The other day we made an impromptu trip to the Goldfield Ghost town. Jessica was in town and came along. It was so cold and if you look closely at the Superstition Mountain in the background, you will see that it actually has quite a bit of snow. For Arizonians, we were cold. Hence, I look a little like a bag lady. I don't have a winter coat, so I layered three small coats.
First, we went on a train ride. The train went really slowly, but the kids didn't seem to mind. The tour guide was funny and told us about the history of the place and the mountains. Joshua said that when he grows up he is going to find the Lost Dutchman Mine and get rich. I told him the story that my Grandpa Haws used to tell me. My Grandpa said that he had once found the mine himself. I asked him why he wasn't rich and he said it was because when he found the mine there was this big Indian guarding it and the Indian shot him in the belly with an arrow. He let me feel his "scar" which was really his belly button and I said, "Grandpa, that is just a belly button, we all have those!" He laughed and said with a twinkle in his eye, "well, I guess their genetic!" Grandpa loved to tell silly stories like that.
Our passes also covered a "mine" tour. I put the word "mine" in quotations because it was obvious to the grown-ups that we weren't really going into an authentic mine. The elevator shook and rattled as we went down maybe twenty feet to a pretend mine that was meant to look real. The kids had no idea, they thought it was really pretty neat. Mercedes was afraid of the mine a little, and Hannah wanted no one to hold her but me. At one point I tried to pass her off to Jon Mark because I was feeling light-headed, but she started to cry. I thought we were going to have to bag the tour, but I was able to hold her the whole time. Luke thought the mine was neat, but he didn't like it when the tour guide turned off the lights for a moment so that we could see how dark it was underground.
The last tour that our passes covered was this really weird house. The story is that a miner built the house and then an earthquake happened and turned it nearly completely on it's side. He had used all of his money building the house and so he lived in it just the way it was. Apparently, the house is over 100 years old, but I don't know if I believe it. Regardless, it is an optical allusion that is really neat. Gravity seems to be a little backward, balls roll "uphill" and trying to stand up from a chair after sitting down proves to be almost impossible (as Jessica would tell you). This attraction was definitely a favorite amongst the children. They were so excited and it left quite an impression. We almost missed out on it because Luke had to go #2 right beforehand.
I tried getting a picture of Jon Mark and I, but the kids kept interrupting, along with the passerbys. But, we tried. Check out the Hispanic boy in the background. He thought we were taking a picture of him, apparently. :) And, the guy with big hair and his lady friend are a nice addition, don't you think???
It was such a nice family outing. We probably won't do it again for a long time because it was over-priced, but the kids really enjoyed themselves and we had a great time.
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