Monday, December 21, 2020

Silverbell Sasco Loop

Terry, Gail and I joined Sunny, Jane and Leyman northwest of Tucson to explore the Silverbell Sasco Loop, a fun drive in the desert with lots of interesting sites and some very unique saguaro cactus.

Our first stop was the Titan II Missile Interpretive Site which served as a deterrent to nuclear war during the cold war. There is not much to look at as it consists of signs telling you what used to be there and some old concrete foundations. It would be interesting to know what the government left buried underground. 

Heading westward we passed one of the largest open pit mines I have ever seen. The overburden material from the mine has formed small mountains that run for miles and continues to grow as it is an active mine. We had lunch on a large, flat spot where they had dumped slag from a smelter...


Next were some very large and unusual saguaro cactus...

"Mutant" saguaro

Magnificent crested saguaro which are fairly rare

A little ways off the trail where the abandoned mining town of Silver Bell was located is an old cemetery with simple gravesites marked by wooden crosses...


Sasco, which is an acronym for the Southern Arizona Smelter Company, was a company town with a large smelter that served several mines. Here is what's left today...



Intrepid group of adventurers at what remains of the Rockland Hotel

At a time when most of the country is in lockdown, we were able to get outside and enjoy life. It's a nice feeling.

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