A pretty little Gecko out getting some morning sun by a piece of old mine machinery. Since it's Sunday, he didn't have to work at the GEICO office today.




Why, AZ, consists of 2 gas stations-quick stops. It's also the junction of Hwy 85 and 86. Hwy 85 goes about 20 miles south to Mexico, 86 goes about a hundred miles East to Tucson. There is also a very small casino there.




Why Not. The other business in Why.






This tickled me. We're really out in the desert, miles from Nowhere (actually about 200), and here you can have WiFi in your tent. Better than some motels in the cities!



One of 2 large pit mines in Ajo. LOTS of tailings are piled in the surrounding area. The mine shut down in the late 70's.






A cross on a hill. Taken with a lot of zoom. Nice, for a Sunday morning.



This old Mission is now the museum in Ajo. It's not open now, but will be tomorrow so we'll come back. If you click on the picture and look just to the left of the cross on the steeple, you'll see the cross on the mountain from the last picture.





Some kind of observation dome. It's empty inside, but you can see where the machinery or telescope used to be mounted. The track with the sliding opening looks like it still would work if the electricty was connected. Don't know what it is, but will find out.



Don't know if you can read the sign, but this wagon is about 110 years old. Used to haul frieght and Gila Bend to Ajo, later was a water wagon in Ajo.



This is a safe with the door blown off. It says you can make deposits 24 hours a day, but don't put in anything you can't afford to lose




A nice little courtyard at the museum. This was part of the old Mission.

Huevos Rancheros at Marcela's in Ajo. Very tasty breakfast!



Inside Marcelo's. They are always featuring a local artist, the pictures are for sale.



It's early morning, still chilly enough for Pat to put on a sweater for our Mountain Ride.



We rode about 20 miles..lots of nothing to see, except for some nice cactus and a lot of fresh desert flowers. It's a little early for most of them. Pretty wild country out there.



As we got back closer to Hwy 85, we started passing huge piles of different colored "tailings" from the mine that operated here for years, and was the whole purpose of the little town. Now, it houses a lot of Border Patrol people. If it wasn't for them, it would probably sort of dry up. Tomorrow we'll be going to the Pipe Organ Cactus National Monument, should have a little more interesting ride. Right now, it's off to the Swimming Hole at the RV park.





This is a little town (can't remember the name) about 40 miles East of Yuma. There is a good Basque Restaurant there. It looks like a good lunch place for a motorcycle trip real soon after we get back.



La Siesta RV and Motel. There is a good tennis court right behind us, then a nice little pool. Lots of trees and flowers in the park. It was totally full, but the person using this site left to spend a week in Mexico, so they let us use it for 4 days.



This was the nice little Ice Cream shop in the old Theater on the Plaza. Don (VSP), Steve (SAG) and I ate here a couple years ago. It now has different owners, but the food it good.



WiFi is very slow and hard to get at the RV park. It works well here, but I forgot to bring the AC cord, and the battery went dead. I'm posting this from the Rec room at the park.



Pretty flags over the Ajo Town Plaza.



East Side of the Ajo Town Plaza is an old Railroad Station. It's still in limited use, and is also a musuem now.





One of tow beautiful churches on the Ajo Town Plaza.





The other church. They are shiny white and the grounds are well groomed.



The old High School is now a "live in" artist coloney.



Sort of junky looking, but this is the best DQ we've been in for a long time! I won't even begin to describe how they make a hot fudge sundae.




Best Western Coronado in Yuma. I think this will be the Kaw Pasture for the Lettuce Ride next March. If we can get 20 rooms reserved, they will give us a pretty good deal. More on this later.



This little chapel is about a half mile off of Hwy 95 (10x zoom for this picture). They have an Easter Service every year, and it's open every day for people to stop and meditate. It's right in the middle of the farm land.



These purple flowers are everywhere now, in the desert. There are a lot of yellow ones too, but I like the purple ones the best.



Near the US Army Proving Grounds, North of Yuma.



Don't know for sure, but I was told this is a Border Patrol Blimp that does surveillance along and just North of the border.



Almost 20 miles round trip of washboard and loose gravel getting out to the old Mine. The dome on the left on the horizon is Castle Dome, my destination.



The desert is getting greener and the cactus larger as I get closer to the mountains. Some are just starting to bloom.



I was surprised at the size of this Ghost Town. About 2/3 of the buildings are original, the rest are modified or rebuilt from fires, etc. It was a lot larger than I expected.



One of the original cabins,



Barb Foree could come down here and go right to work! I'm sure her Arizona credentials would be accepted here! There was a school, church, a couple of stores, 2 bars, several living cabins, and all the things you'd expect to find in a small mining town.



This room, and the one next to it are reserved for Veterans. Hundreds of signatures with branch and dates of service. Sort of a nice touch I thought. Obviously not part of the original town, but the buildings are original.



One of two bars that were left about as they were back "when".



The largest store. There were a couple others besides this one.



This isn't the original church, but is suppose to look like the one that was here.



Kitchen in a store and living quarters. There was a diary there that was pretty interesting.



This case was used to hold a variety of goods in the store when it was open.



Castle Dome was a City until the mine ran out. Now there is only one couple that live there and maintain the museum. That's the Dome in the background.



The other bar. This one is a little more "up-scale"



"Suzi" was about shaken apart! I had to take off the GPS since the screws were coming loose on the mount. And, the mug had to be emptied and put in the trunk since it was bouncing all over. When I got home, it took a trip to the car wash to get all the dirt and dust off.



There are MANY places in Yuma County to get Date Shakes, but this is one of the best. Nice and thick, and a lot of Date pieces in them. I was sitting at this table and met an older couple from Myrtle Point, OR. Just a few miles from where we live in Coos Bay.



Yes, Yuma has a Kawasaki Dealer. I've never been in there, but will check it out prior to the Lettuce ride and let them know there may be a few Vulcans in the area. I'm sure Bob La Londe,
who has lived here a long time, would probably know all about them.