Saturday, February 15, 2014

American Girl Mine

Cocopah RV Resort
February 11, 2014
Yuma, AZ

Driving west (about 8 miles past Yuma) on Interstate 8, you can see off to the right a small group of mountains that appear dark brown. Ronnie and Carol had a plan...and that was our destination.




These mountains are known as the Cargo Muchacho Mountains. Mexican miners worked the area for decades before Americans entered the district in the mid 1800s. Cargo Muchacho, or Loaded Boys, received its name when two young Mexican boys entered camp with their shirts loaded with gold. 

Years later, the discovery of gold in the Cargo Muchacho Mining District is credited to a mule that strayed while members of a California bound wagon train were camped near the mountains in 1862. When the mule was found, a sharp-eyed man picked up a nugget on the spot.


 Originally named Gold Rock Camp, then Hedges, and finally Tumco...the area is one of the oldest gold mining areas in California. Its history spans 300 years with several periods of boom and bust.


The completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad from Yuma to Los Angeles in 1877 allowed access to the gold which led to a gold rush in the area.
 Individual mining claims soon gave way to mining companies that purchased claims and developed the mines on a large scale.
 During the boom of the 1890s, mines produced $1,000 a day in gold. Ultimately over 200,000 ounces were taken from the mines in the area.

 Historical accounts describe Tumco as a typical raucous mining town that fell into financial ruin and by 1907 it was a ghost town.





 One of the most important mines back in the day was American Girl Mine. And as it turns out, it also has the most recent history.

When the price of gold soared to $1600 per ounce in the 1990s, gold was once again mined from 1989 to 1995.
No longer did they tunnel down 1,000 feet for it, they just removed chunks of the mountain, crushed the ore, and recovered the gold.





Today, American Girl Gold Mine is for sale. It can be bought at $400 an acre.
So, did we find gold on our adventure in the Cargo Muchacho Mountains? Not exactly...


...we didn't head back to "camp" with shirts loaded with the precious ore.






...instead, we had loads of dust...in our hair, up our noses, in our pockets,  in our shoes and yes, maybe in our shorts!




We also brought back to "camp" loads of memories...a day full of tons of fun and laughs!




 Thanks Ronnie and Carol...a special day with special friends!
 
 
Until next time...

16 comments:

  1. Gay, sounds like you guys had a wonderful time with friends! Great captures of your day!

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    1. Hi Sheila...thanks for stopping by. We had a great time! I never thought I would love the desert as much as I do.

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  2. Thanks for the background. We are looking forward to exploring this area next winter when we return. All that dust sound like it was worth it:)

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    1. Hi Pam....surprisingly, there is a lot to see and do here. This is a nice time of year to be here...the weather has been awesome...cool nights and warm days!

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  3. We didn't find any gold there either. Thus, we saw no reason to buy any of it.

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    1. Ahh shucks Wanderin'! Maybe next time we will all have better luck!

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  4. Well shoot. I was hoping you were going to say you struck it rich. But you did - in memories and friendship.

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  5. Kelly & I spent a pleasant few hours one Christmas Day a few years ago crawling around a big hill there looking for Gold. We didn't expect to find anything & we didn't. But we sure enjoyed our day out in the Cargo Muchacho Mountains. We were boondocking not far from those wooden mining pillars...........

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    1. I can so relate to the fun you and Kelly had. Like you, we didn't really expect to find any gold either...but you could hear the laughter for miles!

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  6. A fun day exploring the gold mines. Just searching is lots of fun.

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    1. It is George.....it's great to be able to be outdoors enjoying this wonderful weather.

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  7. Hmm are you sure you did not get a speck of gold? When are you going to the telegraph hill? The view over there is awesome.

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    1. It's for sure on the "to go places" list. Believe it or not, we are waiting for the end of this week. Our temps have topped 90 the past few days....by the end of the week, it should be more normal....low 80s. Joe has had a terrible chest cold too and it's taken longer to recover from.... zapped his energy.

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  8. I sure was hoping y'all would strike it rich!!! Im sure it was so much and your laughs echoed for miles! Hope daddy t is feeling better. Miss you!!!!

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  9. I sure was hoping y'all would strike it rich!!! Im sure it was so much and your laughs echoed for miles! Hope daddy t is feeling better. Miss you!!!!

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