Usually when I think of the perfect setting for any Halloween shindig, my mind instantly hazes into an Autumnal Pinterest mood board, which you know, involves trees? In all of their orange! red! yellow! oh my! glory. Or like how the kids are calling it, New England vibes. Sigh. That kind of Gilmore Girls, coastal grandmother kind of bliss.
Growing up and living in Arizona, we CRAVE that kind of fall, that quintessential Halloween with leaves crunching beneath our feet while trick or treating.
So never would I think an abandoned 1800’s gold mine in the arid Arizona desert would be such a picturesque Halloween setting.
But, gee whiz, it is a GHOST TOWN. Duh, it’s perfect.
Vulture City is right outside my hometown, Wickenburg. In fact Wickenburg was named after the mine’s founder, Henry Wickenburg. It was your usual Wild West gold rush town. I grew up with the place being mostly abandoned with reports of it being haunted (insert wailing ghost noises here.)
It was recently purchased and underwent some hefty preservations, shoot, it’s even now a wedding venue! But wonderfully enough, it has become the home to artist Ray Villafane. If you watch Halloween Wars on Food Network, you would know! He is a regular contestant on the show and is an award winning pumpkin carver. He now hosts a Halloween event at Vulture City dubbed, ahem:
The Gourdy Ghouligans Halloween Spooktacular.
This year was its second year and David and I took a joy ride through the desert to experience it in all of its glory. In sum, you are free to walk around all of the historic buildings of the mine, even the brothel, and there were carved pumpkin characters that told the story of the building.
There were food trucks, face painting, pumpkin carvers, a pumpkin carving class, and a character with a giant pumpkin head on stilts.
It was Tim Burton Meet Ghost Town.
And of course I took a butt load of pictures. So without further adieu:
Yes. I know my legs are white.
the miner manor.
This was truly enchanting. A complete daydream! A winding trail lined with pumpkins that led to the Miner Manor, a wonky home, heavy on the Ron Weasley’s house vibe, built onto a rusted out truck.
The porch! The rocking chair! The tin roof! The second story! The second story deck!
There were even vintage clothes on the clothesline and a vintage claw foot tub.
DEAD!
But it just kept getting BETTER.
And better.
And.
Better.
The Pumpkin Pie assembly on old, rusty mining equipment–gee, such ornery, cannibalistic pumpkins LOL.
Now for pumpkin carvers at work. . .
I loved how you could just peek into all of the rusty/abandoned cars and find little treasures, like this felt mouse on the steering wheel.
Henry Wickenburg himself. His alleged suicide was possibly a murder. Just to make the place that much more SPOOKY.
Oh my.
The little boy in his Halloween costume! So cute!
Before we left, we decided to walk up the pumpkin trail and visit the Miner Manor one more time, at dusk time.
The rubber ducky in a pumpkin by the old tub. Nice touch:)
It was fun chasing ghosts in a ghost town:)
Until next October! Much love.
Courtney
Doris Day Would Love Me 