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- Eureka Springs, Arkansas - MUD street
There are TWO sites that were featured in Ripley's Believe it or not: The Basin Park Hotel, which has all eight stories ( or so I forget how many) with a direct exit to ground level from every floor! Then there is little known Pivot Rock and Natural Bridge. The largest freestanding rock formation which has a base circumference of only about 10 inches, and the top measuring around 10 feet across! We have a Live Steam locomotive here in the original train depot from the 1880's, the court house, which along with many businesses on main street, you must enter through the second floor, because the first floor of these buildings are underground! The street "MAIN" used to be called MUD street, for a reason! One year there was a great torrential rain that brought TONS of mud down from the hills and they just never dug it out!
We elected a dead mayor, one of only three towns in america to do that! One of our mayors posed (supposedly) nude for one of the state-wide papers! We have no two parallelly intersecting streets either!
[Thomas Hawk, 03/04/1999]Pivot Rock and Natural Bridge:- Address:
- Pivot Rock Rd, Eureka Springs, AR
- Directions:
- From the intersection of US 62 and Hwy 23, drive north on US 62 for one mile. When you see the sign for Brackenridge Lodge, turn right onto Pivot Rock Rd and drive north 2.5 miles. The road will get narrow, but keep going until it ends.
- Hours:
- Daily 9-6. Access road is sometimes closed because of bad weather or wild pigs. Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Admission:
- Adults $8; Children $4
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
- Chandler, Arizona - Rawhide Western City
Rawhide, at one time an after-work/weekend fake western town attraction in Scottsdale, rolled up its main street in 2005 and moved to a new location on the Gila Indian Reservation. Operating times are still after 5 pm and on weekends, admission is free, and the attractions require tickets.
The new Rawhide, judging from their promo literature, is slicker, but still offers gunslinger shootouts, stagecoach rides, and a 1880s style steakhouse experience. Visitors can hop on a miniature train through the desert, pan for gold, climb Deadman's Drop (an artificial climbing rock), or ride a burro. The photo op is "Arrest-A-Guest," where the sheriff locks up your family and then sells you photos of their incarceration.
We visited the 35+-year old Rawhide attraction a couple times while it was in Scottsdale, though we don't recall much. They had a display including Geronimo's moccasins and Tom Mix's boots. You could eat a steak dinner with all the fixin's.
[Roadsideamerica.com Team, 03/11/2007]Rawhide Wild West Town:- Address:
- 5700 West North Loop Rd, Chandler, AZ
- Directions:
- Wild Horse Pass on the Gila Indian Reservation. South of downtown Phoenix, I-10 East Exit 162,right on Wild Horse Pass Boulevard to 48th Street. At light turn south (left) onto 48th Street. Follow signs, go west (right) on West North Loop Road.
- Hours:
- No public hours. Private events only. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 480-502-5600
My father, Wally Brown, forwarded me a few pictures of the Tom Mix Death Site Marker located outside of Florence, Arizona. It looks like the Arizona locals have been using the Death Site Marker for target practice. Having lived in Arizona, I can say there are many people out there who just can't resist the urge to shoot at something, and since shooting a cactus is illegal (especially at saguaro) road signs and other metal objects usually take the brunt of this weird rage. The Death Site Marker could use a new coat of paint as well.
The plaque at the base of the Death Site Marker reads:
"Jan. 6 1880 - Oct 12. 1940 - In Memory of Tom Mix - Whose spirit left his body on this spot and whose characterization and protrayal in life served to better fix memories of the Old West in the minds of living men."
Tom Mix Died Here:RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
- Address:
- Highway 79 South, Florence, AZ
- Directions:
- Hwy 79 between mile markers 115 and 116, 16 miles south of Hwy 287 (Florence) and 24 miles north of Hwy 77 (Oracle Junction).
- Pomerene, Arizona - Gammons Gulch
Old West Town with plenty to see ranging from the 1880s to the 1930s. This is a re-created town, but some of the buildings are original. There are old cars and trucks, even a 1955 Ward LaFrance fire engine. This location has been used for filming and many other activities, even star in your own movie!! Different items in the town have been rented to some of the most popular movies such as "Tombstone". Tour the town, sit back and have a "Beer" (Root Beer that is) and enjoy a brief spell in your life where you can go back to the good old days.
[Joanne Gammons, 08/16/2001]Gammons Gulch - Movie Set and Museum:- Address:
- 331 W Rockspring Ln., Pomerene, AZ
- Directions:
- I-10 exit 306. Drive north 12 miles on Pomerene Rd. The road will change directions a couple times and change names, but stay with it and continue to mile marker 7. Keep a lookout to your left. You'll see the tops of the buildings and a small sign. Turn left onto E. Rockspring Rd, and Gammons Gulch is the first gate on the left.
- Hours:
- W-Su 9 am - 4 pm, Sep - May. By appt. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 520-212-2831
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Perfectly preserved whoring and party hub of 19th century Tombstone. 140 visible bullet holes in its walls. Home to ghosts and a diminutive Merman.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Address:
- Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ
- Directions:
- I-10 exits 303, 304, or 306, then south on Hwy 80 for 23 miles. One block to the right, on Allen St., at the corner of Sixth St., south side.
- Hours:
- Daily 8 am - 6 pm. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 520-457-3421
- Admission:
- Self-guided tour $10.
- RA Rates:
- Major Fun
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July 2008: Rawhide has just reopened its Wild West Museum. The moccasins and boots may still be here, but the featured exhibit now is Billy the Kid's mailbox.