Calico Ghost Town

Taken from the Calico Web site "1881 Marked the beginning of one of the largest silver strikes in California history and the birth of Calico. This authentic silver mining town lives on as one of the few original mining camps of the Old West". For us we have been to many ghost towns. Calico is kind of our first commercial ghost town. It is made up mostly of different shops. It does give you a feel for what a real mining town might have looked like. So, for that it was nice. Compared to Vulture or particularly Belleville where you need to really stretch our imagination to visualize what it might have looked like.

Calico is now a County Park. It was once owned by Walter Knott of Knottsberry Farm. He bought the town in 1951 and started rebuilding it. He used old photographs to try to rebuild it as it once looked. In 1966 he donated it to San Bernardino county. It is well worth visiting if you have never been to an old west town or old west mining town. These are some actual remnants of miners homes. They would build into the rock to help keep them cool in the summer. This is the high desert and it can get mighty hot in the summer.

Of course you have to have your required gunfight for all the Tourons who come and pay money to see Calico. They of course have to start with the required verbal fighting then move on to the guns. If you have never seen one then you need to stop and see it. They have them fairly frequently. 

We ate lunch Peggy Sue's 50's diner. Peggy Sue's is an original roadside Diner, built in 1954 with 9 counter stools and 3 booths. It has been added onto many times and besides the soda fountain shown here it has many different rooms for a sit down meal. The soda fountain part also sells a lot of different 50's memorabilia. Right across the street is a Marine supply base so they do have a regular supply of people to feed. 

The outside is made to look like a Juke Box. Notice Big John is looking very stud like wearing his new chaps and Andrea is trying to contain herself. Calm down Andrea.... easy girl...
What we men have to put up with. Sheezzz... It's a good thing this photo isn't any closer or folks would be asking me for Big John's number.