Exploring Arizona- abandoned, wrecked cars & trucks, old hiways, etc

[applekrate]

Originally Posted by 27Tudor

I live in Maryland but will be visiting my daughter in Scottsdale from May 11th through the 20th. Any chance you are doing any trips on the 19th? Would love to hook up with you guys.

Dan

Well, since you asked about May 19......
That is the day of my next car show. Beside being a hot rodder, drag racer, junk collector, parts yard, etc, am also a promoter and event host for drag racing and show events in Arizona. May 19 is the date of my next show.



It is in the high country of St Johns in eastern central Arizona about 220 miles from the Phx area. So, will be busy running that. However, we have an exploratory hike planned the following day a little closer but, still a good distance from the Phoenix area. I have found many cars already in this area and we will be exploring some of them , hiking and exploring the old sections of hwy, etc.

[applekrate]

The next portion of our last exploratory hike was, by far, the most interesting and exciting. We hiked a good distance on fair ground to an area I found last time and looked over with binoculars. I had found what first appeared to be an old bulldozer. Then, upon further study, it looked more like some sort of trailer with a boxy, squared of front that was facing me, maybe a mile or so, away. In the same area was a large amount of peices of equipment of all kinds. There were also very large amounts of tailings. All indicated a large mine was located there, we were correct!



This mine ended up being larger and much more interesting than all other mines we have explored so far! It didn't have water in it, at least, we do not think so. There was so much to see and explore in there, we did not cover the entire mine even though we explored it for a considerable time





For the first time, we found work benches, old cans of food the miners apparantely had for their lunch, an old water jug. Then we found empty boxes of blasting caps and explosives. Then rails and much more. The ceiling/roof was surprisingly smooth. It almost gave the feeling of being under water and looking up at the top of the waves, etc.
we are spending time now on the net researching what exactly we have found and when it was being used. My guess is it was operating possibly as early as the 30s and maybe as late as the early 80s. The equipment and misc we are find appears to be 40's-60's. Some equip was dated as far back as 1918!



This explosives box, as an example does not list the zip code. Zip codes were in place and well used by the mid 60s.

It was really something. We went very deep into this mine to the point where I started to get uncomfy. We plan to return but, with much more lighting. We will have multiple lanterns so we can really see where we are and what there is to see. In a way, it is really creepy doing this but, even more interesting and exciting. I've never been in a mine before until recently. Not sure if we will find a larger mine that this one on future outings. I feel this way based on the amount of tailings and equipment here but, it is possible. Not sure what the danger level is but, none of us felt we were in any real danger and we are not reckless types. Still, the thought of getting trapped in there if something went wrong... it would be all over.
Just as a precaution, in the future, we will leave at least one person outside with a phone and car keys. We will bring snack food and water and basic first aid equip next time we go in. These old mines appear, in all ways, to be safe and sturdy from what we can tell.
My primary interest is still in old hwys and finding old cars but, these old mines are just too interesting to pass by.
more to be continued. ...

[DocWatson]

Originally Posted by mechanickeith

View out the front of the tin shed!! WOW!!!!!!!!!

WOW Indeed!

Though I do wonder why you worry about those pesky little rattle snakes, they don't even make it into the top 10 most deadly!! HA!

We have a few to worry about......

http://greensnake9.tripod.com/id23.html

Just playin' keep safe out there.

Doc.

[a bloke]

Cool thread, thanks for posting.

[BeatnikPirate]

What a great thread! Seeing these pictures and reading about your adventures makes me want to move to Arizona. But I'm in Pennsylvania now, and reminiscing about our Salt River Canyon exploration in March. Here's a few more pics:

[phat rat]

Steve, was this new mine below the tin shed in the area of what we thought was a bulldozer? So the Goat made it all the way up the mine we were in before? My wife and I went back to Sedona the next day by way of the Salt River Canyon and I got this shot

[BeatnikPirate]

Jack,
Jailed for driving without license and registration?

[phat rat]

Originally Posted by BeatnikPirate

Jack,
Jailed for driving without license and registration?

Yea Arizona is tough on that, especially for snowbirds. But my moll broke me out and had the getaway car gassed and ready to head east LOL The facilties weren't the best in there. It certainly wasn't up to par with the Ritz

[enloe]

I need this tailgate

[Carnuba]

"There, I fixed it"

[biggeorge]

You guys are having way to much fun. I'm jealous

[yetiskustoms]

love this thread!!!

[MikeRose]

I've lived in this state for almost half of my life and have never seen any of these cool places. I gotta get out more. That mine is awesome.

[mechanickeith]

Originally Posted by MikeRose

I've lived in this state for almost half of my life and have never seen any of these cool places. I gotta get out more. That mine is awesome.

Ya Mike,,,But isnt Yuma the arm pit of AZ???? About the only thing down there is sand dunes.

[MikeRose]

Originally Posted by mechanickeith

Ya Mike,,,But isnt Yuma the arm pit of AZ???? About the only thing down there is sand dunes.

Haha ya I guess so. We don't even have dunes, thats a few miles away in California. It grows on you though...

[mechanickeith]

LOL,,, Schedule a trip up here & join us on an outing!!!!

[applekrate]

After trouring this second mine that day, we hiked further out to locate this peice of equipment I had found with binoculars on the prior hike. I had determined at distance that it was a tandem type trailer with a steering axle in front and that is was boxy and appeared to have a radiator or, at least some sort of grill, on the front. Here is what we found.



It is a very large diesel engine with a small gas engine attached to it used to start it. It drives a very large, by my standards, air compressor. We figured out this was used to power the jack hammers and circulate the air in the mine.



The wheels on the trailer are metal with spokes, based on that, would guess it is not newer than the mid 30s but, do not know. the engine looks more modern to me. Surprisingly and refreshingly, it has not been vandalized!



Most of the controls and linkage is still operable too. Even the belts for the cooling fan seem to be in fair condition. Not sure of its weight, I'd guess at least 8,000 pounds. Who knows what pulled it there. This is in steep terrain and lots of brush has grown over the decades. I can only wonder if there are cars and equipment that went over the side by accident. It would take considerable time to explore the entire area and we may take that challenge on.
However, I still know of several more cars that I have found in other areas. Our next hike will start to return to the main hiways looking for them.

[GrizzGang]

OK I've benn through the complete thread and I'm glued to it . You guys must be having a ball . Do you think there is any gold in any of those mines? I can see hambers coming out and spending vacations with you . Good luck and keep it coming , this is better than Discovery Channel .

[applekrate]

Originally Posted by GrizzGang

OK I've benn through the complete thread and I'm glued to it . You guys must be having a ball . Do you think there is any gold in any of those mines? I can see hambers coming out and spending vacations with you . Good luck and keep it coming , this is better than Discovery Channel .

What a nice post! thanks so much for the kind words, yes it has been very fun and adventurous and we are going back to continue on Thursday.

These mines appear to be asbestos mines though some are reported as silver mines. I guess they ran out of customers when asbestos useage became out of vogue.

[phat rat]

Steve, it's great that you guys got back there to check out up close what we saw that day from far away