January 2010
On January 9th we attended a bluegrass concert with Nancy’s parents. We heard a really good local band called Desert Ridge Bluegrass. We went 4-wheeling with our Jeep group to the coke ovens along the Gila River by Florence. These ovens were built in the 1880’s from dacite, volcanic rock from the surrounding area. They stand 35 feet high and 25 feet in diameter. They are called coke ovens but coke can only be produced from coal. They should be called kilns as they were used to burn the mesquite trees in the area to make charcoal. The charcoal was used to fire the smelters which processed gold and silver ore. In the 1980’s someone got the bright idea to turn the ovens into guest cottages. Two of the ovens were renovated by adding cement floors, windows, doors, weather stripping, and even an upper level made of wood to make room for storage. This venture never got off the ground and the idea was abandoned. We were out 8 hours and even drove up a dry waterfall - well most of the group dro