I broke my toe on a rock like this one, but it was on the other side of the trail.
That balancing rock looks like it could break my head. I think this is going to be the last time in the Bradshaw's for awhile. As the weather is warming, I think I will start visiting some of the higher country. Stay tuned.

This time I actually found the gravesight. It looks like it gets visited once a day or so, but people seem to be respectful and not leave their trash there. I decided to stay and have lunch with Issac, but he seemed to have lost his appetite.

Today I went back to see if I could fine the gravesite of Issac Bradshaw the namesake of the Bradshaw mountains. On the way there, I was able to locate the site of Copperopolis, a mining town that had a postoffice for one year back in the 1800'sThere wasn't much left and I didn't actually walk down to the place because I didn't want to climb back out. I left there and headed toward the gravesite about a mile or so away. I came across this well but it is obvious that it was at least upgraded after the discovery and development of PVC pipe.

As the sun was setting, the mountains come to life in a different way. I like it.
Now the story of the toes. I said earlier that I hate the soft sand. I'm riding along about 25 mph or so and things aren't too bad until a little rut had me correcting  the bike to keep from going down. That correction caused this boulder to get in the way of my foot. I could tell it went into shock but there really isn't a lot one can do for these things so I kept riding. About an hour later, it was coming out of the shock and I figured I broke two toes from the feel of things. After getting home and taking my shoe off, I think I did :(  Oh well, I hope it doesn't take as long to heal as it did when I cut the top half of my big toe on the other foot off. Now that hurt for a long time.

Hey, the last time I was here, I was totally lost and hating the soft sand. This time, I knew exactly where I am, but still hate the loose sand. I'm not sure what this shed is used for, but it does appear to still have some activity there.

Today I was attempting to make to the Bradshaw gravesite and the sparse remains of the old mining town of Copperopolis. Starting out at 2 PM just didn't give me enough time, but according to my gps I was within a half mile of Copperopolis and less than a quarter mile of the gravesite. Unfortunately, I was running out of daylight and really needed to get back before it got dark. As it was, I barely made it.

Ride to Bradshaw Grave

As with many of my rides, my access to the backroads take me past Lake Pleasant. Usually, there is no water in this area, but right now the lake is pretty full. They pump water from the Colorado river into the reservoir during the winter and then drain it out to irrigate the farms in the valley.