Spanish Ruins in the Senora Desert

This past winter I began my intrepid journey as a full-time traveler. My second stop (after the Sierra Nevadas), was Arizona. I wanted to get as far out away from civilization as I could. I wound up deep in the Senora Desert. The nearest town was Quartzsite... not much of a town really, more of a winter respite from the cold for RVers.

Riding through the rugged washes and arrid desert dirt roads was one of the first things I did with my recently purchased enduro. "Fun" falls far short of what I experienced in that desert!

You may not know it, but these mountains and washes are full of gold...that's right, gold. It seems the Spanish knew that way back in the 1400s, as they mined here extensively long before any settlers came to the new world.

I came upon this beautiful stone building in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't until later, asking around, when I found out this is an old Spanish gold camp from the 1400s. I was blown away by the large, white quartz crystals outlining the walls, doors, and windows.
There has been an obvious collapse and the roof is long gone, but look how wonderfully this building has been preserved here in the searing desert heat for several hundred years. Amazing.

The addition of the steel pole indicates others, besides the Spanish, have used this solid structure for their own purposes in the nearer past. (A trading post? A gold camp? A residence?)

I made sure to save the GPS coordinates for this ancient treasure. I plan on returning next winter. The dirtbike does love the ride as much as I do, and the scenery is fantastic.