This was our 4th trip to the Coke Ovens. We decided the little kids (Cole and Garrett) were good enough on their quads to make the 12 mile trip. It is a tough trail with lots of steep downhill rocky terrain.
We had the little girls take a quick pee break before we got started.....
See Liv sitting on the ground to pee...... the result was......
Cactus in the bum. Sal had his pliers to pick the needles out and I got to hold her while she screamed!
Finally we got started...... here are 5 of the 12 quads. We make quite the group!
It was a fairly warm day (ok it was almost hot) and there isn't much shade, but we found a little spot of lunch......
After lunch, and about 3 hours of riding, we finally made it to the Coke Ovens. What is a Coke Oven? The Coke Ovens are remnants of the large mining operations in the Mineral Mountain Range that prospered in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. These ovens were created for the production of Coke. Coke is a fuel that burns at extremely high temperatures. This was – and still is today - an ideal product to use in the smelter process. From what we have heard they would use mesquite and turn it into Coke.
Since it was late in the day, we decided to not go back the way we came as it would take nearly 4 hours to make the climb out. To be honest we have never back tracked. One our first ride we were told we could go across the river, on the railroad tracks, through the train tunnel to a trail on the other side. So that is what we decided to do today. Of course the kids were thrilled at the idea of riding through the river. Before you get to the river you have to go through this VERY cool forest. It is like being in Sleepy Hollow. Here are some pictures that Sal took.
Once we got to the river, I thought it didn't look as full as other times we have crossed. However, it looked much swifter. Sal and Jill rode ahead to our crossing spot while I hung back while the kids played in the water. When I finally got to the crossing point, Jill and Heather told me Sal was stuck. As I glanced over, I could barely see the quad as it was almost submerged in the water. Sal was thigh deep standing on his bike. The story I heard later was that Jill and Sal decided that someone needed to cross the river first to see how deep it was. Of course Sal went first. Unfortunately he didn't quite take into consider the strong current of the water and it drifted him and the quad too far down river where he got stuck. I was panicked, but was trying to remain calm. Mark and Doug decided my quad needed to pull Sal's out so I crossed to a median in the river. Doug had to pull the tow rope while Mark pulled with my quad. It was quite a scene.
Once they got Sal out it was decided that the men would piggy back the kids across the river and we would have to tow the little bikes with the bigger quads. So Jill, Heather and I all towed a little bike across and then the men did the others. Have I said yet that the water was freezing? On one of the trips across the river Sal slipped and fell. All but his face went under the water. Luckily he wasn't carrying a child that time. One by one we pulled the little quads across.
Here are the rest of us watching as the men towed the quads across......
It was Sal's turn to bring his quad across and guess what? It would start, but it wouldn't move. Here are all 3 guys trying to decide what was wrong and what to do about it. Again it was decided that my quad would pull Sal's across the river. So that is what we did.
OK now if you are still following the story, we have all crossed the river and it is time to go to the train tracks. We quickly learn that Sal's quad isn't the only one having problems. Cole's won't move and Garrett's won't start. Luckily we had 3 tow ropes. We tied them up and off we went. The train tracks always makes me nervous. We were told that the train only come through on Friday's but do you trust the guy who told you that? Here is a picture of where we had to go.... across the bridge and into the tunnel.
It was decided that we all shouldn't be on the track together and we should go in 2 groups. We got the 1st group of quads between the tracks and off they went. Then we got the second group inside the tracks and off we went. I think we all prayed the whole way that a train would not magically show up.
When our group met up with the first group we realized that Mark was hurt. Of course the kids were quick to tell us that he rolled his quad while trying to make a sharp turn down a hill while towing Garrett's quad. When he rolled he got his leg pinned between the quad and a piece of concrete. Mark rested until we discovered that Sal had a flat tire. I mean really flat. Luckily, after learning our lesson a few times, we had an inflator in our pack. We were able to get enough air in Sal's tire to make the 30 minute ride back to the car. Of course by this time it was dusk and it was cold. It truly is amazing how quickly the temperature changes in the desert. I can't imagine how cold the guys were given that they were wet. We tried to hustle back to the trucks as fast as we could, but a few of the kids quads have no lights. They had to ride along side one of us so they could use our light. We finally got back, got the quads loaded, the kids warm and thanked Heavenly Father that we were once again able to make it back. Sal rode home without pants and the seat warmers in the H2 came in VERY handy. We have since decided that we are DONE with the Coke Ovens. It still remains to be determined if Sal, Cole and Garrett's quads will actually run. I will keep you posted. :o)
1 comment:
How fun except the river part! Cant wait till the next ride.
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