If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
On our first visit to the library since Covid started we took out a library pass to visit the Lost Dutchman Museum for free. There is only a one week grace period so this weekend our destination is set. To our surprise there is a festival ongoing with booths, a food stand and lots of people milling around. We decide to start with the outdoor part of the festival which has the usual assortment of jewelry and art.
The museum is split in two parts, one part with artifacts is with paid entry inside a building and we plan on visiting it later and the second part is like an open air museum outside for free. We start with the open air museum part, it has multiple mining buildings, a church and a few other historic buildings.
The major attraction in the outdoor area is the model train which today is running and attracting many visitors. It is quite cool with lots of detail. In fact we are given a sheet with some interesting details to search for while walking around including the crashed locomotive that we find quite easily.
The model city the tran is circling is quite detailed and there are multiple epochs represented including a Spanish one. Overall it seems that this is the major attraction of the museum just by looking at the number of people walking around the model.
Nearby in a barn, spared from the fires at Apacheland Movie Ranch, are some interesting artifacts salvaged from a hotel that closed some time ago but hosted movie stars when they were filming in the area.
Afterwards it is time to enter the museum proper, it is quite small with only two room with the first one dedicated to the Native Americans.
Second room is dedicated to the settlers with a large section focusing on the famous Lost Dutchman mine with a whole wall full of maps by different prospectors showing the purported location of the mine. As no one has really ever found it again it is unlikely it exists but still it is fun to see in how many locations it can actually be.
Before leaving we buy a hotdog from the only food stand and a drink and ice cream from the museum shop and eat lunch in the only shady spot that we can find. Refreshed we research a bit more the area and find a fake cemetery with some interesting tombstones.
While returning the long way around to the car we also find a cabin which serves as an exhibit for how an assayer would have worked during the early days of mining with multiple tools being exhibited.
After the museum there is still time left in the day so we go to the nearby First Water Trailhead and park at the Horse Lot for some exploration of the area. There is an official trail leaving from the lot and we decide to follow it for a while and then do a loop using the other trails that branch out through the desert.
The trail is mostly level in the beginning, there are some great views along the trail, the weather is beautiful and we enjoy being out in the desert.
The views get even more spectacular the farther we get into the wilderness with some beautiful views of Weavers Needle framed by saguaros.
As we loop back over a large hill back towards our car we continue to be surprised by the beautiful views in this area, it seems that wherever we look there is a view that is photo worthy. Unfortunately it is getting late so it is time to make it back to the car and then back home after an interesting day with both culture and nature.
