Burning Question!

I know that many of you have often wondered how the miners that went down several hundered feet into the mine relieved themselves when nature called!

Well, now I can answer that burning question for you. Pictured is a cart that was taken around the mine on the rails to the miners so that they could use it when nature called. Guess that puts a new meaning to the term Porta-Potty!

Queen Mine Tour, Bisbee, AZ

We took a tour of the Queen Mine in Bisbee, AZ today. Bisbee was a huge source of copper along with other sundry minerals taken from the hard granite mountains in the area. They started with hard rock tunnel mines and after near the middle of the last century they converted to the open pit mining.

They made us dress for the tour with hard hats, slickers, and a light. The mine is about 47 degrees year round due to the availability of air coming through cracks and man made vents.
Don't we look cute!





Here we enter the tunnel on the train. We had to sit straddle of the center line and be very careful as the walls were quite close. Barbara was concerned going in as to whether her claustropbia would allow her to go in. She did just fine.

The mine has 120 miles of tunnels in it. It was one of the very first mines in the area and is owned by Phelps Dodge.






This view shows the train as we exited the mine. Looks like everyone was glad to get back to the surface!

This is the second entrance and it was made in 1915. The orginal entrance was higher up the mountain.

Kartchner Caverns-Big Room Tour

We went back to Kartchner Caverns yesterday for a tour of the "Big Room". All tours are with guides and they take the time to explain in detail how the caverns were formed and all of the various formations that are in the caverns. The Big Room is only open for 6 months a year as it is used the other 6 months by the colony of bats for the birth and nursery of their newborns. It is near the entrance which allows it to breathe and is not as humid as the Rotunda room which has air tight doors to keep it pristeen. The Big Room has these door also but the small entrance hole for the bats makes the difference there. The big room was near the entry which was made at a sink hole that the cavers found. They had to cut a bigger hole at the entry as it was only about 4 inches in diameter. They knew they had a cave because the air was coming from the hole and they smelled bat quano. The smell of bat quano is pure ambrosia to a caver as it is a telltale sign that there is a cave around.
We can only imagine the delight of these fellows as they made their way into the cave knowing that no human had ever been in there before them. When they got to the big room they just sat there in silence for a while soaking it in until they realized that they had entered a cave and no one knew where they were and if they had a mishap they would never be found! They left and made sure that someone they could trust with their secret knew where they were every time they entered the cave to explore.

This is a sheet which resembles a slice of bacon!
These stalactites resemble carrots!

All in all we had a marvelous time in the caverns. For those coming through the area, the park is about 9 miles south of Interstate 10 at exit 302 and it has a real nice RV park with power and water with a dumpstation nearby. The sites are large enough for big rigs.

Kartchner Caverns State Park, AZ

We visited the Kartchner Caverns today. It has to be said that this is a wonderful experience.
The Caverns were discovered by two men who lived in Tucson and were cavers. They found it in 1974 and kept it a secret for many years until they found a way to protect the cave for the future enjoyment by everyone. The land was owned by a family lead by a man who was a teacher and rancher. They were let in on the secret and helped to present it to the state of Arizona who then made it into a state park.

These pictures will give you a little idea of the wonders of the cave. They by no means will allow you to really experience what you can when you go there.

The park and the tour are very well designed and executed to make the experience a special one. They have air locks that you have to go through so as to maintain the fragile environment of the caverns. No pictures, food, drinks, etc are allowed in the cave and you only go through with a guide in small groups.







There are walking paths that you are very strictly kept on so as to not endanger the cave. There are two tours that you can go on, one of the rotunda and one of the big room. You have to have a reservation made in advance to be taken on these tours.

We only took the rotunda tour today and will try to take the big room on a later date. 

Presidio Santa Cruz De Terrenate

Today we took a hike out into the desert to the ruins of this Presidio which dates from 1775 and was used until 1780. It is about one and a half miles from the trail head where we parked the car. The trail is good but lots of rocks for a good part of the trip. The last portion is along an abandoned railway bed.
The spanish moved to this location from one south of here. They wanted to exert control over this area which had been the home of the Apache indians. They brought some 80 soldiers who were basically calvary men with lances and each one had 5 horses. Among those who came were some mission indians to help with the construction of the adobe structures and some civilians who did not want to be left behind with no protection.

The site they picked was on a bluff overlooking a river. It was a very defensible position in a military sense. The problem was the Apache would not confront them in the fort. They would raid the horse herds, harrrass the supply trains, attack the farmers that tried to farm to supply the presidio, attack those going to the river for water, etc. Basically they conducted guerilla war and the Spanish could not sustain the fort long term so it was finally abandoned in 1780 and the Spanish retreated to the south.
In a way this helped the Americans later when they were acquiring this regon in the Gadsden Purchase from the Mexicans. The Mexicans wanted protection for their people from the Apache and other maurading indians and the Americans promised to do this.
As you can see the weather over the last 200 years has taken a toll on the adobe structures.

We enjoyed the hike and the visit to the ruins, but we discovered how out of shape we were! It is not like walking on the paved roads here in the RV park. Lots of up and down and around the rocks. Oh well, we will get into better shape as we do this more.