Coming to Castle Dome Mining Museum

I began in Gladstone, MI.  Then on to Middleton, WI, Des Moines, IA, Emporia, KS, Lawton, OK, Midland, TX, Hueco Tanks State Park – which has it’s own webpage – then on to Benson, AZ, Yuma AZ, and finally, after stocking up on groceries and doing a few loads of wash, on to Castle Dome Mining Museum.  With the extra day in Hueco Tanks and part of day to prepare in Yuma, the trip of 2,429 miles took 10 days.

I am 30 to 40 miles from the nearest Walmart, gas station, laundromat, post office, and Mc Donald’s.  Our mailbox is about 3 miles south off the state highway on a side road. All packages are sent here UPS or FedEx as, if it won’t fit in the mailbox we have to go to Yuma, an additional 20 miles to pick it up while both UPS and FedEx deliver to the museum door.

The road in is paved for the first 3 miles.  The next 7 miles are rough gravel.  The first 5 miles are part of the Yuma Proving Ground.  The last 5 traverse part of the Kofa Wildlife Refuge. 

Castle Dome Mining Museum is a private 501C3 started by the couple who bought this patented mine and thus is, like many of our national lands, one of several pieces of private property within those lands. Our power comes from solar panels and windmills.  Our water comes from a well over 1,000 feet deep. 

It is a place, even when there are several visitors, of quiet and peace.  The days are warm, in the 60’s to 70’s.  The nights are in the 40’s to 50’s.  The skies are blue and the stars are bright.  At night, with a full moon, it is rather bright also.

I started this webpage journey in Fortuna Hills, which is the eastern part of Yuma.  I hope it gives you a flavor of where I am.  I’ll take you through the Museum in future pages as there is a lot to see.