Chloride, AZ

After leaving Flagstaff we wanted one overnight stop before hitting the Hoover Dam. We figured if we reached the Dam early enough in the morning there wouldn't be long lines at the Homeland Security Checkpoint. They check our outside compartments and take a peek inside the RV as well. The busiest time of the day for the them is around 1:30pm they said.

Andy had found this living ghost town, Chloride, that is just north of Kingman.

We figured this would be a fun stop. There are somewhere between 250-350 residents in Chloride depending on where you check. The RV Park was in the downtown area so we didn't have to detach and still got to walk around. Chloride is known not only for being a 1860 mining town, but for the decorations the residents have put out in their yard. Everything from the artsy: rusted iron sculptures, old cars converted into flower pots, creative use of wine bottles...to the funky: whirlybirds, bowling-ball centipedes, and skeleton-motorcycle riders.





The Historical Society is also rebuilding an old-west block which includes a saloon with the swinging doors! We've been looking for one of these! Ha!

We chose to drycamp at this RV Park. Otherwise we would've been squashed in between all of the other, mostly permanent, RVers. Think we made the right choice?

That night we were able to watch 3-4 nighthawks dart about collecting their fill of insects. There was a streetlight near our site that attracted the bugs and, therefore, these silent hunters. They flew like bats, but with long, narrow wings. And they were totally silent. Not a chirp or a wing-beat could be heard. Just one of those wonderful moments in life.