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97xr400r

Western States Historical Locations and Stuffs

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Just trying to keep track of stuff.

Forgot about this post...

 

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Way cool Jon, thanks for posting that, I’ve been wondering about it’s history. FE7655E4-18F2-4CF8-8E88-0FBCAD422C45.thumb.jpeg.c891e093901698eee7d363628b164903.jpegHere’s uncle champ sitting inside of history trying to get away from the wind for a while Saturday F532A414-02F4-4732-B344-460A658A9791.thumb.jpeg.3ba8a732362755cbd661143a269591f9.jpeg

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http://www.dustyway.com/2006/08/sacketts-lost-wells.html?m=1

 

Screenshot_20181113-064903.png

 

John Russell Bartlett, described Sackett's Wells in his 1854 book A Personal Narrative of Explorations and Incidents in Texas, New Mexico, California, Sonora and Chihuahua:

June 5th. Reached the water-holes called Sackett's Wells, twenty-four miles from Carrizo, at 3 o'clock this morning. Before leaving camp last night, I sent four men with spades in advance, in order that they might sink some holes, and have a small supply of water for us on our arrival; but as they were ignorant of the place and were unfamiliar with the best indications of water, they had accomplished little. Some more experienced hands now set themselves busily at work in an arroyo, or place where there was a slight depression in the desert, marked by some mezquit bushes, whose freshness showed that water sometimes reached their roots. After digging about six feet, the water began slowly to enter ; and by dipping it up with a basin, we managed to supply our animals.

The desert where we were now encamped, is an open and remarkably level plain, with scarcely an undulation. On the south-west, twenty miles distant, is a range of lofty mountains, which forms its limit in that direction. On the north and east, it is bounded by the horizon, no mountains or hills being visible. The soil is either a fine gravel, or loose sand. The vegetation is exceedingly sparse, consisting chiefly of stunted mezquit and the larrea Mexicana. Near the arroyo, where water sometimes finds its way, a few mezquit bushes have attained the height of ten feet, whose brilliant hue is most agreeable to the eye, amid so much barrenness. A little grass was found in clumps about a mile from our camp in an arroyo, whither our animals were sent. This, with the young shoots of the mezquit, was all they had. At sunrise this morning, the mercury stood at 92°, and at noon 108° in the shade. Distance from Carrizo Creek, twenty-five miles.[2]

Butterfield Overland Mail station

In 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail established a stage station there at the well, located 17.5 miles (28.2 km) southeast of Carrizo Creek Station and 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Indian Wells Station.[3]

At the beginning of the American Civil War the mail stations were abandoned but the wells continued to be used by the Union Armyand other travelers.[4] After the Civil War Sackett's Wells was again used for a station and watering place for other stage companies on the route between California and Arizona Territory, until the route fell into disuse in the late 1870s with the arrival of the railroad in Yuma, Arizona. The site now is now obscured by the effects of 135 years of time, decay, and erosion in the desert.

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Thanks for the History!  Standing out there in the barren landscape, one finds it hard to imagine crossing those miles in wagons. I wonder if the wagons had special  " fatty "  wooden wheels?  Hard times, no wonder people only survived into their 40s.

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On 7/21/2017 at 7:35 PM, 97xr400r said:

Hi all,

 I know some of us really enjoy visiting esoteric locations, over the years I have come across these lesser known areas while planning rides. I sometimes struggle to remember what interwebs rabbit hole I stumbled down to get the information. Sooo, I thought I would start putting links and photos in one location that we could all access. Please feel free to add anything you come across.

 

I'd like to find the location of the Rockwood gate failure. ie how the Salton sea was created) Would cool to trace some of the old water canals on a ride!

https://www.iid.com/home/showdocument?id=4900

Thanks for posting! Very cool! Love the esoteric. The building of the Integratron story of George Vantassle is quite interesting to me. I played gongs in that building...amazing! 

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10 hours ago, 97xr400r said:

The site now is now obscured by the effects of 135 years of time, decay, and erosion in the desert.

"obscured" as in entirely gone? or is it in the carrizo out of bound bombed area?

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18 hours ago, kato said:

"obscured" as in entirely gone? or is it in the carrizo out of bound bombed area?

"Dan Jennings, a surveyor, had "pinpointed the original location of Sackett's Wells... The site is located at latitude 47* 21, 40" north, and longitude 115* 51, 10" west and is further described as bearing east 3,200 feet from an iron pipe and brass cap which was set by Wilkes in 1913 to mark the west 1/4 Section 32, T 15S, R 11E, S.B.M.""

 

I'm not sure how to convert 47* 21, 40" north, and longitude 115* 51, 10" west to something usable on google earth. Anybody familiar with this format? 

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Blythe Intaglios

https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-americas/blythe-intaglios-impressive-anthropomorphic-geoglyphs-colorado-desert-003003

"In 1952, the National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution sent a team of archaeologists to explore the intaglios, and an article appeared in the September issue of National Geographic with aerial photos.  It would take another five years for the geoglyphs to be restored and fences erected in order to protect them from vandalism and damage.  It should be noted that there is visible tire damage on some of the geoglyphs due to the area being used for desert training during WWII by General George S. Patton."

 

blytheintaglios2.jpg

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1 hour ago, 97xr400r said:

"Dan Jennings, a surveyor, had "pinpointed the original location of Sackett's Wells... The site is located at latitude 47* 21, 40" north, and longitude 115* 51, 10" west and is further described as bearing east 3,200 feet from an iron pipe and brass cap which was set by Wilkes in 1913 to mark the west 1/4 Section 32, T 15S, R 11E, S.B.M.""

 

I'm not sure how to convert 47* 21, 40" north, and longitude 115* 51, 10" west to something usable on google earth. Anybody familiar with this format? 

47deg  north is in Washington.  Could you double check your coordinates?

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I got the numbers from this... http://www.dustyway.com/2006/08/sacketts-lost-wells.html?m=1

22 hours ago, isde97 said:

47deg  north is in Washington.  Could you double check your coordinates?

Thanks for checking into it!

So they don't add up for you either? Dang, that would have been too easy.

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97xr400r, fyi

With all the GPS info being used these days, the sexigesimal format is more often used.  In the same manner that all school kids need to convert fractions to decimals to percentages, sexigesimal is now included in that list as it is simply a proportional relationship between decimals (using tenths, hundredths, etc...) and minutes in an hour (circular, like 360 degrees, using 60ths).  The same way that the prime and double prime marks are used for feet- inches, minutes and seconds use the same notation.

The most simply beginner lesson is a discussion of knowing that 7.5 degrees is 7 degrees, 30 minutes ( or 7 degree, 30' ).

 

Play with this link and you can correct your own math explorations :)       http://www.anycalculator.com/decimaltodegree.htm

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I checked out that satellite pic and thought, heck I've ridden all over there. Then I thought about the floods in the 70's? Probably nothing left anywhere after that.

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On 11/15/2018 at 4:30 PM, MacDuncan said:

97xr400r, fyi

With all the GPS info being used these days, the sexigesimal format is more often used.  In the same manner that all school kids need to convert fractions to decimals to percentages, sexigesimal is now included in that list as it is simply a proportional relationship between decimals (using tenths, hundredths, etc...) and minutes in an hour (circular, like 360 degrees, using 60ths).  The same way that the prime and double prime marks are used for feet- inches, minutes and seconds use the same notation.

The most simply beginner lesson is a discussion of knowing that 7.5 degrees is 7 degrees, 30 minutes ( or 7 degree, 30' ).

 

Play with this link and you can correct your own math explorations :)       http://www.anycalculator.com/decimaltodegree.htm

Very Cool. Thanks Mr. Duncan!

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I served with a guy who said he grew up scrapping on a bombing range..very similar stories.

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