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June 2000 The first time I passed through Bouse Arizona, I was impressed by
the number of lightning rods on all the power lines and electrical power
switch gear. What has this to do with Bouse, Arizona? Bouse is immersed in lightning rods, but not Desert Center! And, Bouse is the entry point to this month�s pages from Jerome�s Notebook. My buddy, Larry, and I have made two attempts to see Swansea, Arizona.
The first time, we near Vidal junction in California. Our next attempt at Swansea was two years later, in 1988, and better researched. Saturday October 1, 1988: This time, leaving San Diego at 1 P.M. in
the afternoon, we made a leisurely drive to a primitive camp Larry had
discovered o After breakfast Sunday, we packed up the campers and left camp at
9 A.M. heading to Vicksburg and into Bouse from the East. This time we
were not tricked by any signs and by 2 P.M., Larry had located a nice
camp site off the dirt road, large enough for two full-size trucks and
one motorc Monday morning, October 3 dawned with a low temperature of 74 degrees
at 7 A.M. Afte By 4 P.M. It was 104. Fortunately we had brought a goodly supply of
beer & wine in our ice chests. Supper was Salisbury steaks, canned Tuesday morning we secured camp, straddled our iron horses, got back
on the dirt road, and headed for Swansea. We were not disappointed. Our
many historical resources had painted a mental picture for us of the remains
of a once During Swansea�s heyday, the town had an electric light company, an automobile dealer, a lumber and realty company, general merchandise stores, saloons, restaurants, a barber, physician, justice of the peace, a notary public, and an insurance agent. It was also the headquarters for the Clara Consolidated Gold and Copper Mining Company, which had built an elaborate smelter at Swansea. Swansea, was originally named Signal; probably from the There were lots of buildings and ruins to look at. Some areas, notably the remains of the mill buildings, had suffered vandalism. A railroad had been constructed connecting the Clara Consolidated mine with Swansea and Bouse. Little was left except for the dirt embankments that carried the rails. We had hoped t We spent an hour or so wandering around the area taking pictures of the small cabins the workers lived in and the remaining adobe brick buildings with their peeling coats of mud "plaster", as well as work places, and chemical tanks now filled with mud. We returned to our camp for lunch and consulted our topographic maps
for the best route to the Clara Consolidated mine. A need for ic Wednesday October 5, 1988, our Swansea camp #1. High temperature would be 98 degrees and that mornings low was 68. We decided to put off the ice-run for one more day and instead go to the Clara Consolidated mine. I can�t recall seeing anything of interest. Neither of us took any pictures of that ride. It was a 44 mile round trip from our Swansea base camp. We were back in camp by 12:30 P.M. I have a note of our festive evening dinner, "Salisbury Steaks with canned beans - Yum!" Bed time 10:30 P.M., 79 degrees. Thursday. We could no longer postpone the ice-run to Parker Arizona.
It was a very pleasa Friday, October 7, 1988. General exploration within the Swansea surrounding area. Passing through Swansea in a NorthEast direction, we continued on to the Bill Williams River until the road took a sharp turn to the North and down in elevation to the river. There are several Fords of the Bill Williams River. The "road", if you could call it such, turned into fist-size angular chunks of country rock which gave us problems with braking and steering. With the last steep and loose-rock drop in the road, I decided to stay at the bottom, in the shade of some trees. Larry went on to cross the river at the Ford, still on his motorcycle, and turn around and return over the same Ford. Now, the last challenge- climbing the loose-rock road back to the top. Larry is a much better rider than I am and made the hill clim My that canteen of warm water tasted good! I should add that it was 94 degrees out. After that workout it sure felt hotter! The return to the camp was without further problems. The rest of the afternoon was spent in rest, consuming cooling canned refreshment, food, and watching the clouds in the sky. Tomorrow we would go home. Back to traffic, noise, and civilization. Despite |
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