February 20, 2009 – Swansea Ghost Town

Today we decided to go to the Swansea Ghost Town about 25 miles north of Bouse (and 24 of those miles on a dirt road!). The scenery was incredible. It reminded us so much of the old western movies.

The Swansea Valley as we came thru the mountain pass. The road to the valley is on the right and the town is on the valley floor.

This is where we had lunch – look at that view:

The Swansea Townsite was once a copper mining town during the early 1900’s. In its prime, there were over 500 residents and the town included cottages, a hospital, a school, a railroad depot, saloons, etc. as well as the mining operation buildings. What I found interesting is that some of the mine shafts are right among the homes – must have been pretty interesting during operations. Some scenes:

We took a side trip to the pumping station (but didn’t go all the way out) and the road became, well let me put it this way – Andy took over driving.

The wildflowers are now blooming in the desert – how beautiful! (Sorry no pictures – they didn’t come out well.)

We made a stop at the American Legion in Bouse for a few drinks – and met some great people. We decided that we are going to do more of this as we travel. Supper was at the local café and we finished the day with a great sunset.