Following the Jeep club's Christmas dinner one of the members told me that a run Vic led last winter was one of her very favorites. She hoped to do it again. Vic agreed to lead a similar run today - into the same general area with a repeat of the shelf road for a few others who had not had that experience. The day was absolutely perfect - a wee bit chilly to begin but it quickly warmed.
It all began here. What a pretty day!
We are having some amazing wildlife sightings this winter. Here are 9 adult male desert bighorn sheep. WOW!
This is the narrowest portion of the shelf road. Madonna's passenger-side wheels are right at the edge.
14 burros! Too bad they weren't nearer to us.
After we finished lunch, John looked up and spotted the monstrous boulders above us. Maybe this wasn't the best choice of picnic site.....but all is well that ends well. 
After several u-turns we found what we think was the site of the Transvaal Camp. Maps, websites with coordinates and a ghost town book are not in agreement as to the location. Vic found this area by trial and error and we're pretty sure he found it. In April 1906 prospectors settled here expecting to find gold. In a few weeks there were approximately 700 miners living in a tent city. Six weeks or so after it all began they were gone and the site became a ghost town.
We found loads of cans and bottles and had a good time trying to identify some and then we tried to date those finds. One gal found a wonderful Yacht Brand oyster tin. It would be interesting to learn its history. I found nothing on the internet for the brand.....
I found these two, and later, one more Log Cabin syrup tin. They date back to when the tin was in the shape of a log cabin and the spout was the chimney. Too bad they weren't in better condition.
There really is grass is the desert. This field and others in the vicinity are downhill from large springs.
One more burro.
And three more to end the day.
We are having some amazing wildlife sightings this winter. Here are 9 adult male desert bighorn sheep. WOW!
This is the narrowest portion of the shelf road. Madonna's passenger-side wheels are right at the edge.
14 burros! Too bad they weren't nearer to us.
After we finished lunch, John looked up and spotted the monstrous boulders above us. Maybe this wasn't the best choice of picnic site.....but all is well that ends well. 
After several u-turns we found what we think was the site of the Transvaal Camp. Maps, websites with coordinates and a ghost town book are not in agreement as to the location. Vic found this area by trial and error and we're pretty sure he found it. In April 1906 prospectors settled here expecting to find gold. In a few weeks there were approximately 700 miners living in a tent city. Six weeks or so after it all began they were gone and the site became a ghost town.
We found loads of cans and bottles and had a good time trying to identify some and then we tried to date those finds. One gal found a wonderful Yacht Brand oyster tin. It would be interesting to learn its history. I found nothing on the internet for the brand.....
I found these two, and later, one more Log Cabin syrup tin. They date back to when the tin was in the shape of a log cabin and the spout was the chimney. Too bad they weren't in better condition.
There really is grass is the desert. This field and others in the vicinity are downhill from large springs.
One more burro.
And three more to end the day.
