YOU WENT WHERE? CALICO GHOST TOWN (WITH KIDS)
When first planning a road trip to Vegas, I wanted to break up the drive with stops along the way.
- World’s Tallest Thermometer in Baker
- Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch in Victorville
- Calico Ghost Town in Yermo
During our July trip, knowing we were hours ahead of my family, we pulled off the freeway just a few minutes before Calico Ghost town to kill some time!
Now this here used to be a bustling silver mining town of 3,000 people that mined $13-20 million in silver and $9 million in borate minerals between 1881 and 1907 (silver stopped being profitable in 1897). When the mines dried up, the folks headed for the wilderness.
Because we arrived early, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Calico House Restaurant. The views from their back porch hinted at other things to do while in town. Their rockers out front and the friendliness of the staff inside slowed our speed from freeways to tumbleweeds.
With stuffed bellies, we moseyed down the road to the gold panning station!
Turns out this was just one of the many adventures in town.
Thanks to the generosity of their new owner (the Knott’s family), there was a great deal if you planned to visit a few.
While they offer a train trip and a mine tour, we left those for the next time since we had to get back on the road to Vegas (and because my kids are still a bit apprehensive about ghosts)!
Our three thumb review is 3 thumbs waving in the air trying to find our balance in what we unanimously agree was the best surprise: the Mystery House!
My teen son enjoyed repeatedly challenging an optical illusion that gripped our perception! I was totally floored knowing how much your mind could be tricked into believing and my tween daughter loved the extra puns thrown in to really drive that point home.
My teen son hinted that he felt like there wasn’t enough to do for kids his age – but I’ll counter that by saying there was a lot that we saved for next time including perusing the graveyard. Plus, I think camping near a ghost town may make teenage hearts pound!
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Oh, here’s how hot the World’s largest Thermometer showed it was during our mid-July 6pm drive home.
Elmer you’re next!
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