Echoes of the Southwest

The big tin factory is gone!  We had heard from a friend living in Casa Grande that they demolished the huge tin building.  From what we found inside, we thought it might had once been a factory.  Now, all that is there is the boulder with a pipe inside of it and a large slab of cement where the building once stood.

That's right, we can rent the Domes.  The first place we headed to when we got to Casa Grande was the Domes.  We have not visited there in over two years and was curious to see if the back structure was still standing.

As we were driving up to the Domes, we noticed a group of people standing by their cars.  We waited in the car to see what they were going to do.  We decided to get our cameras, hats and water ready to sneak walk over to the Domes.  Another car arrived and parked in front of us.  We found out it was the owners and that group rented the Domes for the day.  Sharon got his information because we were interested in having the place to ourselves with permission.  Meanwhile, I took some pictures of the outside and was glad to see the back structure still standing.  Sadly, we could not get inside to get more pictures.

We are planning on renting the place out for a day and into the night possibly in January.  We will be inviting others to join us in taking pictures, having…

We have trekked around Casa Grande, AZ several times, but his is the first time we hit the historic downtown.  We found it charming.

Happy Birthday little Bro!

In July of 2011, Sharon and I took a road trip to Tucson, AZ to visit our friend and attend a seminar.  We had noticed some old motel signs and what appeared to be abandoned buildings while traveling north and south along Interstate 10. The signs and motels were on the northbound side of the highway but since we were taking another route south towards home, we flipped a U-turn and check out the town of Picacho.  The town is located north of the famous mountain, Picacho Peak.  It seemed like everywhere we turned was an abandoned place where we could take lots of pictures.  This town was an urban explorer's dream place to visit.  We were so glad we took the detour and checked out Picacho. This little settlement was a place we definitely wanted to revisit again.

Picacho, July 2011


Just this past weekend, we decided to take a road trip and revisit some of the places we hadn't seen in a year or two.  Of course, we wanted to check out Picacho and see what structures might still be s…

Quartzsite, Arizona can boast fabulous weather in the winter which brings lots of visitors and the largest gem and rock show.  There is one other place to add on your list of must sees while in Quartzsite and that is Barrett Village.  Sitting on a small band of dirt behind the parking lot of the Quartzsite Historical Museum which is located near the Tyson Well Old Stage Station at 161 W. Main Street is a mini village of stone buildings. 
In 1970, Walter Barrett and his wife moved to Quartzsite, AZ from Ferndale, Washington.  He became fascinated with all the interesting rocks located in the area and started a rock collection as well as made jewelry.  He built their home out of stones and used his collection to make several projects around their property.  The first thing he made was a birdbath out of stone to accommodate all the birds hanging out on their land.  After that, he built the mini village.  He poured over eight years of love into each structure even doing a replica of his…

Located in western Arizona in La Paz County sits the small town of Quartzsite.  Like many of the towns in Arizona, mines were a prominent resource in their heydays.  These days, Quartzsite has a few thousand residence but can get over two million visitors a year which keeps the economy going.  The area has a large RV park and is usually full to capacity in January and February when the weather is amazing.  Quartzsite is also known for having the largest rock and gem show.  People come from all over to attend this event.

Quartzsite does have some interesting places and things to see while in town.  One is the grave marker of Hadji Ali or better known as Hi Jolly.  He was "an Ottoman citizen of Greek-Syrian parentage, who took part in the experimental U.S. Camel Corps as a camel driver".  Stories such as Ghost Camels and the RedCamel with its Headless Rider came to life after the Camel Corp disband and the camels were let go.  Some of the camels ended up roaming the barren de…

Chandler, Arizona

This mysterious photo was taken at an old house in El Paso, Texas, where mentally challenged adults are cared for.  There is usually a person or two who will spend the night watching over the patience to make sure they don't try to escape.  They also have a code pad on all the doors for extra insurance to make sure the patience stay put.  One evening, while making his rounds, the employee noticed that a door to one of the rooms was found opened.  He would shut it and later found it opened again.  Knowing he was the only one on duty that night, he hid and took pictures of the door throughout the night.  He heard stories of ghosts being seen by others, but he didn't believe them.  He felt someone was playing a prank and he was going to catch them in the act.  As morning drew near, he grabbed his camera to check out the many pictures he took that night.  To his surprise, he caught a figure of a woman in one of the pictures.  Also, after examining his pictures closer, he saw what…

In 1970 an unusual experimental town was constructed and named “Arcosanti”.  Arcosanti is located about 70 miles north of Phoenix and was built using a concept called, arcology.  This principal combined architecture and ecology and developed to show how a town can “demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing the destructive impact of the earth.  The town aims to combine principles such as minimal resource use and access to the natural environment.”
Arcrosanti was constructed as a tentative town and located on 25 acres of land preserve.  With the most current structure completed in 1989, this site housed around 50 to 150 inhabitants who were either students or volunteers living on this location.  There are 13 buildings which are quite a few stories high and include a visitors’ center, café, gift shop, a bronze-casting apse, a ceramics apse, two large barrel vaults, a ring of apartment residences, and various stores.  All these places surround an outdoor amphith…

Born on February 5, 1861, Frank J. Wattron, became the first elected sheriff of Navajo County.  Technically, in 1895, Commodore Perry Owens was appointed the first sheriff of the newly formed county and Wattron worked under him as a deputy.   He once worked as a teacher and editor until being sworn in as second-in-command.  A year later in 1896, it was the first official election for sheriff.  Owens uprooted his family to another location and Wattron was chosen as sheriff.  During his time as the chief law enforcement officer, he pulled a contentious move.  In December of 1899, killer George Smiley was being held at the Navajo County Courthouse.  He was sentenced to be hung on the 8th and Wattron thought it would be fun to send a “novel” invitation to the event.  Pushed by his friends, he sent businesslike requests on gilt-bordered paper which stated, “The latest improved methods of scientific strangulation will be employed and everything possible will be done to make the surroundings …