Sedona, Monument Valley, and the Silver Screen: Arizona’s Amazing History in Film
If you like Western movies, you’re probably well acquainted with Monument Valley and Sedona, even if you don’t realize it! It’s easy to see why: both Sedona and Monument Valley scream “Wild West,” making it a perfect filming location for a director wanting a Western feel for a scene. Dozens of films have been shot […]
Want to See What Military Life Was Like During World War II? Visit Camp Hyder!
Camp Hyder is a little known, but incredibly cool Arizona landmark that blends the eeriness of ghost towns with the excitement of discovering American history up close and personal. When the U.S. declared war on the Germans in World War II, the army had little experience fighting in deserts. Unfortunately, the desert was the exact […]
Vulture Gold Mine: Gold and Ghosts in the Arizona Desert
An abandoned gold mine called “Vulture” and situated in the Arizona desert sounds like the setting of a Western movie, but the Vulture Gold mine in Wickenburg is a real, live, and well-preserved slice of the Old West. Although it shut down in 1942, the gold mine still draws quite a few visitors a year, […]
The Hi Jolly Monument: When Camels and Mispronunciations Meet
This probably isn’t hard to imagine, but before automobiles and airplanes existed, deserts were difficult to traverse. When the growing United States acquired the arid lands gained through the Gadsen Purchase and Mexican Cession of 1848, most Americans were in uncharted territory when it came to traversing large deserts. The solution? Camels! Hadji Ali, an […]
London Bridge Was Falling Down… So They Sold it to Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Everybody knows the familiar kids song “London Bridge”. What the song doesn’t tell you, though, is that the bridge ends up retiring in Arizona. The story of how the iconic London Bridge ended up in the desert is truly one of the most amazing and bizarre stories of engineering and self-promotion imaginable. All About the […]
The World’s Largest Kachina Doll: a Very Large, Uniquely Arizonan Attraction
Part of the fun of a road trip lies in discovering the lengths small communities go to to be recognized by travelers. There’s nothing quite as fun as discovering that Gilroy, California is the garlic capital of the world, or that the world’s largest Kachina Doll lives in Carefree, Arizona. If you’ve ever driven through […]
Ruby, Arizona: Mining and Murder, Preserved in Time
Ruby, Arizona is one of the best-preserved of all the Arizona ghost towns. This fact alone would be enough for history-lovers to want to visit, but Ruby has a much more sinister history than most. Aside from being a place where people can sift through the ruins of Arizona’s old west mining history, it is […]
Santa Claus Lived in Arizona (Who Knew?)
There are a ton of ghost towns scattered throughout Arizona, a freeze-framed testament to the state’s rich mining history. Many of these ghost towns are either buried under reservoirs, or in such bad condition that one would hardly notice them. The Mohave County ghost town known as Santa Claus is one notable exception, and stands […]
Out of this World: The Incredibly Creepy Thornton Road Domes
The Southwest has a bit of reputation for being a hotbed for UFO sightings and rumors of aliens. Area 51 and Roswell are just the tip of the iceberg, and although Nevada and New Mexico hold the majority of these alien-related attractions, Arizona gets in on the alien action a bit as well. This strange […]
