Yesterday we took a rather long drive (very steep and rough in places) into the remote desert to visit one of Arizona's "premier" ghost towns: Swansea. It was an early 20th century copper mining town with a max population of about 700 that died during the Great Depression never to be revived.

All the above photos are of the smelter area. The original promoter and financier made his wealth in Jerome, AZ, (near Cottonwood) during its hay-day, and he was born in Swansea, South Wales, UK - hence the name.

Rows of offices and residences stretch along the flatter terrain radiating in all directions.

All the lumber is gone and the only remains are the stone foundations (below), occasional plastered adobe walls (above), and the brick smelter area.

The geology in the immediate area is very rugged and interesting including this natural arch along the roadside.

And some of the roadside cactus are beginning to bloom.

This morning we attended a meeting here at the RV park for an update on the poor wifi. Apparently the current issues are fairly new and crews are working full-time to rectify the problems - we'll see. The wifi is especially important here because we have one bar at most cell phone strength.