Let’s see of I can get close to were we are now in our travels with this posting.  I won’t go into the details of our truck purchase but I will let you know we had to spend two nights in Scottsdale, AZ while the dealership got our new truck. The dealership did cover our hotel room including the extra cost for Ginger and they also paid for our meals. On Monday, while waiting for our new truck to arrive at the dealership, they brought our old truck around to the front of the dealership so we could start unloading it. The truck came around the building billowing its white smoke, almost eliminating any view of the other vehicles on the lot. Once they part our old truck Carolyn asked me what was leaking under the truck. A quick look under the truck showed anti-freeze streaming out the exhaust pipe and a hole in the bottom of the muffler with anti-freeze coming out like a small Niagara Falls. Well it was their truck now and I was looking forward to driving our new four wheel drive beast home. Carolyn picked the color and demanded it had running boards so she could get in. So with the new truck we took to the road looking forward to more adventures.

  

But this adventure with the new truck was not over. The dealership removed our 5th wheel hitch from the back of the old truck and we still needed to have it installed in the new one. It was to late on Monday, after getting the truck, to have it done so we returned to Williams hoping to have the hitch installed in Flagstaff. The next day after several calls to local hitch shops we could not find any one around Williams or Flagstaff to do it so we once again headed to Phoenix to have it done.  What a pleasure it was to drive a truck down HWY 17 from Flagstaff to Phoenix without a cloud of white smoke following. After our quick trip to Phoenix we returned to Williams and got ready to leave the next day for Wickenburg, AZ.

With the new truck our 5th wheel sets up higher. With the old truck we could just squeeze under a 13’ 4” overhead. With the new truck we are not sure of the height. Highway 60 through Wickenburg goes under the railroad tracks with an underpass that is just under 14’ high. At the last minute we spotted the sign showing the height. Not wanting to chance the clearance I hit the brakes and made a quick right turn to bypass this possible scrape to our roof top. After a stop on the west side of Wickenburg we returned, going around the railroad underpass, to the west side of town were we stayed. We spent the next few days looking around the town and walking around the country side around where we stayed.

Wickenburg had several small shops and stores to explore as well as a great museum. The upper floor of the museum has a bronze sculpture exhibition as well as a photos and paintings depicting the central and southern Arizona landscape and cultures. Down stairs is a wonderful display of local history.

 

The Wickenburg Visitors Center is in the old train depot and has plenty of information on the area. Around the town are real life looking statues depicting people you might have seen on the streets back in early Wickenburg. One interesting stop is the Jail Tree.  Between 1863 and 1890 Wickenburg did not have a jail so prisoners were chained to the tree.

 

 

While walking around town you may run intro a prospector and his burro coming in for supplies, a local lady out shopping for the day or even a new arrival to the down at the Wickenburg Train Depot.

 

 

After a warm and clear day to look around Wickenburg we had a two day rain storm. The day it started clearing I took a walk around our camping area. The desert yields some of its greatest scenes after a storm. The clouds passing through present a magnificent backdrop to the lush greens of the local cactus and succulents. In the first photo below you can see our 5th wheel near the right edge.

 

 

After a short stay in Wickenburg we headed out to our next stop on the Colorado River. It was only a short trip to Parker, AZ and Buckskin State Campground on the Colorado River. Buckskin is on a bend in the Colorado River about 11 miles north of Parker, AZ. Here we met up with several friends we had not seen since last year. This park has plenty of shady areas. A couple of displays along the edge of the river at the park give the history of mining in the area as well as information on the areas plants, animals, and fish.

 

 

 

 

 

Near the entrance to the Park by the day use area is Buckskin Mountain Interpretive Garden. This is a Cactus Garden and Desert Tortoise Habitat. While we were there the tortoise where still hibernating and did not come out.

 

   

    

There were a few roadrunners that would periodically come through the campground.  About the time you get your camera they are on the run and are reluctant to pose or a photo.

  

Also around the entrance are several examples of mining equipment used in the area. A couple of wagons sit in front of the park office along with a burro powered winch.

   

You can also see two examples of ore crushers.

  

 

While at Buckskin we took a drive over the Parker Dam and around the California side of the Colorado. At the Parker Dam is an interesting display giving some statistics and information about the dam including the fact that the Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world. 235 feet of it total 320 foot height is buried below the river bed.

 

 

As we were diving down the road Carolyn saw some of her friend from Oatman, AZ.  Several wild burros were along the road and in the brush throughout the area. As we pasted an RV park we saw several of the burros helping keep the greens well trimmed.

 

 

 

On down the road we pasted the remains of the town of Cross Roads, CA. The original residents of the area came here to work in the copper mines. This location grew in the 1930’s 2,000 to 3,000 people. This population growth was do to the construction of Parker Dam and the Metropolitan Water District Aqueduct. This town was a roughneck town with many lean-tos, shacks and tents. The biggest businesses of the town were the saloons and dance halls. The remaining building was the Cross Road Mercantile Store. It remained in operation, supplying the area with everything from groceries and gasoline to rental cabins until 1973.

 

 

  

 

After a week at Buckskin and the Parker, AZ area we were finally ready to head back south, a whole 40 some miles to Quartzsite, Az. What a difference it was from our time there in December. Now the area was loaded with RVs of all styles and shapes from old converted school busses to new super busses and everything in between.  Shortly after arriving at Quartzsite a small group of us took a day trip 40 miles to Salome, AZ and to the Harquahala Mine and Graveyard. Salome is a small community on Hwy 60 northeast of Quartzsite. The hills around Salome are filled with some great sites to see. This trip we decided to go to the Harquahala Mine, located approximately 11 miles south of Salome.

The Harquahala was discovered in 1888 and operated until 1908 after which it was worked intermittently on a large scale until 1918. Later the Bonanza and Golden Eagle Mining Co worked it on a small scale mainly reworking the dumps and tailings until 1964. In its early years it produced very rich gold ore until around 1907. Later mining was done using cyanide leaching.

The Harquahala cemetery is located just north of the mine. Research completed at the cemetery by the Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project found over 50 graves in this cemetery. The graves include 40 adult males (believed to be miners), 5 male children between 2 to 5 years of age and two female children 4 and 10 years of age.

We stopped in Salome for breakfast at the Cactus Bar and Restaurant. As we walked in we felt like an invading force in there small dining area. The waitress took it all in stride and made us feel like we were regular customers there every morning. As the food came out of the kitchen and approached the table eyes began to bulge at the size and amount of each serving with some of our meals being served on two plates.

 

After fortifying ourselves with a hearty breakfast we were ready for our trip to the mine. There are the remains of several structures to see and explore as well as a few openings that can be checked out. The area of the mining operation extends from the flats below the mountain to half way up the slope.

 

From the remains of this adobe structure you can see the pink rhyolite tailing piles below the mine.

 

The remains of two other structures are near the adobe building but higher up on the hill. One has fireplace and chimney still standing.

 

The other building near the mine is a concrete and steel structure at the top of the small hill across from the mine.

  

After exploring the lower portion of the mine location we loaded up and headed up the mountain to the top of the mine. This gave me a opportunity to check out the four wheel capabilities of my new truck. As we reached the top of the ridge Carolyn could not see the ground over the hood of the truck, all she could do was hold on and pray there was more road in front of use and not a cliff. At the top is a large flat that provided plenty of parking area and made it easy to turn around. Though this was a gold mine this area had seems of copper minerals such as chrysocolla, malachite, and turquoise.  Though most of the mineralization is just surface staining some nice small pieces of chysocolla and turquoise were found in the rock rubble.

 

 

In years past some people took the time to identify the locations of the graves at the cemetery.  They placed wooden crossed on the graves and outlined them with rocks.

 

After our visit to the mine we returned to Quartzsite by way of Interstate 10. From the mines location you can drive 4 miles south on the dirt road and come to the Harquahala Road turnoff. This is an easier way to get to the mine from Quartzsite but you miss the opportunity of a wonderful breakfast in Salome.

 

The Quartzsite area has some breath taking sunsets. Almost every night there is opportunities to view and photography these wonderful events. Below are some examples of the sunsets from where we were located north of Quartzsite on Plomosa Road.

 

 

As the sunset brings an end to the day, this posting brings us somewhat up to date with our travels. We still have some more to post of our time in the Quartzsite area and our trip to Yuma and back to Lake Havasu for the fireworks show, but those will be their own separate posts I will do in the next few days.

I tried to cover quite a bit in this posting and hope I did not do it to quickly or briefly. It seems that the more I try to catch up the further behind I get. At this rate I should be caught up by the time we return home in the spring.