Honey Mesquite

Honey Mesquite trees are everywhere here in the park.  This guy has been around for many years

  He will be much more attractive when the leaves appear.

Bisbee Mine

   Bisbee is a mining town.  Built on hilly ground.  Lots of streets going up and down.  Quaint houses.  interesting downtown.  A future shopping trip.  But Friday was a day to go underground.  Although we go underground almost everyday on the days we work, but we had never been in a mine.  So when we got to Bisbee we decided to take the tour of the Queen Mine.  Waiting for our tour time, we had lunch at the Bisbee Breakfast Club.  (See a previous blog entry. )
    We were ready when we returned at 2pm for our tour.  Our guide Bill issued each of us a hardhat, safety vest, and flashlight.  Probably not necessary but it did give everyone the feeling of what it was like to be a miner.  After a short introduction, we all boarded the narrow gauge cars that were hitched to unique small engine for a ride into the side of the mountain.  A 10 minute not quite comfortable ride got us deep into the mountain.  We disembarked and walked up steps to a hollowed out area where miners actually worked.  Bill explained mining procedures.  It was amazing that folks did this ugly job deep in the bowels of the earth for years and years.

Lowell, AZ

The town of Lowell is located almost on the edge of the Queen Mine Open Pit.  Not much is going on but it is fun to walk down the main street, look at the buildings and parked vehicles.  There is a funky antique shop and the Bisbee Breakfast Club a fun restaurant in "downtown" Lowell.

Sign

The bell mentioned by the sign was used by the cagers in the Queen Mine.  Cagers were the operators of the cage that moved the miners up and down within the mine. They were not near the actual cages.

 All the signals telling cagers where to stop the cage and where to were done with knowledge of a bell code.  The bells told the operator what level to stop the cage at, where to send it, and then where to go next.

Day Off Trip Queen Mine, Bisbee

   It's our day off so what do we do for something different?  We go underground.  But not in a cave.  The Queen Copper Mine was in operation from 1915 until the mid 70's .  There is a big hole in the ground to as a result.  Pit mining is to get to the low grade ores.  Shaft mines search for high grades.  The Queen Mine had both. 
   We stopped at a viewpoint to see the pit.  Big.  Then after lunch we took a mine tour.  Riding a mine "train" we journeyed into the mountain.  After a 10-15 ride we stopped and walked up to a hollowed out area where ore was removed years ago.  Very interesting.  No mining for me.

A day of "Firsts"

Sunday was a day of new experiences.

    I went with Jake a Ranger in the Cave Unit which is responsible for the care and maintenance of the caverns.  He showed me how to "open" the cave.  The cavern is 'turned off "every night.  Rangers or volunteers go in after the last tours of the day to clean the rocks and formations of touches from that day and see that all the lights have been turned off and all the doors are locked.
    In the morning the process is reversed.  So that morning Jake and I picked up the keys and headlamps at the Visitor Center and headed up to the entrance.  We unlocked the gate and the several doors to open the cave for the day.  As we traveled through the cave we tested all the light posts to verify that the lights for that portion are in working condition.  We also plugged in phones at various spots along the route.  These are there for emergency purposes. 
    It is important to maintain the humidity in the cave so a fogger was plugged in and run for 30 minutes in the Rotunda and in the Throne Room.  Two were also run in the Big Room as well.  There are 14 monitor stations throughout the caverns that constantly record temperature and humidity.  Theses foggers are needed to replace the humidity that is removed by our visitors as they walk through the site.  It is one of the costs of making this cave open to the public.
    It was so interesting walking through the darkness with just headlights on.  You have no idea what darkness is until you are in a cave without the lights on.  IT IS DARK.  So dark that you can not see your hand right in front of your face.   
   The other new adventure on Sunday as well.  It was my first tour as the guide.  We finished our guide training two weeks ago.  We have been studying, planning and trailing just biding our time until our names come up on the schedule.  Last week both of us had a tour where we shadowed the guides, seeing the tour from the front instead of the trail position in the rear.  It was a different perspective.   Sunday was different.  I got back to the VC just a few minutes before my 9:20 tour so I didn't have any time to fret or worry about my first.  Instead I put on my tour fanny pack and headed out to meet our new visitors.  It was my best tour so far.  Of course it was my first. Randa did her first Sunday as well.   However, our feet are now wet and we are going forward.
   More stories to come.

Wishful Thinking part 2

Remember my wish for spring?  This was my morning view   Maybe next week.

Wishful Thinking

Spring is nearly here, right ?

Tuesday Morning

It looks cool and it was.  The low temperature for the night was 16 degrees. 

 I checked and we still are in southern Arizona.

Bacon anyone?

Cave Bacon is a cave formation (Speleothem) that involves water colored with the minerals that drips down the ceiling leaving a drapery calcite formation with 3 or more colors.

Vug

This is a vug.  A vug is a geode that is embedded in solid rock. 

 This one is located in the roof of the tunnel leading into the cave.

Truck Riding

Hunter says "Riding in the truck is exhausting".