mga707
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Posts posted by mga707
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Thank you both for your positive comments!
One interesting 'road fact' about old AZ86 was that both it and another early Arizona state highway--AZ84 between Tucson and Gila Bend--served as US80 'short cuts'.
86 ran from Benson to Road Forks, NM, just east of the AZ/NM state line, and 'cut off' a huge section of 80 that headed southeastward at Benson to go through Bisbee and Douglas down by the border before looping back northeastward again.
Similarily, 84 ran northwestward from Tucson to Casa Grande and then turned due west to Gila Bend (just as I-10 and I-8 do today) while 80 took a much more leisurely routing north and then west through Florence, Mesa, Phoenix, and Buckeye before heading southward to Gila Bend.
I have a feeling that this original alignment of 86 between Benson and Willcox was always intended as temporary, since it was bypassed only a half dozen years or so after the route was first established. Also, I'm sure that getting the highway out of the dry lake bed (Willcox Playa) was a priority, since even though the Playa is dry 99% of the time, that other 1% can be problematic!
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Hello all: If anyone is interested I have just posted pictures in a new gallery of a short (from Tucson) road trip I took a few days ago to check out the original alignment of what was Arizona State Route 86 from 1936 (when the route was established) until about 1941 or 42 (when a new, paved alignment through Texas Canyon was completed), between Benson and Willcox AZ.
What got me interested in this is that I recently was checking out old Arizona highway maps at the University of Arizona library and I noticed that the original dirt alignment went through Dragoon and Cochise (both tiny communities between Benson and Willcox) while the later (and still current via Interstate 10) alignment bypasses both communities to the north.
The old alignment between the two little towns is still mostly unpaved to this day, as the current paved route runs east from Dragoon to US 191 and thence N/NW to Cochise. The old dirt alignment runs from SW to NE along the UP railroad tracks and is called Manzara Road today.
From Cochise to Willcox the original route continued to run directly along the tracks, through a corner of the Willcox Playa (dry lake bed). East of US 191 (formerly the infamous 666, and before that AZ SR81) the original alignment is no longer accessible as it is behind fenced land. It entered Willcox via Railroad Avenue which, no surprise, is the road paralleling the tracks!
Hope you enjoy a handful of shots I took on a beautiful cloudless spring day, in the galleries!
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The railroads, back in those early days of aviation, were referred to by aviators as "the iron compass." Many railroad stations had the name of the town painted on the roof, just for the aviators - usually for the planes carrying the mail.
Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN
Very true! And as an aside, after a few 'near misses', it quickly became SOP to keep to the right side of the track being followed, just in case another railroad-following aviator was intently looking down while coming the other way at the same altitude!
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Before the time of the radio beacon and radar, navigation by air was primarily by observation of sites on the ground, and what better to follow than a highway? Richfield was going to make that easier, and they did, by actually building the stations and towers they promised.
Actually, following the railroad was even more common in the early days of aviation than following a highway, as the rails were much more prevalent!
These neon-lighted towers actually had a very short operational life, as radio beacons had come into full use by the time that the Boeing 247/Douglas DC-2/DC-3 were in commercial service from 1934 on. The decade of the 1930s was an amazing one of technological advancement in aviation!
I wonder how long Richfield kept the neon 'on' at night on these great period artifacts?
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No dam road at Davis Dam near Bullhead City, AZ.
Heading north my maps showed a road across Davis Dam. When I got to the turn off
it a sign said "Road Closed", had a time getting turned around.
Dale
Yes, the road across the dam was closed either at the time of or shortly after the Laughlin/Bullhead City bridge across the Colorado (AZ SR68/NV SR163) was opened in the 1990s. The road on the AZ side of Davis Dam continues northward to several coves/boat launch sites on Lake Mohave (the lake formed by the dam), but the road on the NV side goes no further than the dam.
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Loved the marquee of the Lee Theatre in Ephrata, picture 199: "Monsters vs. Hannah Montana Fast and Furious"!
My money's on Hannah....
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Wow! Once again, GREAT photo essay of your trip, even with the battery dying before the end. Hope you didn't actually have any faceless children nightmares!
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Coca Cola World: Might be wrong on the actual name. It's like a museum, gift shop, etc. Worth it! I know they're moved since we were there, but I know it's still in the area.
"The World of Coca-Cola".
Isn't the very first Waffle House still open in one of the Atlanta 'burbs?
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If you like, you can see the pictures we took of our trek to find the Yellowstone Trail. They are here.
-Eric
Your photo essay is absolutely great! What great pictures, and what a fun trip you and Smartz had!
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I just deleted the thread starting duplicate. I was going to offer to do it for a dollar but I was afraid Pat would undercut me and mga707 would be left waiting until the price war was resolved. Until such time (if any) that delete capability is more widely available, I suggest that administrators offer a delete-on-demand service. The first twelve are free.
I do thank you, sir!
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When you're in your gallery and on the picture you want to delete, off to the right you should see a blue box with some stats. Below that there should be a blue button that says "Options?". Click there and you should see a delete option.
No, I tried that as it seemed to be the obvious path. Clicking the blue "options" button brings up two choices: "Edit image" and "Report image". No "delete" option in either one of those, either.
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From what I can tell, it looks like the road makes kind of a U-turn at the dam. So the picture from the Arizona side and the picture from the California side are both of the same side of the dam. That's why the water looks the same level from both sides of the river. The low water would be on the back side of the dam, which is not pictured.
Chris
You are partially correct. Like most concrete dams, Parker Dam is horseshoe shaped if looking down from above. The pictures from both the AZ and CA sides are indeed of the same (downstream) side of the dam. But this is the low water side of the dam.
The upstream, unseen side would be the higher water lever side, as Lake Havasu backs up to the dam.
Coming across the dam from the California side, the road does make sort of a U turn. There is no road upstream from the dam on the CA side. On the AZ side, upon crossing the dam there is almost immediately the 'T' intersection with AZ State Route 95, which one can take either to Parker (right turn, or downstream) or to Lake Havasu City (left turn, upstream).
Hope this clarifies!
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The title says it. I accidentally posted a duplicate photo in the photo gallery, and there does not seem to be any obvious way to delete it. Anyone?
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I've just added my old US 80 bridge pictures to the Gallery. Both the 1927 Gillespie Dam bridge and the 1921 Cienega Creek bridge. One picture would not upload, and one I inadvertently duplicated. Anyone know if there is any way to delete a dupe from the gallery?
Anyway, hope you like them.
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I finally did the old US 80 road trip across the 1927 Gillespie Dam Bridge today. That certainly is a neat old bridge. I hope it stays open to vehicular traffic. We stopped on both ends and I walked onto the bridge, searching in vain for some sort of a 'data plate' or construction information marker.
The Gila River under the bridge was flowing quite nicely today, and their were people out fishing up by the 'broken' Gillespie Dam. The spring snowmelt from the White Mountains is coming down the Salt River and into the Gila, as the upstream I-10 Gila crossing between PHX and TUS was it's usual dry self!
When I have the time I'll try to post some pictures in the gallery, but I think I may go out to the (much closer to my SE Tucson home base) old Cienega Creek bridge (1921 vintage, IIRC) on the old US80 segment between Tucson and Benson and snap some photos of that bridge as well. The two old 80 bridges make a nice pair!
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I would say swamp cooler is a viable contender.
The one we had in late 40’s crossing the desert on US 66 was portable and hung on the window. It looked like a turbine facing into the wind. The wind went throw the turbine which had a cloth wrapped around it, and the wind turned the turbine. That caused the cloth to be constantly wetted in water contained in the bottom of the turbine shell.
Being a kid, I sat in the back seat, and what I remember most was a constant mist blowing in my face! Not your modern air conditioner!
Any other possibilities for that contraption?
Oh, BTW, if you were in Tucson in the 1960's you must be practically a native!
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
Practically, yep. Moved here in late 1959, when I was slightly less than two years old. No, I wasn't doing the driving then!
Your car cooler description is perfect, and that's why I put it out there as a possibility. The device in the picture looks as though it could have a wind turbine atop the water can.
The thing about swamp coolers is that they are absolutely great out here in from April through June, when it is hot and the humidity is usually in the single digits (like it was today--6 or 7%!). At that time of the year they actually cool the air better than air conditioning. Where they lose their effectiveness is later in the summer, from mid-July through mid-September, when the monsoon thunderstorms normally stir every afternoon and the humidity is in the 25 to 50% range. What you don't want then is more humidity. After mid-September it usually dries out again and swamp coolers are fine again through October.
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Those are some great pictures, both yours and the old ones. Amazing how good both buildings still look, especially the larger 'ranch house' building. Looks like it had been occupied until pretty recently.
I agree with your speculation that the station had recently switched from Shell to chevron at the time the postcard picture was taken. The "Chevron Gasoline" sign on the roof looks brand new.
As far as the contraption attached to the passenger door of the car, I'll bet it is a 'car cooler'. Back in the pre-AC days, one could buy these. They were basically little swamp coolers for cars. I never personally experienced them, for although I grew up with swamp coolers (Tucson in the 1960s), we always had dealer-added under-dash air conditioners in our cars, even back then! I think the first car my parents bought that came with factory air was a brand new 1969 Plymouth Satellite.
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When I lived in Tucson back in the 1970’s, I recall some of the washes in town were crossed on cement lined fords. That was no problem when they were dry, but as you know, the difference between dry and flood in Arizona can be a matter of an hour, if not minutes.
I recall crossing a ford in Tucson with a little trickle of water on the way to a mall one afternoon, and when I returned an hour later there was a car in the middle of the ford in deep rushing water, and there was a woman in top! She was saved, but I never crossed there after that when it was wet. Do they still have those things, or are the washes in town all bridged now?
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
Yes, there are still plenty of streets that have unbridged wash (arroyo) crossings. Invariably during the summer monsoons, someone will drive into one and get stuck, and have to be rescued. On rare instances someone is not so lucky and is swept away and drowned.
For quite a few years now there has been a state "Stupid Motorist Law" that makes one responsible for the cost of one's rescue if one is stupid enough to go around a road barricades, enter a flooded wash crossing, and get stuck!
The old dam picture got me to thinking about dams in the state (AZ) that one can still drive across. Of course there is Hoover, but that time is growing short with the construction of the monster bridge crossing that will bypass the dam. Construction is running a bit behind--there was a bad construction accident with at least one fatality that pushed the completion date back--but I think the new bridge is still scheduled for a 2010 completion.
I believe the road over Davis Dam between Laughlin (NV) and Bullhead City (AZ) has been closed to traffic as well. A bridge replaced that crossing also.
You could drive over Roosevelt Dam on Arizona SR188, just off the famous Apache Trail (AZ88) until about 1990 or so, on a one lane roadway no less!
A very attractive bridge replaced that crossing, and then the dam was heightened and the roadway over the top removed.
I think that leaves Parker Dam on the Colorado between AZ and CA as the only drivable dam with no plan for a bridge replacement.
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Mga707
Even though you didn’t make it all the way to the dam and bridge this trip, I thought you and others, including Dale, might enjoy this little blurb from a 1924 AAA magazine concerning driving across the dam before the bridge was built.
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
Wow! That is really neat! Wonder how many early motorists hit that water, found it deeper than they expected, and stalled out?
Of course, most '20s cars had higher ground clearance than today, didn't they? Still, I'll bet someone with a couple of horses could've made some $$ pulling stalled motorists (or those too timid to even try) across the dam apron through the water!
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Regarding the photos…you should be able to upload them to the gallery, but if you want then in the post (as I do) you need to imbed in your post a link to the photo.
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
This will probably sound stupid, but I just checked out the gallery (first time). Did not see any way to post pictures on there, though. What did I miss?
Never mind, I just figure it out. If anyone's interested, I just added two photos of the Tom Mix memorial marker to the gallery.
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Well, I finally did the delayed US80/89 road trip north from Tucson today. Weather was clear and sunny, mid-80s, with quite a bit of wind. Did not go all the way to the old stretch between Gila Bend and Buckeye, however, which of course would have included the titular bridge of this thread. Have to save that for another trip up to PHX when I have more time to spare.
What we did do today was to take I-10 to Picacho, then exit on AZ87 north through Coolidge (by the original 'Big House'--the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument), then followed AZ287 east to Florence, where I joined what had been US80/89.
After strolling around downtown Florence for awhile (it was quite dead on a Sunday noon), we headed down old 80/89 (now signed as the second iteration of AZ79--the original state route 79 was constructed in the 1950s as part of a more direct route between Phoenix and Flagstaff. The original 79 ran from Cordes Junction up to Flagstaff and is now part of I-17, having lost it's state designation long ago. So, the "AZ79" moniker was available for reuse. But I digress...).
And yes, we of course stopped at the Tom Mix memorial marker, just north of the Tom Mix Wash where the unfortunate Mr. Mix lost his life back in October 1940.
What was new there since my last visit was the addition of three metal ramadas, each shading two picnic tables. The memorial is now the centerpiece of a full-blown roadside picnic area.
I shot two photos of the marker, fully intended to post them here, only to be stymied by the inability to upload my IPhotos to this site. It keeps informing me that my uploads are two big, no matter how small I attempt to size them. Finally, I gave up in frustration. (Note: I later added the photos to the gallery. They uploaded there with no problem!)
Anyway, the Tom Mix memorial marker is still 'alive and well' on the southbound side of old US80/89--the Pinal Pioneer Parkway--southeast of Florence, AZ!
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Quick update: My 80 road jaunt has unfortunately been postponed. I was all set to hit the road this morning when, upon checking my tires, I found that one of the sidewalls is developing a crack. When I bought the Miata last April I figured I could get about another year out of the tires, but I guess I'll have to replace them a bit sooner than that.
And it was a perfect late winter day for a 'top-down' cruise, too! Topped out about 70 this afternoon and stayed mostly overcast, so less chance of back-of-the-neck sunburn. Oh well...
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Manual. There's a known flaw in the manual transmissions from the first year or two of the car that makes them all crap out. Mine died at about 75,000 miles. I would have been fine with a used or rebuilt xmission, but those are hard to come by as Matrixes have proved to be otherwise hardy cars with few in junkyards yet. So I ended up with a brand new xmission from Toyota.
Whew! Glad my Vibe's an automatic! I don't think there's too many out there with 'sticks'. I remember when I was car shopping that both of the local dealers had about 10 automatics for every 5-speed.
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I like my '03 Matrix, I just wish that I didn't have to put a $3500 transmission in it last summer.
Auto or manual tranny? How many miles were on it when it blew?
$3500...yikes! I guess the days of replacing a tranny for $600, like I did in 1992 on a 1982 Plymouth Gran Fury (slant six engine) are long gone...
Original Arizona Sr86 Alignment Between Benson And Willcox
in State Highways & Other Roads
Posted · Edited by mga707
Warning! Thread creep!
Alex, your Montana backroads trip brought back memories of my own! In summer '06 my travel companion and I did a big fly/drive upper Great Plains trip starting/ending at DEN.
This was the trip in which I finally bagged states 49 and 50 (SD and ND--all 50 before I turned 50!), but I digress even further...
Anyway, in order to get from Teddy Roosevelt NP in ND down to Devil's Tower NM, WY, via the quickest route, we drove through extreme SE Montana, and spent the night in Ekalaka, pop. under 500, county seat (and only real town in) Carter County! Accomodations at Ekalaka's only motel were OK, but Spartan, and the following morning we strolled through the town (doesn't take long!) and had a good breakfast at the town's cafe, operated by a San Diego 'refugee'!
Following breakfast, we stopped in at the Carter County Museum, which is simply amazing for such a tiny town! They have a fossil collection which would not be out of place at a big city natural history museum, such as the one in Denver. They have a nearly complete duck-billed dinosaur skeleton, along with lots of smaller fossil exhibits, and much more area history packed into the little museum. Doesn't hurt that Carter County is in the heart of one of North America's prime fossil areas, where any amateur palentologist can stumble upon something without too much effort. Still, the museum was an unexpected treat.
Leaving Ekalaka heading south toward US212 at the MT/WY border, one leaves Montana Route 7 and is traveling on a county road which soon turns to gravel for most of the distance.
Just like your experience: Gravel road, nobody else around, miles and miles of rolling grassland interspersed with wooded ridges (Black Hills outliers)...it was great! I love Montana!