PART 6.. MYSTERY CASTLE and OTHER THINGS.......

As promised yesterday - lucky you - I will tell about the "Mystery Castle", the Mining Camp, and the Saguaro cactus in bloom.


The Mystery Castle is not actually a mystery or a castle.  How did it get it's name?  I haven't got a clue.  I'll just tell you what I found and you can use your imagination for the remainder.

This castle was built by Boyce Luther Gulley, who, upon finding he had TB, abandoned his wife and daughter in 1930.  He traveled to Arizona (I did not find where he hailed from) for his health, thinking he only had a short time to live.

I decided to build a "castle" for his daughter, the little girl he left behind.  She was just a toddler at the time.

Mary Lou never saw her dad again.  It took 15 years for him to build his dream castle.

Mystery Castle is located on the North side of South Mountain - go figure - near what was then the town dump.

Gulley used salvaged material from the dump, auto parts, junk, and other artifacts he found in the southwest and Mexico to build his "home".

After Gulley's death the wife and daughter were contacted by an attorney in Phoenix were notified about the house.  They moved to Phoenix.  Mary Lou was a teenager at the time.  They lived together in the castle until her Mother's death in 1970.  Mary Lou continued living in her castle until her passing in 2010.  I found no record of whether or not she ever married, but from was I saw she probably did not.

Mystery Castle is being preserved as a tourist attraction, having 18 rooms and 13 fireplaces.  The castle is open from October until May on Thursday thru Sunday.  Of course, again, we were there on Monday.  Perhaps next year we will return to these castles on a day they are open to see the inside.

On Sunday (I am backing up, again) the entire family and I went to the Mining Camp for lunch, and it also gave me a chance to photo the Saguaro cactus, which were beginning to bloom.  First time I had ever seen them blooming.  Best part of that day was grandson-in-law Mark bought me a souvenir mug, complete with my name.  Mugs and jellies are my souvenirs when traveling.

Tomorrow I will finish up with my week in Arizona, and if you are really, really,  lucky, maybe I will have something else to talk about. 

In the meantime, don't over-do, over-extend, over-eat, over-whatever, and God Bless.