Wonderings and Curiosities Around a Desert Boondock Camp

Took off to do some diggin' into the local area yesterday... Decided to make a circle around the Mountain that backs our camp to the south... Not real sure how far a distance it is... Took us nigh on to three hours, with a lil' bit of dawdling...

If you follow down the ridge from the far peak... to just where it disappears behind that closer red hill... you'll find a cave and a bit of digging I wanted to check out...

 I'll tell you a bit 'bout this local area... if a fella didn't know better he'd think there was a herd of 180 lb. termites running wild 'round here. There's burrows and diggins all over... makes a guy wonder... did the termites ever find anything worthwhile?

There's even a lil' graveyard I discovered a few hundred yards from our camp...

*Final resting place of "Shadow"

Funny thing... some parts of it look like it's a place where folks have put the remains of their four legged companions...

Then, there are a couple that seem pretty obvious that they walked the earth on two legs...

A few steps away from Shadow, lay this simple monument for two Ol' Boys. My bet is they were Some of the Ol' Desert Rats rambling through this desert trying to find  some of her hidden treasures

*A Pair of Ol' Desert Miners?*

That the simple little monument holds 'em both... makes a wanderer finding the place think they were likely pretty good pards... Makes for a lot of wondering...

We walked on past the lil' graveyard headed up to those digging's ... and it's a nice walk on a sunny day... The desert isn't the lush place the Oregon and Washington Northwest is... but, it has a beauty all its' own... if you'll open your eyes to it...

*Pretty Desert View, south of the Desert Diggings*

You have to make a lil' bit of a climb... though the ATV boys have rode their lil' four wheeled ponies right up the ridges to 'em...

*Don't you just have to climb up to it and look inside, the Cave on the Mountain?*

Our trail brought us up the ridge just to the left of this hole... so we dropped down, a lil' trail and looked inside...

*Looking inside the Cave on the Mountain*

I figured some miners would likely have used it for shelter in decades past... and though there's some black on the roof... there really wasn't any sign they'd cleared out the floor to make it livable... and though the weather here ain't too bad... I expect the roof would leak in a good storm! :o)

Fact is, the hole in the roof kept it nice and light inside, but we walked kinda gingerly... Never know for sure where a Desert Rattler might want to take a nap... and judging by all the packrat nests around... he'd not be lacking plenty to eat!

This lil' Desert Apartment would have a pretty fine view, sittin' around camp on a lazy Sunday afternoon... kind of surprised me to Not find any clear signs that the place had been habitated!

*View from a Mountain Cave Apartment*

Looking at the lil' spur ridge coming off the mountain, just north of this cave you find a couple of the Diggings I've spoke of...

I wonder what they were finding? I'm guessing they found, something... Otherwise...they dug a forty foot deep hole in solid rock... for a whole lot of nothin'!

Had to spend a little while pullin' cactus out of the dogs up here... they got curious enough to go driftin' into where packrats had collected a bunch of cactus parts in their nests...

... That's one critter I do intend to ask the Boss about... if I'm fortunate enough to go that way... I'm truly curious 'bout that one... What was he thinkin' when he made those?!!!

Kept on around the mountain... found pretty easy goin' down a dry wash... nice hard gravel, rather than the deep sand that'll wear you out in 'bout six feet...

Found a couple spots where there seemed to be a lot of what sure seems to be turquoise bits running through the stone... though, not being a rock hound... it's more likely that it's chriscolla ... or however ya spell that particular stone...

I did find a pretty nice lil' Nugget of what we believe to be some Citrine the other day when the dogs and I strolled along part of this walk... Yes sir... Maybe we can start our own collection of  "Crown Jewels"!

Around the back of the mountain we came across the leavings of another 180 lb termite... squatted down at the opening... one lil' voice tellin' me; "go ahead... crawl on in there and see where it goes"... and the other; "Yeah ya durn fool... that'd be a fine way to get in the Headlines... "Gol' Darn Stupid Boondocker Crunched like a Bug When an Abandoned Mine He Was Crawling Around in... Caved in on His Fool Kiester!"

So... I just told that trouble maker Bad Voice to shut his pie hole... an' I just gathered a picture... from the safe and secure lil' spot I was squattin'... Outside! :o)

*Abandoned Arizona Mine*

I'm guessin' we walked something better'n five miles... at just two miles an hour we shoulda made 6... and I'm thinkin' we didn't dawdle around that long... so it could even be better'n that...

Not too bad for a grumpy Ol' Crip, huh? :)

and when you come 'round the end of the mountain... there's not a bad view there either...

*Mountain View near Bouse Arizona*

Check out where you're at... there's plenty right close by to tickle your imagination and curiosity... though... sometimes I like to just leave the questions unanswered... finding out the truth... eliminates a lot of the mystery don't it? :)

Finding Curiosities in the Desert
Brian

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