Saturday, November 1, 2008

Rockhounding at Quartz Ledge

There's the Old Peep's Jeep waiting faithfully

One of the dry washes we walked while rockhounding


The quartz outcropping in the center is where Quartz Ledge gets its name.


We headed out this morning for Quartz Ledge, it's an old abandoned gold mine located in the Tonto Basin Area. We've been there several times in the past and it's always an enjoyable Jeep ride. The mine itself is closed off, the entrance looks like it was purposely caved in to keep people out. It's too bad, because it would have made for some interesting mine exploration.

We decided to walk the dry washes surrounding the mine, yes, we did keep an eye open for gold, but unfortunately, we didn't find any. We did find some really neat rocks to add to our cactus garden. Lots of pretty quartz, loaded with quartz crystals and some other rocks that looked like they contained a bit of fluorite, judging by the purplish blue colors running through them.

On the way home, we stopped at Butcher Hook Restaurant for lunch....groan...ate too much...please pass the TUMS!