THE COPPER VEIN

The desert out here is scattered with mines, copper, gold, etc. We are never quite sure what we are looking at since this really is wilderness and there are no guide maps or informational kiosks to educate us.

However, the beautiful green/turqoise/blue veining in the red rocks here seems to indicate copper ore, or so we are guessing. It is beautiful, and visible for miles.

We also came upon some extremely deep mine shafts, completely in the open. When we threw a rock inside it would take as long as 2+ seconds to find bottom (or a turn in the shaft) so they are very deep! We were warned to be careful of them while exploring.

EXPLORING THE ARIZONA DESERT IN THE RZR

2/04/08

Today Paul and I set out alone in the RZR to explore some of the desert here in Brenda and surrounding areas. Paul had already learned some of the territory, exploring with George, and then alone (which makes me nervous). It's a huge wilderness, and navigating is done mostly by sighting a mountain or landmark in the distance.

We had an absolutely wonderful time, really quite thrilling. When going through relatively flat areas, we go FAST, and that's fun of course...but most of the time, we carefully explore the mountains and foothills. It's VERY steep and rugged in places, and we are impressed with the abilities of the RZR to climb. I made a little video of us going (what seemed) straight up a rocky hillside. It felt like a scary carnival ride!

We did a little bit of hiking up some steep rocky terrains to be rewarded with breathtaking vistas.

The hole in the rock (round, in the distance) is called the eye of the eagle. I was fascinated with the heart shaped hole we discovered on the trail.

RELAXING IN THE RV

2/05/08

Today I am enjoying a nice quiet day in the RV with the dogs. We went for a nice long walk in the desert, tho it is a bit cold and windy today. Can't complain...