GeoWandering

Heading out to the southern edges of America! First stop...Parker Dam (Colorado River). When LA people say “I’m headed to the River”...this is where they go!

My paternal grandmother was an amateur geologist (rock hound) and this is where she retired in the early 60s. Twice, my mother put me on a Greyhound bus to spend several days with grandma Genevieve, and I was only 5 and 6 years old! Once with my 8 year old brother and the second time solo! Those were different days! This was a 6 hour bus ride!

I recall that the only places along the River were her mobile home park and the corner Indian owned shack/store. Keith and I were allowed to walk to the shack alone to buy candy. It was maybe a mile away and we’d make it like ten, as we’d hunt for jasper, arrowheads and rattlesnakes. I own a big arrowhead collection from that era - inherited from Genevieve.

Genevieve owned a 4x4 truck and she once took me along on her mail (and home-cooked muffin) delivery route. We headed off into the desert to visit old miners working solitary diggings in no-mans land. Man, they loved seeing grandma - likely their only visitor in a week!.

My three brothers and I had an affinity for exploring old mines and often reminisced about the life during the many weeks-long desert camping trips dad took us on. 15 years later, my brother Dave and I took up the mining life in the Sierra Nevada (even Keith later joined in). We knew there was gold to be found in them thar’ hills! We spent a couple summers diving for gold with scuba-like gear and submersible dredge. Of course, all this eventually led to my becoming a geologist. The hunt for gold was thrilling, but mostly, I just wanted to be outdoors. I went on to have a 20 year career as an environmental geologist - actually cleaning up the messes left behind by miners and “exploitation” geologists 😞.

Returning to Parker Dam has brought me a lot of fond memories - back to my roots! The area’s changed crazy-like! Now, there are trailer parks lining both sides of the River for untold miles. ATVs are ripping up the desert landscape all round, and I won’t stay long....but my memories are forever❤️