lodged in this building.  The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Lodge No. 279 used the second floor (notice how access to the second floor was from the outside of the main building – photo on the right).  The first floor was originally used by Henry Ward for his undertaking/furniture business, rather an odd mix of businesses, I thought!  It was later used by the Bodie Athletic Club, and some of the exercise equipment is still there (left photo).

Next to the IOOF Hall is the DeChambeau Hotel.  Originally, the post office was in this building in 1879.  The upstairs served as Grandma Johnson’s rooming house, and Jeff and I were quite intrigued by the upper windows (photo below), and we felt like someone could be up there, checking out who might have entered the post office, once upon a time.  In later years, it became the DeChambeau Hotel, and in Bodie’s final years, it was a bar and café.

Just down from the Hotel, a murder occurred at this site.  On January 14, 1881, a miner, Thomas Treloar was shot and killed here.  It was a bit of a Peyton Place situation – Thomas was shot by Joseph DeRoche, who was romantically involved with Thomas’ wife.  He shot Thomas as he left a dance at the Miner’s Union Hall, just up the street.  DeRoche was arrested and escaped a few hours later.  A posse recaptured him 2 days later and he was brought to the Bodie Jail (which is no longer standing). However, after midnight, a vigilante committee, known as “601”, took DeRoche from his jail cell and hanged him at this site.  Wow!  Looks rather non-descript, but quite a historical event happened there!

Across the street from the Boone Store and Warehouse, sits this building, the Wheaton and Luhrs building.  It was a store in the 1880’s.  After Luhrs died, a sign called it the “Bodie Store”.  Then, J.S.Cain bought it and it became a land office.  It then became offices for the hydroelectric company that transmitted electricity to the town from Lundy Canyon.  Final, after the Clinton-West Company arrived in the 1920’s, the building finally became a hotel/boarding house.  Although Josie Perl was hired to be the cook for the hotel/boarding house, she continued mining on the side!

When I looked in the front door and window, the sign for the Bodie Hotel, the switchboard, and desk with small cubbyholes for any messages and mail that might arrive.  I love looking at these snippets of everyday life, and they continued along the side of the building.

In the windows along the side of the building, I saw a pool table, and imagined the guests/residents relaxing there in the evenings.  Other windows gave me a look into what I thought might be a pantry area, and then a kitchen, where Josie worked her cooking magic!

Just down the street from the Wheaton and Luhrs building is the Schoolhouse.  However, this building was originally the Bon Ton Lodging House.  It became the school after the first school was supposedly burned down by an early-day juvenile delinquent.  In 1879 – 1880, the school saw its highest enrollment of 615 students.  This school closed in 1942.  Of course, I had to look in the windows of the school!

Again, I felt like the children who were in the classroom might simply be out for recess, except, of course, for all the dust!!  Although there are 3 images, this seemed to be one large room, with the organ off to the left in the room (center photo), student desks in the center of the room (upper right photo), and the teacher’s desk (lower left photo).  The photo with the student desks also has a globe in the very front of the image.  It was very faded and dusty, sitting in the direct sunlight, but I can’t even image how out of date it might be!

This building is the Firehouse, and was actually rebuilt in 1930 by the California Conservation Corps.  Over the years, two of the biggest fires were in July, 1892 and June, 1932.  Again, we were able to look inside the firehouse (image below)  and saw some of the old equipment – a fire wagon (left photo) and a stretcher and lanterns (right photo).

Across from the Firehouse is the Lottie and Eli John House.  They moved to Bodie in 1883, and their successful mining investments allowed them to purchase houses and several saloons in Bodie.  From 1932 – 1942, the Post Office was located in this building.

On our way out of town and back up the hill toward our car, the Bodie cemetery was off to the left.  We didn’t walk up the hill to the cemetery, mainly due to the fact that it was later in the afternoon and it was getting rather chilly up in the Sierra Nevada’s!!  

Enjoy!

Bodie – A Step Back in History

There were two things that struck me about the ghost town of Bodie.  First, it was absolutely in the middle of nowhere!  How did people not only survive, but thrive here?  The second thing that surprised me was how large the town was originally, and how much of it still remained standing!

Bodie is located along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  It was established after the 1849 Gold Rush on the western slopes tapered off.  W.S. Bodey, from Poughkeepsie, NY, discovered gold here in 1859.  However, he died months later, in a blizzard, and never saw the town that honors him.  His remains were lost, rediscovered in 1879, and then lost again.  It is believed that he now lies on the hill above the cemetery.  The town’s name eventually came to be spelled “Bodie”.

The first house we came to as we entered the town is the McDonnel/Dolan House.  Donald and Frank McDonnell, father and son, lived in this home and were miners, based on the 1920 census.  Donald’s wife, Mary, was one of Bodie’s postmistresses.  Alice Dolan, the schoolteacher and daughter of the sheriff, lived here briefly from 1935 – 1937.  Her father was killed in a shootout near Mono Lake, about 10 miles away, in 1915.

This church, the Methodist Church, was built in 1882, and is the only church still standing.  There was a Catholic church in Bodie, also built in 1882, but it burned in 1928.  E.J. Clinton, head of a mining company in town, used to preach sermons in this church.  Although we couldn’t go into the church, I was able to look inside and capture an image of the benches and the organ, still looking as if they are ready for Sunday services.

Across the street from the McDonnel/Dolan House, is the D.V. Cain House, built in 1873.  David Victor Cain was the son of James S. Cain, the last landowner of Bodie.  The Cains sold Bodie to the State of California in 1962.  In 1904, D.V. Cain married Ella M. Cody, a schoolteacher who later founded the Bodie Museum.

This barn is typical of the large barns that were once used throughout Bodie.  The original red color can still be seen, although faded and worn.

This house belonged to Tom Miller, his wife, Jessie and their 2 children.  Tom worked for the Bodie Railway and Lumber Company at Mono Mills, near Mono Lake.

These 2 images are of the front (top) and side/back (bottom) of the house owned by J.S. Cain, the last landowner of Bodie.  He was 25 when he arrived in Bodie in 1879.  At that time, he had just married Martha Delilah Wells of Geneva, Nevada.  He worked in the lumber business, and then as a banker.  In 1915, he acquired the Standard Company mining properties, and that was how he became the principal land owner in Bodie.

This small building, known as the Saddle Building, was part of a large, stable complex in the field to the south of town, owned by a Bodie merchant, Harvey Boone.

This is the Boone Store and Warehouse, built in 1879.  It was one of several general stores in town.  Its owner, Harvey Boone, was a distant cousin of Daniel Boone.

It was really interesting to look into the windows and see a mannequin in the window, along with shelves and display cases, many with various items still intact.  I would really have loved to walk through the store, but most of the doors to the buildings are closed and locked.

This storage room/building was next to the Boone Store and seemed to hold some of the larger items that may have been for sale, such as wagons to cart supplies and people who lived in the outer areas of town into town.  Perhaps the people who lived in the small cabin we saw and highlighted in the previous post about our travels to town, used a wagon like these to get to and from town.

Every town needs at least one morgue, and this is one of the morgues in Bodie.  The other is closer to the cemetery, and wasn’t one that we visited.  Originally, the Bodie House Hotel stood where the morgue is today, but it burned down in 1888, and this morgue was then established here.

It was a bit creepy looking into the morgue windows.  At first, I just saw a desk where paperwork on the deceased individuals was apparently completed (top photo), but then, I noticed the coffin just sort of propped up against a wall in the lower photo, and that felt really odd, to say the least.

More to come – stay tuned for the next post!

Enjoy!