Every year near Xmas time I put together a series of investigations that leave an imprint in the minds of others in this case our journeys would bring us along the Cerbat mountain range in Arizona. I must say that no matter where I go the west holds many secrets and jewels nobody ever really pays any mind to. These are places forgotten such as mines.....ghost towns.....old cemeteries that sit in canyons and up on mountain sides.

This adventure would take us along the Cerbat Mtn Range being a week from Xmas 2010 I wanted to do something that would stand on out so we investigated the ghost town of Chloride, Santa's Land, Cerbat & Mineral Park.

These were all very exciting places you see so many television shows on tv thinking wow that place looks cool but some of the places we go to are not so publicized making them a little more cherished. Tammy and I would end up going to breakfast at a place called the cannery where we could sip some champagne and start our journey off with a nice breakfast in the morning.

Since we do allot of offroading I generally pack food.....drinks...hot coffee...and allot of supplies since we venture out into the less visited areas in the wild west. Those areas may not always be haunted but without the right supplies one could freeze to death or even get lost so every trip we make allot of preparations for.

I have to say that this was one of my more fun investigations. Most of them we do are rather daring....foreboding.....strung out for almost 24 hours but this one was a bit different. I had hoped to bring more folks out with me and they didn't come so they missed out on a really good trip.

The Cerbat Range is just north of Kingman AZ and along the range are so many dirt roads with so many various sites to see. I felt they would be worth checking into and they were on all levels. Not only that but I was hiking and found me some gold. Its not hard to find gold but it is to find a fair amount of it which we did find just hiking along the Cerbat mountains.

The skies were dreary....the winds were blowing.....as we followed the Cerbat range to our left you could see many of the peaks had some snow on them. Their are many parts of the west that do get snow even in the desert and at night it gets very cold.

Our first stop would be an exploration into the town of Chloride one of the more famous ghost towns in the state of AZ. Their is allot of history to see here so I was rather excited just to get on out and have a look around. We turned down the long road which took us closer not only to the mountains but also to this famous ghost town and our journey would begin here.

Chloride AZ

Brrr I got out to take a few photos as we entered the town and it was pretty chilly here. I noticed allot of traffic in and out of the town so it was apparent we would have to share our exploration with other people. Their was fog on some of the mountains but what caught me is the sign that said Rock Murals and Petroglyphs always a fun thing to see.

Our first stop would be the cemetery which was one of the largest I been to in a ghost town. Their was three separate fenced off areas perhaps one for vets the other two could be one from the ghost town the other from modern day. I wore my beard and santa hat it kept me warm probably not the best thing to do considering another vehicle pulled on up looked at me then they left. I guess that was to much for them or something.

Tammy and I just went off on our own here I found so many cool graves. Most of the graves though were in deplorable condition while other ones were unique. For example one grave had this evil looking dog statue while another one had rims.....while another one had angel statues....while one was a giant Indian chief statue....then their were those made of wood surrounded by bent wrought iron.

I took my time read many of the graves here it was real windy so in a way we were trying to hustle a little bit. It is not warm in AZ in this area in Dec. so I made sure I took some of the more interesting photos then we would head on into town.

As we entered town we seen on the side of various houses were many old fences. On those fences and sitting in front of them was everything from frying pans to old mining equipment. I remember one of the trees in front of a house had hundreds of pieces of glass dangling from its limbs. Some took the time to decorate for xmas with signs....ornaments....etc Keep in mind Chloride is a semi ghost town parts of it are abandoned while other parts of the town are occupied.

You could see the history all around you for example we passed by the old bank and even an old gas station which had a miniature set of train tracks that went around the building. Their was even a Xmas shop which had a bunch of mining gear scattered on the property.....while we past the old post office and old red house.

The town was pretty interesting allot of the old remnant from the day were scattered around town. If you guys are into antiques such as old gas pumps.....or mine carts....or tools they used in the 1800s then their is plenty here as every home we passed had such things gracing their walkways, fences and yard.

Their was a big C on the mountain side behind the town as fog was setting in. We did arrive here quite early but their was allot of people visiting. Their was many folks just out walking around the town some locals some not. The general store had an old coffin and models of some of the historic structures in town. I of course went into the coffin it wasn't big enough for me though so I assume back in the day people were not as tall or something.

We would park then hike around town see if we could find anything interesting and we did. We actually found the original town site which was a series of wood structures side by side. Then in the middle of town you had your square all soft dirt and sand. One could picture a few men on their horses riding on into the old saloon which btw had a very broken piano inside.

We would explore the buildings one by one which boasted a jail, saloon, hotel, museum, black smith, sheriff etc Most of the buildings were old some had no roofs some had painting hanging on the walls all cracked and weathered from the elements. Tammy and I found behind a building a cemetery not sure if its real some of the graves were decorated with Halloween skulls. Tammy found the bones of a cattle pelvis and we even stopped at the old fire department which looked like a hangar while some guys with long white beards waved to me with my long white beard.

Pretty soon it seemed like everybody in town was waving to me its almost Xmas so Santa visiting Chloride isnt such a bad thing especially for the kids. Before we made our way back to the car their was a small beat up town park with allot of older amenities. Tammy and I would go on the swings....down the slide and even take a few hops on the teetertaughter. After laughing allot we hiked down to one of the oldest churches in AZ and visited a few other town sites.

Some of the sites had old horse wagons with plates hanging from the sides while another place says open for business come right in as old bottles dangled from the trees and fence. Allot of the owners hung Xmas decor around some of the ghost town memorabilia which is scattered all over town.

Tammy and I went on into the general store she bought a hat while I bought a bandana and thermometer for my key chain. The shop had allot of cool things to purchase such as ore from the mines.....hats.....minerals.....shirts....and many other souvenirs. They had even scorpions preserved in glass. I felt that the folks at the general store were a bit rude to us. After the older guy in their snapped at me or butted in a conversation I had with Tammy I decided it was time to go. The store is pretty persistent on selling everything inside perhaps they are going out of business but if your looking for something cool this is the place to get it.

We decided it was time to head up into the mountains maybe find a mine or visit the murals. Tammy and I would push hard to get as close as we could to the canyon that had rock art. It would not be easy the road had allot of large rocks and it was rough. One wrong move meant me puncturing a tire or two so I had to take it real slow.

We managed to get about a mile away when I parked the car and we hiked on in. Not sure how many locations have rock art as their were many different roads going off into various canyons. I just followed some of the painted arrows on the rocks. I would get a first taste of what hiking in AZ is like and ill tell you what it is some rough terrain.

Eventually we would go into a canyon where it dead ended of course you could hike further on foot and who knows what might be hidden here. I found a large bone back by the murals and I was excited running all the way back to get Tammy to hurry on up.

All I could see along the one side of the canyon wall was large murals painted beautifully. One of the scenes depicted Chloride while another one depicted something to do with Egypt and the Pharaohs....then suns...moons....stars and even the yin and yang symbol. The art made these plain rocks look graceful as if the murals were meant to be here. I heard that the murals get more visitor then even the ghost town itself.

Tammy and I had a full day so we would take photos then figure a way to get out car turned around on this rocky road we hiked on in at. I had enough adventure here but we would make one last stop which was the mine and mill site. Of course all that remains of the mill was foundations and I could see the mine but it appeared to still be in use as I seen signs of recent activity so I skipped it. I didn't want anyone to think Santa was gold digging lol.

We would leave the town their was a feeling of relief as their always is whenever we investigate our first place of the day. Their is so much to explore and see here you would have to live here to learn about the entire town. I even found on this one rock petroglyphs which sort of says how old the area is even before it became a town site. We then moved onto Santa's Land.

Santa's Land

Dawn

We would visit this location one during the day and once at night. The day visit would be just to get photos of what it is like for our fans then they could see how eerie it is at nightfall. This was a nice find just a week prior to the holidays and here I am dressed like the man himself roaming Santas Land.

When I arrived here I was distraught as the entire place was in ruins nothing like I seen in the photos. The kids toy train ride sat out front near an over grown well and a few buildings which were missing its windows. Everything was overgrown and brown. The signs were all chipped and weathered......while you could easily tell the buildings were in bad shape.

Tammy and I walked into our first building which was the one made out of brick big enough for only Santa and perhaps one child to sit in. It would be there where little ones would ask for trains, planes and even dolls. Tammy stepped inside perfect for her height hehe if I went in Id hit my noggin.

Behind this building was a house made of wood. I would say it was a one bedroom home and behind that was this massive antenna. All the windows were gone the floor boards had holes and the white couch was torn apart as if a beast clawed at it. The house had a porch the railings were pink in color perhaps red but the sun had faded the pain.

We walked back out of the house and started heading to the back of Santa's land. It was a brick home with a fireplace.....then a couple big rooms. I could not believe how deplorable this place became. You could tell many folks stopped here just to break anything even if it was just a window.

Garland still hung up and some decorations. Some of the inside of the house was red and green painted. One room all red almost had across the wall graffiti. Their was a kitchen and near it was a stairwell going into the basement which I would save for later at night.

Their was also a small attic with steep old dusty wood stairs. Most of the windows in this structure were sealed and boarded shut. The place even during the day was a little dark so we had to use a flashlight inside the main house which looked as if it was converted as an office.

The stones around the fireplace had been burnt while cobwebs hung from every corner. Being I been paranormal investigating for many years I could sense some discomfort from the fireplace and basement areas. I did not climb into the attic or go down into the basement. I had figured when we returned at night I could work with them more.

Their were birds also inside the structures flying around. It is not to pleasant of an experience when your exploring and they are literally shitting right on top of you. Next to the office was another house this one just a entry way with a room and pointed roof. This had some signs piled up inside as if they used this structure for storage.

The sign for Santa's Land had paint chipping and across the road you could see an entire mountain side being mined and one of the largest landfills I ever seen in my life. It was obvious the place had been abandoned for at least twenty years or so.

Their was a well on the property grass and brush were growing in and around it. The old train sat rusted on the tracks with tall grass growing around it. Tammy and I jumped onto the train to get our photos taken. The place had an eerie feeling during the day perhaps out of curiosity as to what went down here.

My take was whoever put work into this place probably never left it even after death. Although I could not prove that just yet so we had planned to do some more exploring else where and come back later at night. This would be after Cerbat and Mineral Park two very large areas along the mountain range which sits not to far in front of Santa's Land.

Dusk

This place was ten times more creepy at night then during the day. We just came back from hiking out in Mineral Park and visiting a historic train engine up in Kingman AZ. I was pretty exhausted from a long day of hiking and exploring so my main objective was to visit here take EVP and chill on out.

I sparked up a cigar.....drank a brew and set up some EVP in the basement area. Actually the basement was one of the first areas I went as I made my way down a dark dusty wood stairwell which was so unstable that if it broke id be trapped in the basement.

The basement was just one room although it was cooler here nothing was out of the ordinary. The attic was no different either accept the fact that it wasn't big enough for me let alone santa claus.

We spent most of our time near the old abandoned wood house and behind some of the other structures located on the premises. I did sense out one cold spot like something followed us for a brief time. Tammy and I did split up during the investigating as she would be checking out the house while I checked out the offices.

I expected the place to be more active but it was quiet with the exceptional car that would pass by going to fast to even notice this locations existence. There was a real dismal feeling here or a feeling of despair not sure if it was the conditions of the place but I felt something here to put it mildly.

It started to rain so it was time to get going. On my second time through this place I had noticed their was allot of spraypaint such as D.O.C. or EW mainly gang type of graffiti not something you would expect to see in such a place.

Cerbat

Named after the mountain range this place sat deep in the mountains away from the highway. When Tammy and I turned down the unpaved road we had no idea how rough it would get for us. Their were parts of the road that had large rocks while other parts had deep gashes. We even found a set of black rock formations in the middle of the desert. Maybe volcanic nonetheless Tammy jumped out to grab a rock and like a little girl quickly ran back to the car.

We seen some trailers and things along the base of the mountains and even passed an old ranch with smoke coming out of the chimney. It was obvious that some never left the Cerbat town site afterall.

Tammy and I followed this road between the mountains for a couple of miles where we came up onto a gate. Behind this gate was an abandoned factory of some kind and a house. I assume the factory was some sort of processing plant since mine machinery sat outside it and a few old rusty vehicles. We also seen a old conveyor belt and piles of debris.

Their was also an RV on the property actually a couple older models and so I didn't think we had the right place. I had Tammy stay behind so I could explore further only to find one of the last remaining structures of the town site itself which was this large towering wood structure that was built around its mine.

I went back to get Tammy and we hiked on in where we visited the collapsed wood structure. I found what appeared to be some sort of elevator shaft going deep into a bottomless hole. Not to far away on different hillsides was other wood structures one of them had another hole going straight into the darkness. Only this one had a ladder that descended down into the mine itself.

We seen as we hiked along an old mining road an old water tower and foundations. The town site was laid out near the mines and if one looked hard enough their were some minor remnants left over when the town went ghost.

I stood up on the hill which overlooked the town site and took some good photos of the town site below. The sun was going down and we had tried to photograph what we could of the town site. Prior to dusk I had one other location I needed to get to not to mention the fact that we were in a place that had a maze network of dirt roads going off to various town sites, mines and other locations.

We started to head back walking down the hill and back to the road where our car was parked. I had noticed something odd. I started finding these giant tracks which had sharp claw imprints. They looked fairly fresh however what shocked me more then anything is that they started from the front of our car bumper down the middle of the road in large strides for about 15 feet.

I had noticed earlier on the hill the strides seemed a little big and thought id hate to run into this thing. But that is what happened they started at our car not behind it or from the side of it. Then they went down the road vanished and all of sudden appeared up on the hill where we were at.

These tracks were not there when we pulled on up so they just had to happen within 15 minutes of us photographing the town site and mine entrances. Perhaps it was a mountain lion or some other predator alls I know is I never felt so watched in my life.

Unlike most locations I visit I generally feel alone or desolation. Not here though I felt uneasy the entire time and whatever this was had no fear as it was roaming the hillside broad daylight stalking our every move.

I really started to move much faster due to the fact that we just missed this predator within minutes and the sun was going down. Their was something about this place that really bothered me. I am not sure if its the eternal mine shafts that I looked down or almost a feeling that something of the unknown is standing there from afar watching me.

The winds were whipping we had to make sure we didn't get careless driving out of here as their was no service stations in miles. Although this mountain range is not very large it gets secluded real quick back here. It does not matter how big or small we were in a canyon a narrow one if that with mines and ghost town debris everywhere.

I had allot of work ahead of me to turn around the car. When I drove back a few hundred feet down the road I stopped as I drove over an animal mutation. The same tracks we seen had to be of a predator who did this or maybe their is more to the story. It was the leg bone of either a very large dog perhaps the hind leg. I thought at first maybe a wild mule but the hide or ligaments were still around the joints which very thick fur was pealed off the hind leg hanging by a thread. The fur was roughly 3 quarter inches dark brown and black. The leg bone was not big enough to be that of a mule nor was it small enough to be a rabbit. What kind of creature could do this out near the Cerbat Mountain range? Their was no other bones, fur or remains of the mutilated animal. The other theory is it could have been a deer of course ill explain this more in my report of Mineral Park which is the neighboring ghost town just within a few miles.

The sky was gloomy and hazy. You could feel that the temperature also dropped and at night even in AZ it can get extremely cold. The car kicks out great heat so we warmed up quickly. I always prep for the worst. We carry extra food and drinks. We carry over night gear as well. If you are going to go outdoors you always want to take more then what you need especially when your out west.

I made it out of here okay but the tracks, eerie feelings and mutilation gave the area a very unsettling feel. We wanted to make it to our last ghost town of the night which was Mineral Park. I was hustling down the dirt roads to get out of here and enter another part of the mountain range. This would become our true adventure of the night.

Mineral Park

There was a long road that went into the mountains. The first part of the road was desert and to our right was the largest landfill I have ever seen. Not only does the landfill exist here but it also boast a mining operation that has mined some of the older mines associated with the town a century ago. The mine nor the town site would be easy to see as the sun had gone behind the mountains.

I was a little skeptical to take this road as I drove right into the dump facility as if I was an employee. Of course by the end of the trip we needed a landfill to empty the car out of garbage lol. I had pulled back out onto the main road and found in the bottom of the cliff to my right a mine that went a few feet back. The mine looked allot deeper sort of felt like an idiot coming back to it after hiking around the town site only to be disappointed.

However my first site in Mineral Park would be across a deep wash. There was a little water trickling in it and I traversed the hardest way going right down into it. Their was a couple old wood cabins surrounded by massive desert sage brush. Their were trees and visibility was very hard. I could tell I found the town site due to broken glass, piles of wood, rusted aluminum etc.The land was very rocky with what appeared to be an area behind it with a very dense treeline. Behind it was the foothills of the Cerbat Mountains and in between the road was the town site.

I carved a path through some of the brush reaching a home made out of aluminum with a collapsed roof and missing walls. How does buildings get like this? Its a really sad site to see when you visit a ghost town only to find out that someone took aim at destroying the property.

Another house near by in similar condition only that it had more roofing and appeared to look like a mill more then place for settlers. Hell maybe it was a house but the issue at hand is that the areas vegetation has taken over almost erasing this mining town.

After not being able to find other remnants of the town we took things a step up deciding to off road. There is a cemetery higher up on the mountain down this road. However I believe I only went a hundred feet and found that it took a very rough turn. Most of the road looked as if it had been washed out. Their was two deep trenches I drove right over one wrong move meant bottoming out. It also was so narrow that turning around on it is next to impossible.

I would not say that it was not worthwhile; Prior to us hiking down the dirt road I looked up and seen a black mammal running across the road 120 feet ahead of us. I only caught a glimpse but it was fast and relitevely reminded me of a deer the way it moved as well as its size comparison. Tammy seen it to suggested a deer due to the fact moments after the sighting of this black beast came a deer which cautiously cross the road. Although black deer are not impossible to find however they are as rare as they come.

Which brings me back to the fact that the mutilated hind leg I found on a dirt road in the Cerbat Mountains looked like the hind leg of a deer while its hide had a long brownish to blackish coat. Since the distance from Cerbat to Mineral Park is only a few miles it is possible to say that these deer probably remain close to these sites consistently. Which means that although deer are not uncommon here there is evidence to suggest their might be more then one black deer along this mountain range.

This struck my curiosity a little so Tammy and I just decided to park and hike on in to see what we could find. On a hill near the road we seen one mine heavily collapsed while a mile away we seen a much larger mine on a mountain with a giant wood ore chute.

We found an old mine road but being the darkness set in we were not sure where it went so with what little light we had we started to venture to the large mine up on the mountain. One thing about being in the desert is if you see it from afar it could seem closer or further away. Tammy and I spent almost a good hour climbing through vegetation and down into washes. One of the washes we came across was 30 maybe even more in depth. We had no way to cross it so all we could do is follow it till we found an area to climb down into it. Tammy ended up sliding down a steep fun off but we eventually crossed over it and had the mine within our sites.

When we reached the mine there was the foundations to a mill on site, ore chute and a very large debris pile. We were fairly high up the mountain and were able to view all the landfills operations from above. Including the rural parts of Kingman AZ. It was a nice view so we decided to break for dinner. I crawled under a pile of wood and found a mine shaft which went straight down. If you were to fall in it probably would be your last breath.

I did not see any black deer but one thing was for sure it was getting bone chilling cold. The winds were whipping so we had to find shelter to eat our dinner at. Our hike back wouldn't be as bad except the first 20 minutes of it we cut over multiple washes and heavy vegetation. When we found the old mine road which switchbacks off the mountain it had taken us right out onto the road where the car was parked.

Sometimes its easier to get into a place then out of it. To get us out of here safe id have to traverse over the two giant gashes in the road. There was no room for error even if one tire were to fall into one of those gashes the car would be bottomed out. It took me a little bit to cross over this place but we did it and I pulled out onto the pavement with a sigh of relief.

I love places like this where so many historical secrets just fill canyons and the tops of mountains. I didn't have many ghostly experiences here but the exploration was a true test of determination. I was a little upset we couldn't get into the mines for some EVPs but the black beast we seen definitely would suffice.

Tammy and I after dinner decided to head into Kingman visit route 66 and Santa Fe Locomotive No. 3759. Everything was decorated as we were only a couple weeks from Xmas. Tammy and I were muddy, cold and we had been hiking around since morning.

There were allot of folks walking around the engine probably looking at us oddly since I had a Santa hat and beard. Its like no worries folks this is all part of the holiday season lol. I had hoped to do more Kingman but instead we spent the time goofing off visiting the old Route 66 museum grounds across the road.

We had our fun then moved on to Santa's Workshop to finish our night portion of the investigation on the way home. The ride home was nice I smoked a cigar.....and enjoyed all the desert has to offer.

In conclusion my day was one filled with mysteries and more questions then I had answers to. A black deer..... a mutilated animal in the middle of a dirt road......and strange paintings on rocks which depicted ancient symbols......and even finding gold while hiking in the mountains definitely is enough to shock any paranormal investigator.
Lord Rick
Founder
www.paranormalghostsociety.org