Yesterday we visited Oatman, AZ. If you have never been there, you must visit. Wild burros, that live in the hills, wander into town in hopes that tourists will feed them carrots. The savvy tourists come equipped with a bag of carrots. We got there mid morning and at first we saw only one burro, but by the time we had breakfast, many more burros were in the street. We fed them. They will actually eat carrots right out of your hand. They are soooo cute! They are tame enough that even the small children can feed them carrots. (They do ask that you not feed the baby burros because they might choke on the carrots.)
In the shops are the typical touristy things to buy. But besides the burros and the shops, the real attraction for Oatman is the Gold Mine Tour. They do tours all day long. You will go in a group into the gold mine, but its not scary, (if you are claustrophobic). They are very safety conscious.
At one point during the tour it was quite dark and as I looked to my side, I saw a man in a pair of glasses, (my husband has glasses) and the height was about the same as his. Who knew that the man beside me was not Richard? It was dark, and a little spooky so I did what wives do. I reached for his arm and said, "give me your hand."
With that, the person whose arm I grabbed for in the dark, darted ahead as if he'd been shot from a cannon. (Apparently, it was the other tall man with glasses in our group.) I was stunned, of course and turned around, by now it was a little lighter and I could see Richard. Of course I burst out in embarrassed laughter. Cousins, Donna and Galen were not far behind. She heard the fracas and knew instinctively what had happened. The four of us had another laugh when we exited the gold mine.
The gold mine tour was fascinating. They closed the mine, (I think in 1998), when Gold fell to $300 per ounce and it cost them $300 per ounce to mine it. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that is not a paying proposition and why they closed the mine. When it goes to $700, they will begin mining again and it is some over $600 at the moment. (I just checked and at this moment it is $646.40.) Our guide said they have a minimum of 10 years of gold still to mine. That will employ about 150 miners and be terrific for the economy of the Oatman area.
Oatman is a community unlike any other. Its a must see if you are anywhere near, and by the way, wear walking shoes.
In the shops are the typical touristy things to buy. But besides the burros and the shops, the real attraction for Oatman is the Gold Mine Tour. They do tours all day long. You will go in a group into the gold mine, but its not scary, (if you are claustrophobic). They are very safety conscious.
At one point during the tour it was quite dark and as I looked to my side, I saw a man in a pair of glasses, (my husband has glasses) and the height was about the same as his. Who knew that the man beside me was not Richard? It was dark, and a little spooky so I did what wives do. I reached for his arm and said, "give me your hand."
With that, the person whose arm I grabbed for in the dark, darted ahead as if he'd been shot from a cannon. (Apparently, it was the other tall man with glasses in our group.) I was stunned, of course and turned around, by now it was a little lighter and I could see Richard. Of course I burst out in embarrassed laughter. Cousins, Donna and Galen were not far behind. She heard the fracas and knew instinctively what had happened. The four of us had another laugh when we exited the gold mine.
The gold mine tour was fascinating. They closed the mine, (I think in 1998), when Gold fell to $300 per ounce and it cost them $300 per ounce to mine it. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that is not a paying proposition and why they closed the mine. When it goes to $700, they will begin mining again and it is some over $600 at the moment. (I just checked and at this moment it is $646.40.) Our guide said they have a minimum of 10 years of gold still to mine. That will employ about 150 miners and be terrific for the economy of the Oatman area.
Oatman is a community unlike any other. Its a must see if you are anywhere near, and by the way, wear walking shoes.
1 comment:
carol,
its me donna, just to let you know that i am sitting right here with you
Donna
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