Post by beefjello on Mar 22, 2009 15:08:21 GMT -5
Howdy folks! This past Thursday morning the kids and I headed out for a camping/hounding trip toward the eastern part of the state. We visited the old mining towns of Clifton and Morenci, an area I hadn't been to since I was a kid and my uncle worked at the mines. It was a pretty long drive to get there, but we had fun listening to tunes and snackin' on Little Debbie Nutty Bars Here's the old jail at Clifton
Robbie's been incarcerated!
Shasta and Robbie taking the old engine out for a spin
Heading up past New Morenci (Old Morenci was gobbled up by the mine) We spotted an old cemetery on the very steep hillside
Very old 'residents' here
Right across the road they were fixing the monster dump trucks. They use cranes to change wheels and beds. I wish the scale of this thing would come through in the pics, it's massive!
Up ahead a little further we came across a bunch of big horn sheep grazing! These were all ewes I believe, really neat
There was a pullout with a scenic overlook. Man, once again the pics don't even come close to showing the scale of it all. It's like being at the Grand Canyon, only man made
A zoom in at one of those monster dumps way, way below. You could prolly fit a dozen SUV's in the bed.
The kids at the overlook. Notice the blue rock!
Around the next corner and more big horns.. only rams this time!
There was a section of the old highway that had been rerouted recently, maybe because the old part was getting swallowed up? Anyway this new section (maybe 3 miles or so) was built over old tailings, and fenced on both sides.. but in the pullouts there was blue rock to be had! We stopped at a couple places and collected a bit. Further on heading up the rim we saw a neat formation. Notice the natural arch to the left.
And a bit further up there were massive dykes of obsidian expose in the road cuts. Most were black streaked with grey
But some we found were really nice mahogany stuff! Notice the breaker bar and 3# hammer
We did some more collecting then went up a bit further to the camping area. Nobody else around, we had the whole place to ourselves. So nice, up in the oaks, junipers and pinion pines.
We spent Friday down around Clifton collecting agates near the river, returned to camp that evening for some grilled brats, and broke camp yesterday morning. Oh man did we ever have a blast!
Pics of our finds are coming up. Thanks for coming along with us! ;D
Robbie's been incarcerated!
Shasta and Robbie taking the old engine out for a spin
Heading up past New Morenci (Old Morenci was gobbled up by the mine) We spotted an old cemetery on the very steep hillside
Very old 'residents' here
Right across the road they were fixing the monster dump trucks. They use cranes to change wheels and beds. I wish the scale of this thing would come through in the pics, it's massive!
Up ahead a little further we came across a bunch of big horn sheep grazing! These were all ewes I believe, really neat
There was a pullout with a scenic overlook. Man, once again the pics don't even come close to showing the scale of it all. It's like being at the Grand Canyon, only man made
A zoom in at one of those monster dumps way, way below. You could prolly fit a dozen SUV's in the bed.
The kids at the overlook. Notice the blue rock!
Around the next corner and more big horns.. only rams this time!
There was a section of the old highway that had been rerouted recently, maybe because the old part was getting swallowed up? Anyway this new section (maybe 3 miles or so) was built over old tailings, and fenced on both sides.. but in the pullouts there was blue rock to be had! We stopped at a couple places and collected a bit. Further on heading up the rim we saw a neat formation. Notice the natural arch to the left.
And a bit further up there were massive dykes of obsidian expose in the road cuts. Most were black streaked with grey
But some we found were really nice mahogany stuff! Notice the breaker bar and 3# hammer
We did some more collecting then went up a bit further to the camping area. Nobody else around, we had the whole place to ourselves. So nice, up in the oaks, junipers and pinion pines.
We spent Friday down around Clifton collecting agates near the river, returned to camp that evening for some grilled brats, and broke camp yesterday morning. Oh man did we ever have a blast!
Pics of our finds are coming up. Thanks for coming along with us! ;D