Distant hills adjacent to Interstate 17, Arizona, USA, on 25th May 2012
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| Recession |
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| Eagle Soaring |
Saturday, 12 January 2013
Blog 246
Jerome - Gold King Mine and Ghost Town - URBEX - Visited on 25th May 2012
Sitting a mile north of Jerome, the Gold King Mine and Ghost Town is one of the most fascinating attractions in the region. Visitors will find a rustic assortment of ramshackle buildings, the gash of an old mine shaft and a sprawling array of rusted machinery that forever teeters between ruin and redemption. At first glance, the casual ease of the place might be mistaken for neglect but nothing could be further from the truth. This living museum is lovingly tended by a man who looks like he was sent from Central Casting to play the part: Don Robertson ably assisted by Mike. With bushy beard and slouched hat, Robertson is the very picture of a grizzled prospector. But there’s no play-acting going on here. Some people just seem to find their place in the world, where their skills and passion mesh perfectly with their surroundings. Robertson is one of the fortunate few, even if he was born a century late. “This was what I was meant to do,” says Robertson. “I was put on this earth to save this beautiful old machinery. This is the stuff that America was built with there’s no reason for it to be tossed aside or forgotten.” More images here.
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| Don Robertson - Proprietor Gold King Mine |
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| Mike - Don's assistant |
Friday, 7 December 2012
Blog 245
We had to be awake at 3:30 am to be able to travel from our hotel in Kayenta to the View Hotel in Monument Valley to meet our Navaho guide Ray at 4:45. Ray is part of the Kéyah Hózhóní Navajo native american guiding company. Website here. He took us into the private areas and we drove in his pick-up for half an hour to where we could view the sunrise between the 450 feet high Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei meaning Navajo spiritual gods. It is located adjacent to the Totem Pole and is imagined as a formation of dancers emerging from a Hogan. I started to take these images just after 5:45am, the sun appeared at 6:10am.
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| Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei |
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| Sunrise - Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei |
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| Totem Pole, notice the outline of the native american head near the right base |
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| Desert insect which just after it was seen it burrowed into the sand presumably to remove itself from the rising temperature. |
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| Animal and reptile tracks. |
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| Rattle snake tracks, our guide indicated that the rattler had past this way about ten minutes before we arrived |
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| The Bog Hogan rock formation, looks like the outline of a Native American's head with flowing hair |
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Blog 244
Goosenecks
Located just outside of Blanding, Utah, four miles from highway 261 on county road 319.
On its way to the Colorado River, the sediment rich water of the San Juan river meanders through Gooseneck State Park, creating deep canyon chasms. The park is only 10 acres and within that area, five miles of river flow in serpentine fashion to reach the Colorado River only 1 linear mile away.
On its way to the Colorado River, the sediment rich water of the San Juan river meanders through Gooseneck State Park, creating deep canyon chasms. The park is only 10 acres and within that area, five miles of river flow in serpentine fashion to reach the Colorado River only 1 linear mile away.
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| Goosenecks |
Bluff Utah
Bluff is a small town located in the San Juan River Valley in the south eastern corner of Utah. Located along U.S. Highway 191, Bluff is bordered on the south by the San Juan River and the Navajo Nation.
No white settlers called the Bluff valley home until 1878. Historic Bluff City was founded in 1880 by the famous "Hole in the Rock" expedition of Mormon (Latter-Day Saint) pioneers, whose mission was to establish an agrarian community on the San Juan River. The original fort and historic village of log homes was laid out with the church, school, and co-op store in the centre and was surrounded by agricultural fields and orchards. Farming along the San Juan River proved uncertain, for the river either flooded or went dry too often for dependable irrigation.
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| Modern Bluff - Visitor Centre |
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| Inside the Barton family cabin with earth sod roof |
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| Covered wagon based on that used by the early settlers |
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