Lost Dutchman State Park and Goldfield Ghost Town

All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure.

Monday was an interesting day. It was also one of those days that we didn’t get moving very fast. Some days are just like that. We also were due to pay for our site. The office staff doesn’t work on the weekends so when you come in the rangers put you in the site that has been assigned and you pay on Monday. I wonder if anyone tries to sneak out. I also wonder how they justify not renting additional sites on the weekend. I would think they are losing an opportunity to earn a few more coins by having someone available in the office but what do I know. And, I certainly don’t want the job.

We went back to the Goldfield Ghost Town and also stopped at the Superstition Mountains Museum. Just like most tourist attractions and museums, there’s a charge to walk through and learn about the history of the area. I suppose that’s how they can afford to keep up the grounds and staff the museum. The fee was pretty inexpensive at $5.00 for adults or $4.00 for seniors.

We had been to the Goldfield Ghost Town many times but it’s still fun to visit, walk through the shops and eat at the Mammoth Restaurant. & Saloon. The restaurant has actually been in existence since the late 1800’s. I’m sure it’s been remodeled a bunch of times. The weather was gorgeous so we sat on the outside porch with the Superstition Mountains in view. Check out the picture of the hanging boots and cowboy hats inside the saloon.

We had never been on the mine tour so wanted to see if it was a real mine tour or not. So many attractions are replicas of the real thing. Guess what? This was a replica so we didn’t go. There are several signs for mine tours along Apache Trail and most of them are bogus. You certainly aren’t going to be able to tour the Lost Dutchman Mine because it’s “lost”. Maybe If you find it, you could start your own tour of a real gold mine.

About a mile down the road was the Lost Dutchman State Park. In the past all the camping spots were without hookups. Currently, one section is closed due to construction. The construction includes putting in hookups. Most of the sites are good sized and include barbecue grills. Some are huge half circles or drive-thrus. Once the hookups are operational, I bet this place fills up fast. The sites with no hookups are currently rented at $15 per night. There is also a day use area and lots of trails. I’d just watch the critters if you plan to camp during the warmer season. It’s definitely a beautiful area.

We also drove around the Apache Junction and Mesa area. It’s amazing how many facilities there are for active adults. That’s what they call all these parks for 55+ inidividuals. Most of the parks were probably mobile home parks at one time and as people moved out or units were updated, casitas or park models were moved in. In between all the little semi-permanent residents are usually areas for traveling RV’ers or winter RV’ers. Eventually, we may even decide to have one place we prefer over another for the winter and decide to make it a semi-permanent winter home. We haven’t done that yet and we'd definitely want it much, much smaller.

The park we are in right now (Val Vista Village) is fabulous …. just fabulous. As I mentioned yesterday, it offers all the amenities one could ever offer. However, we tend to prefer places to stay where there aren’t so many “permanents”. It’s like moving into a very established neighborhood. Many of these people have never been RV'ers and permanents aren't quite the same (in our personal opinion). Some are super nice though and some are territorial just like a neighborhood full of stix and bricks. The problem is finding the perfect place in the perfect location with the perfect amenities, the perfect people and allow perfect dogs. Sounds like Eden to me. Anyone know where it's at?

Another day trip we wanted to take was to Canyon Lake, Tortilla Flats and on to Roosevelt Lake via Apache Lake. However, we noticed a road sign indicating the highway to Apache Lake was closed and indicated Hwy 188 as an alternate route instead. We did this trip a couple years ago and having been there we’re hoping that the work being done is improving the road beyond Canyon Lake.

Oh well, this is another day so we’ll see what it brings. We know the weather will be gorgeous.