Chloride

Date:	February 22, 2003
Destination:	Chloride, Arizona
Duration:	Day trip
Departure Point:	Westwood Studios
Weather:	clear & cool
Adventurers:	9 (Joe, Mike, Steve, Anne, Dave, Ted, Chris, Greg, Dwight)
Vehicles:	3

Barrel cactus overlooks a silver chloride mine

Summary:

The end of an era was at hand. Westwood Studios was being relocated to Los Angeles. As a last hurrah to Westwood and before we moved out of town, we gathered our miniQuesting vehicles and headed into the desert. Ted was in charge of navigation this trip so we weren't exactly sure where we would end up. Fortunately, it turned out we visited very interesting places and returned safely! [gathering]

 

Mike, David, and Steve loitering at the gas station across the street from the Hacienda

Ted zips off toward the southeast from Westwood. Since he is the navigator, we quickly follow. After a brief chat on the radio, it becomes clear that we have not actually started the trip yet. Ted has to go home to switch vehicles and pick up more passengers. We decide to rendezvous at the Hacienda Hotel formerly known as the Gold Strike (the hotel right by Hoover Dam). After much loitering, Ted finally arrives and brings Chris as an additional guest! [Hacienda Hotel]

This construction site was across the street from the Hacienda. Whatever is going to be built here must be quite large.

There was a large construction site across the street from the Hacienda. It was unclear what was being constructed, but note to self: check back on this later.

Important safety tip: No urinating on the electric generator!

Apparently we weren't the first ones to loiter here. The gas station had a "no urinating here" sign out back by the electric generator. There must have been a "tragic accident" that necessitated this notice. I shudder to think about it.

Hoover Dam

Police checkpoint prior to reaching Hoover Dam

Now that we had all gathered, it was time to start the trip. The first landmark to pass (over) was Hoover Dam. However, prior to reaching the dam, we had to pass through a security checkpoint. They waved us through the checkpoint. We must have looked innocent enough.

Narrow lanes and pedestrian traffic make crossing Hoover Dam go slowly.

Even without the security checkpoint, crossing Hoover Dam can be slow due to the narrow road, pedestrian traffic, and "rubber-necking".

 

A museum that is still open to the public.

In less trying times, Hoover Dam would be a miniQuest destination in itself. Unfortunately, security precautions have eliminated the tours and closed off much of the interesting areas to explore. There was a museum that was still open to the public, but for the most part, the visitors are restricted to the areas near the road.

Dolan Springs Area

Notice Danger -- Private Land -- Patent Deeded Mining Claims -- No Trespassing

Once past the dam, we headed southeast on US93. The first stop was to the Cyclops Mine, but we were foiled. [Mike's comments] The road was blocked. Not to worry, there must be other interesting things in the area.

What was this pit used for?

Just a short distance up the road, we discover a large concrete lined pit. I would guess it used to hold water for the town of Dolan Springs (which was nearby).

Dolan Springs is a small unincorporated community consisting of mostly prefabricated homes and a few businesses such as a general store and a bar.

Small tufts of grass covered the desert surface.

Now that we were walking around it became apparent that the desert was actually covered with a thin layer of green grass. This was in addition to the abundant Joshua trees and desert scrub.

Bighorn sheep tracks

Although we didn't see any bighorn sheep, but we did discover their tracks!

However, shortly after passing through a gate that Greg opened for us, we discovered a herd of cattle. There were about 30 of them. A few had small horns, but otherwise they appeared to be young.

A few cows. They were part of a larger herd we were in the midst of.

The herd was spread out and some were blocking the road. Slowly inching forward was enough to convince them to clear the way. You didn't think we would get out of the car and shoothem away did you? C'mon, some of those horns were like nearly 2 inches long!

View from top of hill looking into valley somewhere near Chloride

After that harrowing encounter, we proceeded down the dirt road and came to the crest of a hill between two valleys.  [hill panorama]

About this point in the trip we pass through Dolan Springs. I'll have to tell you, there really wasn't much there. Most buildings appeared pre-fabricated or were mobile homes. A few buildings looked like they might have been built on the spot, but they were the exception.

 

Silver chloride mining operation (abandoned)

Chloride (the mine)

The next stop was at a large mine. It was quite noticeable due to the large field of tailings. To understand what tailings are like, imagine 100 bazillion gallons of mud was dumped onto the desert and allowed to dry -- that is what tailings are like.

This was positioned over a vertical mine shaft

This mine also had a big woodthingie with chutes and mechanisms, several foundations for houses, a rock crusher, and a reinforced dynamite cabin. [chloride tailings]

Heavily reinforced concrete bunker for housing explosives

Chemistry Lesson: Silver Chloride - chemical compound, AgCl, a white cubic crystalline solid. It is nearly insoluble in water but is soluble in a water solution of ammonia, potassium cyanide, or sodium thiosulfate ( "hypo" ). On exposure to light it becomes a deep grayish blue due to its decomposition into metallic silver and atomic chlorine. This light-sensitive behavior is the basis of photographic processes. Since silver bromide, AgBr, and silver iodide, AgI, react similarly, all three of these silver halide salts are used in making photographic films and plates. Both the bromide and iodide are less soluble in water and more sensitive to light than the chloride.

Vertical shaft (bottomless?) More chutes

Besides use in photography, silver chloride is used in silver plating, and silver iodide is used for seeding clouds. The chloride, bromide, and iodide occur naturally as the minerals cerargyrite, bromyrite, and iodyrite, respectively.

 

 

 

 

For the most part, the there was very little life encroaching on the field of tailings except for ants and patches of lichen.

The geocache is prepared for burial A "geocache" from the previous residents

It was here that the decision to bury a geocache was made. Ted and Chris head off to stash the cache while the rest of us go exploring. Soon we discovered a geocache of-sorts left by the previous residents -- a field of rusty cans. No trips is complete without the discovery of a field of rusty cans. We've had previous experience with this.

 

Chloride (the town)

Chloride during its heyday.

History Lesson: Chloride was founded in 1862 with the discovery of silver ore. The name comes from the type of silver ore (silver chloride, a.k.a. cerargyrite) mined there. It was once home to more than 75 mines and 2,000 people. The town has seen stage coaches and trains and still maintains the oldest continuously operating post office in Arizona. The town as been in decline since 1920 and is down to 397 residents but maintains a strong character that mixes the past with a unique and creative individualism visible in from the front yards to the canyon walls.

Metal sculptures of various incarnations were abundant Welcome to Chloride

The next stop was the town of Chloride. This is a quaint community with roots that stretch back to the mid 19th century. The display artwork and crafts were everywhere.

The crafts were on display alongside mining equipment, old "signs", and other bric-a-brac.

 

 

Early post office in Chloride Chloride visitor center

We stopped at the Chloride visitor center and perused the historical pictures and other paraphernalia.

 

 

 

Chloride Cemetery

Chloride cemetery

Just outside Chloride is the cemetery. The cemetery is still "active". [cemetery panorama]

A typical grave from the old section of the cemetery. The gravestones were missing from these.

The graves within ranged from very old to recent. The oldest graves have had their headstones removed (either stolen or were made of wood and have long since decayed). The oldest marked grave found was from 1906.

 

 

 

 

Petroglyphs and Pictographs

Prehistoric petroglyphs

Petroglyphs and pictographs were also located just outside of Chloride. However, unlike the road to the cemetery, the road we had to travel was very primitive. The trip was worth it -- the rock art was spectacular.

Some of the rock art predates Chloride, but others, such as the colorful murals were created by Roy Purcell in 1966. Roy was a prospector with time on his hands, so he painted some intriguing scenes on the face of the boulders in the area. The Murals have held up well during the past 30 years, and the colors remain vibrant.

While wandering around the area we discovered a snake and a lizard. The sun was setting and we were getting chilly in the shade, so off we went -- back to Las Vegas.

The return trip

The End