Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Buckskin Mountain State Park, AZ, Day 3

Start of a Copper Mine
Wednesday, December 11, 2013, Buckskin Mountain State Park, AZ, Day 3 - 0 miles, 4,822.7 For the Trip

After breakfast I relaxed in the trailer for a bit, then took a hike on the Buckskin Trail. The first part was a duplicate of yesterday, but after that I took the foot bridge across AZ 95 and headed for the mines. Overall, about a 3 mile round trip hike over well groomed trails. Lots of steps up & down hills, but nothing too difficult. The mines look to be hand dug copper mines. I found 2 20' or so deep mines including Bucky's #3 Mine, and a bunch of trial or dry holes. I'm not sure where Bucky's #1 & #2 mines are, but I didn't find them. I collected a piece of quartz, and what might be copper ore from one of the tailings piles. Since my geological knowledge is pretty slim, I can get away with calling it copper ore even if it isn't, although I better not let my sister see it (she was chair of the Geology Department at Whittier College in California.) As usual, more photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

After returning to the trailer I talked with my neighbor, and sat outside reading. I didn't last too long; while it warmed up to 60°F, there was just enough wind to make it feel cold. I did take a shower in the nearby bathroom. While the toilets are closed, the showers are open. Let me tell you, while the water was warm enough (barely), the temperature in the bathroom was at least 10F cooler than outside. Another "quick drying" experience. I can understand why Arizona doesn't heat their bathrooms, at least in the southwest, since the year round temperatures are fairly high, but they sure could use some this winter!

Dinner was a couple of pot roast sandwiches. Verizon is providing 4G LTE service pretty much all the time now - the 3G service the first day I was here is gone, not that I'm complaining! It makes posting photos so much easier with the higher 4G speeds.

Until next time -

1 comment:

  1. Arizona has some amazing geographic wonders. We drove to Winslow, AZ. to see the crater. Awe inspiring.

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