Are you wondering why visit Chloride, Arizona? Well, if you are willing to explore some of the Wild West treasures as near Las Vegas attractions, this is one of them :)
It takes just about two hours at your ease to go there, and about four hours to visit it. It is actually a day trip into the beauty of the neighboring state of Arizona, and you will also be in the Route 66 area.
Chloride is actually a touristic place, a little off of the highway 93 going toward Kingman (another important stop along Route 66). You can see the direction indicator sign from the highway:
Many travel websites and travel agencies advertise it as a “Ghost Town” – Well it is not really. However, you will see a lot of historic relics there, since the place is an old silver, gold and turquoise mining town dating back to the early 1840s. BTW: another mineral found in this area is the Silver Chloride, thus the name of the town..
The old timer photographers know that it was used as an emulsion on photographic films. * I knew that myself, but never realized that it was a mineral mined from underground…
But here you will see a lot of attractive typical Wild West attractions, as well.
A little farther away, the sign of a restaurant welcomes you:
What makes this town totally different is that the locals love to preserve everything just as it once was. Not only, but it looks as though they like to collect everything and display all the antique objects. I personally thought it was “junk”, but they call it “yard art” :) Well, art is always in the eye of the beholder, ha, ha.
Welcome to Chloride, the historic living ghost town
For instance, when you visit Chloride, Arizona, as you enter the town you will first see this sign. They made it in purpose with antique rusty pieces. I think it a very creative and representative way to welcome the tourists – I like it :)
** BTW, I uploaded many of these photos to my Fine Art America website, and they are available as art prints. Just click on them to see all the versions and options:
And right near to it is this beautiful Wild West antique mural:
It looks like the “Chloride-ans” love the “living ghost town” surname given to their place :) Here you will see some significant historic buildings like: Arizona Central Bank (now a museum), US Post Office, General Store, Old Prison, and more… The restaurant is not new either. * I adjusted some of the pictures as digital paintings for a more colorful and artistic look:
The JUNK in Chloride, Arizona
Like I said, the most impressive to me was Chloride JUNK. Oh, sorry, I should say “Yard Art”, but you can judge for yourself :). Just take a look at all these things displayed in everybody’s yard and allover the town:
You can also see some some very touristy displays like those in the front and rear of saloons, cafes and restaurants:
The Wild West Ghost Town
Whether you take an organized tour like the one offered by Viator: Arizona Ghost Towns and Wild-West Day Trip from Las Vegas, or visit Chloride by yourself like we did, there is another interesting place to see. It’s the Western movies corner of the town. First I was very excited to see that. Soon however, we learned that what we were seeing was just a Hollywood stage :). Nobody ever lived there… However, I have never seen one of those famous Western movies stages. Therefore, I found it a very interesting and attractive visit. I thought they were only in California, near the famous movie town :)
I hope you enjoined visiting a little of this fascinating Wild West town from seeing my photos. If you decide to take a tour, please let me know about your experiences and impressions :)
In is worth exploring it. Very interesting, especially if you like to photograph :)
Thank you very much for the photos. Have driven past many times.
Thank you very much Bob, yes I enjoyed visiting it too, and I also made more digital paintings not posted here but in my Fine Art America gallery: http://travelwaysart.com/art/chloride
Looks like an interesting place to visit. Especially for a photographer. I can see a lot of photo ops here. The historical and touristy stuff being icing on the cake. Thanks for telling us about this town.