The Touristy Stuff

Part II

The Argenta Mine, Eureaka Mine & The Cashier Mill



The Cashier Mill


Day two of the adventures was supposed to be a return trip to Skidoo in order to check out the townsite with a little more scrutiny. Well we got distracted and never made it there. A slight detour up a side road took us to the Argenta Mine. Actually we went up a few other side roads off that side road too. Everywhere we went payed off to some degree. The weather up there was beautiful so we turned off the AC and rolled down the windows. We eventually found the Argenta Mine up Telephone Canyon Road.

Once we got our fill of the Argenta we headed back out and decided to hit the Pete Aguereberry Camp which includes the Eureka Mine originally located by none other than Shorty Harrris. There is a mill there called the Cashier Mill. Good name for a money making mill. The mine and it's adits were open to the public, however they do get closed at certain times of the year so as not to disturb the bats. This is done with bat gates. They allow the bats to come and go freely while keeping humans out.

On the way out from the Aguereberry Camp we noticed a series of water sediment tanks on the side of the hill that were all built out of hard rock and cement. We didn't see it coming in so we decided to check it out. Later I learned that this was sthe site of Telephone Springs Mill Site. After that we decided to head to The Big Four Mine. Then we headed back to PSR for a great dinner and good conversation. We also ran into Wild Bill and his wife Barbara out on the porch where we consumed beer and told stories of our travels. Bill always has a good story to tell.



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Heading up Telephone Canyon towards the Argenta Mine. No wise cracks I promise. The cab drivers in Death Valley were very hard on thier vehicles. Very hard indeed... The Argenta Mine. The portal of the adit does not look in real good shape.
The inside doesn't look much better so we pass. Makes one wonder if they were running a mine or a chop shop here... Water Level Indicator for the water tank near this location. There's the tank in the distance. The photo doesn't do the relative height justice.
Waste dump for the main adit. Ruins of many small buildings lie scattered about. Had to be a chop shop. More building ruins.
I just don't know.... Hey I haven't seen one of these since grade school! Dang, now I feel old. They say that once on it's back, a car can not upright itself. The buildings sure didn't last long.
A marker. Once at the top of Telephone Canyon we get a glimps of Death Valley on the other side. We arrive at the Eureka Mine. We will back track to Pete's Camp later. I have already inspected the mine in front of Tabby so I know it's safe for her without the leash.
Tracks inside the mine go to the left. A drift turns into a stope. Chris looks down a haulage tunnel. A look down. Sorry about the quality.
Tabby under an ore chute that drops in from another level. A closer look at the chute. A cabin near the adit. Was this Shorty Harris' digs when he prospected this place? The Cashier Mill. There are haulage shafts up above. Chris has pics of those.
Another view of the mill with tailing dumps above. Another view of the mill ruins. Aguereberry Camp. This place was said to have been kept clean and spotless at all times when Pete resided here. Work shops and storage no doubt.
Looks like a kitchen to me. From what I can see Pete had propane, electricity and even swamp coolers. The place must have been very comfortable. A bedroom I suppose. The Out House.
Outdoor work area. The thing on the left was some sort of evaporative cooler. Side of the main house. Inside the crapper. A two holer! Back of the main house.
This lizard was pretty friendly! He came in for a close up. Closer look at the cooler. It was wrapped in burlap at one time and water dripped out of the metal tank on top. Down the road from Pete's place we find another outdoor chop shop.
Parts is parts. Someone scratched the belt number on the fire wall. 653 Gates. Hop in! Let's go! The reclaimation process in progress.
They made things really good back then. Wandering back down the road and "What the heck are those things?" I decided that they are sediment tanks. Later I looked it up and the water came from a nearby spring and was purified here. The name is Telephone Springs. This little bird bath being the highest point would keep the birds out of the other lower tanks. The water was used for milling purposes.
Chris trys to figure out where the diving board was located. This is the closest we got to The Big Boring Mine... oh I mean the Big Four Mine. This is the only picture I took too.




Part III - PSR - Ballarat - Darwin Falls