SNOW !!!

 It rained most of the night and some time in the early hours it snowed.  The snow on the mountain near here in Sahuarita, AZ is all the way down, too far away to get a picture however.  

Pima Mina Tour, Sahuarita AZ

 

Pima Mine Tour near Sahuarita AZ right near the Desert Diamond Casino .  What an amazing place!  It mines copper.  The metal, hidden within the rock and dirt is extricated by blasting, shoveling, and hauling in huge trucks with this size tire!  The huge rocks start out several feet in size and after the milling process the result is literally a powder form of copper and rock dust.  The final step of this powder is to be sent all over the country and world for the final step to get the final product of copper. Mexico owns this mine, unreal!

 

An open mine is a stair step looking hole.  The roads are barely wide enough for two lanes to hold the huge equipment.  The water trucks work 24/7 to keep the dust down and the mill is also 24/7.

This cable is actually 6 inches across and the 3 large copper centers are over 1 inch across.

Mary Marcus and I.  Can you believe the size of this truck?  It holds 75 tons which only takes 5 shovel fulls to fill.

Guess who?  Mary, Dan and me.  This is a cut away section of a rolling drum that holds 5 inch steel balls that roll around with the rock product to beat it down to smaller size.  the balls last in size only about 2 weeks.

This is definitely a cactus annomilly at the entrance of the mine tour.

My Jeep is Offical Now

Well, I did it. I have been on three off road excursion now.  I have mud, dirt, dust, pinstripes and real scratches to prove it.  My proof is a little washed out due to the rain we had.  There was one area I refused to go, it was steep and at an angle.  As a "new-by" I decided to use my better judgment, for now anyway. I did go on one hill though.  Look at the video. 

Dan, Max and me.

Ready to Roll!!

I bought my 2010 Jeep Wrangler in Henderson NV.  Dan and I put the kayak rack on, the bike rack and now it's ready to go.  All fits well and rides well.  I miss my ATV but I know I will have a great time with this Jeep.  Hauling the ATV and not getting to ride it except mostly in the west became a burden so I traded in the Dodge Dakota and the Honda 500 Rubicon ATV  : (     : )

New Wheels

Well, I have had my ATV for 4 years and only get to ride it 2-3 times a year for about 2 weeks, on and off.  Why?  Well most places in this country have no riding areas or if they do it is more for dirt bikes and it is a pay to enter area.  Also, if the WIN folks are going 4x4 riding the ATV cannot use highways to get to the ride starting area.  The best riding is in the southwest in Arizona and Nevada.  I am only in this area for a short time and that's that.  So hauling around dead weight makes no sense.

Sooooo, I traded in my 06 Dodge Dakota and 06 Honda Rubicon 500 for a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Sahara.  Now I will be able to have a vehicle for transportation and for fun.  Most places in the USA have plenty of off highway roads to enjoy.

Nevada State Railroad Museum, Boulder City, NV

Us WINs took a nice 45 minute train ride in a 1911 open car down past the Railroad Hotel Casino and back.  Lou and Jeannie, friends Dan and I made a few years ago when we stayed at the Canyon Trail RV Park in Boulder City, met us there and rode with us.  Some of us then road the "97" to the bone yard. 

This gentleman was our porter.

Judy H. Viv G, Mark, Brad, Joanne, and Bob.

Paul, Marian, and Bob.

Diane, Margaret, Donna and Larry.

Only some of us went on this extra tour which was part of our cost.

Antelope Canyon, Utah

There will be plenty of photos in this post but I can't help it, the canyon was breathtaking and I kept shooting.  I really have only put a few of my photos here.  Enjoy the exquisite beauty.

It is the flood waters rushing through the canyon that swirl and erode the sandstone.  During the monsoon season the most sculpting takes place.  During just rainy days the bottom sand becomes deeper and is washed away again during the monsoon.

The size of the canyon walls are easy to see by comparing the size of the people at the bottom.  Inside the top area is many feet higher.

Our guide was great.  She told us all what to set our cameras on to get the best light and pointed out the best photo angles.  You can see the results.

 I know there are a lot of photos of this Canyon, but I can't help it, it was soooo beautiful there!

HELLO there!!     

 There are two tiny people in the bottom left area.

Glenn Canyon area Dinasaurs

It is amazing how vast the area is that these animals existed in the west during their time.  Many of the fossil prints and bone sites are now under water in Lake Powell.