Needles, CA
November 28 - 30, 2012
Our first stop on our beeline across California, Arizona and
New Mexico is Needles, CA. This is on
the Colorado River near my old stomping grounds. The Desert View RV Park was in a beautiful
desert location with huge shrubs between the sites. It was really just a place to take a break
from the road and load up on supplies. On
our way out of Needles we drove by Lost Lake which is the place I used to go to
on the river. It looked a lot the same,
but they have added a lot more mobile homes.
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| View from Suni in Needles |
Maricopa, AZ
November 30 – December 2, 2012
We stopped at the John Wayne RV resort for a two night stay
in Maricopa, AZ. When asked why the park was named for John Wayne we were told "no reason whatsoever". The park was under
renovation, but had really nice large sites and great people. We just hung around and relaxed in the sun. Much to our dismay this park also had a huge
dairy farm down the street. We are
beginning to think it is a Passport America requirement! At least there wasn’t a train.
Deming, NM December 2
– 4, 2012
We found the Hudson Bend of RV parks in Deming, New
Mexico. The drive in was interesting to
say the least. The directions said
follow the gravel road until it dead ends at the Hidden Valley RV Park. We drove for a while and thought we had been
Chaco’d once again (lost in the desert), but rounded a mountain and there it
was. It was a great location truly
hidden and surrounded by the mountainous desert terrain. When we were checking in they told us about
some random Petroglyphs that were just a short hike from the park. So after we got all set up we hiked into the
desert in search of the illusive petroglyphs.
We wandered around in the general direction we were told and low and
behold we found them! They were etched
by the Membris Indians more than 1000 years ago. Peg was so excited. It is quite a feeling to be wandering in the
desert and suddenly see something so unique and ancient. We wonder in awe until dusk. When we returned to the park, Shannon the
owner asked if we wanted to see the old fluorite mine! We said definitely and he offered to drive us
to it the next day on his four-wheel ATV thing.
Our second day we drove out to Rockhound State Park. A park started by rock lovers with a great
visitor center and hikes through the hills where they let you take any rocks
you find. The hike was beautiful, but a
little disappointing in the specimen department. I guess when they let you take all of the
rocks you want there aren’t much left.
We then went back to the park and Shannon made good on his offer to take
us to the fluorite mine. It was a
fabulous drive through the desert to the mine in the middle of nowhere! We wanted to know what the indicator was to
the miners that huge veins of fluorite could be found below the very generic
looking rocks. They blasted out 3 big
rooms with dynamite and had ladders connecting the different chambers. When Shannon put his flashlight on the walls
and ceiling of the first (main) chamber it lit up like the 4th of
July. Fluorite comes in many colors but
looks like tinted quartz predominately in the purple and greens. Both were present in this mine. They must have taken a huge quantity out
because it sure looked like a lot left.
It was so cool to see this mineral in its real habitat instead of in a
sample box in an 8th grade classroom. They used the Fluorite to smelt different metals,
making them more durable for use in WW II.
All done with horse, wagon and hand turned drill bits. It must have been a very prosperous endeavor
because it took a heck of a lot to get it out of there in the 1930’s.
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