Our Thanksgiving holiday led us out to ghost town and old mining area in the Imperial Valley. We've driven by this area multiple times and have always wanted to stop and explore. We did some research and realized there was so much to explore, see and find. We loaded up our trailer with a metal detector, black lights and flashlights and headed out with gold fever! We had two magnificent camp spots that were walking distance to the historic Tumco Site, abandoned treasures and hiking trails galore. We explored the historic Tumco site, ruins from the old town, roped off mine shafts and remnants of a town abandoned almost one hundred years ago. Multiple mines surround this area including the recently purchased American Girl and American Boy mine and many more in these Cargo Muchachos Mountains. Want more info on this historic town, there is actually a song written about it on YouTube... John Malcome Penn wrote the song "Tumco Mine" which we've added below, but beware, the song can get stuck in your head!
Welcome to Tumco Historic Mining Site !
Take a look at the waterfall effect of this mine shaft
We fell in love with the beautiful teal colors in the abundant "kyanite"
View of our spectacular camp spot right next to Tumco!
Our little one looks even smaller in the basement of the old Miner's Club Saloon
Not only did we love the sign, but we also loved the remnants of the old Golden Queen mine
Look what we found! Small tunnel on the outskirts of Tumco
Foundation to old building from Tumco Ghost Town
Cans, bottles, pottery pieces and thick glass remnants are a reminder of life back in the mining days
Small cave and prospectors mine in Tumco
The mountain ranges surrounding the area are indented with caverns, holes, nooks and crannies!
Plenty of "rusted history" was left behind in the old ghost town
Considering this structure was built in the 1800's, we were amazed how much was still standing
A photo of what the town of Hedges looked like in it's heyday
The sun sets on the last two walls remaining from the town hospital
My miners staking their claim
Looking through the iron bars down the mouth of a very large mine in Tumco
4 cyanide vats bake in the desert sun
Welded iron guard the mystery of this gold mine and keep visitors safe
The thing I like about the desert is all the colors of the rocks. They are beautiful! Really awesome pictures and fascinating history. You should be doing some professional writing.-- although these days you might make more money finding gold in the desert!
ReplyDeleteP. S. You actually came up on my blogger reading list today. Welcome to the world of blogging. I have way too many on my reading list so I'm beginning to miss some. I think I'd better do some down sizing -- if I can figure out how Blogger will let me do it.
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