We left San Diego on April 28th and drove a long HOT nine hours along the Mexican border to the Verde Valley Thousand Trails RV Resort near Cottonwood. This was our stopover spot on the way to the Grand Canyon where we would meet our friends, Anita and Hilary. We stayed two nights and spent a day exploring the area.
The Park Itself
The terrain in this area is hot, arid and dusty, but the park itself was quite nice. When we arrived at 10:00, the host escorted us to an easy pull-through spot for the night. Not the best site, but we found a vacated one the next morning that had a grassy strip and shade tree.
So happy for a shade tree at our site.
There’s a restaurant that offers three meals a day, and campers told us it was excellent food. A nine-hole miniature golf course, which Kate and I actually played on, and a very nice pool area. There are lots of long termers here, and they were very chatty and friendly. One of them suggested we take a day trip up to Jerome (which we did) and invited us to the weekly Card Bingo game at the lodge (which we didn’t).
If you find the place full, or want to save money, there’s a large plateau of BLM land at the entrance of the park that many RVers use for free boondocking.
Jerome
The old hotel and saloon.
This historic copper mining town was built in the late 1800s on the side of a mountaintop with an expansive view of the valley and canyon cliffs. Now, many of its turn-of-the-century buildings have been restored and it’s a funky-cute tourist town. The drive up to it is windy and steep (not RV friendly), and the town’s streets are narrow. With B&Bs and artsy shops, it almost has the feel of a hillside European village, but with a cowboy edge.
It was a great place to walk around and take photos. We had Bailey, so we couldn’t do more than peek in the shops, but they were good ones – local art and interesting antiques. Our favorite, Nellie Bly’s, housed the most beautiful (and expensive) collection of kaleidoscopes I’ve ever seen.
The portions of town that have not been restored are just as interesting. Some buildings resemble ancient ruins, crumbling walls, vines twisting through adobe windows. When the old jail slid down the hillside over time, the townspeople left it there, propped by a tree. It would have been easy to spend the whole day in the place.
Ghost Mining Town
Ghost Town entrance was like many tourist traps.
At the edge of town were signs for a ghost mine further up the road, and we decided to check it out. On approach, it looked a survivalist compound and Kate actually stopped the car at the gate, with second thoughts. But then she pulled into the parking lot and saw the tourist bait façade and a couple of other cars. A large poster showed the owner, Don Robertson, looking every bit the wizened prospector, and promised gold panning, petting zoo, blacksmithing and cold drinks. It was $5 to enter, but at this point, we figured why not?
So many junkers!
This place is a hoarder’s paradise. A junkyard without limits. There are dozens of old vehicles in various states of decay, a few restored. Rusted tools and machine parts, cash registers, sinks, porta potties, outboard motors, pedal cars… I don’t think there’s a thing this guy doesn’t collect. But it’s all grouped in an attempt at order, in a few haphazard out buildings meant to resemble a town: dentist office, gas station, jail, blacksmith. And there are some goats and a donkey available for petting.
Don started this “museum” 30 years ago, after years of collecting. I imagine a wild reshuffling of cars and junk as he tried to make this heap presentable. Auto parts here, tools there, chain saws all hanging from a barn roof. Or maybe he was always an organized hoarder.
Kate and I both found it fascinating and amusing. I love old cars and have a 1953 Chevy pickup myself, so I enjoyed seeing the old vehicles, especially the rare ones: what looked to be the first motor tractor, something like a golf cart, a paver, a crane. We could walk with Bailey, and she touched noses with the goats and donkey.
Don Richardson, junker extraordinaire.
We were pondering the origin of a large chunk of porcelain floor tile when the owner explained, “That’s from the Bank of Arizona in Cottonwood. I rescued that before they tossed it.” We talked to him for a bit, and he was kind enough to pause for a photo, but then he went on his way.
His employee, Tim, was much more forthcoming. He explained how Don bought this remote acreage 38 years ago, after the town of Lake Havasu told him to clean up or get out. He moved all his stuff here, and then, with no neighbors or regulations, kicked his collecting into high gear.
The only structure on the property when he bought it was the old bordello for the miners. He brought in an old steam-powered saw mill so he could mill his own lumber to build his home, barns, and other out buildings. And he lovingly restored a 1948 International semi truck, which he used to haul treasures and relics from all over the country. He opened the place up to the public 30 years ago, and he’s been puzzling tourists ever since with his eccentricity.
What an interesting couple of old coots. Clearly gun-loving right-wingers, judging by a few somewhat offensive signs around the place. But a good test of our commitment to meet and appreciate people very unlike ourselves on this trip.
Loved the photos of the junk and the proprietor. Well, you two are finally FREE….can’t wait to see where the road takes you now that all your plans are behind you.
We’ve been to Jerome twice…very fun town. I hope your drove you car up there!