I feel like no US road trip is complete without a visit to a ghost town. We decided to stop at the old mining town of Chloride, Arizona, because we were intrigued both by its name and the countless homemade signs we’d seen along Route 66 advertising it.

As we got out of the car it honestly felt like we were stepping onto a film set and that everything had been put there purely for our benefit. About 250 people live in the town, but during our visit we only saw three. It all felt a bit Truman Show-y.

Most of the shops were closed, which was probably a good job, as one of the antique stores which caught my eye would definitely have caused me to go home with excess baggage!

The one place which was open was the village store/tourist information centre. When we first arrived there was no one inside and I honestly wondered if anyone actually worked there. But eventually the owner appeared and immediately asked us to sign the visitor’s book. It was a little hard to know what to write – seeing as we’d only just arrived – but I tried my best to think of something!

The thing I loved about Chloride is the sense of humour you feel when you’re walking around. We may not have seen many people but most of the houses’ front yards were filled with art of some kind and I loved the quirkiness of it.

Outside the village store is a replica of a town’s main street.

And on the way into town there is a fence which, at first glance, looks like it had been covered in pieces of junk, but on closer inspection is actually pieces of art.

Even the gnome gets a home in Chloride!

The fact that I later found out that mock gunfights are held in the town every Saturday totally confirmed my love of everything about this little town.