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Relive history on the Old West Highway

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osamamalik

Travel back in history to the days of gunmen, Apaches, silver and copper mines, where legends abound and fact and fiction intertwine. Begin your journey at the base of the 30-million-year-old Supersition Mountains, the beginning of this fascinating journey, along the ancient West Highway, beginning at Apache Junction.

The First Legend - Somewhere among the forbidden peaks of Superstition Mountain lies Jacob Waltz's "Lost Dutchman's Mine", a fantastic gold mine dating back to 1540 and the Spanish conquerors. Fact: Apache Indians knew about the mine and guarded it, they believed it was a gift from the gods and they also feared the "God of thunder" who they believed he lived on the mountain. Fact: Starting in 1540 and continuing through the centuries, many men have searched for the mine, most have lost their lives to Apache attacks and some to the spirits of those who came before searching for the mine. Fact -In 1871 two German adventurers came to the new world to find the gold mine, because of their way of speaking they were nicknamed "Dutch". They spent many years searching for the gold mine and some say they found it because they always had gold ore to spend. After many years one of the men disappeared, many say that his partner Jacob Waltz killed him. Waltz lived until 1891, he never told anyone where the mine was, since then many people have come to Superstition Mountain to find Waltz's gold mine, none have. till the date.

Apache Junction is also the gateway to the Apache Trail, a 44-mile journey into the past, whose attractions include: the ghost town of Goldfield, where you can visit the historic Mammoth gold mine or take a ride on the only narrow-gauge train from Arizona; take a cruise on the Dolly's steamboat on Canyon Lake; see Roosevelt Lake and Dam, the tallest masonry dam in the world; and visit Tonto National Monument, a 14th-century Indian Cliff dwelling.

Returning to Highway 60, with its rugged landscape, pass once the Silver King Mine, a favorite of the legendary gunmen: Bat masterson, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, as well as the desperate ones like The Clanton Gang, Apache Kid and the only known female coach thief: Pearl Hart. Among the many attractions in this area is Apache Leap, where 75 brave Apache warriors are said to jump to their deaths rather than surrender to US Army forces. When the silver ran out, the real mining began, In Superior Arizona legend has it that it was the largest underground copper mine, in what is now the dormant Magma mine.

Here Highway 60 becomes Highway 70 as it passes through Globe, dating back to 1875 as a mining camp, in the 1900s the Old Dominion Copper Company was ranked as one of the richest in the world. Legend has it that he was linked to Geronimo, Apache Kid, and the Clanton brothers. Done. There is a lot of history to be found here and many of the old buildings dating back to 1905 are still standing. Also near Globe is the 700-year-old Besh-Ba-Gowath archaeological park of ตำนานยุคเก่า.

Not far from the legendary Highway 60 is the San Carlos Apache Reservation, where another short detour goes to Lake San Carlos, formed by the construction of the Coolidge Dam and bordered by 158 miles of shoreline, then to Thatcher and Safford with their elegant old houses and west. Thatcher was founded in 1881 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Safford was founded in 1874. Beyond them is the town of Bonita, where legend has it that Billy the Kid killed the first man. of the. His identity is full of controversy as he was known by so many names, including William Bonney, Kid Antrim, and Henry McCarty, the one he was given at birth, or so the legend goes.

The Spanish explorer Coronado was probably the first European to travel this legendary road in his search for the Seven Cities and his treasure of gold. But as you can see, the real treasure turned out to be Copper and the towns of Clifton and Morenci, another detour off Highway 70, stand as monuments to this industry. Here you can see the Phelps Dodge Mine, where visitors can take a tour.

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