Did anyone stay at John Wayne's Refugio?

David · Nov 30, 2018

Hi all - I have only just found out that John Wayne once owned a refugio - judging by this recently discovered archive film it was a pretty rough place back then .....

anyone stay there?

SYates · Nov 30, 2018

Looks like a great place ;-) but a bit before my time sadly ;-) BC SY

t2andreo · Nov 30, 2018

Most of the Duke's (John Wayne) films were shot in the US. HOWEVER, if it was a western film produced in Spain, the movie villages are still there, somewhere in la Mancha...IIRC. I recall reading an article maybe six months ago ago some place well south of Burgos, about this,

The terrain and weather are a very good stand-in for the American southwest. That is why Sergio Leone decided to make films there. Plus, it was, at the time, less expensive. He could assemble a large cast of extras, local acting talent and plenty of animals more easily than in the US. There were dozens if not hundred of such 'spaghetti westerns' made there.

Also, and parenthetically, the American cowboy on his horse, and cattle ranching, came from the caballeros and vaqueros of Spain. These skills and practices were imported to North America by the conquistadors and other Spanish settlers.

As a note, in Arizona, there is a similar movie prop studio built in the desert called "Old Tucson." Here is the website... http://oldtucson.com/ The next time you are in Arizona, you might include it on your itinerary if you are an aficionado to old western films. It is strange and cool to see buildings, interiors, and external structures from the films you grew up with.

Hope this helps.

Antomuchacho · Nov 30, 2018

I wonder what price he charged for acccommodation or was it donotivo☺

VNwalking · Nov 30, 2018

t2andreo said:
The terrain and weather are a very good stand-in for the American southwest. That is why Sergio Leone decided to make films there. Plus, it was, at the time, less expensive. He could assemble a large cast of extras, local acting talent and plenty of animals more easily than in the US. There were dozens if not hundred of such 'spaghetti westerns' made there.

The Sad Hill Cemetery from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, is close to Burgos, a nice walk from Santo Domingo de Silos. So if you are visiting SDdS from the Camino Frances, it's worth staying two nights there and going to the SHC as a day trip. A very nice walk!
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/blondie-angel-eyes-and-tuco.50840/

t2andreo · Nov 30, 2018

See, I told you so. I KNEW it was somewhere in the neighborhood of Burgos...

Gee, I love it when a plan comes together...

VNwalking · Nov 30, 2018

t2andreo said:
Gee, I love it when a plan comes together...

Go, @t2andreo - it's a fabulous walk (I described it and posted some photos of the landscape in that Forum thread link above)!
And here you go - I found a flier complete with a map:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B57wzAYzxBzAdjhnSXRrSGZCcVU/view

Deleted member 73526 · Nov 30, 2018

I haven't stayed at John Wayne's refugio. But I had a tostada at Clint Eastwood's café on the way out of Almeria. (Not really Clint's café, but there's a silhouette of him on the door to the gents W.C.)

The iconic "badlands" that featured in Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns are immediately recognizable when you walk the Camino Mozarabe around Almeria and Guadix. The landscape was a good stand in for the Western United States and/or Mexico. The climate (Western Europe's only desert) meant that filming was rarely disrupted for bad weather. The abundance of interesting buildings and locations gave directors lots to work with. And Spain was super cheap back then. I guess work dried up when Westerns went out of fashion. Someone from Almeria showed me one particular mountain peak that is immediately recognisable - And when they watch a film and catch a glimpse of it, it makes them laugh to know that it's their "back yard," rather than some spot in America.

It's possible to visit some old film sets (some are theme parks) and there are signs in various locations around Almeria and Guadix that indicate the scenes that were filmed there. Some quite surprising things were filmed around here, including railway scenes in Doctor Zhivago and Turkish bazaar scenes for an Indiana Jones movie.

Purky · Nov 30, 2018

John Wayne isn't dead, by the way. He was running a forest campsite on the north rim of the Grand Canyon last time I saw him. True story, not one of those "I saw Elvis in a 7-Eleven yesterday" stories. Here's how I know.

Me and my wife and two kids visited the USA in the summer of 2001, and because we were on a budget, we took our tent and camped out a lot, especially on forest campsites. We also pitched our tent on a campground on the north side of the Grand Canyon. While I was unloading the car, I heard someone explaining to our neighbours that campfires were allowed, but only at the designated places. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I heard his voice: it was pure, undiluted John Wayne. Drawl and all.

I hissed to my wife: "Did you hear that?", but didn't wait for an answer and hurried towards the voice. And there he was, driving a little off road mobility scooter, wearing a big white Stetson and a beautiful ranger belt with intricate turquoise beadwork. He looked just like an older John Wayne too! I just stood there, staring at him. But he didn't seem fazed, gazed back for a bit and then just said "Howdy". I was over the moon, but didn't want to embarrass him, so started a conversation about his campsite and his awesome ranger belt.

He was fun to talk to, and in no hurry. After exchanging our final pleasantries he wished me a good night and slowly drove away, to check on the rest of the campers. He looked very relaxed and content. So that's how I know. If you are in the area, it's the campground closest to the Canyon. Maybe he's still there, gently warning people about having campfires only at the designated places.

libranlady1 · Dec 1, 2018

David said:
Hi all - I have only just found out that John Wayne once owned a refugio - judging by this recently discovered archive film it was a pretty rough place back then .....

anyone stay there?

LOL

nycwalking · Dec 1, 2018

Purky said:
John Wayne isn't dead, by the way. He was running a forest campsite on the north rim of the Grand Canyon last time I saw him. True story, not one of those "I saw Elvis in a 7-Eleven yesterday" stories. Here's how I know.

Me and my wife and two kids visited the USA in the summer of 2001, and because we were on a budget, we took our tent and camped out a lot, especially on forest campsites. We also pitched our tent on a campground on the north side of the Grand Canyon. While I was unloading the car, I heard someone explaining to our neighbours that campfires were allowed, but only at the designated places. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I heard his voice: it was pure, undiluted John Wayne. Drawl and all.

I hissed to my wife: "Did you hear that?", but didn't wait for an answer and hurried towards the voice. And there he was, driving a little off road mobility scooter, wearing a big white Stetson and a beautiful ranger belt with intricate turquoise beadwork. He looked just like an older John Wayne too! I just stood there, staring at him. But he didn't seem fazed, gazed back for a bit and then just said "Howdy". I was over the moon, but didn't want to embarrass him, so started a conversation about his campsite and his awesome ranger belt.

He was fun to talk to, and in no hurry. After exchanging our final pleasantries he wished me a good night and slowly drove away, to check on the rest of the campers. He looked very relaxed and content. So that's how I know. If you are in the area, it's the campground closest to the Canyon. Maybe he's still there, gently warning people about having campfires only at the designated places.

Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson give free concerts there every 111 days on Friday.

JennyH94 · Dec 1, 2018

Very entertaining, David! As I watched the video I wondered, hmmm, could that whopper Stetson hat become the new 'must have' pilgrim item? It's big enough to hide your lunch under, let alone your passport, credential and wallet!

Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

wayan · Dec 2, 2018

John Wayne is in Logroño.

Darby67 · Dec 2, 2018

wayan said:
John Wayne is in Logroño.View attachment 49492

My favorite bar for over 20 years! A lot less smoky now which is wonderful!
View media item 8762

nycwalking · Dec 14, 2018

Here’s more proof... John Wayne owned a refugio.

alansykes · Oct 28, 2019

VNwalking said:
The Sad Hill Cemetery from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, is close to Burgos, a nice walk from Santo Domingo de Silos. So if you are visiting SDdS from the Camino Frances, it's worth staying two nights there and going to the SHC as a day trip. A very nice walk!
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/blondie-angel-eyes-and-tuco.50840/

As VN says, a very nice walk. I used it as a detour from the Ruta de la Lana on Saturday, only adding about 2-3 extra km between Santo Domingo de Silos and Covarrubias. I don't remember the film but the site was quite fun

and the surroundings glorious.

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Did anyone stay at John Wayne's Refugio?

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