AN OLD MINING DUMP TRUCKWell, lucky for me the rains had stopped, the big bad gray clouds had blown away, & the temperatures were on the rise first thing this morning. No need for the shovel!!
The past 2 & a half days here at the Ogilby Road site had been cold, cloudy, & rainy so I kind of had it in my head to move on this morning & put this gloomy area behind us. Figured we'd head up into the Slab City area. However, that was not the same plan Kelly had in her head. "Why leave now when the weather has turned nice," she said. Well, I guess she had a point so I had to get to work re-arranging my thought process for the day.
Up until now we hadn't used our solar panels, so once it was determined that we were going to remain here for a bit I scooted up on the roof & set about putting the panels up. Last time I had put those panels up we were over in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico near Elephant Butte State Park. That would have been back around the beginning of March. The panels went up fine without any problems.
I THINK THIS IS A PETRIFIED ALIEN'S HEADThe sun felt so good after the past few days that we just kicked back in our lounger chairs & soaked up some serious solar until about 11.
GOLD CREEK RANCH MINING MEMORABELIAThis area is ripe with old gold, copper, & ore mines so we took a drive back up into the foothills on some of the old mining roads. About 4 miles north of here is the site of an old gold mining town by the name of Tumco so we hope to slip up there maybe to-morrow & have us a look around. In the same area we did see a sign pointing down a dusty gravel road saying, Gold Rock Ranch, so we headed off in search of it. Turned out to be an RV & Mobile Home Park complete with a small museum. Many old rusty mining artifacts, WW2 memorabilia from the area & a few old trucks which I took some photos of. They even have a website...http://www.goldrockranch.us One of those quaint little places out in the middle of nowhere.
THIS TRUCK PROBABLY HAULED A LOT OF ROCKS IN IT'S DAYBack to the rig around 2 & spent the rest of the day just soaking up some more good old California sunshine & doing some domestic chores around the rig. We're kinda getting to like this area so will probably stay for a bit & do some day trips, but first we'll have to dump some tanks & take on fresh water at a Shell Station over at Pilot Knob about 5 or 6 miles from here. Probably going to have to do that to-morrow.
Nice night with lots of stars & I can see the glow of Yuma on the other side of the Cargo Muchachos Mountains. On the distant horizon to the southwest are the miles & miles of shimmering lights which I assume are between Yuma & the Mexican border crossing point of Algodones. The desert nights of the American southwest have a clarity all their own & for a fellow like myself with an interest in Astronomy, it's a very special place.......................
