Citizen Grouch visits the Radium Queen and a mine

Some friends and I went exploring recently in the Mojave desert and found the home site and graves of Josie Bishop 'The Radium Queen' and one of her sons.

Here is Josie's story: http://www.explorehistoricalif.com/feb07.html

All that remains of Josie's home is a foundation and the two graves.

The grave site

Josie's grave

A write up about Josie at the site of her home

Josie's view from where her front door used to be.

After visiting the Radium Queen we traveled on the the location of an abandoned mine.  There are untold numbers of abandoned mines in the Mojave although the BLM is doing its best to fill them in to protect us from ourselves.  The Mojave bankrupted many a man and the remains of their various sure-fire schemes are everywhere for us to visit.   This location was once a going concern with a lot of activity but it is all pretty much gone now.

The mine shaft is on the upper left 

A deep hole

One of the many scattered scraps left behind by the miners.  I thought the label reading  "made in the U.S. of America" was interesting!