A MONUMENT TO . . . ?

Somebody once spent a lot of time and effort constructing the monument shown above. It stands about three feet taller than my six feet. One of the large stones has been ground smooth, presumably for an inscription, but that has been worn away. Today the purpose it once served, and what it commemorated is lost to us. It's still impressive however, and has managed to avoid vandals for decades. It's on the California side of the river, between Blythe and Yuma.

ALKALIZED TREES

When the dam was built in Yuma, Arizona, in the early years of the last century, the Colorado River was backed up and widened for many miles upstream. In the process, a few settlements and much desert were submerged. The photograph above is of drowned trees that over the years were infused with alkali. When I paddled among them, I could look down into the water, and see the roofs of buildings drowned along with the trees.

THE TOWN OF PICACHO

When I moved to Blythe in 1960, there were still a few elderly folks that had attended school in Picacho, California. Above is what is left of that once thriving mining town. Now it's just a few foundation slabs and an occasional abandoned freight wagon. A click on the image will reveal one of those wagons, sitting where it was left decades ago when the town and mine were abandoned. Note the tire tracks made when the wagon last moved, probably in the teens of the last century, are still there. Because of the lack of wind and rain such artifacts can last many years in our desert.

DRY WELL

There were once quite a few water holes and wells scattered throughout the deserts surrounding Blythe. During the early years of World War II the army, preparing for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa destroyed most of them. In an effort to train the troops in the application of water discipline many wells were filled in and water holes blasted. Now, they no longer hold water. The image above is of one such well. It's about one mile northwest of the Wiley Wells Rest Stop. It's not on any map, but is accessible by a carefully driven two wheel drive passenger car.

BEAN HILL

This small ordinary looking desert hill has a special place in local history. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century and first years of the twentieth many journeyed through the deserts to the Colorado River and California. They mostly arrived without funds, food, and little water. Bean Hill, on the western fringe of the La Paz Mining District in Arizona, was known as as a place these travelers could go to pick up a few nuggets of placer gold. The field wasn't rich enough for anyone to claim, but almost always provided the immigrants enough to buy beans at nearby La Paz. Hence the name, Bean Hill. It's about a twenty minute drive from Blythe.

THE LAST MINESHAFT

Here's "Old Man Jones'" last mineshaft. It's the shaft he was working when he passed away. The ladder is still in place, where Jones left it, over a quarter of a century later. The area adjacent to his home is supposedly honeycombed with tunnels and shafts. I'm not brave enough to explore those old works, and I'm not being specific as to its location. Some who read this just may be that brave, and that bravery could be hazardous to one's health.

CROSS #1

Petroglyphs with crosslike characters are very rare. This and the one on the right were discovered on opposite ends of a large boulder, about seven feet in length. Please note the rays that appear to emanate from the cross's top, and the small circular character at the base. A click on the image will help you see them. Personally, I wonder if these have a Spanish origin rather than Native American. The cross is carved very deeply into the boulder, which suggests it was done with a metal tool instead of the stone tools local Native Americans used.

HODGES' MINE HEADQUARTERS

The ruin of the Hodges' Mine Headquarters Building is located about three miles north of the Bradshaw Trail. It's easily accessible by four wheel drive vehicle, and is about a fifteen minute drive from the Palo Verde Valley. The walls and floor still stand, and there's an adjacent foundation for what appears to be a bunkhouse/kitchen. The Hodges Mine was a very rich and active silver mine. There have been several efforts to reactivate the mine over the years. Please click on the image to magnify it.

FORT MOHAVE RUINS

You've probably read about it, seen movies that included it, and its been on tv in countless series. Above and immediatly below is what is left of Fort Mohave. What look like cement foundation stones are actually about twelve feet tall, and easily visible from the Colorado River. In fact, that's all that is still visible, from the river, of this once proud bastion of civilization. It's between Needles, California and Bullhead City, Arizona on the river's east bank. It would be about a two hour drive from Blythe, but there're no roads.

MORE FORT MOHAVE RUINS

It appeared that when Fort Mohave was abandoned at the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, it was bulldozed and what was left was pushed into adjacent gullies. Today those gullies are full of detritus of what was the fort. When I was there in 1976 one could still find the occasional intact pot or piece of plumbing. It will someday be an archeologist's paradise.

ADOBE SMELTER OR OVEN

Barely visible in the photograph is an old adobe smelter or oven. It's on the Arizona side of the river, and about sixty miles downriver from Blythe. A click on the image will make it a bit easier to see. No history or purpose for this artifact is known, and it is the only such oven known on the lower Colorado River.

OLD MAN JONES' PLACE

This abandoned home is, by desert standards, very unusual. It's a multiroom house with out buildings, electricity, fairly modern appliances, screened porches, etc. It belonged to "Old Man Jones." Nobody remembers his first name. He and his wife arrived in the 1940s, and actively mined the area surrounding his home. Jones passed away in the mid 1980s. His wife left the area shortly after his demise. A chest freezer and refrigerator are still in the home. A generator building is adjacent. The generator has vanished. While the house has modern plumbing, there is also an outhouse. It's about a thirty minute drive from Blythe on the Arizona side of the Colorado River just outside the La Paz Mining District.

THE UNHAPPY ONE HOLER

You've got to click on the image above to really appreciate it. This is the outhouse at "Old Man Jones' Place." He or his spouse has painted the lid. Since the house was fully plumbed, and included a bathroom one must assume the outhouse predated the existing house or at least the modern improvements to it. In either event, one or both of the Jones had a sense of humor.

CROSS #2

Here's the other member of a pair of crosses. It's mate is found on the left. A click on the image will reveal three rays similar to those in the image on the right, but more eroded, and the same circular character at it's base. Both of these crosses were discoverd about four miles south of the Palo Verde Valley, and very close to Highway 78.