Yuma is an ode to the Old West

Downtown Yuma, Ariz. (Photo: Kristin Scharkey)

You might say to yourself, Yuma? Yes, Yuma – because it’s how my road trip started on a trip to Lake Havasu earlier this year. I suddenly found out that one of my gigs was postponed a couple of days, so I decided to head south to hit some ghost towns and two-lane highways I’d never been to before – really dig into the authentic Old West. After all, “3:10 to Yuma,” the classic Western, was filmed there, right?

Located in the southwest corner of Arizona, Yuma County is known as the “Winter Vegetable Capital of the World.” With more than 300 sunny days each year, wintertime in and around Yuma is a great time for a road trip.

I start in Quartzsite, Ariz., “The Rock Capital of the World,” just about 140 miles from the Coachella Valley on Interstate 10. Quartzsite isn’t much more than a crossroads town for most of the year with a few truck stops and gas stations, but in the winter it is a paradise for rock hounds – more than 1 million visitors (typically snowbirds in their RVs) and more than 1,000 rock, gem and fossil vendors turn the town into one of the world’s largest flea markets. Check out Reader’s Oasis Books, a second-hand shop known as the “naked man’s bookstore,” where owner Paul Winer sells about 200,000 titles in a G-string.

Reader's Oasis Books, Quartzsite, Ariz. (Photo: Kristin Scharkey)

Heading south on State Route 95, Quartzsite disappears behind me and saguaro begin to appear as I enter Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. There are several paved roads leading off the highway into the mountains that are just begging to be explored. Hiking and camping also are allowed.

Located just about 40 miles north of Yuma on the south end of the refuge, you’ll pass a sign for Castle Dome City and Museum. Don’t mind the graded dirt road, as it happens to lead to one
of the best ghost towns I have ever visited. Sitting at the base of Castle Dome Mountains, you’ll find a fine example of an 1878 mining town that was once larger than Yuma. There are more than 50 restored buildings to explore – many of them original to the town and full of artifacts. Plus, there is a cool gift store when you enter, where drinks and snacks are sold.

Entering Yuma from Interstate 8, I make my way into historic downtown for something to eat on Main Street, which looks straight out of the old days. My first stop is Lutes Casino. You can’t gamble here anymore, but the bar and restaurant are pretty funky. Every wall is covered in memorabilia, from vintage posters to neon signs and mannequins. The specialty here is the Lutes Especial burger – a signature since 1951. It’s a cheeseburger topped with three grilled hot dog halves – really pretty good! The rest of the menu has other fun stuff like Chili Fritos and a vegetarian burger, as well as Mexican dishes and ice cold beer.

Castle Dome City and Museum (Photo: Kristin Scharkey)

After lunch, I walk around downtown and find several antique and thrift stores along the main drag. One in particular, Timeless Elegance, is huge and is curated in sections by color or item. I spend a good hour here and still don’t get to see it all. The prices are way less than any other place I’ve found in my travels, and
it reminds me of a store that I always stop by on tour in Austin called Uncommon Objects. I can’t wait to come back. Even a few dive bars catch my eye.

My next stop is Yuma Territorial Prison, probably the most famous place to visit in town. The prison, built by inmates, opened in 1876 and closed in 1909. Now a state park and museum, it held some of the roughest and toughest Wild West outlaws, both men and women. There is an excellent exhibit in the main hall with mugshots of all the inmates. With freestanding cells built pretty much of solid rock, it’s tough to imagine how harsh doing time here in the dead of summer must have been like. A couple of the cells are haunted, I’m told by the ranger who works in the gift and bookstore, and sometimes the prison does ghost tours – definitely worth checking out.

Read the rest by heading over to DESERT magazine, part of the USA Today Network!