15-Feb-2009 -- This is an easily-visited confluence, located a few miles north of the town of Bouse in western Arizona, not far from Parker. My wife and I have been in the region many times but had not bothered to visit this confluence until now.

We spent the day visiting the old ghost town of Swansea, located about 24 miles north of Bouse via the graded Swansea Road. Swansea was a copper-mining town for about 10 years, roughly 1905-1915. A large smelter was erected and at its height the town numbered about 600 people. However, the mines played out quickly and the whole operation went bankrupt. Today, a number of buildings still stand, along with remains of the smelter and huge slag heaps. It is one of the better preserved ghost towns in the state.

Driving back south toward Bouse, I stopped our vehicle along the road at the 34th parallel, the confluence about 2 miles due west. The road actually gets closer, but I elected to start here since I could navigate by staying as close to 34-North as possible, there and back.

The hike went well, walking across broad desert plains crossed by numerous washes. The terrain was mostly hard rocky ground, covered in "desert asphalt" - gravel and rock naturally formed together into a hard exterior shell. Plants are sparse, mostly creosote bush and ocotillo. Occasionally the terrain crossed sections of sand, featuring thicker brush including many grasses and flowering plants. There was a lot of green due to recent rains.

In 40 minutes I had walked the two miles, coming upon the rock cairn placed there by earlier visitors. I actually zeroed out about 4 m east of this cairn.

The N and W photos show mostly the terrain, while the S and E views show more long distance views: to the south are the Bouse Hills and to the east is Harcuvar Mountain. I didn't stay long, just long enough to shoot the four photographs. The return walk took about 40 minutes. The day was cool and pleasant with some clouds and breeze - very nice, given in summer ths region bakes at 115 degrees F (45 C).

Swansea is definitely an interesting place to visit and is reachable by normal passenger vehicles as the roads are regularly graded.