Slept until 9:30 this morning…that was over 10 hours of sleep. Unfreakinbelievable! That’s what being outside for over nine hours in the warm sunshine and riding for almost 300 miles will do for a person’s sleep…of course, sleeping in a dark tin box with only a top vent for light doesn’t hurt either.
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The wind followed us home last night…by the time we went to bed, it was an audible/physical presence. I could hear it swooping between our trailer and the neighbor’s, it was shaking the Master locks on the outside of the doors and occasionally the trailer itself would shudder. We made a few jokes about it and that was the last thing I remember. I did wake up in the middle of the night and realized it was quiet outside so I figured the wind had moved on. Went right back to sleep.
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I wore shorts and a t-shirt today, although my sweatshirt was nearby. Other inhabitants of the campground are wandering around wearing winter gear. Of course, my legs are winter white and their faces are tanned a deep brown. Just two of the noticeable differences between Michiganders and Arizonians. 😏
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| Selfie stick time... |
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is located out in the desert between Quartzsite and Yuma and is one of the reasons we came this far west. It encompasses over 665,000 acres…80% of which is designated as wilderness. The website warns that the roads throughout the refuge are unpaved and a high clearance 4 x 4 vehicle was recommended. Right off the bat we knew that gravel roads means no bikes so any exploring would require the truck. So today was a truck day.
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Kofa National Wildlife Refuge trivia: 1) The name Kofa is an acronym for King of Arizona, one of the area’s most notable gold mines and 2) It was established as a wildlife refuge in 1939 for the protection of desert bighorn sheep and other native wildlife following 1936 campaign by the Arizona Boy Scouts.
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On our Friday bike ride, about 20 miles outside of Quartzsite we saw the 1st of several established gravel driving areas belonging to the refuge leading out into the desert and about 40 miles out from Quartzsite, we saw a paved road with a sign indicating it was the Castle Dome section of Kofa NWR. That was our destination today. The paved road lasted only about as far as the eye could see from the highway then the gravel took over. And the road cut through the Proving Ground…warning signs on both sides of the gravel road. About 10 miles off the highway, we reached the Castle Dome City museum. There was active mining in the Castle Dome Mining District from the mid-1860s to 1979. At its high point there were about 300 mines in the District, mostly silver mines. The outdoor museum is a collection of buildings and artifacts used to recreate Castle Dome City and I think it’s best to let the owner explain the whys and how of it (from the website castledomemuseum.org):
The last legitimate miners left Castle Dome around 1979, but soon after that others came to scam mine investors. In 1998 the museum opened. In 1998- October 31, Fish and Wildlife decided to take out everything that was left from the Castle Dome mining era. We asked permission to salvage everything we could from the manager. We got permission and did so. There were buildings, artifacts, and piles of wood. There wasn't a shortage of Castle Dome mining history - the old newspapers documented well what happened at Castle Dome - who lived here, when, who owned mines, how much silver ore was removed etc. Thus, we moved and collected everything possible, researched the history, and were fortunate enough to even meet folks who lived, and worked here. The best way to put it - Castle Dome City was salvaged, the history was preserved. Another piece of America's old west days is remembered. The mining began in 1864, and ended when the silver prices dropped in 1979 -the silver ore was mixed with lead, and the process to separate the 2 was costly, but there was always a profit until the separating process cost more than the silver was worth. There's over 300 mines out here so we explored all the mines and pulled most of the artifacts out for the museum.
Castle Dome City was once bigger than Yuma. Some of the mines had everything left in them and were just like they quit working yesterday, so we were able to restock the town nicely.
The layout and artifacts made this a very interesting stop. And having Kim explain some of the finer points of the equipment on display was a bonus.
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If someone owns a museum that’s 10 miles off the highway in a desolate area surrounded by the Yuma Proving Grounds and has a highway sign to draw people in to see it, it seemed logical to me that that someone would provide a bathroom of some type. Doesn’t matter what kind, there should just be a bathroom. Oh, my lucky stars, there was a restroom outside in the museum area. Toilet looks normal enough but when I lifted the lid I thought it was broken…no water in there, just a ball in the bottom of the bowl. Okay...whatever…someone else just used it, it can’t be broken…I gotta go! Then when I put the lid down to flush it, it was a little disconcerting to see that there was no handle. Now what?! Started looking around and saw a pedal near the base, so I pushed it with my foot. The toilet flushed! So then I lifted the lid again and pushed to pedal again to see how it flushed. The ball fell away allowing the bowl to empty and then it floated back in place. Can’t say that I understand the mechanics of it, but it seemed like a modern take on the outhouse concept.
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On our way back to Quartzsite we ventured off on one of the gravel roads. There is camping in the refuge but it’s rustic camping meaning no electric, no water, no bathrooms. Just pull into the desert and camp. Well, there are rules to it…two of them being that a camper must check in with the camping host and there’s a 2 week limit. I don’t know if a person has to leave the property after 2 weeks or can just move to a different spot…sign didn’t indicate that. But we weren’t camping, we were just driving back to see what there was to see. Parked the truck to take a walk. We wandered toward what looked like a mound of black stones…Kim wondered if it was cast offs of the mining process, I wondered what plants were covering it. We were both heading to the same place but took different routes to get there. As I stood looking at the mound and the plants, I realized I had to use a bathroom and there were no bathrooms to use. Dang it! I hate peeing outside…it never turns out well for me. But when you gotta go, you gotta go. So I looked around, found just the right spot, did what I had to do and as I’m trying to pull my shorts back up in a hurry, I lost my balance and tipped sideways before I righted myself. Unfortunately my arm hit a nearby cactus in the process. The condensed version of what followed is that when Kim came back in view I asked him if he had a set of pliers on him then showed him the back of my upper right arm which had a few cactus spines sticking out of it. When he heard what happened, he strongly cautioned that the next time I pick a spot away from any cactus or the outcome could be a little more embarrassing than it was. He had pliers in the truck, took out what he could and then had me do a google search on how to treat cactus wounds. My arm feels fine…washed it good, iced it, then put antibiotic ointment on it with gauze wrapped around it. I anticipate no problems but will definitely check it in the morning.
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Despite the highway signs to watch out for burros and pronghorn, we saw didn’t see any of those…and I was keeping a lookout. What we did see on our walk in the desert was a jack rabbit. We scared him from under a bush as we unknowingly approached him. What a graceful animal! He scampered away, leaping from side to side like a deer…not short little hops but big leaps. We watched and marveled at his grace and speed.
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