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Brannigan Mine Camp

Brannigan Mine Camp

While heading out on a trip to Nevada, we rendezvoused for a quick exploration of the Brannigan Mine, also known as the Oro Fino. The mine is in the Old Dad Mountains of the Mojave Preserve. These days, the mines are closed by iron bat gates. The cabins, however, have

Boxcar Cabin

Boxcar Cabin

For more than two decades now, some friends of mine have been maintaining the Boxcar Cabin (also known as the Buckhorn) out near Death Valley. Before its life in the “Adopt-a-Cabin” program, this simple two-room cabin was once a train boxcar used by miners. Mining prospects were first worked here

Alta Silver and Rock Eagle Mines

Alta Silver and Rock Eagle Mines

Way back in 2004, I met up with Dan, my dad, Micah, Lewis, his son Aaron, Werner, John, and his cousin for a trip to some out-of-the-way mines out in the Mojave desert. Some of these are very old mines. This mine was discovered by Frank Riggs, who worked the

Indian Springs Petroglyphs

Indian Springs Petroglyphs

I did a little hike in the Eagletail Wilderness west of Phoenix on a cold winter morning. The Sonoran Desert of Arizona is full of tall saguaro cacti, and this is a fantastically scenic country. After crossing the open desert, I entered a canyon cut into some low-lying volcanic hills.

Tyson Wash Petroglyphs

Tyson Wash Petroglyphs

We briefly stopped outside Quartzsite, Arizona, at the well-known Tyson Wash Petroglyphs. The fact that the site has seen heavy visitation for years and isn’t vandalized is kind of amazing. The lighting wasn’t very good when we were there, so my photos aren’t the best. We looked

Dripping Springs Petroglyphs

Dripping Springs Petroglyphs

In the Plumosa Mountains of western Arizona, a small seep drips out of a cave in a solid rock cliff. It is a small oasis for animals in the otherwise arid Sonoran desert; people noticed it, too. Stacked stone walls of an old cabin remain just below the spring. On

Arcturus Mine and Buckwheat Wash Dunes

Arcturus Mine and Buckwheat Wash Dunes

Down in the southern end of Death Valley, a small group of mines lies hidden in a low set of hills. Also known as the Ibex, it was first prospected for copper and silver in the 1880s but was developed as a mine in 1914 by the Ibex Spring Mining