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May 2002 Several times, more than I care to think about, Larry
and I have spent considerable time at the bottom of the Cargo
Muchacho Mountains as a location central to many of the areas
we were interested in.� As
you may recall, Sidewinder Road started in Ogilby and went due
east or started down at the Sidewinder off-ramp from I-8 and
went north and west. We had two camp sites northeast, which gave us a nice
view.� It was December� of 1984. A few days from 1985.� We had left San Diego, California, at 10:20
A.M. with a high overcast and at 2:55 P.M. arrived at our Sidewinder
campsite in the rain.� At
least it wasn�t snowing on us.�
We arranged our truck campers for shade and view as the
rain thinned out and finally stopped. We took advantage of this lull to release the tie-down
straps holding the motorcycles to the trailer, and checking
the fuel and oil while we could.�
The sky looked bleak.�
A good time to get� supper cooked, eaten, and out of the way.�
We had a 1 and �� pound can of�
Dinty Moore� stew
over broken-up soft rolls, and a can of Del Monte�s seasoned
green beans and dressing.� A little wine for the stomach�s sake.� We knew how to live! 7:15 P.M., the rain started up again and sounded cheery
on Larry�s metal camper roof.�
During another lull in the rain, I ran for my camper�s
door, getting inside and moving�
camera gear, warm clothes, spare parts and prepared my
bunk for sleep. Thursday arrived, wet with more rain.� During the night my hi-low thermometer recorded
a low of 48 degrees.� We
got up at 7:30 A.M.� The
day was unremarkable. It started to clear by 1:50 P.M. And then
the rain came down heavily by 7:30 P.M.. Bed time was 8:00P.M.
The day�s high temperature was 56 degrees. Friday� dawned
with fog and rain and another day of low 48 degrees, hi 56.� We spent a few hours at the Yuma Historical
Society�s� book store,
our favorite port in any storm.�
I parted with $15 for books and�
$20 at a grocery store for forgotten supplies, then back
to camp to enjoy them.� But, oh joy, the SUN came out long enough to
let us get in 14 miles round trip�
before it decided we�d had enough sun for the day and
it was time to wash the mud off the machines with some fresh
rain. Many people would have given up and gone home after half
the rain we had, but I have observed those that really love
the desert (and you either love it or hate it), enjoy the desert
in all it�s moods and can curl up with a good book or read a
map or two or just enjoy the play of clouds, patches of sun
or whatever. Saturday arrived with a burst of sunshine on our camper
doors facing it, along with 50 degrees of warmth (tho the low
during the night was 44).� Looking
around,� there was heavy fog east of us as well as south
and west of us.� After
breakfast, we wiped down our dual-purpose motorcycles, attached� the waterproof aluminum map tube to my fender
rack, and capped it; filled and attached the cross-bar canteens
of water to the handlebars. Cameras etc. rode in our day packs
slung over our shoulders. For this day, the front of the Cargo Muchachos were our
target. Driving onto the handy utility corridor gave us the
shortest� route.� Numerous
roads left the utility corridor and angled northeast penetrating
almost every nook and� cranny.�
Names like Jackson Gulch,�
Cargo Mine, Padre Madre, the Occidental, the American
Girl, and more at the sites of Tumco and the site of Hedges.
There was lots to see and try and interpret from the
outlines of concrete slabs.�
It was time to return to our camp site for lunch and
quick lookups in the �guide books� we carry with us.�
We rolled into camp at 2:20 P.M. tired and thirsty. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading about the
mines we had seen or thought we had seen.�
Most of the mining activity is along the west flank of
the Cargo Muchacho Mountains.�
Most of the mines are gold mines, although there are
a number of mines dealing with a whole hodgepodge of minerals. Bed time was 8:45 P.M. Clear sky, slightly windy, which
picked up speed during the night.�
Sunday, 2 A.M. in the morning, heavy wind gusts which
continued into the morning. I� got
up for the day at 8:30 A.M., 58 degrees.� Because of� helmet
problems (too tight in the jaw area), I wore a Balaclava, a
knit cap the� present
day terrorists like to wear.�
It kept my ears and head warm. Other clothing I wore�
that Sunday, were a tank top, T-shirt, warm-up jacket,
and all-vinyl motorcycle jacket. Of course the usual jeans and boots, and rabbit-lined
gloves.� They were almost
too warm except when I was riding. Thats when one creates one�s
own wind-chill factor. That day we continued with more exploration along the
northern part of the mountain. While at the American Girl Mine
gate, we were met by one of the group of owners.�
We had a nice chat with him, once he realized we had
some mining knowledge and were genuinely interested in what
he had to say about the mine. From there, we returned to our
camp, hungry and thirsty. Monday was our last day here and a �� day at that. I got up at 8:00 A.M., 52 degrees;
60 degrees by 10:00 A.M. Larry off checking out the Two Wee
Mine, a.k.a. The Tee Wee Mine.�
This was a small gold mine on the northeast side of the
mountain. A small producer; a mix of copper oxide and fine free
gold.� I remained at camp
resting and taking pictures.�
I started to pack up my gear around 11:45 A.M.� Larry back at 12:20 P.M.� We both left at 1:00 P.M., and were back home
in San Diego at 4:45 P.M. I hope you enjoyed our little adventure.��
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