09-03-2019, 03:16 PM
Just a few things about the time we spent in Wickenburg:
We lived in Wickenburg for about four years. Even now, there’s lots of open desert between Wickenburg and the nearest large town, Surprise, where we live now. Wickenburg gets lots of traffic though since it’s on a major highway between Phoenix and Las Vegas. There was this small restaurant called, “Cowboy’s” tucked in off the highway. It was once a gas station converted into a restaurant many years ago. One thing though, as with all older gas stations, the restrooms were accessed only from outside. Oh, and you need to know that there was also a large tree in the parking lot right outside those restrooms that was probably older than the building. One morning during breakfast, a couple of travelers that looked like they were up all night, opened the door and the first thing that the woman asked was, “where are the restrooms?” The reply that brought a surprised look on them both was, “Go outside to your left, behind the big tree”. Yeah lady, we are civilized here in the west and we do have indoor plumbing regardless of what those cowboy movies show. And yeah, there were hitching posts outside as well because, even to this day, Wickenburg is a cowboy town.
Wickenburg was our choice because it got us away from the big city life. Our house was on the edge of a hill and it backed up to a large wash. We owned about five acres and saw a lot of desert animals roaming around during our time there. Coyotes were a menace as they spent most of their lives chasing the proliferation of rabbits that also ran around as they pleased. We saw deer out back plus javelina, some fox and much to our dislike, gila monsters and rattlesnakes. A few Gaugers can testify to that. One day while Sumpter250 and Ray M. were visiting, a rather large rattler curled up against our patio door. A cop came by, snapped it in two with a hoe and threw it out back. Before we knew it, the desert cleanup crew in the form of turkey vultures, did their thing and it was gone. Another time, we had pack rats and I had spread some poison bait around. Apparently, one snake swallowed one of these poisoned rats and wasn’t feeling well. I chased it down the hill an shot it with a BB gun. When we went back later, the only thing left was a head and a rattler. I had a feeling that there were a few birds or a coyote that wasn’t feeling well that day either, but that’s the way of the desert. After our fight with the fourth rattler and a bout with a scorpion that left my finger looking like a hot dog for a few weeks, we decided that maybe living that close on the edge of the desert really wasn’t for us.
We drive up to Wickenburg occasionally to get some good Mexican food at “Anita’s Cachina”. They put in a highway bypass a few years ago and so went the Cowboy Restaurant. There’s still hitching posts all over town and the old “hanging tree” is still the major tourist attraction. If you’re ever in Wickenburg, be sure to stop by the museum, one of the best western museums around. Oh, and if you’re hungry, try the #3 at Anita’s, you won’t be disappointed.
We lived in Wickenburg for about four years. Even now, there’s lots of open desert between Wickenburg and the nearest large town, Surprise, where we live now. Wickenburg gets lots of traffic though since it’s on a major highway between Phoenix and Las Vegas. There was this small restaurant called, “Cowboy’s” tucked in off the highway. It was once a gas station converted into a restaurant many years ago. One thing though, as with all older gas stations, the restrooms were accessed only from outside. Oh, and you need to know that there was also a large tree in the parking lot right outside those restrooms that was probably older than the building. One morning during breakfast, a couple of travelers that looked like they were up all night, opened the door and the first thing that the woman asked was, “where are the restrooms?” The reply that brought a surprised look on them both was, “Go outside to your left, behind the big tree”. Yeah lady, we are civilized here in the west and we do have indoor plumbing regardless of what those cowboy movies show. And yeah, there were hitching posts outside as well because, even to this day, Wickenburg is a cowboy town.
Wickenburg was our choice because it got us away from the big city life. Our house was on the edge of a hill and it backed up to a large wash. We owned about five acres and saw a lot of desert animals roaming around during our time there. Coyotes were a menace as they spent most of their lives chasing the proliferation of rabbits that also ran around as they pleased. We saw deer out back plus javelina, some fox and much to our dislike, gila monsters and rattlesnakes. A few Gaugers can testify to that. One day while Sumpter250 and Ray M. were visiting, a rather large rattler curled up against our patio door. A cop came by, snapped it in two with a hoe and threw it out back. Before we knew it, the desert cleanup crew in the form of turkey vultures, did their thing and it was gone. Another time, we had pack rats and I had spread some poison bait around. Apparently, one snake swallowed one of these poisoned rats and wasn’t feeling well. I chased it down the hill an shot it with a BB gun. When we went back later, the only thing left was a head and a rattler. I had a feeling that there were a few birds or a coyote that wasn’t feeling well that day either, but that’s the way of the desert. After our fight with the fourth rattler and a bout with a scorpion that left my finger looking like a hot dog for a few weeks, we decided that maybe living that close on the edge of the desert really wasn’t for us.
We drive up to Wickenburg occasionally to get some good Mexican food at “Anita’s Cachina”. They put in a highway bypass a few years ago and so went the Cowboy Restaurant. There’s still hitching posts all over town and the old “hanging tree” is still the major tourist attraction. If you’re ever in Wickenburg, be sure to stop by the museum, one of the best western museums around. Oh, and if you’re hungry, try the #3 at Anita’s, you won’t be disappointed.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD