Vampire Mine.
We met at the fire station; there was Sue, Denis, Jo Ann, Dave, Lise, Frank, Patti and I.Once we were all there we headed north toward Parker. At Shea Road we turned east and followed Shea Road for about 15 miles.
We turned south on the trail that goes to Vampire Mine.
This is a fun trail that goes through a lot of deep gullies
and winds up the mountain side to the mine.
There are several tunnels in the area where the mine was. Most don't go very far into the mountain.
There is one series of tunnels that are fairly extensive. Some are very deep.
After checking out the tunnels we continued on the very narrow trail around the mountain and down the western side.
This was a different experience for me as we normally come up this trail; either way it is still a fun ride.
Throughout the day this crop duster plane kept flying over us at a very low altitude. It was a long ways from any crops that I know of. Maybe the pilot was just practicing.
We continued down the mountain and just before we came back to Shea Road we turned left into a wash. This wash is fun to drive through as it has some tight spots
and several minor challenges.
Slot Canyon.
The wash takes us back to Shea Road where we turned left and drove a couple of miles to another wash that ends at the Bill Williams River. The slot canyon intersects with this wash. We turned into the slot canyon.
After a short distance we turned right again on a spur where we stopped to have lunch.
Just past our lunch spot is a large grotto.
These washes change every year and this one looks like more rocks have fallen since the last time we were here.
After lunch we went back to the main slot and followed it.
Denis climbed to the top of the wall and took this picture of us in the canyon.
The Bill Williams River.
The canyon opens up after less than a mile. Here we turned around and drove back to the main wash where we turned north and drove toward the Bill Williams River.
There are very few places where the river is accessible. Like this one, you can't drive to it, you have to stop and walk. It isn't far. The river here isn't to impressive and looks more like a bayou.
A Couple of Side Trails.
We left the river and headed back down the wash. Denis took a trail on the left that went through another slot canyon.
Eventually the trail climbs a steep hill to an open area with a nice view.
We continued around a loop and back to the wash.
We continued south in the wash until we came to another trail going up hill to the left.
The trail ends at an interesting mine. There is a lot of Crisocola (Copper ore) on the ground and some extensive tunnels.
You can see the blue rock (Crisocola) on the right side of this tunnel
From here an interesting arch can be seen to the east.
From here we drove back to the wash and headed for Shea Road. Once on Shea Road we headed west to 95 where the rest of the group turned south toward Quartzsite. Patti and I turned north and went to Parker to mail some letters and do a little shopping. We stopped at The Crossroads Restaurant for an early super.
It was another fun ride.
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