Friday, February 16, 2018

Day of rest and a few Gold Mines

Friday, February 16, 2018 – Location:  Dome Rock near Quartzsite, Arizona
I lost my Wilson internet booster when I moved to the American Legion and now I have troubles getting good 4G cell reception.  I have no idea how I lost it, but have searched everywhere and it’s not here!  Going to have to check my cellphone reception before parking from now on.  Bummer!
Today is Gold Rush day and I was fixing to go and see a few wildcat gold mines west of Quartzsite today.  I didn’t realize the mountains west of town are filled with mines until I was reading Dave McMechan’s blog, Our View From Here.  So off we went for a short adventure near here.
Many abandoned and others still active.  Most active are just small holes in the ground and a truck or car next to it.  I guess they dig in their spare time hoping to strike it rich someday. 
The best mine was the Gold Dot Yellow Dog Mine.  It looks like a miniature of Parker’s setup on Gold Rush.  You’ve got the water tanks for sluicing. The sluice box and a track to run the gold rich dirt up into the trammel.  The trammel and water separate all that gold from the dirt and rocks.IMG_1146
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The Yellow Dog Mine has long ago been abandoned.
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May not have gotten rich but the scenery around his place is beautiful.   Wonder if he even saw it through those gold colored glasses he probably wore.IMG_1150
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In case you can’t read the sign on the back wall.
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We drove on up the mountain until it came to dead end surrounded by mountains.
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You can see the Kofa Mountains across the valley
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Coming back down, we stopped at this one.  Now that is a very small all in one set-up.  Does the same thing as the other one, but on a much smaller scale.  I’m sure getting water up here is always a problem.IMG_1177
This sign at the entrance to a fairly large mine had dire warnings about open mine shafts.
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Called it an early day and headed home.  Passed an RV cemetery on the way home. 
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Time to set up the Dish and get ready for some Gold Rush tonight.
See you later.

19 comments:

  1. That was some cabin at the mine site - even a big old wash tub! That was great! Too bad the mine petered out. Glad neithr you nor Yuma fell in a mine shaft! It's really a pretty area around there. Enjoy Gold Rush. Have a good night. ❤

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    1. Someone had fun putting that cabin together. I loved it!

      Watched Yuma carefully. Lots of Chollas out there to.

      Good night 😘

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  2. Wow Doug, you took some great photos of that old mine cabin. We never got to that one.
    Funny, the guy came out of that mine site on your heder photo. He stopped and asked us what we were taking pictures of. We chatted a bit and he headed back into the compound. i thought he was thinking we were revenuers or claim jumpers! He seemed harmless enough but we didn't hang around.

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    1. Interesting. No one around when I was there. The cabins were back behind a hillside and couldn't see them from the roadway. I was just following trails and stumbled on them.

      Thanks for alerting me they were there.

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  3. Hope we can make it out to those mines. The pictures just make a person want to be there. Safe travels.

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    1. Thanks Lorne. Interesting area out W. Dome Rock road. Just go straight when the road turns left towards hwy 95.

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  4. Thanks Doug for the great pictures. Noticed you were scanning the ground for any nuggets that fell out of the miners pockets!

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    1. Yes I was. Should have gotten my metal detector out. But the signs say don't do that.☺.

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  5. Fun to go out and kick around in a few local gold mines and then get home in time to watch your favorite Gold Rush TV show. What a nice day and so interesting. 😎

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    1. Thank you Moonfly. It was a beautiful afternoon for a drive and a hike.

      Great to find a gold mine setup similar to Parker's on GR.

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  6. If you didn't take it outside it's got to be there. I'd try the bed covers or the floor on the side you don't use, the cracks along the couch cushions.

    Love the pictures. The old cabin is a hoot. Amazing views there, although I think there are amazing views everywhere out here. Glad you and Yuma stayed safely out of trouble up there.

    Enjoy!!!

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    1. I've looked everywhere Mam, I've looked everywhere, Mam. Across the desert sands Mam. It is just gone!

      Yuma and I enjoyed getting back out in the mountains and doing a little hiking.

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  7. That was another nice find glad you got out and enjoyed it , so many wonderful places to explore it is amazing.

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  8. It was an enjoyable afternoon drive. Nice to see new places.

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  9. What beautiful pictures Doug! Love the two "houses" side by side. They sure set in a beautiful area! Our neighbor has a couple of gold mines he loves to mine when he has the time. Hope you're able to find your booster somewhere..I assume Yuma must have taken the pic of you on the walk. Great job!

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    1. Thanks Shirley. Yuma is getting pretty good at​picture taking.😂. The cabins were certainly off the beaten path. Surprised to see one fixed up the way it was with the Motel 6 theme.

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  10. Great pictures of a great find. The sign in the one cabin was "special"...lol

    Though, I have to say it. Your idea of a day of rest is a little different then ours. When we say rest we mean not moving from our site...:)

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  11. The cabin at the Yellow Dog Mine is awesome! Thank you for the tour! I'm glad Dave steered you there.

    Did I miss something? Was Yuma taking your picture? :)

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    1. You're welcome. Yes, Yuma is learning to use the camera. He likes selfies 😂.

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