Jan 3, 2017; BobF, Don & Suzanne; 7.2 miles RT on in-and-out hike w/1700 ft elevation gain Suzanne's picture numbers begin with P10006xxxxxx Don's picture numbers begin with IMG_4xxxxxxx Bob's picture numbers begin with DSC_3xxxxxxx
1 Where we hiked
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3 Our GPS track near the mine (red line) superimposed on GoogleEarth. You can easily make out the truck-loading area where we shot lots of pictures, the ore chute, the tailings dump and the other road into the upper action area of the mining operation.
4 Suzanne and Bob at the trailhead for the Slavin Gulch Trail. That's Bob's Lexus behind them
5 Don and Suzanne at the trail sign, with the Dragoon Mountains in the background.
6 Bob and Don approaching a pedestrian gate.
7 The first mile of the trail follows a lovely, flat meadow-like valley through the high grasses.
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9 We come to our first (unexpected) stream
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13 We hear a small water fall. OK, so it's not Niagra Falls, but technically a falls. Underwhelming.
14 We look back down the valley we came up.
15 Now we begin to climb. Slavin Gulch is on our left; it carries a small stream.
16 Another GRAND falls. See it?
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21 OK, now the pareidolia begins. See Snoopy in his helmet? And the gorilla with a baby on its right shoulder.
22 Suzanne is counting away.
23 Still climbing
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28 That's Casper ahead.
29 A better view
30 A dynamite hole used for blasting the area to construct the road bed to the mine.
31 Another one. This one goes about a foot into this rock.
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34 Must be Sea World: Some people watching a dolphin, with a sea lion seeking attention back the way.
35 It looks better from the side
36 From the side, it shows Snoopy sitting up.
37 The Michelin Man sitting up there
38 An Orca. Or two?
39 The remains of an old mining cabin about 1/4 mile before the mine.
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41 Bob with the measuring stick he used to measure the length of the bed. He's an engineer; so of course, he likes data.
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43 Bob approaching the mine. See the ramains of the wooden chute that brought zinc and copper ore down to road level where it could be trucked down the gulch road and out to Bisbee, AZ. You can make out the remains of the old road bed that Bob is following the trail on.
44 Approaching the lower, working part of the mining operation.
45 Suzanne's already there
46 The trucks that were to take the ore to be processed in Bisbee, AZ, were apparently loaded in this area from the chute.
47 Susan looks up at the lower part of the wooden chute
48 A look back down the Slavin Gulch. It would have been a wild ride on one of the ore trucks that went down the trail, on their way to deliver their contents to a processing plant in Bisbee.
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50 Don looking up at the chute trying to get a good revealing photo of it.
51 That's what he saw.
52 Zooming in for detail
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54 Bob found an old water storage tank
55 Susan found these artifacts
56 Pondering the Universe
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58 Don pondering the Universe or trying to get a good photo. After this we started back down the Gulch to the waiting Lexus and then on to Mia Casa Mexican restaurant in Benson, AZ for dinner. Then we still have the drive back to the Phoenix area.
