Saturday dawned cool and sunny so why not take advantage of it and head to the hills. Samantha is back in town from Texas so we decided to take the kids out on their first Jeep trip. I chose a familiar trail that wouldn't freak them out and we headed up to Willard Peak. As you can see, there is still snow up there which made for some fun mud holes. I didn't get to serious in my mud playing because I really didn't know how the kiddos would handle it. We got to the top and it was quite chilly there. Mr sun kept playing hide and go seek with us, which made for a wee bit of cold.
Now I can't really explain this foto. Sam had them show their belly's and took some fotos. I don't know why but she did. These two girls are the cutest things in the whole world. Miss T, on the left, is just beginning to talk. She is so fun to listen to. She is the quieter of the two so you gotta listen hard to hear her. She started singing Jingle Bells and it was too funny. Gracie on the other hand is non stop jabber. The trip was an adventure to find Elsa, the princess in the movie Frozen. We never found her, but we did find her castle nestled up deep in the woods surrounded by pine trees. Too bad she was vacationing in Mexico this weekend.
We spotted this accident on the way up and thought it was recent. It appears to have happened some time earlier than today. This is what happens when people don't pay attention to what they are doing. We have no idea whether anyone was hurt or what really happened so I guess we can just speculate and hope everyone survived. When you go off road, you need to pay attention to what you are doing at all times. One slight mistake and you end up down the mountain possibly dead. It is a sobering thought, but it can and does happen.
This is us parked on the side of the road just above the accident. Old Yellow did the job for us today delivering us safely up and down the mountain. As you all know, it is my favorite subject to shoot when I am taking fotos......... All in all, a great day. The kiddos got their first ride up a mountain in the Jeep and they loved it. Hopefully it will become a habit, one that doesn't need to be broken! Jeep on my friends!
Along time ago, I was fortunate enough to inherit, or better said, save some old fotos that belonged to my grandfather, that he was tossing away. Unlucky for us was the fact that I only was able to save a few. He had thrown away many of them before I could get to them. The above foto is one of the Columbus-Rexall mine located in Alta, Utah. I am not 100% sure, but I believe that he did work in this mine. In all of my travels of visiting the mines he worked, I had never gone up Little Cottonwood Canyon until today. I had no idea what to expect or if I would even see anything that resembled the areas rich mining past.
Surprise number 1..... I didn't see shit! We found the library open and had it all to ourselves until the Postmaster came out of the crapper. He was helpful to an extent and got us pointed in the right direction to find some answers on Alta's glorious past. Well, the head dude of the historical society was out of town, but we did get a phone number so I can contact him in the future. Up in the library/Post Office/ City Council chamber there were just a few fotos of Alta's past life. So, I do believe that I will have to send him some of Grandpa's old fotos so that they can add them to the collection. So much of the past has disappeared and these fotos are all the evidence we have left of what once was. As soon as I get the $$$$$ I will be redoing my web site and posting all the fotos of the past as well as the recent ones of the ghost towns and mines I visit.
Surprise number 2..... It was damn cold today. We left home at 59 degrees and during our trip up the canyon, it dropped to 44 degrees with the wind blowing like crazy. I reckon it was well below freezing when you threw in the wind. Yes, I should have thought this out before the journey, but, I am a Jeeper and we did survive. It finally hit 72 on the way home but that lasted all of 15 minutes. Oh well, I have chosen this lifestyle so I wont complain. Besides, who is gonna listen??
surprise number 3...... This was the best one by far. A few months ago I received an invitation to a birthday party for a friend I went to school with from kindergarten thru grade 12. Her daughters had planned this out in total secrecy and wow, was she ever surprised! It was a great time sitting there reminiscing about days gone by. I must state that Elene has some magical power when it comes too aging. Yes, I am jealous. It seems that I didn't get that gift. Oh well, some people got it and some people don't. So, Happy Birthday Elene and welcome to the half-century mark. All in all, it was a great day. I need to do this more often. Jeep on my friends!
Welcome to another off road adventure in Old Yellow. Being Memorial day, I actually had a day off with nothing better to do than Jeep. Today we headed off to the trails between Willard Peak and Avon Canyon. This trail has it all. We had some mud flinging and some serious rock crawling throughout the day. Our intentions were to go from one side to the other, but, in the governments infinite wisdom, the last canyon closest to the Avon trail had been blocked off to full size vehicles. Stupid Bastards! At least you think they could put up a sign or something. Dead end number 1.
On the return trip back, we ran into Bambi's mom. She was kind enough to pose for us, then scampered off into the wood to enjoy her lunch. We actually saw 5 deer today. It was kinda cool. We did a pre-run of this trail a week ago, and we saw no deer, just a lone wolf. He or she was much to quick for me to get out my phone and snap a foto of him. I decided to skip the nice camera today and use the new Galaxy S 5 camera. It did ok, I am not that impressed with it. I didn't video this trip either. I am glad I didn't cuz I would have been cleaning it every 5 minutes. This trail is nice because it combines all the things that make for a great trip. It has some gnarly hill climbs over watermelon sized rocks as well as mud holes galore. There were a few I wouldn't go into due to the fact I only saw 2 other full size vehicles the whole day. Nothing stupider than getting stuck while you are alone.
As you can see, everywhere was green or white. With all the spring snow and rain we have had, the sites were spectacular. The mountain in the background is Mt Ben Lomand, I think. I am 90% sure so we will say it is. We tried the Willard Peak trail last week and got cut off by the snow. Today's trail didn't have any snow, but run off from the melting snow made for some sweet mud. Luckily I left the doors on so most of the cleaning is still on the outside. I'll get around to cleaning it someday. Well my friends, thus ends another fun adventure. Keep yourself together, keep everybody warm, and always remember to keep riding the storm out........Jeep on my friends!
Hi and welcome to 2014 and the first adventure of the year! We started early this year on our adventure Friday the 3rd traveling to Wendover to see one of the greatest bands in history, .38 Special. I suppose your wondering about the odd title, so I guess I need to explain it. Back in the good old days when we were all younger, there were 6 members of the original band. Well, as of last Friday, there was one left. Supposedly there were 2 left for this tour, but LJ, the bass player was no where to be seen. The remaining original did not say why or even acknowledge his absence. Hmmmmm, an odd situation. This collection of players did ok I guess, but something was missing. I think the fact that they actually played other groups songs was a reason it didn't settle well with me. They have so many hits, yet they played other groups songs, it kinda bummed me out. Still, it was a great show and an awesome way to start the adventure.
Saturday morning brought a sunny day and our 1st Jeep trip of the year. We headed south to Gold Hill and got on the old Pony Express trail and headed east. You need to know that the pony express didn't last long in history. It began in 1860 and ended in 1861. The Civil War pretty much ruined it and by the end of the war, the original owners sold out to Wells Fargo. During its run, stations were set up every 5 to 20 miles, depending on the terrain. The rider would hop off one horse and jump on another and continue on. The remnants along the trail in Utah are still there for those to see. The above one is just south of Gold Hill and as you can see, not much ls left.
This one is a reconstruction located at Simpson Springs. The original station was torn down and a farmer used the stones to construct a home for his new bride. Sadly, she died in child birth and never got to live in the house. Just a small bit of the farmhouse remains in an enclosed area across from the monument. This site also has a campground, which no other site has.
The trip is around 190 miles long and they say to expect 5 hours to do it. This time does not take snow, ice and mud into consideration, so it will take longer during the winter. There are other sites to be seen along the trail too. There are numerous mines on the Gold Hill end of the trail, some with buildings and such. Also there is Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, where you can watch birds and other wild animals in their natural habitat. And, if you are feeling really adventurous, there is the Dugway geode bed dig site. You can go out there and search for geodes to your hearts content. Be advised though, you will have to dig them up by hand. We will be doing this sometime this summer.
To end the trip, we stopped by and visited Ms T and Gracie. These two little ladies are such fun to hang with! I wished we lived closer so it could happen more often. So, we drove 540 miles in just over 33 hours. It was a long drive but well worth it. So much to see and so little time to do it. Wish I was rich! Jeep on my friends!
PS..... On a blog below, I talk about the machine on the porch of the old general store in Gold Hill. It appears that someone beat me to it and it is now gone. This bites!
Welcome to the Christmas edition of my writing. As is usual for me and mine, we like to take on adventures for holidays and today is no exception. I have acquaintances that own large tracks of land in western Box Elder county so I had asked one gentleman about a certain road that I was sure went through his land. I was right and today we chose to drive his property just for the hell of it. We did that in record time, kinda boring, then we headed out west to Locomotive Springs. This area was a stop on the Central Pacific's rail line due to the fresh water spring. There have been buildings just beyond the spring I had never visited, so today was the day. Above is what I am sure is forge building of some type. It has a dirt floor and a huge chimney with a type of spark resistant cover on it.
This other building appeared to be some type of office. It actually had carpet at one time and paneling on the walls. I honestly cannot say if these buildings were up when the trains were going by. There are 2 box cars on the grounds, but they are not of the age to be part of the era of trains from the late 1800's. This route was finished for the most part in 1904, I believe. At that time, they moved the line to a long-ass bridge across the Great Salt Lake. The rails were left in place till 1942, when they were pulled up and the steel was used to make tanks and planes for world war 2. The rails are gone, but it is an interesting ride to follow the rail bed from Promontory Point out across the desert to Nevada and beyond.
For those of you who love the hunt, there were thousands of bunny trax out there at the springs. I like to keep an eye out for things like this just because a great bunny hunt is a great time. So, if you are in th mood to shoot, by all means head out to Locomotive Springs and enjoy it!
I guess I can't talk about the springs without showing you a foto of them. This is where they come up from the ground and make the tiny lake. It goes out beyond sight to be nearly 1/2 mile long. There was ice covering the water, so I threw a rock into the ice and wow...... fish took off everywhere. I know it is stocked during the warmer weather months and these were tiny baby fish so come spring, I bet the fishing will be great. OK, so next holiday is new years and I wont be heading out anywhere..... cuz on Friday the 3rd, we are headed out to Wendover to see 38 Special! But, on Saturday morning, being as we will be so close to Gold Hill, we just might visit it! Happy Holidays and Jeep on my friends!
Well here it is November and there hasn't been an adventure in such a long time. Why you ask? Well probably because school has me tied up. All I do is work, go to school and study. Fun life huh? Not really, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Someday I hope to use this schooling to do something fun. Anyway, the above foto is the mystery machine. I looked up the manufacture and there were 2 companies with the same name. Go Figure??? Anyway, I sent fotos to each of them and both of them had no idea what it was or who made it. Even Penn State got into the act and couldn't figure out what it was. Someday I might just steal it and bring it home and dissect it.
The above foto is a vehicle I would love to own. It is a genuine REO Speedwagon tow truck. I don't really need it as a tow truck, but it sure would be fun just to have one. This one was located in La Paz, Uruguay. It would be nice to be able to go back and bring it home. It is such a classic.
This is my favorite Miss T and Bob on the tube at Bear Lake this past summer. It was Sam's birthday so we decided to have some fun on the lake. We had a great time considering the boat died for half an hour out in the middle of the lake. It made for a great adventure. We should do it again.
The last and final foto is Little Red at the top of Black Bear Pass. It was taken in August and that is fresh snow from the night before. Ouray is such a fun place to visit and Jeep! I really love going there and exploring. It seems that Moab might be next years big adventure. We have been watching YouTube videos on all the trails there and Hell's Revenge is on the to do list. Also, I change the template of my blog. What do you think? Oh well, time for more homework.... Jeep on my friends!
Today's trip was a rerun of sort. We headed back out the Devils Playground to find a mine we knew was there, but didn't know exactly where. We do now. As you can see, the opening is right there waiting to be explored. This mine was the modern one of the day we visited. I am guessing it was late 70's or early 80's. Why you ask? I used my powers of deduction. OK, I'm lying. There are many modern things at this mine site. There is an old trailer with a 1982 registration tag on it.
This is some sort of air tank for something. The hose went down into the black abyss of no return. There seems to be some sort of mine cart system. About 25 feet in, there was a set of hydraulic controls with a cable. There is also track on the ground that comes up and out of the mouth and rises up over the ground. I am thinking that they winched the cars out and then dumped them in to the carts in the foto below.
The ore cart above is an overhead tram type, so I am thinking that the ore cars came out and were elevated so they could dump in these cart and go down the mountain. There isn't much left of any type of tramway but I really believe this was the method of taking the ore down to the mini mill. The mini mill is really trashed but you can get the idea of what they did. Behind the building are 2 bins. One got filled by the tram and then fed the other via a conveyor belt. After that, I'm kind of at a loss to where it went, but, I do know its final destination.
I screwed the pooch when I put the fotos on here so be patient with me. It's to big of a pain in the ass to change fotos on here so it is what it is. The final final destination is above. It is called a shaker table. It separates the heavy gold from all the other rocks and shit and you get rich, one hopes, when it is finished shaking. It is basically a large mining pan that is powered. Water flows over it and its a really neat process to watch. Especially when you see lots of yellow dust.
Back tracking led us to the piece of equipment above. This is what is known as a crusher, a very tiny basic one. The miners would throw the ore bearing rocks into the opening, and then add some sort of heavy steel. Some used metal bars or round balls. What they used is long gone so I can't help you there. After it is loaded, it is turned on and the metal spins round and round and crushes the rocks into a powder that can be put on the shaker table. It is a very noisy process in a large scale operation. As for this one, I'm sure it made some noise but not a lot. Now, why did this site get abandoned? I am thinking that they ran out of usable ore. Em has a busted foot so we couldn't really go to far into the mine. Someday we will return and see where the tunnel goes. Then maybe we will have our answer.
Now for a blast to the past. This mine is located 20 miles from the above one and is a lot older. There are no clues to its age, But I am guessing it is early 20th century. This one is flat for the most part so we were able to go in a ways. It is quite interesting to go in and see the old drill holes and wax on the walls from the candles. What is even neater is turning off the flashlight and being in total darkness. I mean you can't see shit. Many people say, well I wave my hand in front of my eyes and I see something. WRONG! That is an optical illusion your brain teases you with. In total darkness, you can't see a thing.
This last foto is us coming back out. There is another mine almost directly above this one. It too is another one to visit once the better half's foot heals. On a side note, we met the hidden cabin's owners great grandsons. They were out hiking around the mines and we chatted with them for a few. Seems there are even more mines out there I don't know about. I guess this means we have to go back and do some more exploring. We ended the day on a new road north of the playground. It took us up to Ingham pass then up to the top of the mountain. What a view! Gas was getting low so again, a return trip is needed. Anyone wanna go? Jeep on my friends!
