June 2012 Trip to the Southwest 3: Goldfield Ghost Town & Apache Trail
Because of the extreme heat, I didn't stay long in Goldfield.
Looking at the map, it appeared that taking route 88 down to route 188 would be a scenic route. It was (see the photos), but it was the most treacherous drive of my life. I should have turned back when the road stopped being paved (22 miles, I thought, that's not bad). I should have turned back when the sign said "One Way Road," but I kept going. There were hundreds of hairpin turns through the canyons with drops of sometimes 500 feet and no guard rails. For about five miles I had to drive less than 10 mph to steady my drive. The cacti began to come alive and mock my progress; I turned a corner and the devil's face appeared in a rock formation. No other traffic meant only that if I plunged down a canyon no one would know for weeks where my truck had crashed. In the end, it was an adventure--not to be repeated by me ever again. The scenery was amazing and ending up at Roosevelt Dam and Lake made it all worthwhile.
Close-ups of the road from below:
Roosevelt Lake:
Looking at the map, it appeared that taking route 88 down to route 188 would be a scenic route. It was (see the photos), but it was the most treacherous drive of my life. I should have turned back when the road stopped being paved (22 miles, I thought, that's not bad). I should have turned back when the sign said "One Way Road," but I kept going. There were hundreds of hairpin turns through the canyons with drops of sometimes 500 feet and no guard rails. For about five miles I had to drive less than 10 mph to steady my drive. The cacti began to come alive and mock my progress; I turned a corner and the devil's face appeared in a rock formation. No other traffic meant only that if I plunged down a canyon no one would know for weeks where my truck had crashed. In the end, it was an adventure--not to be repeated by me ever again. The scenery was amazing and ending up at Roosevelt Dam and Lake made it all worthwhile.
Close-ups of the road from below:
Roosevelt Lake: