Off-Roading to Million Dollar View
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The view!
After lunch and a massive scoop of homemade ice cream in Quartzsite (Check out lunch at Beer Belly’s and the homemade ice cream stand here), we got back on the trail and headed towards Million Dollar View.
This part of the desert is littered with tall saguaros, reaching their arms up to the sky. It takes 50-100 years for a saguaro to grow one of these arms. I love how persistent these cactuses are even in a harsh environment.
The fireplace in the stone cottage
Once we made it to the top of the road, we could see a view of the whole valley. Trails snaking over the hills led down to the valley floor and the Colorado River in the distance.
The remains of a stone cottage was dug into the hillside. We could see an indentation inside the cottage for the fireplace as well as a wall dividing the cottage into two rooms.
The second room had a pile of dried cholla cactus. I tramped right through it and came out with cholla thorns all over the bottom and sides of my shoes. This type of cactus can be difficult to dislodge, so watch out!
Past the stone hut is an old mine. Someone put up a wire fence — it’s not much of a deterrent, so I didn’t get too close to the opening.
The mine shaft
There are two openings to the mine right next to each other. You can see planks of wood spanning the length of the opening down into the mine.
There are beautiful rocks everywhere in the Arizona desert, but the area around this mine seemed especially rich with mineralized mine tailings. We found stones streaked with purple and rocks that had clumps of a turquoise mineral that may have indicated the presence of copper.
Dave took out a neodymium magnet and ran it along the ground to see if he could attract any rocks. Laura has found two magnetic rocks. She took the first rock she found to the Quartzsite gem show, they cut it open for her (it was streaked with red on the inside) and they told her it was ironite.
You can also find meteorites in the desert by using a magnet.
Have Your Own Desert Adventure
Come have your own desert adventure and explore abandoned mines, walk through cholla and find magnetic rocks! See the ways to stay at Arizona Oasis, book online or give us a call at (928) 291-4329.