Bumble Bee, AZ mostly gone.

[ocjimmy]

I just got back from a trip in Prescott, AZ. I love this state!

I spent some time visiting some Ghost Towns in the area. There are quite a few.

I was saddened when I arrived at Bumble Bee. I was looking forward to seeing some of the facades and even real buildings from that town.

Sadly, I must report that only the old saloon (Made of rock), and some piles of wood remain where charming older buildings once stood.

There still are recent structures for the 40 or so people that live there. The School House has been remodeled and renovated to the point, it's unfair to call it an old structure.

When Driving through, I asked one of the local residents, "What Happened?" He replied that a 'dude ranch' came and tore down all the old buildings. There were a lot of cows on and along side the road.

It's still a fun un-improved road to travel on (in a Mercedes, no less), on your way to Cleator, Cordes and some other sites. Just nothing really left in Bumble Bee.

Jim

[Flatiron]

Did you go to Crown King while you were in the area?

[Mikejts]

You should have went to Cleator and had a beer. Read the story on my web site about my last experience there. Here is the link to some photos of Cleator and the story.

http://www.rockymountainprofiles.com/Cleator%20AZ.htm#Cleator%20Story

[Ghosttowns.com]

Mike a few corrections from your story on Cleator... "Monster"s name is Dave and he does not own the bar - is only the quasi caretaker and has been there for about 10 yrs now but not 30. Prior to him Carolyn Ripley was there running it for a few years and prior to that Tommy Cleator (who actually looked like an old prospector). Dave really wanted to get the bar reopened and keep it a viable stop on the way to Crown King which is really the only reason that road is still there. Anyway, Dave is a great guy - his parents are often there as well in the trailer just west of the bar. The townsite itself is only about 40 acres and is owned by the Shipmans - descendents of the Cleators... The picture of the "Stone House" is actually the schoolhouse. All of the actual scary residents have all passed on - everyone there now is pretty mellow :)

[Mikejts]

THANKS for the updates. Dave is a nice guy, I used the name Monster for color to the story and it seemed to fit his atributes. I am sorry if you felt I implied he was running the place in the mid 70's. To my knowledge he was not. The characters Wayne and I meet in the 70's were more "colorful" and they all had names that seemed to fit some of the stories they told us that afternoon.

[dewayne]

Hello,my name is Dewayne and I lived in bumblebee in the early 1970s with my older brother.we lived with the caretaker **** Drabble,at that time the store was open and most of all the old buildings were in pretty good shape,I was around 11 years old,my brother and I were kind of a tom and huck type,we went on daily snake hunts to replinish our reptile exhibit out back,**** was a retired navajo dance teacher.we met **** when our parents decided to move to arizona due to my uncle Gary came out to visit us,my uncle had spent many years in the Superstition mountians looking to find gold.he had convinced my stepfather to invest in a mining claim near bumblebee the claim was the queenbee,I went to school in black canyon city.I am looking for some help finding photos of that time period between 1971 and 1975 is there any one who can help me I would be very greatfull,yours truly Dewayne Doornbos.