Last stop on this trip and for 2019 as a whole. I had to stay close to the airport in Phoenix to catch my flight. I tried a few local parks and attractions within the city area but it’s Sunday with perfect weather so everything is overrun and crowded. Struck out a couple times before ending up at the Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman Museum.
The museum itself doesn’t look like much from outside, however it does come with some premium views of the Superstition Mountains and the prominent formation known as Lost Dutchman directly in the background. I wanted to do some hiking there but opted against it because I couldn’t be all sweaty and dirty to fly back home (by this point I checked out of the hotel already, don’t want to make people on the flight smell my stink!).
Entry fee is only $7 for adults which is plenty reasonable and there are many different displays & exhibits covering both natural & cultural history of the area. Starting off is the exhibit for geological history of the Superstition Mountains which has many mineral samples and precious metals that were sought by mining prospectors.
A small gathering of taxidermy samples of the local wildlife including deer, wolves, eagles, hawks, and even mountain lions.
Modern artifacts from settlers of the various ranches, specifically giving more detail on the Quarter Circle U Ranch and what life was like during that period.
Pottery shards from the Hohokam and/or Salado tribes native to the area. According to the website, “human occupation of the Superstition Mountains can be traced back 10,000 to 12,000 years.”
And of course a large exhibit (I believe titled Gold Seekers) which includes the mining tools used by Jacob Waltz, aka The Lost Dutchman. These were found in a natural cave overhang hidden away near one of his old campsites.
Outside the museum you can follow a short 1/3 mile Nature Trail that leads to the next attractions. Along the way are some old mining artifacts including a small set of rail cars.
Another is this arrastra which was used to crush the ore into smaller pieces. According to the small placard they would strap two mules to the cross bar and while they walked in a circle the grindstones would pulverize rocks in the center area extracting the gold and silver deposits.
The Nature Trail also provides the best unobstructed view of the Lost Dutchman formation in the distance. For closer views you can hike there at the Lost Dutchman State Park just up the road. Keep in mind the Superstition Mountains are a popular destination – plan accordingly to avoid crowds, I failed in that aspect!
Back inside the park’s main area I now entered the outdoor exhibit area. Several more mining relics have been painstakingly reconstructed including this Cossak 20 Stamp Mill. Notice the doors on the first level – this whole structure is 2+ stories high and much larger than the camera can convey. One of the placards states it took 28 days and five 1,000 mile round trips to move this stamp mill from New Mexico to Apache Junction.
One benefit of being a weekend are the live performances by the Superstition Mountain Renegades. You can see this takes place in what resembles an old Western town with small buildings housing the shops, sherrif’s office, and things of the like. In the background is a large barn titled Apacheland that has been in dozens of Western movie and TV productions over the years.
I won’t give away all the details of this dramatic skit but it does involve the marshall, sheriff, and a little old granny squaring off against banditos in a gun fight over some stolen property. Can you guess who wins? I bet you can’t…
Back near the park entrance (or exit) is the Elvis Memorial Chapel. Apparently this is a movie prop from Elvis’ film Charro! which is the only movie Elvis made and didn’t sing in. It was moved here after surviving several fires at the Apacheland Movie Ranch, same as the barn behind it.
Inside are some…quirky…decorations and church pews. You can still make reservations to use it as a wedding chapel if an old West theme is your thing (not in the cards for me today). And on that note it’s time for me to shake, rattle, and roll my butt back to the cold & snowy midwest where I can plan my next travels. Adios!
Lat = 33.4473534 , Long = -111.5018234 -- Show at Google MapsAuthor’s Note: Due to many reasons – none of them very good – I’m posting this from the future in March 2022. Actual visit date/time December 15, 2019 12:18pm. I’ll backdate it later so as to maintain chronological order. I’ve got an overwhelming backlog of photos to process which is probably why I procrastinate. Hope you enjoy them all the same.