Corn Spring: Gateway to Petroglyphs, Miner’s Cabin and More
abandoned cabin, Aztec Wells, Billy Holcomb ECV, BLM, Blythe, burros, campground, Chemehuevi, Chuckwalla Mountains, Clampers, Colorado Desert, Corn Springs, Corn Springs Mining District, Desert Cahuilla, Desert Center, desert survival, Friends of the Desert Mountains, gold ore, Gus Leaderer, Interstate 10, Mayor of Corn Springs, miners shack, mojave desert, Mule Mountain, National Register of Historic Places, octotillo, petroglyphs, pioneer cemetery, School of Mines, Sonoran Desert, teddy bear chollas, Thomas Tommy Jones, Tim O. Crowley, Tyler Bennett, Yuma
Cliff Walker
Thank you Jay and John,
What a marvelous sight! Never been near this part of the Desert. That’s the trouble with life: We only see a fraction and know so little about our world and our fascinating desert.
Jaylyn
Thank you, Professor! We totally agree. Love all your books. We are humbled.
Andy St Laurnet (So Cal Off Road Explorers)
Great article. We were there a couple of months ago & saw the petroglyphs on the right just before the campground, sad to say they’ve been vandalized quite a bit. The cabin at the mill site a bit further past the campground was interesting & you have some good photos of the artifacts, etc that are there. We didn’t see the “curse” in the book but would love to know the story behind that! 🙂 Next visit we will go further up the canyon to the graves & other cabins. You mention a path to more petroglyphs, is that path near the ones by the side of the road?
Stephanie Hunt
The only way to remove a cholla barb painlessly is to either light the end sticking out with a lighter,(make sure not TO burn it too far down to grab hold of) This causes the hook, or barb to retract. The best way is to use a hot curling iron and touch it to the end of the barb for a few seconds. Barb will then easily slip out. One way Cholla reproduces by hooking into a moisture source and growing!
Anonymous
We used to camp at Corn Springs quite often in the early 70s. Usually our group were the only ones there. We would set up targets and shoot right out of the camp and explore in our 4 wheels. The petroglyphs were fascinating. But it seemed that in the late 70s when the place was “discovered” it went downhill with the groups that came in. One time a club of RVs and dirt bikes came in and camped. They were rude, riding their bikes right through our campsite. Created a lot of tension to say the least. Another time my brother and husband were lost and found a cabin. They stopped to ask directions and an old man chased them off with a shotgun. They did find their way vback and said there was a cabin made of glass bottles but because they were so lost they never could figure out how to find it again. I would really have loved to see it.
terry
Thank you for this very informative site. Been to the campground and surrounds. Curious about the cabin near the cemetery – is it occupied? Also, I know one can drive 15-30 miles for rockhounding but is there anything of interest in Corn Springs valley?