In case this somehow gets lost off of the other page(like welcome pages 1-120!!) here are a few places to go and things to see while comfortably lodged in St. George....
Town with mine cars: Goldfield(i think), to get there, go west of Santa Clara, then follow old 91 past Shivwits, there is a road that heads west to a spring, take that road, keep following it for about 20miles till it turns north, if you get to Motoqua you have gone to far...btw, motoqua, not really a town, a bunch of houses and and old business with a bunch of wild eyed people around. keep gun on dash and loaded. Anyway you will be heading up beaver dam wash. Stay on the west face of the mountain, in the wash but head for the peak, once you are close you will see it, lots of evidence of blasting, huge mines, etc... lots of stuff in the out of the way areas. Also up there is a small road that heads south along the ridgetop, if you are brave enough follow that, it is REALLY NASTY when dry, dont even want to think about wet. anyway that road will drop off around the next peak and put you in a canyon that is incredible, old cabins are everywhere, we counted 25 open mines that looked really old, found glass, and lots of slag with alot of silver in it. that road will take you out to Gunlock. this is about a two day trip if you want to just barely explore. all is really remote and barren. no signs of trash, or even many people, makes the deep creek range look well populated.
Writings and Artifacts: Head west out of Santa Clara again, right after Ivins there is a community called Kayenta, the entrance is on a ridge top, when driving in you will dip into a valley, look to your south and you will see that a ridge is rising up and overlooking a river, I think its the Santa Clara river. Park and hike out to that ridge, near the overlook you will see that you can climb onto the face of the ridge, climb down and look back at the face, yep, writings all over, alot have been getting chipped away but there are alot to see still. Also if you are into pots and arrow heads...stay on the road past kayenta, before you get to Shivwits you will come to a sharp bend in the road with a rock overhang. Park as close as you can and hike up onto the overhang. This used to be a gathering place for the Indians, there are writings, ancient campsites, arrowheads, pottery shards and all sorts of relics abound. my little niece even found a turtle shell rattle last time we were out there.
As for the underground mine. Head south on old 91, about 3 miles from the arizona border you will come to a road that cuts east. heads directly for the mountain. Follow that road, it will take you up a canyon and over the bulldog pass. before you get into the canyon the rock is on the south side of the road, looks almost like a thick tree, keep a close eye. Anyway, when you are done with that you can follow that road over the pass and it will drop you into "mine valley" all I can say is that it is aptly named and rarely visited. One last thing, if you get a chance go up snow canyon right out of Santa Clara, and head up into the lava tubes, ancient caves that used to have lava flowing through them, they weave throughout the mountain and all the way past the red mountains, head off of the beaten path, and take a good light with a lot of batteries and a lunch, there are writings in the back areas and all sorts of stuff to be found, we wandered for about 9 hours last time and barely mapped one tube.
Town with mine cars: Goldfield(i think), to get there, go west of Santa Clara, then follow old 91 past Shivwits, there is a road that heads west to a spring, take that road, keep following it for about 20miles till it turns north, if you get to Motoqua you have gone to far...btw, motoqua, not really a town, a bunch of houses and and old business with a bunch of wild eyed people around. keep gun on dash and loaded. Anyway you will be heading up beaver dam wash. Stay on the west face of the mountain, in the wash but head for the peak, once you are close you will see it, lots of evidence of blasting, huge mines, etc... lots of stuff in the out of the way areas. Also up there is a small road that heads south along the ridgetop, if you are brave enough follow that, it is REALLY NASTY when dry, dont even want to think about wet. anyway that road will drop off around the next peak and put you in a canyon that is incredible, old cabins are everywhere, we counted 25 open mines that looked really old, found glass, and lots of slag with alot of silver in it. that road will take you out to Gunlock. this is about a two day trip if you want to just barely explore. all is really remote and barren. no signs of trash, or even many people, makes the deep creek range look well populated.
Writings and Artifacts: Head west out of Santa Clara again, right after Ivins there is a community called Kayenta, the entrance is on a ridge top, when driving in you will dip into a valley, look to your south and you will see that a ridge is rising up and overlooking a river, I think its the Santa Clara river. Park and hike out to that ridge, near the overlook you will see that you can climb onto the face of the ridge, climb down and look back at the face, yep, writings all over, alot have been getting chipped away but there are alot to see still. Also if you are into pots and arrow heads...stay on the road past kayenta, before you get to Shivwits you will come to a sharp bend in the road with a rock overhang. Park as close as you can and hike up onto the overhang. This used to be a gathering place for the Indians, there are writings, ancient campsites, arrowheads, pottery shards and all sorts of relics abound. my little niece even found a turtle shell rattle last time we were out there.
As for the underground mine. Head south on old 91, about 3 miles from the arizona border you will come to a road that cuts east. heads directly for the mountain. Follow that road, it will take you up a canyon and over the bulldog pass. before you get into the canyon the rock is on the south side of the road, looks almost like a thick tree, keep a close eye. Anyway, when you are done with that you can follow that road over the pass and it will drop you into "mine valley" all I can say is that it is aptly named and rarely visited. One last thing, if you get a chance go up snow canyon right out of Santa Clara, and head up into the lava tubes, ancient caves that used to have lava flowing through them, they weave throughout the mountain and all the way past the red mountains, head off of the beaten path, and take a good light with a lot of batteries and a lunch, there are writings in the back areas and all sorts of stuff to be found, we wandered for about 9 hours last time and barely mapped one tube.
