Sometimes you see a picture in your mind. Then you plan on how to get the picture. It requires about a two-hour drive and a four-mile hike to be in the right place. To be there at the right time, the plan is to get up very early, so you are on site at sunrise. The basic math is leave three hours before sunrise.
The old mine intrigues me. The old mechanics of having a steam engine run stamping mill in the middle of the desert. It was gas powered in later years. As I hiked in, I was thinking to myself, it is actually very beautiful in the desert before the sun actually comes up and begins to beat down on humanity as well as the flora and fauna.