Benson and the (ghost) town of Fairbanks, AZ

 

Arizona has quite a few ghost towns- some that have been abandoned for many, many years, and some that are still in the process of being abandoned.  Today we went to Fairbanks, which was a small town that had its heyday when silver mining was actively being pursued in this area, in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Because the railroad was nearby, it was a hub of activity for many years, but activity slowly dwindled  until the town was completely abandoned.



Paul exploring the stamp mill ruins



   One of the building ruins is the stamp mill. Once we came to it, I could see Paul's eyes take on their distant, preoccupied look.  He wandered off to explore the mill, and I sat on  the bench conveniently located nearby.  We both love exploring this type of place, but we enjoy completely different aspects.  So, I sat there and wondered where the people lived, where did they go when the mill closed? Were there children? How isolated did they feel?



Paul, on the other hand, is more mechanical. When he came back from his exploration, he had his theories on how the mill was set up, what kind of equipment they may have had, and where it would have been.

 


    I got my chance to do more speculating when we saw the cemetery.  It is the most primitive and rustic cemetery I have ever come across.  There were few headstones- mostly just wooden crosses nestled in a pile of rocks.  They looked just like the ones you'd see in a movie about the old west.




lunchtime on the trail- Brenda and Kit

    The weather in Benson has slowly gotten better, although its still been in the 20s at night. At least the wind and the snow has stopped though, so we have been able to get out and about more.  Yesterday we went for a hike in the Coronado National Forest, in an area that was the refuge of the Apache Chief Cochise.  The highlight of that hike was the company! After spending some time with Brenda and Kit over the last few days, the four of us decided to do the hike together.  The weather was perfect except for the fact that there was a fair amount of snow still on the ground once we got up to the mountain. We walked for a few miles, stopping once in a while to admire the view and give the guys a chance to do some boulder climbing.  Once we ate lunch and started to continue on our way, we were hiking in the shade, which ended up halting our hike.  The snow was getting a little too deep and slippery, and it wasn't worth risking injury, so we turned back a little sooner than we had planned.  Still, we hiked about 6 miles and had a great time.

    Tonight it was dinner at a great restaurant with 5 other couples.  They are all Escapees, staying in the same RV Park as us.  Dinner went by way too fast,  but we'll see almost everyone again in a week or so in Yuma.  Tomorrow we head out, stopping at Picacho Peak State Park for a night or two.