Sunday, April 15, 2012

We found Ajo in the ground.

No, no, don't go! I'll stop, I promise.


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Old mine pit

Wandered across this colorful building.

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ISDA - International Sonoran Desert Alliance






Ajo mine pit
Ajo mine pit.  It has an official name, like Official Mine Pit of Ajo.
The mine is no longer active, but apparently it is not closed, either. If they close it, they will have to begin reclamation. Thanks, Official Mine Pit Company of Ajo.

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The door deserves a better picture.
And, you need to re-open this diner because of this great door.
Please offer vegan options.
The Gila woodpecker has been visiting regularly, and now Annie is doing damage surveillance on the roof. Five-sixths of the cats don't notice when she's up there, but it seems to alarm the kitten who has not yet learned the catly art of blasé.

Thank you, Lynne, for volunteering some great boondocking advice for our next destination. And, those pictures are stunning. I want to go to there.



26 comments:

Sherry said...

Wait! Lynee gave boondocking advice? Was it in comments I missed? Pictures?? How do I find her?

Bummer about the mine. Is that legal to leave it "open" when it's not really "open" so you don't have to pretend to clean up your mess?

Love the door. Is this a good place for Annie to start her Vegan restaurant named Annie's????
I'll be the first customer if that's an incentive. Hmmmm probably not.

The Good Luck Duck said...

She did! It was super-secrety advice. Well, not really, she just knew we were headed in that direction. When you head in that direction, I bet she'll tell you, too! Click on her name and voila! you have found her.

I think it's a PERFECT place for her to do that. Except I'd end up working there, and I only like food if it's at the end of my fork.

The Good Luck Duck said...

Oh, and yes. It's legal, and that's why they do it. Like Mom, I'll clean it up when I'm done playing with it.

Travels with Emma said...

I used to own one of the mine foreman's houses in Ajo. My folks lived in it when they came off the road. The hole in the ground looks the same as it did back in the early 90's. Perchance I have mentioned that before? Getting old you know...

The Good Luck Duck said...

No way! Nope, I don't think you mentioned that, Judy. And, your parents were "on the road" - in the same way you are? Did they find it a good place to live as older folks?

Andra Watkins said...

Love the mine pit photos. Could you crawl down in there?

Travels with Emma said...

The biggest drawback for them in their later years was the distance from medical care. They could no longer afford to stay in their park model in Apache Junction, so I bought one of the houses when they first went on the market five years after the mine closed. Just about all of the houses were owned by the mining company and sat empty for five years. Talk about crickets! Every vacant house was loaded with them.

I believe my step-father was president of the Opera Club in Ajo! :O

Spotted Dog Ranch: said...

OK, that was such a bad pun I refuse to comment...wait, I just did!

The Good Luck Duck said...

Andra, I think technically YOU could. Officially and legally, maybe not. ME, not ever, technically, legally, or officially, under any circumstance, artificial or natural. Although now I'm suspecting that Judy here might have done just that. With her camera.

Opera Club! Well, this town is full of surprises! Was there a clinic in town in those days? Do you mean all the houses in town were owned by the mine?

Har!

Larry said...

I'm with you. That's an amazing door

The Good Luck Duck said...

Right? And, the new owners need to keep the name.

Karen Snyder said...

LOVE all the color in that pit! I'd hike in w/you Andra ('course someone would probably have to haul me back out! :))

Gaelyn said...

That pit mine is butt ugly. Like the door. Open please.

Rick said...

I'm kind of glad they don't reclaim some of those old mines as they look pretty interesting and make great photographs.

Unknown said...

So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, good bye! (You'll have to imagine me singing the tune, and the dirndl skirt). Catch up with us again in New Mexico, please! It was wonderful spending time with you.

Donna K said...

That's a big hole in the ground for sure. Someday, thousands of years from now, there will be great mythological stories about the "Big Hole In The Ground" made by ancient peoples for roasting huge beasts for village holidays.

The Good Luck Duck said...

Donna, Barbeque of the Gods will be a best-seller.

Sue, the pleasure was ours. We do hope to see you in NM, and TorC is one of our destinations, so hopefully we can make those things coincide. Safe travels!

Rick, I would have had nothing to write about if they filled it in. I'm not sure what "reclamation" entails, although my concern would always be the water quality.

Entrée, Madame. Hey, a French vegan restaurant! Where they serve...uh...

Alrighty, Karen and Andra will hike to the bottom of the pit and back out. I will narrate.

Spotted Dog Ranch: said...

Here's the link for Folsom Cat Prison - a pretty cool place.

http://www.amazon.com/ABO-Gear-Happy-Habitat-Indoor/dp/B002KWHE1E/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1334410485&sr=1-1

EcoCatLady said...

And here I thought this was gonna be about finding wild garlic...

The Good Luck Duck said...

Thanks, Chinle! It does look nice - like a screen porch for the cats.

Oh dear, and here I misled you. No garlic here in Ajo; I guess they misled us, too!

Bob said...

Damn this Viennese six hour later time thing! By the time I've read all the comments, I forgot what I was going to say.
Gah!
Oh wait. Something about that pun. There was also some righteous indignation, but the moment has passed. *sigh*
Nice hole...er, I mean nice door by the way.

The Good Luck Duck said...

Yeah, Bob, but all those little canned sausages. It's a trade-off. Glad the indignation wore down to a nub traveling over those time zones.

Contessa said...

I'll serve you vegan when you visit us here in Canada or in Mazatlan. Your choice, oh yah and I do speak French!

The Good Luck Duck said...

It's a date, Contessa. That will be exotic, you serving us while speaking French. You could insult me and I wouldn't know. Heck, feed me and you can insult me in English.

Lynne (WinnieViews) said...

Thanks for the shout-out Ducks! Hope you get a good boondocking site and nice weather when you're up in Sedona! Sherry-- there's a Google map on my WinnieViews blog homepage with links to everywhere we've camped with the View. Just zoom in on the Sedona area and you'll see exactly where our boondocking location was!

TexCyn said...

Oh I love that door. Can I have it on my RV?? Probably not..it would be another thing I'd have to eventually fix...nebber mind.