Wednesday Ride Canceled.

Ride Canceled.

Around 8:00 Wednesday morning we got a knock on the door.
It was Dennis M.
He said that the ride had been canceled for today as everyone had stuff that they needed to get done.
It is getting close to the end of the season so everyone is thinking about getting stuff done before we go to Moab, Utah on the first of the month.

What To Do.

Patti had already made our lunch and I had removed the platform and boxes from the jeep and installed the back seat so that Bob and Patti could both go on the ride.

Patti decided that she would like to go shopping with Jo Ann.
So she gave her a call and made arrangements for us to drop her off at J & D’s.

I still wanted to go for a ride so we decided that Bob and I would take a ride into the Plomosa Mountains since Bob hadn’t been to there.

Taking Off.

We dropped Patti off at Jo Ann’s and headed for the North Plomosa Mountains.

We stopped to fill the gas tank in the jeep, got on Sunkist Trail and headed out of the east side of Quartzsite.

We followed Sunkist Trail to Plomosa Road where we turned right heading toward Bouse.

About 5 miles from Bouse we turned left onto a dirt trail and stopped to air down the tires at a wide spot.

And headed west on the trail.

Red Rocks.

We wandered around for a while and came to a bunch of red rocks with lots of caves in them.

After walking around a bit checking out the rocks, I decided to drive through a narrow gap between two domes.

It was kind of steep and a tight fit but we got through with no problem.

An Interesting Mine Tunnel.

After driving around the red rocks we headed west on a small trail. We came to a mining area and stopped to check it out.

At the entrance we stopped to check out the white rock on the side of the opening.

It looked like this might be what the miners were interested in.

At first I didn’t recognize this tunnel but after we went in a little ways I realized that I had been in here before.

I recognized this collapsed rock wall that someone had erected near the entrance.

We stopped at the wall and looked into the chamber beyond.

We decided not to go any farther so exited the tunnel.

Outside.

Once we were out of the tunnel we walked around the area trying to figure out how they were working this mine.

I walked around the side of the hill and found what looked like the opening of a vertical shaft.

I climbed up to the opening and found that it had been collapsed and had a bush growing in it.

We walked further around the hill and found another vertical shaft.
There was a large concrete slab that had collapsed into the shaft, and partially sealed it.

Game Watering Station.

After a while we continued our ride.

Eventually we came around the west side of the Three Peeks.

We turned onto a side trail that took us to one of the game watering systems that you find all over the desert.
We stopped to check it out.

Some of the water systems have wells connected to them. This one had what amounts to a big roof that collects rain and drains it into a tank.

A pipe takes water from the tank to a trough where the wildlife can drink.

There is a float valve under the wood on the end of the trough to control the water level.

The Big Hole.

After leaving the game watering trough. We drove around the Three Peeks and eventually came to the Big Hole.
This is a large vertical shaft that I show everyone the first time I take them to this area. It is a good reminder to watch where you are going in the desert mining areas. The hole is about 100 feet deep and the sides are constantly crumbling.

Driving up the Wash.

We left the Big Hole and continued our ride through the Plomosa Mountains.

We dropped into a large wash and turned right heading south.

I have driven this wash several times but usually in the opposite direction.

This wash has some small rock obstacles to negotiate.

This one was a little tricky.

This one doesn’t look bad but since we were alone I decided to take the bypass.

Here I am coming around the bypass.

A Lost Trail.

After a little while we drove out of the wash and followed a trail south.

Eventually we came to another trail that took us across a large valley and into the rocky hills to the east.

I have been on this trail before but haven’t been able to find it for a couple of seasons. The trail goes through a narrow canyon in the red rocks.

When we got to this spot, I realized that this was indeed the lost trail as I recognized the cave at the bottom of the big rock.

First Rattler.

We wandered around on the east side of these rock for a while and then we got onto Plomosa Road and headed back toward Quartzsite.
We turned off Plomosa Rd. onto Sunkist Trail and followed it.
We were almost to Quartzsite and saw some thing on the road.

It turned out to be a Diamond Back “coon tail” Rattle Snake .

Here you can see the Black and White markings on the tail that denotes a Coon Tail rattle snake.

These snakes are supposedly the most venomous of rattle snakes.

By the time we left this one it was definitely Pissed off.

Okay, that was our Wednesday ride. It wasn’t what we expected but it worked out just fine.

Since I was driving I didn’t get many pictures. I want to thank Bob for letting me use some of his pictures on this post.