Muddy Road Blues

2/17/07

It's rained here on and off for about a week or so, finally stopping just a few days ago. Of course during that time we didn't give much thought to it, knowing we need the moisture, especially out here in the desert. With no rain and snow in the higher elevations there wouldn't be water runoff into Roosevelt Lake, and no runoff means lower lake levels, pretty much setting off a draught phase in the surrounding areas. We simply hunkered down and spent some time indoors, doing the things people do when it's too wet to plow.

Well, finally we've got some sunshine so we decided to head for the backroads and some Jeeping, we were beginning to experience withdrawal symptoms such as fondling the Jeep keys and looking longingly at it as it sat parked...poor Jeep...it looks so forlorn. (so do we)

We thought we'd check out some of the roads up in the mountains of Greenback Valley. WRONG...even a Jeep can't handle the mud we encountered on our ride up the mountain, The AT tire treads quickly filled up and we slipped and slid so much we decided to turn around and head back home. We didn't want to hit the higher elevations with sheer drop offs and experience sliding where there wasn't room for error. By the time we got back home, the poor Jeep was so caked with mud, it took about an hour to hose it off and get the mud from the tire treads. Next time we'll probably buy some mud tires, this business of waiting for the roads to dry out really SUX!!! We've got places to go and things to see, hopefully Mother Nature will take pity on us old peeps and let the roads become passable before too much longer. Just last night Ralph was muttering in his sleep, "Baby, just slip it into four wheel low"...I guess he wasn't dreaming about me. 

Hmmm maybe today we can go sit in the Jeep and pretend.....

Billy Goats And Rainbows

2/11/07

We've decided on one of our next destinations and set out this morning to check out the area. The clouds looked threatening and we knew we probably wouldn't be heading out across the desert but we wanted to scope out the area and locate the Jeep trail we'd need to take when the weather is clear. We've learned early on that when it's raining in a particular area, you don't want to be Jeeping in a dry riverbed when the rains come. What was once dry can quickly turn into a raging river in an instant.

We found the Jeep trail that we were looking for to take us to Richmond Basin. Richmond basin was the site of some pretty extensive silver mining and was the location of The Silver Nugget Mine. A German gold prospector was the first to stake a claim at the Silver Nugget. He didn't think it looked like a worthwhile gold claim so he traded it to a couple of other prospectors for a mule. The Silver Nugget Mine turned out to be one of the largest silver producers in the country. (sure hope the mule was a good one) There are several other abandoned mines in that same area, so it looks like it'll be a fun place to explore.

One the way back it started to rain as we predicted so we just drove around a bit a snapped a few pictures. A small herd of goats caught our attention, particularly the newborn goat standing on wobbly legs trying to nurse his Mommy Goat. By the time we got home it was raining fairly heavy, but we were rewarded with a rainbow promising a clearer day for Jeeping in the near future.  

Jeeping FR1070 & FR225. The good, the bad and the dead.

 2/10/07

We decided to just do a bit of Jeeping this morning so we headed to an area nearby that we've passed but never explored. Riding through the dry riverbeds usually proves to be a good ride with some nice scenery, this one was no exception. The one thing we haven't encountered before was the sight of dead cattle. From the looks of the dead steers, they were probably shot by an irresponsible hunter or an idiot who had nothing better to do with his rifle. (I could think of a few things I'd like to do with his rifle) They're probably the same witless wonders who don't think twice about dropping empty beer cans and trash on the ground in a pristine wilderness...but that's a whole other topic, we'll save that for a day when I feel like climbing on my soapbox. This is exactly the sort of thing the freakin' "Greenies" would use to make their case for road closures. We did see a herd of steers who gave us the once over as we paused to take their pictures. Other than the sight of steer carcasses, the scenery was beautiful, we'll return to the area and ride it again, perhaps with another Jeep along for safety since the road seems to head off into more remote areas.

 

There's not a day that goes by that we don't stop to consider how fortunate we feel to live in an area we can enjoy on a daily basis...yep, it's almost heaven.

 

 

So Long Journigan

2/7/07

The good news is, we found Journigan Mine, the bad news, there's nothing left except piles of tailings. The topo map showed two adits and a vertical shaft. All gone, caved in and covered over. The tailings and dump look interesting so we'll go back and pick through those.
Kudos to Quentin Johnson a super Ranger with the Tonto National Forest who took time from his busy day to head out this morning armed with maps and GPS to help us locate the mine. In a couple of weeks, he'll go with us again to find Saguaro Mine, another one that's difficult to locate because there are no longer any trails or roads leading to it. We're fortunate to have such good Rangers in our neck of the woods, they're a great group of caring people.
It was disappointing to say the least, but we can now check off another mining camp from our list of mines in Gila County...only 740 more to go.

200 feet up where?

Nothing left, too bad.

Yikes, what a hike!

 2/4/07

What started out as just another day searching for Journigan Mine (we STILL didn't find it) turned into a major trek. We've been studying the maps trying to figure out where the mine is located. The area is extremely remote so it's not like there's a road, or even a bunny trail leading to the mine. Well, we decided to try another approach by walking up a dry riverbed which seems to head in the direction we want to go. We had hoped the riverbed would be a fairly easy walk but that wasn't to be the case. It was completely covered in rocks so needless to say, it made for some really strenuous uphill hiking. We went up the wash for about two miles, needing to be two and a half miles before we would be in proximity of the mine, but the going got too rough and because we had to allow time to get out, we were forced to turn around. We've got time constraints because of our pooch Bailey waiting at home for us with his legs crossed and his back teeth floating.

Coming back down the wash was as difficult as hiking in because we had to watch our footing closely, we couldn't imagine how we'd get out of there if one of us broke a bone, or even sprained an ankle.

We paused on the way back to the Jeep to examine an enormous old Saguaro. We'd never seen one as huge as this one. We estimated it to be at least fifty feet tall with more arms than we'd ever seen before on any Saguaro. We sure wish it could tell us the tales of all the things it had witnessed in it's several hundred years of life...it probably even knows where Journigan Mine is but it's not telling!

Nice ride!

1/28/07

Larry, Jean, Ralph and I decided after yesterday's strenuous jaunt that we'd take today a bit easier. We took a backroad overlooking Roosevelt Lake we'd been on one time before shortly after getting the Jeep. The road was in a lot better condition today, some of the washouts from our previous trip had been filled so the road wasn't as scary as I remembered (or we're now more experienced Jeepers and know what our "Old Peep's Jeep" is capable of.) Since it's winter and the leaves are off the trees and the desert grasses are shorter, we were able to see what we'd totally missed before, some ancient Indian ruins. The foundations of their structures could still be seen outlined in rocks. We speculate that since the rocks looked different from what was found locally, many of them had to be hauled to the site by the ancients...quite an accomplishment without the advantage of a Jeep! The dwellings were on a high hillside perch which would have at that time overlooked the Salt River far below (now Roosevelt Lake), a perfect spot to watch for ones' enemies approaching. We checked the area out for about an hour, each of us finding small pottery shards. A nice Jeep trip, nothing too strenuous and a good way to rest our weary bones.  

Mine, what mine?

1/27/07

Well, if it's there, we can't find it. We made another unsuccessful attempt at finding Journigan Mine today. We did locate Journigan Spring, but if there's a mine nearby, we sure didn't find it. We went as far as we feel is humanly possible without even a sign that the area had ever been mined. We did pass an area where someone had evidentially looked for gold at one time from the looks of the quartz pile we found, but Journigan was supposed to be a lead mine. The terrain is really rough, mountainous with slippery rock and loads of cacti and prickly bushes. There are no trails, no paths, nothing but the wild Arizona scenery. Larry went one way, Ralph went another, still no luck. Jean and I manned...errr womanned the radios. Dang it, I hate to give up but for now I suppose we'll have to admit defeat....Nah on second thought, we'll keep trying 'til we find it. We KNOW it's there. Ahhh to be young and energetic again.