On a warm recent day we piled in the front of the truck with mom while Rocky was tied in back and all headed out about ten miles southeast to the Fortuna mine site. I have written previously about this ghost mining town—a neat thing to see and right in our backyard. We traversed the washboard main road out until making the turn due east up the wash and the rocky trail which leads to the mining area. We were surprised to see an entire group of people here, obviously on a tour of some sort. We later found out that the Range Warden offers tours when enough people call to request it and his schedule can accommodate it.
After a picnic lunch and looking around a bit; we headed out again but due north on a different return route. This boulder and rock-strewn trail hugs the mountains and the scenery is much more interesting and filled with cactus. All the roads in this area are formidable and not to be taken lightly so we now come prepared with plenty of water, shovels, spare tires and GPS. A ten mile walk back in this stuff would be a killer!
