Roads & Highways

A Lost Opera Staged in Great Falls, Montana

2005-07-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Now this is a tenuous link at best, but it shows that all kinds of culture can happen along US 89. An opera about a Blackfeet Indian story was composed in the very early 1900's, presented once in Pittsburgh, PA and then at its world premiere in Berlin in 1910, it was booed and hissed and never performed again. Rediscovered by a Montana rancher, "Poia: The Blackfeet Story of Scarface" is being staged this weekend in Great Falls, Montana. The full story can be found here...

Highway History

2005-06-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here is some highway history about US 89 in Wyoming. The routing for US 89 was changed several times during the highway's early years. If you get a good road map and want to tour around a bit, you can find several roads in western Wyoming that were once US 89. This way you'll get to see even more of the West's Most Western Highway.

A Mystery is Buried Under Memorial Boulevard

2005-06-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

There's something that most everyone enjoys and that's a good mystery. This story came to me by email from my friend Jim Cowlin who in turn picked it up from a Yahoo group called Southwest Auto Trails (swautotrails@yahoogroups.com). Following the links, I soon discovered that JWM at Drive the Old Spanish Trail had probably picked it from The Robertson County Times. What drove me to this poking around was the mention in this story of a town called Springfield. I wasn't sure, at first glance, what state this city was in. Getting out the old road atlas, I soon discovered that this was Springfield, Tennessee and that old US 41 ran from Chicago to Miami. Now to the mystery. It involves the deceased, faded memories, the Dixie Bee Line Highway and a time capsule. Read on...

Traveling Arizona

2005-06-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

I have been working with Jim Cowlin to develop a travel itinerary. This is a work-in-progress and will improve as we grow smarter. Suggestions are welcome.

ITINERARY

Day 1 – Spanish Influence and Exploration

San Xavier del Bac Mission

http://www.sanxaviermission.org/

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13464b.htm

Tubac Presidio State Historical Park

http://www.pr.state.az.us/parkhtml/tubac.html

http://www.tubacaz.com/presidio.asp

Tumacacori National Historic Park

http://www.nps.gov/tuma/

Day 2 – Exploring Tucson

Saguaro National Park

http://www.nps.gov/sagu/

http://www.saguaro.national-park.com/

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

http://www.desertmuseum.org/

Tucson Sightseeing & Dining

http://www.visittucson.org/

Day 3 – A Ride Up the Pinal Pioneer Parkway

Tom Mix Memorial

http://www.azcentral.com/travel/arizona/oddballaz/tommix.html

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/CELtommix.html

Florence

http://www.florenceaz.org

http://www.town.florence.az.us/

http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/mcfarland.html

Lost Dutchman State Park

http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/dutchman.html

http://www.azcentral.com/travel/arizona/features/articles/archive/dutchmans.htm

Day 4 – Exploring Phoenix

Desert Botanical Garden

http://www.dbg.org/

Pueblo Grande Museum

http://copwww.ci.phoenix.az.us/PARKS/pueblo.html

Arizona Historical Society

http://www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org/

Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum

http://www.admmr.state.az.us/

http://www.azminfun.com/

Phoenix Sightseeing and Dining

http://www.phoenixcvb.com/

Day 5 – Way Out West in Wickenburg

Desert Caballeros Western Museum

http://www.westernmuseum.org/

Hassayampa River Preserve

http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/arizona/preserves/art1970.html

Wickenburg Sightseeing and Dining

http://www.outwickenburgway.com/#

Vulture Mine

http://www.jpc-training.com/vulture.htm

Congress Mine/Ghost Towns

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/azalphabetical.html http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/htme/congress.htm

http://www.geocities.com/dustinmdudley/arizona_stanton_weaver_and_octave.html

Day 6 – The Road to Prescott

Yarnell – Yarnell Hill

http://www.city-data.com/city/Yarnell-Arizona.html

http://y-pvchamber.com/

Peeple’s Valley

http://www.arizonan.com/PeeplesValley/

Kirkland Junction

Day 7 – Exploring Prescott

Whiskey Row

http://www.whiskeyrow.us/

Sharlot Hall Museum

http://www.sharlot.org/index.shtml

Highlands Center for Natural History

http://www.highlandscenter.org/pages/1/index.htm

Prescott Sightseeing and Dining

http://www.visit-prescott.com

http://www.prescott.org/

Day 8 – Jerome/Clarkdale/Cottonwood

Jerome Sightseeing and Dining

http://www.azjerome.com/

http://www.americanwest.com/pages/jerome.htm

History of Copper Mining

http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/jerome.htm

Clarkdale Sightseeing and Dining

http://www.clarkdale.az.us/

Tuzigoot National Monument

http://www.nps.gov/tuzi/

Cottonwood

http://cottonwoodarizona.net/

http://www.oldtown.org/

Montezuma Castle National Monument

http://www.nps.gov/moca/

Day 9 – Touring Sedona

Sedona Sightseeing and Dining

http://www.sedonaaz.gov/egov/home.aspx

http://www.visitsedona.com/

Slide Rock State Park

http://www.pr.state.az.us/parkhtml/sliderock.htm

Red Rock State Park

http://www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/redrock.htm

Chapel of the Holy Cross

http://sedona-attractions.10-best.info/sedonachapel.html

Day 10 – Flagstaff

Northern Arizona University

http://www.nau.edu/text

The Arboretum at Flagstaff

http://www.thearb.org/

Lowell Observatory

http://www.lowell.edu/

Flagstaff Sightseeing and Dining

http://www.flagstaffarizona.org/

Riordan Mansion State Historical Park

http://www.pr.state.az.us/parkhtml/riordan.html

Museum of Northern Arizona

http://www.musnaz.org/

Day 11 – North From Flagstaff

Walnut Canyon National Monument

http://www.nps.gov/waca/

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

http://www.nps.gov/sucr/

Wupatki National Monument

http://www.nps.gov/wupa/

Cameron Trading Post

http://www.camerontradingpost.com/

Day 12 – Marble Canyon/Lee’s Ferry

Navajo Bridge

http://www.azsce.org/history-navajo_bridge.shtml

Marble Canyon

http://www.kaibab.org/gcvv/gc_vb_mc.htm

Lee’s Ferry

http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/lees_ferry/

Day 13 – Jacob Lake

Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

http://arizona.sierraclub.org/monuments/vermilion/vermilion.html

Grand Canyon National Park – North Rim

http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/north-rim/

Day 14 – Fredonia

Pipe Spring National Monument

http://www.nps.gov/pisp/

Kanab, Utah

http://www.go-utah.com/kanab

Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument

http://www.desertusa.com/escalante/

Paria Canyon

http://www.public.asu.edu/~bvogt/20-20/paria/paria.html

Day 15 – Lake Powell

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

http://www.nps.gov/glca/

Glen Canyon Dam

http://www.usbr.gov/uc/news/gcdfacts.html

http://www.canyon-country.com/lakepowell/gcdam.htm

Lake Powell

http://www.powellguide.com

Abandoned Highways

2005-06-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Abandoned section of US 89 near Ash Fork, AZ

Something that I really enjoy is walking out onto a stretch of abandoned roadway like the one shown above and imagining who and what went here before. What probably started as a much-rutted wagon trail became a roughly graded gravel and dirt roadway. Then it evolved through various surfacings (oil, gravel, macadam, etc.) and then, as autos went faster and faster, the road got straighter and flatter. Great stretches of old road were simply abandoned in search of the straight, flat highway.
Over these abandoned roadbeds once traveled wagons, early automobiles made by companies hardly anyone remembers and tough travelers for whom a day in the desert in an open touring car was no big deal. Just imagine driving a dirt road in Arizona in the 1920's; no air conditioners, no fast food at each intersection, no car radio. Gas stations were not plentiful. Smart drivers carried more than one spare tire and they were good roadside mechanics.
Next time you see an abandoned roadbed, stop and walk out on it and let your imagination run loose for a few minutes. It's fun.

Vintage Highway - US 89

2005-06-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

James Tallon published two articles about US 89 a couple of years ago. Part One takes you from Nogales, AZ (on the Mexico border) through Arizona and then up into Utah past "some of the West's most heart-stopping scenery." Part Two continues the journey up through Idaho, Wyoming and Montana and ends in Babb, MT right next to Glacier National Park.

2005-05-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a Welcome sign to Yarnell, AZ on old US 89 and right next to it is a good place to get lunch.

Life Along Old US 89

2005-05-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

One of the more challenging highway construction jobs in the history of Arizona road building was putting in a road up Yarnell Hill. There's even a plaque dedicated to one of the state's early highway engineers on a lookout halfway up the mountian. The little town of Yarnell lies at the top.
"Townspeople consider Yarnell, on Highway 89 between Wickenburg and Prescott, one of Arizona’s best-kept secrets." Marija Potkonjak, of the East Valley Tribune, penned this recent story about Yarnell.

A Bridge to the Past, Gone

2005-05-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

I always hate to hear these things. This is a sad story, but a moving eulogy "from the Covered Bridge Capital of the world – Parke County, IN." Posted by "firecracker" from Indiana.

US Route 89 Map

2005-05-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Map showing the original US Route 89. Some stretches have been decommissioned or replaced with Interstate highway, but much remains as two-lane blacktop. Map prepared by my good friend James Cowlin. (Click on title of this post for a more detailed map.)

2005-05-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Jim Cowlin and Kevin Weight looking at old aerials of downtown Phoenix.

GRAND AVENUE REVITALIZATION

2005-05-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday (May 20), Jim Cowlin and I met with Kevin Weight, Lead Historic Preservation Planner for the City of Phoenix (www.phoenix.gov/HISTORIC), to learn more about the historical resources the city is using in its revitalization efforts along the lower part of Grand Avenue. The city is helping identify and rehabilitate a number of the oldest buildings in the area. Some of these buildings have been converted to artist's studios and galleries and more area artists are moving into this neighborhood. US Route 89 originally went through Phoenix along Van Buren Street and then out Grand Avenue all the way to Wickenburg before turning north. We are seeking information, photographs, recollections or any other materials about life and commerce along these city streets in days gone by.
See this link for a current aerial view of this Grand Avenue neighborhood. Grand Ave. begins in the lower RH corner at the intersection with Van Buren and heads northwest.
(click on "Satellite" if map displays)

How US Highways Got Their Numbers

2005-05-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

Early roads were dirt/gravel roads – they followed the lay of the land or previous wagon trails – there was little organization and certainly no engineering.

Then came the demand for better roads.

This led to trail (road) associations, toll roads, and early civic boosterism.
The rise of these associations led instantly to named highways (some names still exist). Dixie Highway, Lincoln Highway, etc.
As roads proliferated and began to be improved, they began to overlap and intersect. By 1924, there were 250 trails sponsored by at least 100 organizations. A pole might have markers from several different road associations. .
Colored circles marking the various roads were used as highway signs and appeared on poles, fence posts, trees, barns and rocks. A pole might have markers from several different road associations. These associations were competitive and their efforts were completely uncoordinated
This system was evolving into an evermore illogical highway system.

All of these trail associations wanted their roads improved, but there was no coordination among the state highway departments for improving roads. In 1924, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) requested that the Secretary of Agriculture (roads were important to farming) name a board to come up with a uniform numbering and marking system for the nation’s highways.

In 1925, twenty-one state highway engineers plus several engineers from the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) were set up as a Joint Board. The Board met and immediately adopted three guidelines:

Only Federal-aid highways would be included in this new national system. How Federal-aid highways were determined is a subject for a different post. One of Arizona’s early Senators, Carl Hayden, was instrumental in setting up Federal aid for highway development.
No public hearings would be held. You can imagine all the trail associations screaming that it was their ox that was getting gored. It would be inevitable that some roads would be left out and some towns bypassed.
All Board activities would be conducted in close cooperation with the states.

The Board insisted that only existing highways would be included in the new system. The Board faced two immediate problems and later a third one. First, the named routes, roads and trails had to be eliminated. It was too cumbersome. Just look at an old map with all the trail names on it. Second, a scheme had to be devised that would include the routes worth saving and be flexible enough to expand.

It was obvious that highways needed to be identified by numbers, but how? This was the third major problem that had to be solved. One of the first proposed solutions started with US 1 running from the Pacific Northwest (Seattle?) to the southern tip of Florida. But where would US 2 go?, or US 50?, or US 100? Our highway system could have wound up looking like a bowl of spaghetti noodles.

An engineer by the name of Edwin W. James ran the subcommittee set up by the BPR Joint Board to solve these problems. He later stated that the solution became obvious when he looked at a blank map of the US. The US is about twice as wide from East to West as it is from North to South. “With this I saw a complete pattern of just what I wished. It stares one in the face, it is so simple and adjustable. With north-south roads numbered odd from east to west, and east-west roads numbering even from north to south, you at once start a simple, systematic, complete, expansible pattern for a long time development.”

This was a marvelous engineering solution to a technical and political problem that has lasted to the present. It was a permanently expandable system and its simplicity and perfect design just rolled over any objections from the old highway associations. They saw at once that this was the future of highways in America.

An excellent article on this subject is: Cron, F.W. "Touring by Numbers - Why and How," Public Works, Vol. 99, No. 2, Feb. 1968.

DESERT LANDSCAPE UNDER ASSAULT

2005-05-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

On a somewhat related issue, Kathleen Ingley has an informative and troubling article in the Arizona Republic (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/0515ingley0515.html) about the damage being done to the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Arizona by illegal immigration traffic.

How This Project Began

2005-05-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

A little over a year ago my friend Jim & I were yakking when I mentioned that one day I’d like to work on a coffee table book of refrigerator art. Jim, being a pretty accomplished photographer (www.panoramicnaturephotography.com), countered that he’d always wanted to do something photographic built around US Route 89.

Look at a map of the Western US and you’ll see why we spent a couple of hours discussing the possibilities. This road goes through or near some of the most fantastic scenery from Arizona to the Canadian border.

This weblog will continue the story…