Thursday, February 11, 2021

Signs Can Get You In Trouble!

My friend Cyndae and I seem to be good at getting into trouble.  Yes, the adventure continues as we returned from Cascabel, a little more alert since seeing the chimpanzee head-on-a-stick at the entrance to the last driveway we drove in to.

Along the way bouncing down the dirt road, we saw a church steeple.  Hmmm must be a town there!  Let's figure out how to get to it.  We spotted this sign on the roadside and turned in.  No we did NOT have a reservation, nor did we have phone service so we could get one.  In fact, we had had no service in the last three hours.

As we drove down the now narrower and rougher dirt road, we spotted a big open gate.  Lets go in HERE!  That's when I saw the sign.  GAMMONS GULCH!  I've seen pictures in the past from one of my Ghost Town websites, but very few of them.  What a FIND!!

I instantly spotted the huge game camera attached to the fence looking right at us.  We parked and walked around the big fence into "town".  What a fabulous place.  It was an entire old west town full of original buildings.  I spotted a pickup way down at the end and hailed the human standing here.  HELLO!!!

Is this not cool?  There's a hangman's noose on the scaffold at the very end.  Oh the pictures I could get here!!  We are CLOSED the man said.  Oh darn ... could we just get a couple of pictures?  I was already snapping away.

No sorry, we are closed.  Cyndae distracted him as I took this one.  He gave us a card with all the information and we dejectedly walked back to the Jeep.  No ghost town pictures for me.


Later I looked it up on the internet.  It seems the buildings were gathered up by Jay and Joanne Gammons and moved here as a movie set.  If you want to rent the entire town and shoot a movie, you can.  $$$$   If you are just Joe Public and want to visit, you canNOT.  It is not open to the public AT ALL.  Well actually, I guess you can rent the place for your big church function or your wedding.  Several films have been made here, none of which I recognize.  

So we drove OUT the gate, but Cyndae insisted we turn left and head off into the desert.  It turns out there is a donkey sanctuary just down the road, but yet another sign said reservations only.  We tried our phones again, to no avail.  We saw donkey evidence, but with nothing else in sight, we finally turned around.

Next trip I'll try to get reservations for both the birds and the donkeys.  On the way back in to Pomerene we spotted this beauty.  Gosh if I had this truck I would be fixing it up and putting it on the road.  The motorcycle, not so much.

Since Cyndae had not been here before, we took a short detour to Pantano on the way home.  You've seen this before when I almost got the Jeep stuck in the mud.  Every year neighbors bring artificial flowers to the graves here.  It appears however that someone comes back and places them all on this grave.  This lady's last resting place is visited by her family often.

There are many buried here, but most are unknown.   Sadly it's in some disrepair.  Maybe I'll spend a day fixing it up a little.

After an amazing lunch of chili rellenos at Magaly's in Benson, we arrived back home in one piece.  Cyndae was ecstatic.  Let's do that AGAIN!!!  

OKAY!!!



19 comments:

  1. That maybe an "Indian" motorcycle which would be valuable $$$
    It looks to be over 100 years old. "American Pickers" would go crazy over it.

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    1. I thought it was a keeper ... just parked on the side of the road in the wind and rain. Didn't get to see it up close, but the frame alone is probably valuable.

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  2. Perhaps you can 'rent the place' just for some picture taken...might have to forgo a couple of quilts due to the price...

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    1. Ohhhhh a good idea. Might even exchange a quilt for a night's stay!!

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  3. Another interesting adventure. Thank you!

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  4. Sounds like Cyndae is into exploring now. And you're the right guide. Interesting western town and you did manage some good pictures 😀

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    1. I have to laugh ... she said she loved exploring but needed someone like me to go with her to make sure she came back alive! LOL

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  5. OK, a question. I grew up in south Texas and my chili rellenos Were always made with chili peppers. Now, all I see are made with pablanos. I am curious as to your experience.

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    1. They were poblanos ... blackened and peeled, then stuffed with cheese, dipped in batter and deep fried. My mom used to make them with chili peppers also, just took all the seeds and ribs out so they weren't so hot for us kids.

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  6. We had a tour of Gammon's Gulch a few years ago. It was just Bill and I and the owner charged a fee. Can't remember how much but he said he didn't collect the fee until the end and if we didn't think it was worth it, we didn't pay. We gave him much more than the fee.

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    1. Wow ... that's amazing Jan! We called and called, as did another ghost town friend for a large tour group, and no one ever returned the call. Now their card and their website say NOT open to the public. Glad you got to see it!!

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  7. Replies
    1. Not yet. It was on my list but the gentleman is very old now and not giving tours like he used to. $10 each person it says, so I called and offered $100 just for me, but again, no one ever returned any of my phone calls. Sadly, Old Tucson is now closed permanently.

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  8. We've been to Gammons Gulch a number of times and it's always been open. I was surprised to hear it is closed to the public.

    Here is a link to one of our visits.

    https://clarkrambling.blogspot.com/search/label/Gammons%20Gulch

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    1. Great photos. Thank you for the link!! Their card says by appointment only and Not Open To The Public. Maybe they just got tired of all the people, I don't know. Or maybe it's just my bad luck not to be allowed into ANY of the local film locations!!! Who knows!!

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  9. Nancy, we toured Gammons Glutch several years ago when it was opened to the public. At the time it was $7 per person and paid at the end of tour. Did not like, no fee. We brought our own lunch and ate in the 'saloon' while the owner played the piano. Interesting movie sets. Several Escapes went the following years with group rates. WE heard that the owner's health was not up to pare and tours stopped. Because of the Covid-19, not surprising it is closed. We enjoyed the time. Lynn Cross.

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  10. Nancy, your talked about Casabel few stories back. That area is one of several that the Jeepers travel through to do a jeep ride on Tuesdays. Yes, there is nothing there, however, there is a santuary of birds that at one-time was a place to take visitors. David and I never took a tour, we know several that have. Because of Covid-19, I am not sure if tours are in session. Also, Casabel has/had their arts & crafts show at Christmas. We went once...had to get there early for parking. The bird santuary is closed during that period of the show because of traffic and parking.

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  11. One more item, we eat at Magaly's several times....we love their Mexican soups. They reduced their hours because of Covid-19. Next time in Benson and if you haven't, I suggest Mi Casa for Mexican food. Only open M-F and it is a husband & wife team...wonderful food. Call us and if available, we can join you. Currently, limited inside seating and tables outside.

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