Bookworm Press

During my recent visit to my family and friends in El Centro, California, we visited an old mineral mine, called Caste Dome, in the Arizona desert. It was used to extract silver and other important minerals. It is now a historical site and was left as it was in 1878 with minor updates, mainly for safety reasons.

Before you venture out to visit it, make sure your car’s tires are solid and in good condition, and please drive carefully. Calling the path to the site a rough road is an understatement, but it’s well worth the drive.

Here are a few pictures of this testament to the hard and dangerous work of the miners.

Castle Dome

The miners’ humble abode

Education was important even in this isolated community. Here is the schoolroom and a teacher.

History lesson

Time for a shave or a bath!

Time for lunch or a break

Extracting the minerals

You cannot have only work and no play!

Cooking, the old-fashioned way

You could call this a “classic car.” It probably belonged to one of the bosses.

Very important building!

And so is this building! There is even a jail. Sometimes bad things do happen out in the wilderness and among people from all walks of life

It was a hard and dangerous life

This is just a sample of what to see at Castle Dome in the Arizona desert. Take a trip and enjoy a historical journey back into the 19th century.

After enjoying the spectacular view of the Grand Canyon, it was time to head back on the train. On the way to the Grand Canyon the host in our car gave us a lot of interesting details about the history of the train. On the ride back, however, we got a touch of the old and wild West!

All of a sudden, our host told us that we were being attacked by train robbers. Sure enough, two men on horseback, shooting their pistols, overtook the train. You can spot one of them through the train window on the next picture!

And before we “terrified” passengers knew it, they were inside the train, “forcing” us to hand over one dollar or ??! Well, we didn’t wait for the “or.”

Here they are, those railway robbers!

Finally, the Sheriff shows up–too late as usual.

They escaped with our dollars–but the whole excitement was worth it.

Back in Williams, we admired one more time the loyal old train engine. It was a wonderful experience!

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This promises to be a jam-packed, exciting day for us. I visited the Grand Canyon in the seventies, but for Diane, it was a first. I remember, walking to the rim of this amazing gorge and stopping in awe, completely overwhelmed with what I saw.

The history of this natural wonder is described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park

This time around, we decided to take the train, in other words, we returned to the “Old West via the Grand Canyon Railway.” It was a blast, a true time travel experience. If you ever decide to forego the car and parking problems and embark on a true adventure, here is the information:

https://www.thecanyon.com/grand-canyon-railway

We started the journey from the town of Williams in Arizona.

The ride to the Grand Canyon was an adventure in itself with all kinds of entertainment and interesting information about the history of the train.

After an almost three hour ride, we arrived at Grand Canyon Village where we hiked a small path to the rim of the canyon. I still remember the first impression of this miraculous gorge back in 1971. I was simply overwhelmed and couldn’t believe my eyes. When I saw it again on this trip, the breathtaking view was as powerful as the first time. The photos give an idea of the vastness and beauty of the canyon but they can’t convey the full impact of standing there in person.

For those interested in the formation and history of the Grand Canyon, this article about a new groundbreaking discovery by the geologist Allan Krill is fascinating. Enjoy the amazing photos:

A Big Boulder Holds a Grand Canyon Secret – Past Chronicles

Since we had to get up at the crack of dawn to catch the train, I was ready for a cup of coffee and so were a lot of other people, which meant standing in line for a while. We were lucky though to secure a pleasant spot in a restaurant for lunch. After walking along the rim, taking pictures, and browsing through the souvenir shops, it was time to catch the train back. We had three hours to explore this wonderful place. It would be great to spend the night in one of the few lodges and experience the rising and setting sun. Perhaps next time!

If the train ride to the Canyon had been interesting, the ride back was a  true “Wild West adventure”! Stay tuned for the next blog post!

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My friend Diane in Arizona had an important birthday coming up and so we decided to celebrate with a visit to the Chihuly in the Desert exhibition and a ride on the old train to the breathtaking Grand Canyon. Both were overwhelming experiences.

Chihuly in the Desert is an exhibition at the Desert Botanical Garden near Phoenix, Arizona. The exhibition combines native desert plants with art works by the artist Dale Patrick Chihuly. Dale Chihuly – Wikipedia

We got there just before the sun set and were able to see the great variety of desert plants and the sculptures by daylight. After sunset, the art works lit up and created a magical atmosphere. Here are a few pictures.

After sunset, the sculptures lit up and illuminated the desert plants.

When you drive through the desert in summer when it’s hot and dusty, you can barely imagine that there is anything else but flat, dried-out landscape. In Spring, however, after some rainfall (unfortunately rare these days of climate change), the desert can burst with color from a blanket of wildflowers. Even in the hot summer months, you can enjoy many desert plants, above all a great variety of cacti.

Walking through the desert garden after sunset, admiring the illuminated plants and works of glass art, we realized how magical the desert can be.

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures on our train ride from Williams, Arizona, to the Great Canyon.

If you want to stay in touch with me, sign up for my mailing list. I send out occasional emails about my writing and other fun stuff. Just click on the Monkey icon in the right panel and fill out a short form. Don’t worry, I won’t overwhelm you with mail. And you can always unsubscribe.

After exploring the immediate neighborhood of Diane’s new home, we took a short trip to a neighboring town that was recommended to us: Scottsdale. This is a quaint place full of Native American art and arts and craft as well as Western folklore. Here are a few pictures.

This interesting and fun store sells and supports Native arts and crafts from artists in the area.

Check out the floor below!

It was fun–but HOT! It’s definitely the desert in summer. But look at the awesome sunsets! We are enjoying the evening at home.

The time has come for me to return to California and for Diane to get used to her new home. There will be plenty for her to do and she won’t get lonely with her five companions! I’ll miss our time together. During my next visit–when it’s a little cooler–we’ll explore Arizona some more. I look forward to visiting Sedona, which has been on my “bucket list” for a while.

Bye bye for now!

All right, we’re driving through New Mexico. I’ve been to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos many years ago and loved it. There wasn’t time during this trip for sightseeing but we’ll do that once Diane is settled. Right now, we’re eager to reach Arizona, her new home!

Getting closer!

And here we are! Sun City! Yay! Thank you, Mike, for your perfect transport!

Beautiful desert!

Of course, now the unpacking begins. Chaos once more for Diane, but we are here. We made it. While Diane is unpacking a few things for the first few days, the dogs are trying to get used to their new environment. I try to calm them down a little. I’m now officially Auntie Christa to 5 pups!

Our first relaxing meal. Aida, Diane’s realtor who got her the house, not only made sure the electricity and the water were turned on and everything was in order but even got us a few bottles of wine and beer! What a kind woman!

The next day was mainly settling in. Now, that the pups had a place to stay, we took a short trip to one of the beautiful towns in the neighborhood. Stay tuned.