We nosed our vehicles down I-10 eastbound to the Marsh Station exit. From here on out, it was total dirtness. The first part of the road was a bit difficult to find, but we managed to find ourselves on the correct route. Less than half a mile into the day, we met with our first obstacle. We had to cross the dry Cienega Creek bed. The recent bout of heavy rains had left the opposite bank a very steep endeavor. I made a couple of attempts, but the angles were too extreme for my stock HR. It was here that the trip got it's first bit of carnage. My front licence plate got bent up during one (or more?) of my attempts at the cut bank.

We then spent a few minutes throwing rocks at the base of the slope to make it passable. Everyone made it across quite easily after that. We then snaked our way through the desert to what posed the possibility of being a difficult target: the Total Wreck Mine, established in 1881. Though visible on the map, one account of travelers to the old silver mine stated that it was very difficult to find, and that the trail to it was very difficult. We didn't find either warning to be true. Here we are parked somewhere near the center of the mine site. The picture shows, from left to right, me and my Highrider, Jim and his ZR2, and Mike with his BlaZeR2.

We spent a fair amount of time poking around the mine site, and found many mine tunnels and shafts, and parts of one structure. When the town went bust before the turn of the century, the 19th century! Total Wreck ended up being an omen. Upon leaving the mine site, the roads became narrower, brushier, and much more difficult to follow. In short, they were a Total Wreck. Just the kind of road I love most! Mike wasn't sure they were the kinds of roads that he loved most, as he wanted to avoid getting Palo Verde Pin-striping, but he was a real trooper, and stuck it out, gaining high commendation from me. (By the end of the day, Mike could be found charging around in any and all sticky situations!) Jim was doing his share of charging as well . . .

We eventually re-connected with Cienega trip, which was actually flowing at this point further up stream from our previous crossing. The water was flowing very slowly, but the crossing was about three feet deep, and was fairly soft, with a steep loose sand climb-out. Just to be safe, we decided that Jim should go first with his winch-equiped truck. Good plan. Here Jim approaches the crossing and makes his way across.

But the Total Wreck had made it's mark on the trip. Jim crossed in 4-Hi, and bogged out on the climb-out. With no momentum, he couldn't get out, so we got the straps and winch out. We got everything set up. He got in his truck, put it in gear, and started the winch. It took about 1.5 seconds for his truck to die. He had NO electrical power at all. Not even the dome light was working. So here he is, stuck in the creek, with no way to get across. We can't pull him back to the shore because there is so much tension on the winch that we can't get the clutch to disengage.

So we got out Mike's come-along and after much effort, we were able to remove enough tension from the winch cable to disengage the clutch. With very little maneuvering room, it was a little bit difficult for me to pull him back out of the creek, but we eventually got him back to dry ground where we could trouble shoot the electrical problem.

Fortunately, Jim is a computer tech (a smart computer tech), AND he brought all of his work tools! After testing many possibilities, he was able to determine that the battery cable was fried. Some excellent thinking lead to cutting up his brand new jumper cables to replace the battery cable, and he was operational once more.

Jim's new nickname: Dead in the Water. (Or DITW for short, pronounced Ditwah.)