FOUND THE OLD MINING & GHOST TOWN OF SWANSEA ARIZONA

SWANSEA ARIZONA
How nice to see our morning dawn with clear blue skies.  I’m thinking our neighboring Dockers may even venture out of their hovels today…..and they did:))

PHEEBS ENJOYS THE MORNING SUN
Figured I’d get that whip aerial mounted on the Jeep bumper before heading out but the hole already in the bumper was a tad to small for the aerial bolt.  Wandering Willy & Ivan to the rescue again.  These guys are traveling mechanics with all the tools they carry.  WW’s Jobmate drill was low on juice but Ivan’s Black & Decker with WW’s bit in the chuck did the trick & soon the aerial was mounted & ready to rumble.  Good thing those guys are here or I would probably have mounted the aerial upside down or something.

DUELING DRILLS IN THE DESERT…..WANDERING WILLY & IVAN
Bit of a late start but Kelly & I Jeeped ourselves off to Bouse.  Headed out Yellowbird road to have us a look where the Rootin Tootin Bouse gang was holed up for awhile last winter.  Can’t remember who was all laying low out there but I think some of the desperados were JANNA & MIKE, JIM & ELLIE, JOHN & BRENDA, along with MIKE & PAT.

  
HOPE THESE PICS BRING BACK SOME MEMORIES FOR YOU GUYS
From Bouse we headed off east along a winding dusty desert road through sand dunes cactus & gravel heading for the old mining & ghost town of SWANSEA Arizona. 

 
A LARGE WATER AQUEDUCT CUTS THROUGH THE DESERT
 
SAND DUNES, CACTUS, OCOTILLOS & MESQUITE TREES
First 25 miles or so were fairly flat with the last 3 or 4 miles along a pretty twisty rock infested road with switchbacks and drop offs.  Love roads like that.  Great view of the valley ahead & below us.  Made our way down the steep grades until we finally spotted some buildings on the valley floor below.  We had reached Swansea.

  
 
One of the first things we spotted was a single white grave marker on the edge of town.  A few plastic flowers on it. 

A twin line of identical buildings evenly spaced is what we had seen from afar.  These were living quarters for the miners.   BLM (Bureau of Land Management) has taken over this area & restoration has begun on these buildings and new roofs have been added to prevent the structures from deteriorating any further.  Other stone and adobe foundations with crumbling walls are still there.

  
   
MINER’S QUARTERS
The seemingly bottomless straight down mineshafts scattered around the mining property are covered by huge steel grates to prevent man or beast from tumbling into any abyss.  This must have been quite a mining operation at one time back in the early 1900’s.  Definitely a real bee hive of activity judging from the ruins spread out over a large area.

 
 

LARGE STEEL WALKABLE GRATES COVERED THE MINE SHAFTS
I was aware of our gas gauge showing a little on the low side so figured we had better work our way back up out of the valley the same way we came.  Could have taken a second alternate desert road back to Bouse but figured we had better not chance it.  Noticed on one of the reader boards a map which showed another road heading towards Parker so that was our destination.

   
FOREGROUND WAS THE MINE’S ASSAY OFFICE BUILDING

HELLO TO THE FRIENDLY FOLKS IN THE WHITE SUV
A fast 35 minute hot rod ride through the desert took us from the quiet remote & hidden ruins of Swansea right into the crush of a Saturday afternoon in a Parker Walmart store.  Geeeezzzz, now how the hell did that happen!!
 
Only my second time in Parker but I have taken a liking to the little town.  I, like many others, love Palm trees so anywhere with Palm trees is a good place in my books.  First stop was for gas followed by a short bump & grind 20 minute Walmart stop.  People just seem to get crazy when they have a shopping cart in their hands.

Wandering Willy is a Chalupa hound.  When he & Kelly went to Parker a few days ago they stopped at Taco Bell for lunch & WW introduced Kelly to Chalupas.  They don’t make Chalupa’s in Canada & Kelly liked them.  Brought one home for me to try & I actually survived the Mexican flavored experience.  So much so that we headed right into Taco Bell this afternoon & ordered 4 of the darned things.  Didn’t take me long to ka-chomp down my Chalupas:))

 
We were late getting back this afternoon but I did make it in time for…..Happy Hour:))  Ivan & WW had my chair dusted off & we weren’t long getting into the whimsical topics of the day.  I enjoy my time with these two seasoned Dockers simply because we have a lot in common & our conversations pertain to each other’s interests.

Nearly 6 o’clock before coming in so I was really behind the 8 ball to churn out a blog tonight before becoming unconscious for 5 or 6 hours.  Usually I kind of poke away at the keyboard during the day slowly adding bits & bites to the blog.  But, not today.  Well, better go edit me the 100+ photos from today……….zzzzzzzzzzz.


NARROW ROAD WITH STEEP DROP OFFS….GROOVY:))
Our medical center back home in Goderich Ontario phoned a few days ago.  After receiving my Tucson Hospital medical report my Nurse Practitioner/Doctor has scheduled an appointment for me with a Urologist on April 10th.  Let the good times roll eh:((

THIS WAS THE GENERAL STORE
MARIANNE EDWARDS joins us today as our latest Blog Follower.  Thanks for dropping by Marianne & welcome aboard.




GROANER’S CORNER:((  A foreman of a factory was making his rounds inspecting how all of the workers were doing their jobs. “Well” he said to one blond worker, “I see you are doing a very diligent job stamping all of the boxes ‘THIS SIDE UP’. “Yes” the worker replied, eager to please, “and just to be extra sure I stamped the bottom also!”
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.
If one's thoughts are positive about the landscape, one's eyes will appreciate what they see......AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

AWWWW NUTS….TODAY I ENDED UP IN QUARTZSITE’S ‘BIG TENT’

MORNING SUNRISE ON PLOMOSA ROAD

Decided Thursday to head out Friday morning in search of a small ghost town near us called Swansea.  Well, that was the plan until the weatherman turned things around & surprised us with a cooler overcast day.  And, that changed things!!

 

MORNING WALK

We made a last minute snap decision & decided to go to Quartzsite instead.  Figured we would rather kick some dust around in Swansea on a warmer sunny day.  Our logic figured it would be better to do the Q on a cloudy day.  I think everybody else thought that too.

WEST END OF PLOMOSA ROAD…..GLAD WE ARE AT THE EAST END 12 MILES AWAY…..CAN’T IMAGINE BEING JAMMED TOGETHER LIKE THIS

I had absolutely no interest or intentions of going to Quartzsite again this year but I downed a second glass of milk for fortification & steeled myself against the inevitable!!  The writing was on the wall.  Either go to Quartzsite shopping, or else!!!!!!

LOTS TO SEE AROUND QUARTZSITE

 

AND, LOTS OF YUMMY TREATS AROUND QUARTZSITE

Not wanting to suffer the ‘or else’ I loaded myself into the Jeep & off we went, 17 miles to the Q.  As expected, nothing had changed since the other 4 times I have been there.  Bumper to bumper cars, trucks & RV’s along with crowds of shuffling shoppers.  Row after row of vendors hawking their wares.  A Carnival atmosphere with the delightful smells of fried onions, popcorn, fry cakes, hotdogs and hamburgers.  Now, how’s that for a positive afterthought.

  

It was when I had to use one of those ‘Johnny on the Spot’ toilets that I was really regretting my circumstances.  Oh what had happened to my wide open desert spaces with refreshing wisps of sweet smelling breezes wafting up my nose.  Oh dear!!

 

Kelly did have a list of things she was looking for & I was pleased to have my name on a few of them.  A couple new ‘no hole’ belts, whip aerial flag for the Jeep, a ratchet strap for our satellite dish, a jug of ‘Solution’ for magically cleaning stuff, a toggle switch for our satellite or antennae TV & probably half a dozen other things I haven’t been told about yet.

 

KELLY HEADS FOR THE ‘BIG TENT’ & LATER LINES UP FOR A SMOKED TURKEY LEG

We dragged up & down the rows in Tyson Wells for nearly an hour before heading over to do battle with the heavier crowds in and around the big tent.  It was in the big tent that we got the long Jeep antennae & Kelly made me carry that so she could keep track of me rushing ahead of her in a vain attempt to escape the tent mayhem.  The antennae’s are affixed to ATV’s or rear bumpers of vehicles & are a safety feature when off roading through hills & steep gullies.  The small flags atop the aerials are often seen before the vehicle below them is.

 

KELLY MADE ME CARRY THIS FLAG POLE:))     

I actually didn’t do too badly in the big tent & managed to keep a lid on myself for nearly half an hour before starting to feel the stirrings of…….snarly!!  Finally, enough was enough & I had to get myself away from all the Carnival Barkers, noise & jostling crowds.  At least outside of the ‘in tent circus’' I had the advantage of fresh air & open skies.  Like a caged animal I finally began to sense my freedom at the 4 hour mark.  We were soon heading in the direction & sanity of the Jeep, loaded down with all our ‘stuff’.  Didn’t pick up the LED lights we were looking for today but might stop at the RV Sales & Service store on the way out of Quartzite whenever it is we leave here. Heard they have better prices there.

 

IN THE ‘BIG TENT’

And then something nice happened.  Kelly was spotted and recognized by a couple of our Blog readers.   Angela & Don from Nanimo BC said they knew it was Kelly right away when they saw her.  Pretty blondes are always easily recognizable you know.  Had ourselves a nice chat for a few minutes.  They had been out to the Bouse area last year looking for JANNA & MIKE along with furry little Emmi.  They did manage to meet Emmi that day who happened to be in the good care of Jim & Ellie Meachum while Mike & Janna were away.  Small kinda world because it was just two years ago Kelly & I had done the same thing in the same area looking for the same people.

 

TALKING TO ANGELA & DON FROM NANAIMO B.C.

Finally made it back to the Jeep wherever it was we had left it & I wasn’t long in cranking that little giggle box into gear & putting some mighty fast miles between us & Quartzsite. 

  

GETTING OUT OF TOWN……..

Spent the rest of the day inside.  Overcast windy cooler days don’t work for me.  Didn’t appear to be working for Ivan & Wandering Willy either because we didn’t see them although I’m pretty sure I saw that long pole with the mirror on the end of it peeking around a corner of WW’s rig again:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  And remember folks, if the music’s too loud….. you’re too old!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

If one's thoughts are positive about the landscape, one's eyes will appreciate what they see......AL.

stargeezerguy@gmail.com