Saturday, March 7, 2020 — Today we visited “B” mountain, for Bouse, Arizona. And just like Quartzsite, there were signs of mining in the area.
The historic 1902 Bouse Assay Office is now a museum, and houses historic photos of Bouse, and information about its mining history.
The museum also has information about Camp Bouse, which was a Desert Training Center utilized during WWII by General Patton to train soldiers on a new “secret weapon” that had been recently developed. The Secret Weapon was a 3-million candle power carbon arc lamp mounted to a turret on a tank, which was intended to blind the enemy and give an advantage. The lamp was never put into service until after the war. LOL.
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GentleSeas Photography by Ed
These photos are available as Prints and Posters, and on hundreds of additional products.
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These photos are available as Prints and Posters, and on hundreds of additional products.
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The Desert Training Center was extremely top secret, and was only used for about a year in 1943-44 before being dismantled.
The Docent at the Museum was extremely knowledgeable about Camp Bouse and told us the complete story of what happened back then!
The museum also had a picture and information about the old Plank Road in southeast California, just west of Yuma, Arizona. This was a wooden plank road built in 1915 to cross the shifting sands of the Imperial Desert. This wooden road was actually in service until 1926, when a concrete road replaced it. Some of the original road still exists, and can be seen near Winterhaven.
They also had a copy of this really awesome Arizona map which was hand drawn with handwritten tidbits about various towns, mountains, lakes and other landmarks within the state. I just love this map, and I found the website where it can be purchased — click here if you are interested.
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Next to the Assay Office, they brought in an original Miner’s cabin from the Swansea Mine which is nearby.
Under the overhang on the left, there is an original supply wagon that was used back in the day.
Take a look at the inside of this cabin! Can you imagine living here back in the early 1900s?
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Over the Hills 2019 T-Shirts by Ed
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These graphics are available on T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Hoodies, Hats, Coffee Mugs, and on hundreds of additional products.
Click an image below to view that product page.
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Scattered around the yard are various pieces of old mining equipment, along with explanations.
Nearby is the remaining foundation of the two-story Alaskan Hotel, which served the area back in the mining days.
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