Yarnell: Along Highway 89

Highway 89 leaving Yarnell and heading towards Prescott.

We were surprised to see all the abandoned places in Yarnell, AZ which were along Highway 89.  This quaint little town had many boarded up businesses and homes.  The people were very nice and never made us feel weird about taking pictures of their abandoned structures.  The town was named after Harrison Yarnell, who was a prospector.  This mining town was once booming, but with the closing of the mines and the tough economy, it became almost a ghost town.  Today around 650 people still call Yarnell home.

Sitting all alone.

Sharon's favorite abandoned place in town.

There were other faces carved in the ends of each post.

This mannequin face scared the crap out of me when I first saw it.

A very artsy gate and fence.

One of the many business which gone belly-up.

Another bank-owned business.

This giant frog was just sitting there enjoying the nice weather.

Matthew's Day Off

One of those wacky Super Bowl commercials.

Morristown: Another Look

January 2011

A year ago, Sharon and I took the same route to Wickenburg and then to Prescott where we stayed the night.  Along the way we stopped in Morristown because a large abandoned building was right on the road just begging to have its picture taken.  Behind it was a trailer we figured the owners must have lived in at one time.  We couldn't pass it by on this trip, so we decided to take another look to see what a year and the harsh desert elements did to the structures.  

The building looked basically the same with the vines growing up the side looking a bit more dead than they did a year earlier.  The trailer looked like it took a beating and looked much more haggard than the first time around.  Time was not kind to this poor little trailer sitting under the huge tree.

January 2011

January 2012

Wickenburg: Just Good Country Living

Traveling to Kirkland from my house takes you through Wickenburg.  This city is located about 60 miles northwest from Phoenix in the southwest Sonoran Desert.  On the town's brochure, they refer to Wickenburg as the place with "clean air, good country living, western hospitality and all-around high quality of life".  I would have to agree.  It is the perfect mix of old west/modern with its historical downtown and beautiful large homes on the outskirts of town.  And yes, the air is clean.

Wickenburg was founded in 1863 and named after Henry Wickenburg, who also founded Vulture Mine.  He was a farmer and prospector who donated or sold much of his land in the area where Wickenburg now sits. Surrounding the city is Weaver Mountains, named after Pauline Weaver, with Vulture Mine nearby. Sadly, Vulture Mine is still closed but we were able to get pictures from the outside which I will post later.

If you find yourself in Wickenburg, check out the chamber of Commerce, grabbed a brochure from the nice people working there, and take a walk around town to check out all the historical sites.

First Stop, Whittman

Around 35 miles from Phoenix on Grand Avenue stands the tiny town of Whittman.  Most people traveling from Phoenix to Kingman or Las Vegas would just pass this place by and not even realizing they just drove through it.   Sharon and I are not most people, so we went exploring.  It didn't take long before finding abandoned structures which used to be someone's home.  Now these houses stand empty and alone with only its memories hidden within the decaying walls.  I am sure the town's folks probably thought we were crazy taking pictures of these buildings, but we didn't care and just snapped away.  This is what we found on  our first time through Whittman.  We decided to hit this town again on our way back and I will show all those pictures on another post.