Carlyle Mine

 This turned out to be a good old fashioned desert adventure! I'd read about the Carlyle Mine years ago, and always wanted to go there. Every time I made the attempt, I was thwarted by soft, fine sand (locals call it "blow sand") that even my 4WD Jeep would sink into like a soft feather pillow. So I was surprised recently when driving by the road leading to the mine to see it looked compressed and drivable. I made a quick U-turn to check it out and it was indeed drivable!

 

Get comfortable, it's a long post (didn't want to split it into separate posts), and enjoy the adventure!

The above video actually shows me leaving the mine, but it gives you a feel for the drive. Right around where this video stops, the road gets rockier and more challenging. Driving out to the mine, I was confronted with the classic dilemma: [1] Continue on... heck, I've come this far, it would be crazy to turn back now, vs. [2] Do the sensible thing; turn around and be safe! The road seemed to be deteriorating the further I went.  Also going through my head: It's a very long hike back to the highway, I'm by myself, and no tow truck will be able to reach my Jeep on this road full of angular rocks doing their best to destroy my tires or punch a hole in my oil pan. As I'm sure you have guessed, I continued on as my knuckles turned white from my tight grip on the steering wheel!

 

The road looks like it might end up ahead, and it might be too narrow to turn around, so I start to hoof it from here. I know the Carlyle Mine is somewhere up this canyon. I breathe a sigh of relief that the old Jeep got me this far without mishap!

 

Some interesting things to be seen hiking up the canyon.

 

 

Note the heavy cable around this boulder.

 

 

It seems like no matter how remote you get, taggers have gotten there before you. It's really too bad. 

 

I'm wondering how in the world the early miners managed to get all the concrete up this remote and challenging canyon? I think what we are looking at are the remains of the concrete foundation of a floatation mill. It's huge! This is also our first glimpse of the tram tower.

 

The Carlyle Mine is a turn of the century silver and gold mine. In 1938 it was reported that 24 men worked the mine. There were two shafts: One 1500' long, the second 1200' long. An aerial tram 2600' in length delivered ore from the mines to the floatation mill. In 1938, a third mine was tunneled. The mine closed in 1941.

 

Some kind of toxic-looking sludge above the flotation mill. It's too bad, as this is a beautiful canyon. 

 

 

 

 

I still haven't found the mine opening, but I'm following a faint trail up the hill. It's steep and rocky, and definitely not a trail I want to try to go down in the dark, so I need to watch the time. There are some pretty blooms along the way, and my hope is to get up to the old tram tower.  

Looks like the remains of a wooden ore chute, and behind it, a large deposit of mine tailings. I'm guessing the first of three mine openings should be just up ahead. 

 

The mine opening looks sketchy. I'm wondering if the big X is a warning? Which brings up another classic dilemma: [1] I've come all this way and I'll be kicking myself if I turn back now vs. [2] don't go in and stay safe. I decided to go in, but just a little bit. Maybe 10-15' just for a photo.

 

Inside the mine, it's surprisingly roomy. No bending over needed to walk around. I decide it's safe to proceed a little further, always keeping the opening light visible. My biggest fear is getting disoriented. Thankfully, this mine goes mostly in a straight line, with just a few side branches.

These two short videos will give you a feel for what the mine looks like inside. I didn't proceed far; just a guess but perhaps 1/4th of the way in?

Leaving the mine and back out in daylight, I feel like I've just been privileged to see some amazing history! I'm feeling elated and decide to make my way up to the tram to take some pictures.

 

 

The views from the tram are incredible! That's the Sheep Hole Mountains, with the salt works at the base of the mountain (whitish area). Look closely and you can see the salt silos. They are huge, but they look tiny in the photo!

 

The trail continues, and looking closely, I can even see more tailings (which probably means mine #2). I have a little bit of daylight left, but I'm going to have to hustle.

 

A really interesting large boulder with pretty color. I wonder if someone drilled that hole with intentions of putting a stick of dynamite in there and breaking it open to see what minerals are inside?

 

I find mine #2.

 

You ever get that feeling like you don't want to press your luck? To enter this mine would require crawling on hands and feet. Nope, not today. But I know from research this mine has some amazing stuff in it, and I need to come back at some point and explore it.

 

More ruins of some kind. Miner's cabin?? Those 24 men that worked the mine had to sleep somewhere!

 

If I'm going to make it back to the Jeep before dark, I need to pick up the pace!

 

 

 

The drive home. Yay, a rare stretch of smooth road!

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Rain & Puddles

 I guess it's all what you're used to. For me, cool weather and rain is not all that common, so I really enjoy it. We had a fair amount of rain, cold temperatures (for us) and strong gusty winds earlier in the week, and it's raining lightly as I type this. I love getting out and hiking in this weather. Great skywatching too!

The wild mustard blooms early in the year. Nice to enjoy the sea of yellow flowers, but the plant will dry out and die in a couple months, becoming a fire hazard.
 

The city placed these rocks here for erosion control along the trail. I always marvel at the beautiful colors!

 

There are a few flowers blooming, but it's still early. A few more weeks and there will be a lot of color in these hills. The prickly pear cactus are not in bloom yet (there's even some fruit left from the last bloom), but their flowers will add lots of color.
 

Beautiful lighting on the ferns.

 

Everything is so green this time of year!

 

Wild radish.

 

Sticky monkey-flower. Soon they will blanket the hills!

 

 

 

 

Rain cell on the horizon.

 

Wild cucumber.

 

 

This little pond only contains water for a handful of days every year, but the moment it fills up, these ducks magically show up!

 

 

Twins!

 

Thanks for stopping by, and wherever you may be, stay warm and safe!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Petroglyphs & Stary Skies

 Two things I love... Native American rock art and night skies. It made me wonder: Is there an opportunity here to combine them both? So off I went to a petroglyph site that I thought might photograph well at night. The petroglyphs will be my foreground, and I will use LED lights and/or my headlamp to gently light them up at night. Covering the top of the photo will be a beautiful night sky full of stars. Of course, this is what I am hoping for, because at this point it's just all in my head. First, let me show you the petroglyphs.

Petroglyph site #1. There are multiple interesting glyphs on the boulders.

 

This photo and below: Close-up of glyphs at site #1.

 

 

Petroglyph site 2.

 

Site 2 petroglyph close-up.

  

Now it's time to sit back, relax, and wait for the night sky to arrive. I'll keep fingers crossed that it will be a clear night with visible stars, and that there isn't too much light pollution. The minutes tick by. Finally, at around 8pm, it's dark and I see stars!

 

Site 1: This one is nice because there are multiple petroglyphs, and they are perhaps even more visible at night, illuminated by my lights, than during the day! Although there are some wispy clouds, stars are clearly visible. 

 

Site 2: This one came out nice also. They old dead tree branches add to the sense of mystery. Perhaps hundreds of years ago the creator or creators of these petroglyps sat under the shade of this very tree! I got lucky with the stars. Even though this time of year is not ideal for viewing the Milky Way, you can see it's faint outline over the bare branches.

 

So there you have it: Petroglyphs and night skies in the same photo. My brain is already curning over some other rock art sites I might be able to photograph at night!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Group Effort at the Gas Station

 I was driving through the more-or-less ghost town of Desert Center and couldn't resist stopping for a few photos. The town has a long and interesting history. It used to be much more photogenic, but a few years back a single individual bought the entire town and had a huge auction. All the old interesting artifacts were sold, including mining equipment, an old railroad caboose, signs, gas pumps... it's a long list. Much of what was photogenic is gone. It's like the soul has been ripped away from this little town. Rumor has it the current owner of Desert Center owns a trucking company and wants to use the acreage for truck storage, and perhaps a truck rest stop. What little is left is in decay and slowly being reclaimed by the desert.

Desert Center Trailer Park (or what's left of it). It looks like some old trailers are still in the park, but the area is all fenced off with clearly marked No Trespassing signs. I like the remains of the old sign. Looks like it's from the 50's or 60's. 

 

Screenshot from Google Maps inside the trailer park.

 

Desert Center Elementary School

 

 

Gas pump skeletons

 

"Downtown" Desert Center. In the foreground is the original gas station, open back in the day when someone would run out and pump your gas and wash your windows! "Can I check that oil for you, Mam??" The adjacent building looks like it was used for storage. Across the street is a tiny post office that looks like it is still open and operating. A google search tells me Desert Center has a current population of about 150 people, although I only saw a few people milling about. Also attached to the gas station (photo below) is the old cafe. I've never been able to figure out why Desert Center isn't thriving. It's right next to the 10 Freeway with easy access (Highway 177 exit) and no gas station or cafe for miles around. 

 

This old gas station is a little further from the main town but is easily accessed by a road that parallels the 10 Freeway. I like the look of it, and I made a mental note that it might be a candidate for a night photo.

Looking in the window of the gas staton. I won't be going in here at night!
 

Fast forward about 8 hours. It's about 8PM, I've completed a long hike and taken photos of petroglyphs under the stars (to be shared in a future post). I'm really tired and have a long drive home ahead of me. I pull the Jeep up in front of the station, take a look around, and decide nope, too tired and too much work to get a photo. Jump back in the Jeep, start to drive off, then stop. I have the distinct feeling I'll be sorry if I don't at least make an attempt at a photo. My camera is still mounted to the tripod. So I leave the Jeep idling, grab the camera, level the tripod, and point it in the general direction of the gas station. I don't focus... just estimate distance and adjust the focus ring. Too much work to use live view to compose the photo so I hope I'm pointing the camera in the right direction. I estimate camera settings and take the shot using my headlamp to light up the foreground. First attemp is totally underexposed. I decide to take a different approach. I notice the cars and big rigs wizzing by on the freeway, their headlights partially lighting up the gas station. It occurs to me I can use the lights from passing cars and trucks to expose the photo. Kind of a group effort! Of course, they will have no idea they are helping to make the photo. I adjust my camera settings: 20 second exposure, ISO 1600, f 3.2. First try, there is a bit of a lull in traffic and it's underexposed. Second try, a cluster of big rigs pass by and the photo is overexposed. Third try, I get lucky and it's just the right number of cars and trucks passing by to provide perfect lighting. Thanks everyone!

The bright light on the left is from headlights of eastbound traffic on the 10. I'm amazed that the stars are visible with so much light pollution from the freeway. I'm not sure how many cars passed by during my 20 second exposure. Maybe 20 or 30? Wish there was a way I could tell them "thanks for helping me make this photo!"

 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!