After getting ourselves all cleaned up -laundry, grocery shopping, dumping waste tanks, filling up fresh water – we headed to Kofa National Wildlife Refuge to meet friends. This is yet more classic boondocking. We stay on a spot off of King Valley Road, about a mile from US 95, 30 miles south of Quartzsite. Kofa stands for “King of Arizona”, the name of a significant mine in the area. They stamped their bullion with the initials, and it stuck. And yes, the refuge is capitalized as I show it here (weird I know). We arrived on a Wednesday just after lunch, and we stayed until this morning, an entire week.
We mostly just relaxed, but we did do some 4WD roads in the area. The trip to the North Star Mine (and driving by the nearby King of Arizona) was the highlight.
Bell shaped greenish white flowersDouble good x flowers and a lizardThese were probably the most numerousLots of these too in big bushes, especially near the roadMore than one hereThe ocotillos were mostly past blooming. I find them the most interesting structural plant.
Oh, and there were some interesting ruins too.
A little window above North Star MineNorth Star Mine. Much larger than it appears in this picture. The tanks were probably 10’ high or more.Close up of part of King of ArizonaA big picture view of the part of King of Arizona we could seeA very old “tank” along the road to North Star used to hold water for wildlifeAn old well bore, maybe 8” in diameter. We put the cap back onPile of soft white material, maybe 30’ x 20’.
I have no idea what the white stuff is. The best I found out is a reference to a well 5 miles south of King of Arizona and supported an ore concentrator. I saw no signs of a mill, but there were some old metal fragments characteristic of the time. The well and white pile were right next to an obvious spring, so my guess is this is the concentrator.
We took a trip on another day to the Horse Tanks. They are natural water holes that have been enlarged by the Wildlife Service for game. Another gorgeous area.
The water from the hills comes down the wash resulting in lush vegetationThe start of the trail to Horse TanksThe Jeep in the landscape. Love the ocotilloJust an interesting weathered area in the rocksThe lower Horse Tank. There is another above the pour over shown.
I have also been sewing. I have completed 3 quilt tops to be donated at the FMCA rally, so I haven’t only been goofing off. Oh, and I have gotten Kevin addicted to the Australian series Brokenwood Mysteries. I either download them (poor service spot) or stream them (good service location).
