Pearce, Arizona, named after a Cornishman James Pearce who discovered gold here
After we rambled out of El Paso/Fort Bliss, we managed to make to Sandy's RV Park in Pearce, Arizona. I can't be sure, but I believe I passed my kidney stone shortly after we left the Fort Bliss RV Park. How do I know that? That would be TMI. Anyway, we pulled into Sandy's and hooked up around 4 so we still had time to do a little exploring.
Old General Store closed long ago
Our first stop in the little ghost town was an old general store closed long ago but opens a couple of times a year for local shindigs. They celebrate the period days when the town was prosperous and productive from mining gold.
Old mining shovel/wagon
We had the whole town (it's only a couple of blocks) to ourselves as not many folks make it to this little ghost town. And that's ok by us. One can just sense the how the town might have been hopping and busy 18 hours every day when the gold was being mined.
Mine openings and concrete platforms; not sure what the platforms were used for...
The mines were directly across the road from the main part of town. From the photo above, just a short walk to the right about 300 yards was the edge of town. So the miners had a short walk to work each day/evening. The town declined in the thirties and the mine closed in the late forties. The mine produced about $8 million worth of silver and $2.5 million in gold at a time when silver was priced around 50 cents an ounce, and gold was $20 an ounce.
Sunset over the Dragoon Mountains, home of Cochise's favorite Stronghold
Well, it was getting late and cool, so we left our little ghost town, at least for an hour or so, and headed back to Sandy's and our home away from home. On the way back we were able view a beautiful sunset, which are nearly every evening here. Tomorrow morning we'll rise early and go to the Chiricahua National Monument and have a brunch with our friends from Bayfield, Ontario, Al & Kelly Bossence (The Bayfiled Bunch). So, until then, Joe & Nancy
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