Apache Trail Goldfield Ghost Town
When I read about Goldfield, I was a bit disappointed to learn that it wasn’t the remnants of an actual town, but created as a tourist site. There really was a Goldfield Arizona, but it wasn’t on this site exactly and the man who created it loved the history so much he wanted people to be able to relive it. In actuality it was quite interesting none the less, but not as “ghosty” as Rhyolite, NV. They’ve recreated a saloon, train station, livery stable, bordello, bakery and various other buildings. There’s even a reptile display, but for $3 it wasn’t that great – just some snakes and spiders in small aquariums. You can take a train ride, pan for gold, tour the bordello, or go down underground into the mock goldmine. Each of those will cost anywhere from $3-7 so you can spend a few dollars here if you do it all. We chose the cheap route and just walked around and caught the free gun fights a couple times. Costumed volunteers stage the fights between noon and 4pm, on the hour or so.
Gunfight in Goldfield
After the gunfight, we spent our time exploring the rest of the town and interacting with the people.
Towards the end of the town there’s a tent town and we weren’t sure we were supposed to go in, but upon asking were told it was welcomed.
Tintypes and an 8×10 View Camera
I found THE most interesting photo session in progress. One of the gunfighters was having his portrait taken by Kid Kollodian (aka John Sage), the local photographer who was also in period costume. He was using what appeared to be a home made 8×10 view camera, and get this – making his own tintypes! For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s a process that was used at the time by coating the light sensitive material onto a piece of tin (instead of film which wasn’t created yet) all done in the dark. Then taking the portrait, processing the tin “film” in a darkroom in a tent, and after it’s dry putting a coat of gloss varnish on it. The results were quite stunning and very much like the original tintypes of that era.
I was quite fascinated by the process and watching him create these masterpieces, so we stayed and watched for a while. I even got to look through the lens of the camera, under the dark hood. Took me back to my early NAIT days of using a 4×5 camera, and when I did commercial photography like food and advertising work in the studio.
Dar looking under big view camera
Tintypes drying
Photographer Kid Kollodion - aka John S. Sage
Leaving the town I spotted a road runner across the road. This is the best shot I could get of him – they’re very good at hiding. And no, he did not go “beep beep!” This is the fourth of this elusive bird we’ve seen so far this year.
Rob was hungry and anxious to try the chili at our next stop, so we left Goldfield and headed for Tortilla Flat.
Images in this post are available for purchase on the Her View Photography online gallery at Zenfolio.com.
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Day 42 – Moved Out of Phoenix and Into Tucson
Day 7 – Death Valley California Part One
Day 44 – Hotel Congress, Titan Missile Museum and Hacienda Del Sol
Dawg House Diner in Dwight on Route 66
You may think that I dont look happy in that photo, but in fact, that’s my patented “Smile #1″
He means the one of him in the saloon doorway
That “Kid Kollodian” sure has some special talents doesn’t he? Great pictures indeed!! It’s obvious to me that he has much passion for his work. Kudos to you “Kid”!
Hi Rob and Darlene– Enjoyed your blog and your experience driving the Apache Trail to Roosevelt Dam. We knew nothing about the Apache trail when we left the Lost Dutchman State Park on Feb.14 2010 and headed for what we thought would be a nice scenic trip to the dam. we were driving a 36.5 Fleetwood Bounder. What a shock when we came off the pavement and the road narrowed. No turning back Fish Creek hill was unbelievable–Scary-Ben
@Ben… OMG…. I can’t believe you did that. Fish creek hill WOULD be unbelievably scary! Holy shit!
FYI for all Young Snowbirds readers: Road Trip calendars for 2011 are now available on my site. I had so many images and requests to have them that I have created a calendar of some of my favorites from the road. You can see all the images in the calendar and order one on my photography blog at: http://www.herviewphotography.com/2010/09/30/road-trip-2011-calendars.html
Tortilla Flats is such a cool place with awesome chili. I’ve been there so many times, even before it burned down and they rebuilt most of it. I love how they tack dollar bills everywhere that people write on and the wild west atmosphere with gun slinging locals walking in. Fish creek hill can be super dangerous but exhilarating too. Take your time and stop to enjoy the view and see if you can spot some of it’s victims down at the bottom. If you are lucky enough to be there during or after a rain storm, you will be treated to a nice waterfall down at the bottom a the bridge.
It’s on your way to my favorite and most beautiful lake in Arizona – Apache. There are some awesome coves you can explore and hike to waterfalls at certain times of the year (by boat only). It also offers one of the few places where you can camp or stay at a motel right at the lake. Camp at the marina or Burnt Corral further up the road. Love it – one of my favorite places in Arizona to visit.