Today we are headed to Constellation Road and beyond, to the Constellation mining area nestled in the hills surrounding the Weaver Mountains. There are several remnants of mining in this area so off we went.
The trail was easy, was mostly hard pack sand and gravel and several loose sand wash crossings. The desert vegetation was plentiful - cacti were everywhere. John had all the GPS coordinates for the various trails and it worked well. I was surprised that the fancy little gadget had all the trails in it.
We dropped into the King Solomon Gulch and immediately saw what remains of Sayer Spring Station. George Sayer built the station which had a store, fresh water and an ore processing area. Miners processed their ore at this site then it was loaded into wagons and taken down to Wickenburg. There are several graves in this area however, they are rather difficult to find as they were merely marked by a circle of stones on the ground and usually had no headstone. George Sayer accidently shot himself while loading his wagon and is believed to be buried at the site although the exact position of the grave is not really known. The cattle have free range in this area and create a bit of a havoc with the stones around a grave, scattering them indiscriminately and thus making the grave hard to find.
We climbed out of the wash and continues upward toward the mining area of Constellation.
The first mine we encountered had several crumbling building site and the mine shaft was readily visible. John and I both ventured into the mouth of the mine and took a few pics. We are both aware of the dangers of venturing into these mines so stayed very close to the mouth and were out in minutes, camera in hand. We left the site and double back on the same trail to Buckhorn Trail where we passed yet another open mine shaft. This shaft was not too deep and we believed it to be a copper mine. the mining history in this area is incredible.
We carried on down the trail passing through several washes and even managed a few short shelf trails, although the drop offs were relatively short. A nice change from Utah.
It was starting to get late in the afternoon so decided it was time to head towards home and took a trail by the name of Upper French Creek Trail. This trail would connect with another trail that would eventually spit us out on the highway and from there, just a short trip home. French Creek Trail started out as a decent trail then deteriorated to a rather primitive trail and deteriorated even further to what one would call a "goat" trail!! Suitable for goats only!! It took us an hour and a half to go 5 miles and by that time it was DARK, of course!! Nothing like a night ride on an unfamiliar trail. After several more hours we did finally access the highway and headed home. That is when all the excitement started!!
We were about 7 miles from the motorhome, had just turned into the town of Wickenburg and were slowing down for the red light when there was the most horrific noise from under the truck. It gave an ugly lurch and did a nasty little "crab walk thing" and John barely managed to keep it from going into the oncoming lanes. It sounded like we had just dropped the engine, the wheels and tires on the road. The noise was so loud that the residents in the house next to the road heard the sound and came out to investigate. Poor Hogan was so scared that he lept from his usual perch behind John and into my lap. I'm sure if the window was open he would have bailed. Hell, I wanted to bail!! John got out and discovered that the bolt on the trailing arm holding the axle in place had somehow broke or became dislodged. The passenger tire rested at the back on the truck and on closer inspection the drive shaft pulled out of the transmission.No damage was done! We needed a tow truck.
With the four way flashers on and John on the phone to Good Sam and Emergency Roadside Service, the local police arrived to add some red and blue lights to our orange flashers. It was quite Christmasy!! Officer Joe Lahey was the one who arrived and he proved to be quite an ambassador for the town of Wickenburg. Fortunately it was a quiet night in the town and Officer Lahey was able to stay with us until the tow truck arrived, all the while giving us lots of tips on the town and surrounding area. He was even kind to poor little frightened Hogan. Once the truck was loaded on the tow truck, Officer Lahey gave us a "courtesy" ride to the garage where the truck was headed. It was the first time I was ever in the back of a police car and I must say it was pretty cramped with Hogan, John and I in the back seat. Not an experience that I want to repeat!! The tow truck operator was kind enough to give us a ride to the motorhome and we got there about 11:00pm (2 hours after the whole incident began). This kind of excitement I can do without!! It was a very long day, the scenery was wonderful and we met some friendly, helpful people along the way. I can't help but wonder how lucky we were that the axle dislodged while we were in the town and were slowing down for a red light and not on the steep, twisty mountain pass that we had just come down. God does work in mysterious ways.
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