[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by muscle_collector

that is cool, the mines would be adventerous to say the least. how often do you encounter rattlers?

We have not encountered any. All of these trips have been in the winter when they are dormant. We will be moving our explorations to cooler parts of AZ for the summer.

Here are some more pics in these mines.





and some very rugged, and incredibly pretty country we have been hiking



and some more cars we have found

[2002Z4CSS]

Thanks for the pictures.

[gary bennett]

why & how did all these cars get out there in no mans land?

[Silver Judge]

Thanks for sharing~!

Looks like some fun hiking and cool discoveries in your canyons ~!

Gee, you used to be able to find some wrecks like these in the coastal canyons of Calif, Oregon, and Wash, but they rust too fast compared to Arizona's climate

This pic you took here is my favorite, that's a piece of artwork right there I'm telling you!
What kind of car was this Steve? Also, what kind of plant or tree is this, it it a Yucca ?

[getmygoat]

Those mines look like fun to explore... Are there generally any portable objects left, old lanterns, mining cars, etc?

[Steve Barcak]

Here are some more pics of stuff we have found. Not all these finds are in the same place and many would be difficult to reach for the scrappers. We can only guess these cars were stripped and dumped many decades ago when they were worthless. People just dumped them over the side and watched them tumble. Some may have been stripped after they were dumped. Hard to tell for sure.
This we concluded is a 1937 Ford 2 door



This appears to be a '53 or '54 chev Bel Air



This is another section of an abandoned hiway. We guess this overpass was built in the 1920s. It probably has not been used in 60 or more years.

[Don57]

Steve, what kind of mines were they? Around here there are several iron ore mines that were abandoned in the mid-sixties because it was cheaper to mine it elsewhere. These abandoned mines are on an island and extend under the ocean. During the war, a U-boat sank three ships tied up at the wharves of the island. From what I have heard, there are millions of tonnes of the iron ore still in the mines............too costly to obtain. That picture of you in the 60' Pontiac..........what's the sccop on the letters "KC" on the firewall?

[mechanickeith]

Most of the mines in that area was for asbestose. It was being used in the morter for the building of the dam at Roosevelt lake. Largest masonry dam in the world. Nothing but brick & morter. Some mines in the area were silver mines.

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by mechanickeith

Most of the mines in that area was for asbestose. It was being used in the morter for the building of the dam at Roosevelt lake. Largest masonry dam in the world. Nothing but brick & morter. Some mines in the area were silver mines.

Where do you get that info Keith? The Roosevelt dam was finished in 1912 or there abouts. These mines are all newer than that.

[mechanickeith]

That is the info from the ghost town site we had been reading through. Several places on that site said these were asbestose mines used for roosevelt dam. According to that site, the Mule hoof bend town was from the 50's.


EDIT!! MY mistake,,,Went back & found the info,,,The asbestose was used for Hoover Dam, not Roosevelt.

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/az.html

[Jack Gifford]

Originally Posted by cuz68

... but im to old...

Hmm... I guess that puts guys like me with the walking dead...

[rohrt]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

This is another section of an abandoned hiway. We guess this overpass was built in the 1920s. It probably has not been used in 60 or more years.

That Bridge is cool. Like to see more of that and what is left of the road.

[mike nixon]

Originally Posted by rohrt

That Bridge is cool. Like to see more of that and what is left of the road.

That's my thought too. Are these roads passable or simply abandoned?

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by mike nixon

That's my thought too. Are these roads passable or simply abandoned?

These are sections of abandoned hiway that became outdated. These roads were built in the 20s and 30s and, as they made improvements, they simply built newer sections and than abandoned the old ones. Most sections are short but, some are well over a mile. One of them I know may be a dozen miles. The road was shortened when a bridge went up as an example.

Here is the west end of the hiway tunnel I found from yesterday...





..and today





It is not practical to drive these sections with a car as there has been considerable erosion and growth of trees, schrubs, etc but, you can walk/hike all of them. some can be riden on a mountain bike or trail motorcycle. so far, all exploring has been on foot.

Here is another section of hiway, this was built in the early 30s.

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by Don57

Steve, what kind of mines were they? Around here there are several iron ore mines that were abandoned in the mid-sixties because it was cheaper to mine it elsewhere. These abandoned mines are on an island and extend under the ocean. During the war, a U-boat sank three ships tied up at the wharves of the island. From what I have heard, there are millions of tonnes of the iron ore still in the mines............too costly to obtain. That picture of you in the 60' Pontiac..........what's the sccop on the letters "KC" on the firewall?

About the letters "KC", I do not know, could be factory markings or something someone wrote here.
Interesting story on the Uboats for sure, thanks for sharing.

[mzbk2l]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

Here is another section of hiway, this was built in the early 30s.

What's that stuff on the ground?!? I'm not going on THAT hike!

[fasteddy]

Spent the weekend just outside of Black Canyon City. My buddy has a 4 seat Razor. We took it up into the hills and valleys. It was a great time. It actually snowed in the Bradshaws on Saturday at 5000 ft. It snowed hard. Was 85 on Sunday. Arizona is awesome for scenery. Sure has some historic interests as well.

[mike nixon]

AZ is on my bucket list of places to visit. I always thought I'd do it in a vintage car, now I'm considering a Scout or fullsize Blazer as the transport.

Mike

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by Silver Judge

Thanks for sharing~!

Looks like some fun hiking and cool discoveries in your canyons ~!

Gee, you used to be able to find some wrecks like these in the coastal canyons of Calif, Oregon, and Wash, but they rust too fast compared to Arizona's climate

This pic you took here is my favorite, that's a piece of artwork right there I'm telling you!
What kind of car was this Steve? Also, what kind of plant or tree is this, it it a Yucca ?

From our research, this is a 1934 Ford sedan. Here are a few more pics of it. I doubt that more than a half dozen people have seen this car body in decades. This was a yet another great find while exploring!





More of the old hiway showing some erosion here.



It has been a lot of fun doing this with the Arizona Pontiac Power Group. We will go back out day after tomorrow.

Not sure what the plants are.

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by mzbk2l

What's that stuff on the ground?!? I'm not going on THAT hike!

C'mon now 'lightweight'! Nothin' is more fun than playing in the snow. I am still bummed that the ski area is now closed. I had so much fun this season snowboarding my heart out. It is soo fun and exilerating! What a blast to play on the white stuff.
If it was in the budget, I would be in Colorado now riding the season out.

Looking forward to having you back in Az and you will have to hang with us some.