Thursday, March 2, 2017

Road trip!


Recently, I decided to take another road trip. 


I love history, and have a special place in my heart for old west towns. Some are still thriving, sometimes they are barely holding on, some are complete ghost towns, and other times there's nothing left except the foundations of buildings that fell long ago. 

The ghost towns, although very interesting, seem a bit sad and lonely to me, but the towns that only have foundations left are the saddest of all.

Sometimes I'm able to find pictures of what was there, but oftentimes I can't find a thing. So, I like to imagine what it all looked like when a place was bustling with townsfolk or what a house or building might have looked like when it was still standing.

It never fails to amaze me that people just picked up and left one day, never to return.

Honestly, I could wax poetic about that all day and probably will some other time, but I'll stop there and return to the road trip ;)


Anyway, although I usually have a destination in mind, I tend to stop here and there, willy nilly, taking my time.

Let's just say that, if there's a historical marker, I can't pass it up.

Some interesting places are found that way, but being distracted also makes it so you don't always end up at the destination where you were headed in the first place.

This was one of those times.

We left Tucson on Saturday morning heading for Clifton.



We had been in the car for about an hour or so and after a couple of stops at some tiny towns (I forgot to take pictures... darn it!) we decided to stop and stretch our legs and have some fun on the Gila River (Gila is pronounced he-la).


Pretty, isn't it?

Personally, I had no idea that there was anything this serene and beautiful in the lower part of Arizona.

You can read more about this area 'here'.

Afterwards, we headed to our next stop, which happened to be Globe.

It started out as a mining town and was founded in 1875.

image via Arizona100
Of course it doesn't look like that anymore (I wish!), but it's a really sweet town that's been kept up pretty well.

They have quite a few antique stores, including this one, called Hill Street Mall: 


The building was previously a Coca-Cola plant and also a Safeway grocery store.

The lady that was working there was a sweetheart and funny to boot!

I found a replacement for the tiny blue Pyrex bowl I broke recently.

Don't ask.


Anywho...

Many of the original buildings still exist, including the old courthouse, built in 1905, which is now used as a center for the arts.

Image via Google search
And do you see that little old grey building behind it, on the right?

It's the old jail that served from 1910 until 1981.


Yes, you read that right.

It finally closed down the same year that President Reagan first took office.

In other words, I was almost a teenager when it closed!


They give free tours, so of course we had to take a quick one ;)

Our friendly tour guide, Rick Benning showed us around the old jail and had many stories to tell about some of the infamous prisoners who stayed here.

It was a very dark, creepy place and it was freezing inside!


Below is the door to the pulley system that locks up the cells, which Rick demonstrated for us.


Yikes! What a sound that was!

I swear it's haunted.

In fact, a paranormal team actually tried to stay there overnight, but left in the early morning hours.


I couldn't do it!

Could you?

This bridge is three stories up and it's where the prisoners left the courthouse to go into the jail to serve their sentences. 


This is looking up towards the top story of the courthouse, next to the bridge.


Below is the door to the old Sheriff's office on the back of the courthouse building.


It was definitely not a place that I wanted to stay for more than 20 minutes, so can't imagine living there for years, much less in a tiny shared cell.

You would think that it would be a real crime deterrent, but knowing how many people ended up there, I suppose it wasn't.

You can read more about the jail 'here'.

After a stop at The Old Dominion (which is where they used to mine for copper), a quick meal Clint's Blue Line BBQ, and driving through a few more small towns, (I forgot to take pictures...  again!) we headed home....


and enjoyed a glorious Arizona sunset.


It was a beautiful ending to a perfect day :)


xo
rue




27 comments:

  1. beautiful photos and descriptions..
    such a filled to the brim day and
    fulfilled life you're leading, rue. ♥

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  2. What wonderful scenery. How interesting about the jail, I wouldn't have wanted to be in that jail for very long either, much less spend the night. Creepy!

    The dogs look like they had a blast in the refreshing stream!

    The picture of you and John is nice. He reminds me of my husband, t-shirt, jeans, beard, slim. You make a lovely couple. It was neat seeing you dressed in vintage.

    Have a great upcoming weekend ~ FlowerLady

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  3. You two make a lovely couple. BBQ sounds good right now. It's about time to shut down for the day and think about dinner, and I'm hungry! Arizona really does have the most beautiful sunsets. So nice to see you smiling and enjoying your road trip. xo

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  4. I wanted to thank you for the jail photos - I did my thesis on historic American jail buildings and recognized the Pauly name immediately. Pauly is still active, and still located in Missouri (http://www.paulyjail.com/about/history.html). A chief competitor, Diebold, still manufactures items like ATM machines and voting booths today. Pauly & Diebold jails are all over the West and Southwest; they're similar to Sears mail-order homes. They were both started by immigrants in the Midwest as the Industrial Revolution geared up in the mid-1800s. Anyway, I get ridiculously excited when these old buildings pop up in other people's stories. Thanks again, and please keep the blogs coming!
    Julie

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    1. Thank you for sharing that history, Julie! Those machines certainly did their job and I couldn't believe how loud the sound they make was. It was frightening to imagine being in there.

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  5. Thanks for taking us along on your trip! Great photos and descriptions. I tend to get caught up in the moment and forget to take pictures too!
    Have a great weekend.

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  6. What interesting places to visit, you both do look very happy in jail! Love those sweet pups :)

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  7. I am not much for the desert. I prefer Oregon and trees and mountains and what we have here. I have relatives who have lived in AZ for a long time but do not visit.

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  8. How exciting and beautiful! I just love road trips....so many interesting things to see. And I've said the same thing about ghost towns...how could they have just packed up and left??!! Old jails??!! YES...I love them! And I agree with you, I think they are haunted. We visited one up in PA, where they filmed part of the movie 12 Monkeys...that place creeped me out big time!! I would not go in there at night...it was scary enough during the day! You look so happy! Love and hugs to you sweet friend!

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  9. I love days like that. I also love ghost towns and small old towns. Yours looked picture perfect with that old courthouse and jail. The Gila River is really beautiful. Take it from me-we lived in Southern AZ for awhile. Such a fun day. Glad you and your other half and the pups got out for a great outing.

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  10. My husband went to Globe and beyond with his photographer friends a few years back and really enjoyed checking out Globe too. Yes, I too would prefer to live points north, but resides in Hades on Earth in the long hot Summers. I have to agree with John, although it took me many a years appreciating the beautiful desert ( snow on the desert floor is stunning ). Sounds like a fun road trip you had with John and his doggies. Kathleen in Az

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    1. Yes, the desert takes some getting used to. I remember when I first knew I was moving back to this side of the country and didn't realize that there was more than desert here. I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was more to Arizona than just cactus lol The desert does have it's beauty though, especially when you look at it through the eyes of someone that loves it :)

      xo

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  11. You two look very happy and so do his dogs. I guess yours were home with your daughter. I'm glad you had this fun little getaway!
    Brenda

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  12. I love history and a trip like this sounds glorious. I have never been out west and I have never seen a ghost town. I imagine I would feel the same as you. The jail was creepy, but interesting. Looks like you had a fun day. It's written all over your gorgeous face. :)

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  13. This looks like a great adventure. Our family enjoys history road trips as well.
    You look so happy! I am so happy for you, Rue! You are so lovely.
    Thank you for sharing your special day.
    Carla

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  14. Oh I love happy and this is a happy...very...post!

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  15. What a fun outing! Don't you wish we could all be like those pups and fun and play in the water with sweet abandon? They looked like they were having a blast! Thank you for the tour of the jail. That place did look creepy. I think it would deter me from committing a crime. ;)

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  16. What a fun little getaway! Looks like everyone had a great time, even the pups. That jail looked verrry creepy. I'd want to get out of there as soon as possible.

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  17. Arizona looks nice AND you don't have to change your clocks for daylight savings time either! LUCKY!

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  18. Oh Rue! You look so happy and this posting made me smile. My husband and I enjoy taking little road trips also. That jail was very creepy. My first thought was imagine if you were really innocent of a crime and ended up there? Cool pictures!

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    1. I thought about that too! Scary, isn't it?! I can't imagine even working there.

      Thank you for your sweet words :)

      xo

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  19. Sounds like a brilliant day out, Rue, and you both look so happy.
    Amalia
    xo

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  20. Sounds like a fun day Rue. Love that you share a picture of your honey and his furry friends as well! How do your dogs get along with his? That's a lot of dogs :-)
    Take care
    Jeannette

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    1. Hi Jeannette :)

      I haven't taken them down to Tucson yet, but they've been up here about 5 times. It took some doing, but Bubba finally stopped barking at them the whole time they're together. He's a tough little guy ;)

      xo

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  21. What a lovely trip, so many good photographs you've shared here.

    "He said we looked too darn happy to be in there ;)" ... I agree

    All the best Jan

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  22. I love spontaneous road trips with the destination not so important as the journey! Just loved this wonderful day spent with the dogs and on the road, exploring! Those ghost towns are eerie, I agree. We have visited a few. There is a wild beauty about the desert that is glorious, but I agree with you, the mountains remain my favorite :)

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  23. I've so enjoyed catching up with your posts today Rue! Visiting your blog has always been a treat. I'd really like to one day visit out west, your road trips look like so much fun! I love that old encyclopedia cabinet that your sweetie found you... and I know you were so excited to find those old bottles, they are perfect for the top of your cabinet : ) Well, I'll talk to you again soon, have a great weekend!
    P.S. Glad you put away and saved the yellow pup! That post is so cute! Give all those doggies a hug for me okay?

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