Bradshaw Mountains, AZ Oct. 9-11th, 2009

datrupr

Expedition Leader
It was a great trip. Jacki, Bryan and I headed out from work on Friday afternoon with much anticipation. After a couple of stops we were on our way up north to the Bumble Bee exit. We ran across this guy trying to cross the road. I had to stop traffic to let him cross safely (No, not really, it was just Bryan behind us):

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After following the Senator Highway for a few miles we met up with Rex at the bar in Cleator. We politely exchanged greetings and aired down, and after using the facilites at the bar we were off to find a camp site that I used to use 15 or more years ago. We loaded up and headed south on FR101. It was a fairly mild trail but was some slow going here and there. After about 40 minutes and just before sundown I found the spot I used to camp at. Bad news, sometime in recent history my spot had been completely flooded out. We spent a few minutes looking for other options and found a nice secluded spot not too far away. It was a race against time to get camp set up before the sun went down. Camp is set up with just a few minutes of daylight left, success! It was time to hunker down for the night and enjoy some good camp fire banter and then off to bed, it was a long day for all of us.

The next morning we woke up to spectacular views and a great campsite that was shaded until almost 10am, and didn't see full sun until about 3 in the afternoon. Life is good.

The view from camp:

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Right about breakfast time, Grady (Redrover) rolled up. I got a call from him on our way to camp the previous night asking if he could come along. I told him that he was more than welcome and gave him directions to camp. Obviously he didn't make it the night before, but he found us the next morning.

So, after enjoying some breakfast and just general taking in life and relaxing around camp we decided to go out and explore some. I remembered that there was a trail heading up to a mine a couple of miles back and we loaded up into Grady's Rover and the Monty and headed out to explore. The trail leading up to the mine was not much of a challenge, but it was narrow and got Jacki's pucker factor up a bit. She did not like being on the close side of a very long drop down. We come to a dead end at the base of the mine's tailings.

At the base of the mine:

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The mine shaft is up there:

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Since the shaft of the mine is up there and we were down here, we decided a little hike was in order. I wanted to see what was up on those tailings.

On the hike up, Jacki found this cool telegraph insulator imbedded in the mine tailings:

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We finally made it to the top and the views from up there were absouletly amazing:

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More to come, stay tuned.
 

datrupr

Expedition Leader
Continued:

Well, we made it to the top and there was indeed some remains of a couple of buildings up at the top, but not too much else. But there was a mine shaft :D

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We decided to go and have a peek:

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As you can see, there was some very ominous looking green water water just past the entrance, so that was as far as we went. But still, very cool.

After the mine we took the long way back down and enjoyed a nice little hike. Hiking back to the car I spied these two youngsters perched on a rock, very interesting:

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We had some water and cooled down a bit and headed back to camp. It was turning out to be a great day.

Heading back to camp from the mine:

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Back at camp we sat around and told stories and laughed and had a great time, as usual. I managed to get a good parking spot under some shade. I am trying out different options to keep my fridge running while the truck is off:

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Grady had to get back to town before Sunday morning so he and his girlfriend headed out and I started to make chili for all of us for dinner.

We shared more stories and laughed some more. It was a great day but we were tired from the activities of the day. It was off to bed.

No a whole lot happened on Sunday. It was go home day and we were sad, but all had to get home to take care of things before the work week started again on Monday. we packed up and headed for home after breakfast.

Leaving camp:

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The new suspension did help with this rocky section:

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Rex didn't have too much trouble either:

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But his suspension does flex a little more than mine:

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Stay tuned, yet more to come.
 

datrupr

Expedition Leader
So, since my suspension is new, I am trying to loosen it up a bit, it is still really stiff.

Also, I love the trasharoo:

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Jacki spotted this pretty flower on the way out:

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And the view coming back into Cleator. Not many people get to see the back side of Cleator:

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And back on the way home. I had to reflect a bit as I love heading into the Bradshaws. There is so much history, and the scenery never dissapoints. And, just about everywhere you look you will come across a mine or another piece of our short but rich history. One more of the views for you all to look at.

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It was a great weekend shared with great people. Bryan, I know you never go on this board though you are a member, but thanks for coming out, please join us again. Grady, I'm glad you and Cara found us on Saturday.Hopefully you guys can spend more time with us. And Rex, as usual it was great. You have great stories and great information. Not to mention your attitude with all that is going in in your life is inspiring, remeber, Jacki and I are here for you and Carrie. Let me know when you want to come down and I will be more than happy to show you how to post pictures. Give me a call, and thanks again for joining us this weekend.
 

crawldit

Adventurer
Great pics and write-up. My father taught me how to drive on the maze of dirt roads back in the Bradshaws. There are alot of good memories for me back in there and it's still one of my favorite places to explore in the state.
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Great pics and trip. I love the bradshaws. I just finished a second book about them. Lots of cool old stories! If you want to read up on some of the mines more check out one of the books about the bradshaws at the public library. (sorry I can't remember the name of the books, but Bradshaw is in the name!!)
 

Rexsname

Explorer
I had a great weekend, Sometimes I just need to allow myself to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

The "lil' Joe" BBQ was a winner for a minimal impact campfire.
The Bug sprayer was a winner for a cheepy shower and dish washer.
The Trasharoo was a big winner.

Campfire time was comtemplative, relaxing and hugely enjoyable.

Thanks for putting forth the effort to organize a fun weekend.

REX
 

Lichen

Explorer
Great report. The white flower is Sacred Datura and is very hallocinegenic. I have it my backyard and can't get rid of it
 

datrupr

Expedition Leader
I had a great weekend, Sometimes I just need to allow myself to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

The "lil' Joe" BBQ was a winner for a minimal impact campfire.
The Bug sprayer was a winner for a cheepy shower and dish washer.
The Trasharoo was a big winner.

Campfire time was comtemplative, relaxing and hugely enjoyable.

Thanks for putting forth the effort to organize a fun weekend.

REX

Rex, I agree completely. And, I have to add that I love the fridge. funny thing though, you know on the last day of camp my DC outlet I had the fridge plugged into was working when the truck was off? Well, when I got home it would not work when the truck was off. There is something odd about that. I am going to have to investigate a bit. Jacki is ready for another trip, the bad part is that she is leaving on Thursday for a week to Chicago. We might have to go south for the next trip, maybe in November.
 

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