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

I just wanted to say: Be very careful poking around in old mines. They may look stable, but do not take it for granted. Don't wade into pools of water, they may conceal a shaft. You never know what kind of critters you might find inside, be it snakes or Gila Monsters. Old mines can, and sometimes do, collapse. I was born in Phoenix, lived in Glendale from 1959 until 1981, moved to Kingman, AZ. in 1981 and lived there until 1991 when I moved to Missouri. Never should have left. I have enjoyed this thread immensely even though it has made me homesick.

 

That overpass is the old railrad line from the Winkleman Mill to the now extinct San Manuel Smelter. Bout 6 years or so ago they dropped the twin stacks from the smelter in San Manuel. ( I have a video of it ). If anybody has any other questions about the Mammoth, San Manuel area, get ahold of me. Don't know everything,,but got 20 years livin' in Mammoth. Crow. LFFL

 

Thanks for the reminder. We are very carefull in all our adventures. Have been in Az for 58 years & still exploring the state!!

 

sweet

 

Going in these old, abandoned mines IS very creepy but, curiousity overcomes the creepiness. Yes, there is an element of danger involved as well. We try to use our judgement. That is another reason I like to go with a larger group. When we do, we always leave someone outside just incase something happens. Gosh, the thought of getting trapped in there..

 

I absolutely love this thread and I just had to comment to tell you how jealous I am of your explorations. I am an avid explorer here in the northeast but nothing is as well preserved as the stuff you've spotted. If I ever find myself in Arizona I'd love to do a little exploring myself!

 

Man I envy you all out there... around here it stays so humid that if a car sits very long at all it's rusts to the ground... I wouldn't know what to do with myself being able to find usable tin just abandoned out in the middle of nowhere...

And I like others would love to be able to attend one or more of your adventure hikes, but I seem to be a few states away...

 

Just a reminder,,, most of the "tin" we have found is not abandoned/just sitting there for the taking. For the most part, these wrecks are at the bottom of very deep ravines/canyons. Someone probably died in the wreck that got the car down there in the first place. Most are on state -federal lands or on one of the indian nations. There are severe penaltys if you are caught liberating cars/parts from these areas. We explore, take pictures for everyone to enjoy & leave them to rest in peace.

 

Wow, those trips sound fun. I'm relatively new to arizona and would love to see more of this great state. How bout some directions?

 

Well, meet us at the IHOP in Mesa- Baseline/Val Vista in 8 1/2 hours ( 7am ). 6am if you want to have breakfast.
Look for my primered 66 GTO with the big hitch. 480-899-7873
We will be gone exploring and having fun the whole day and get back there around 8-9pm. My car is full, not about the others. You may need to take your own ride or may be able to ride with one of the others. It would be best to have some sort of 'off road' capability with some ground clearance. An older, American car of truck is best.
I'm still getting ready
bring hiking shoes, camera, drinks, some money, back pack, gloves, lantern, flashlights, etc. Long pants and layers. We'll be going through a lot of brush. No one, besides us, have been on these trails for many decades. Lots of overgrown and erosion.



Incredible views and great times!

 

"Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." I try to always remember that when exploring. Keep up the good work guys.

 

Enjoy it while you can. The Wildlands Project is slowly escalating, and by the time it is done, you will not have anything left to explore. Don't know what the Wildlands Project is? Look it up and start reading about how it is being implemented, slowly but surely.
Government is using dozens of tactics to remove people from rural areas and to take over and lock up the land.

Here is a thread I started on another forum, and there are a lot of links already posted in that thread that are good for more reading.
http://www.realoldspower.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=87024&start=0

 

That is what I miss the most, being able to go out and explore. I never did it when I lived in Glendale, but my Grandfather had been in Northern AZ. since 1946 in either Goldroad, Oatman or Kingman. He was a bonafide prospector and had been all over the Black Mountains and the Hualapais and even as a kid he took me to places up in the Hualapais like the Gold King, the Democrat, Merlo Mica and other places. I loved the Hualapais and I really miss them. If I were still in the Valley, hiking with your group would be a great deal of fun. An entire lifetime would not be enough to explore even 1/4 of Arizona.

 

Dude I googled that and one of their primary goals is reduction, massive reductions in the human population. That is scary, psycho Eco mentalists.


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Found this in a wash somewhere north of Sedona in 2008. Not much left but seems to be late 30's GM coupe.

 

I have ridden in that truck!!! I did not realize where you were until you posted these pics, there is a really nutty guy named Jim that works at that place, he is kinda crazy but he is a good guy, he can show you all kinds of cool shit around there! You need to stop in there and meet him, ask him about the guys from Missouri and Canada that were there a few years ago with a black and red 56 ford convertible on their trailer! Man that was a great trip! Jim

 

I know about some cool stuff in dudleyville and found some cool stuff last time I was in Hayden but they are both towns that don't seem very outsider friendly. I rolled thru there two weeks ago with my dad and little girl. We stopped on winkleman at the gas station across from the Gila river park and the people were mean muggin is the whole time. It's sad I used to love that place.


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One of the most fun threads on the Hamb...thanks for posting. Tim

 

30 something chevy coupe in topoc az, went back to get this a year after i found it was gone!



i got tons more. this is my favorite pass time!

 

this was at the bottom of a huge cliff it was just a speck when looking at it not zoomed in. its off the side of the road up to oatman.

this is also in a ravine just outside oatman

 

^ Looks like that chevy or whatever it is didn't have a fun ride to where its at now! Hopefully there was no one in it! Otherwise they probably would've looked just as good as the car....

 

and something a little different, some parts from the crash site of a F 104 starfighter in lake havasu. i gathered the scattered parts into a pile. the plane crashed right on where a house is built now and this is all thats left scattered in the open desert just a few feet away from homes. kinda creepy picking up stuff that was on a fighter jet. sadly the pilot didnt make it.

 

Get a copy of "Range", they expose a lot of the crap that's going on in the west!! Guaranteed to make your blood boil!!

 

Hey applekrate, thanks for the invite. I'm obviously late but I really appreciate it

 

Looks solid. I could use that body. At least the bottom half.

 

Adam,,,,As mentioned before,,,,Most of this stuff is on federal forest property and on many of the local indian nation reservations. This car is on one of the Indian Nations land. Requires a permit just to go off the highway onto their land. There are severe penalties if caught removing anything from there. This Olds is wrapped around a tree in the bottom a dry wash down off of the side of the road. I was able to identify it as a 36 olds from whats remains of the hood.

 

Yep... I'd get in a lot of trouble if I lived out there...