Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 I am going to jump ahead a day in this story because I want to be the first to “rediscover” the MONUMENTAL HIGHWAY carving made by Dolph Andrus on a cliff face near the Red Lake Trading Post. Berwyn Andrus has been extremely kind to share his father’s materials with me. And he has been wise enough to share them recently with some folks in Tuba City, not far from Red Lake. My first reaction when I learned that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, was disappointment, because I had hoped this fall to make the journey and be Johnny on the spot, along with any of this group that wanted to go there. But given the uncertainties in my plans, that might not have happened. And people living in the area will have a much better probability of getting to the site. So I’m now betting on the Tuba City crew, and anxiously awaiting their report. In the meantime I asked Berwyn if it was OK with him if I posted my best guess and he said that was OK. So I am going to post below my best guess of the coordinates, and then describe at least in summary how I arrived at my estimate. I place the carving within 400 yards of 36.241116°, -110.977550°, on the cliff face (blue circle.). A second possible location is nearby, within the red circle. I have had the site in mind for some time, and thought I might build up to it, but I assume the folks in Tuba City are packing the cooler and checking the tires as I write (I would be), so I want to get my best estimate out there now. I’ll describe my reasoning in another post soon. I have asked Berwyn to ask them to keep us in the loop. Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Now that I have been so bold as to presume that I know where the carving MONUMENTAL HIGHWAY is located, I will put forward my reasons, and invite others to correct me. I want first to address circumstances. You carve the name of a highway where you expect it to be seen! And since the photo of the Motor Men of 1917 shows them using the Maxwell as a ladder, it has to be in a location where a car can reach it. On the other hand, there is no record anywhere of the carving. No one mentions it other than Dolph and Hopkins. It isn’t known today. There are at least a couple of explanations. It no longer exists and was so temporary that few saw it. Or…. and this one gets my vote, it was carved where the later road didn’t go, and few people ever traveled past it. There are some contradictions about where it was (is). The original log (see post above) is quite specific, and is the best source. Dolph’s later memoirs seem to contradict the log, which I will explain later. The log says that the carving is at 58.2 miles, which is 6.2 miles from the Red Lake Trading post. The log also says that they are traveling through “Beautiful shrubbery” until 59.3 and then go “up hill” at 60.2. This description fits Begashibito Wash. It is the only location where there is any greenery for miles, and anyone following it by car must exit because below the “up hill” there is a dry waterfall. So I have them going down Begashibito Wash. The carving can be located by the distance from the Red Lake Trading Post (6.2 miles), and by backtracking 2.0 miles from the road out of the wash. I measured a direct route from the Red Lake Trading post and marked it on the map below as 58.2, recognizing that that marker was almost certainly too far south, in that their actual route had to include some curves. Then I marked 2.00 miles back from the road out (up hill). I hope it isn’t a coincidence, but at this location a rock formation juts out into the wash. Since the Motor Men carved the MONUMENTAL HIGHWAY on a cliff on their “left,” this appears to be the prime candidate. It would have been visible from the Monumental Highway had that segment been followed by the later road. And it is in a location where few probably travel today. The later highway didn’t go this way. When Dolph carved it, he probably assumed that the road would go this way, but it didn’t. Road builders stayed out of seasonal water courses for obvious reasons. It is on Hopi land and probably is not accessible to the general public. Perhaps erosion has softened its lines, and I suspect unless you are looking for it, it isn’t very prominent today….assuming it still exists. Now back to the contradiction. Dolph in his memoirs states: I assume that they camped near the trading post since Hopkins goes swimming in Red Lake. So it would follow that Dolph carved the MONUMENTAL HIGHWAY near the trading post. There are rocks that could be candidates. The most obvious explanation would be that they camped in Begashibito Wash, but that isn’t entirely logical, and so is a weak explanation. I will just say that contemporary accounts (the log) are almost always more accurate than recollections years later. And if the carving were near the trading post, and still existed, it would be common knowledge today. Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Well reasoned, well researched, and well documented. Would you believe I threw a dart at the map and hit that exact same spot? The suspense is certainly mounting. Any word from the Tuba City expedition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Well reasoned, well researched, and well documented. Would you believe I threw a dart at the map and hit that exact same spot? The suspense is certainly mounting. Any word from the Tuba City expedition? Denny, In the forum tradition of nearly “live” updates, I just got off the phone with the “Expedition Leader,” who I will not name. Only The Shadow Knows! Just kidding, but I don’t post names without permission, and I haven’t asked for permission yet. Berwyn says that his talks with the fellow suggest it may require a horseback trip. I will call our as yet unnamed expedition leader tomorrow, as he was in the middle of a store transaction when we connected on his cell today. More to follow in the tale of the Motor Men of 1917! The excitement mounts!! Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 The MONUMENTAL HIGHWAY carving has been rediscovered…..about 3 hours ago. I don’t have the details, but here is the evidence as sent me by Berwyn!! I’ll post more photos and the name and photo of the discoverer as soon as I get his OK. I’ll have more in the morning. Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mga707 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 How awesome that it is still there (and perfectly readable) some 90 years or so after it's inception! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 How awesome that it is still there (and perfectly readable) some 90 years or so after it's inception! Awesome indeed! Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Monumental!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Burr - hester_nec Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 How awesome that it is still there (and perfectly readable) some 90 years or so after it's inception! Not really - there are rock paintings still visible in many places that go back thousands of years. But this discovery is still awesome. Hudsonly, Alex Burr Memphis, TN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilene Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Incredible!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berwyn Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 The MONUMENTAL HIGHWAY carving has been rediscovered…..about 3 hours ago. I don’t have the details, but here is the evidence as sent me by Berwyn!! I’ll post more photos and the name and photo of the discoverer as soon as I get his OK. I’ll have more in the morning. Dave Keep the Show on the Road! There are so many players in the game of “MONUMENTAL HIGHWAY” in the past and now, that I am going to try and give you what I know about some of them, but first I want to post something about my Mother, Irene. It seems fitting that today is her Birthday, age 120, if she was living. Dad was gone much longer than he had estimated for the trip, and Mother was worried. Here are some excerpts from her version of the trip: “It seemed to Torma and I, back at homeport in Bluff that our road blazing man would never, never come home to us from this Monumental Highway trip. . . watching, waiting, for the sound of the little old Maxwell . . .finally one morning . . . we heard his heavy tired footsteps on the porch . . . “Did you have car trouble?” “No” he said, “I will tell you about it later. I have walked from Blanding and I haven’t eaten since ____” So we fed him and let him rest.” After Dad had rested he presented to Mom that he had contracted with a photographer in Salt Lake to take him on photo trip to the Natural Bridges and Monument Valley by Burro Pack trip. Back to Mother’s writing: “I was flabbergasted to say the least and tried with all my might mind and strength to convince him how foolhardy, dangerous, suicidal etc.etc., this trip would be —but he went right on with his preparations . . . It finally dawned on me that if we were going to be a family I had to give in and go along with the adventure. After all I had married him for better or worse etc and if we didn’t survive the trip we would at least be together. When Dolph and Torma were off together (Trying on the burro I suppose) . . . I took my little trunk of love letters and keepsakes, school themes etc., read them all with a lump in my throat and a sigh, I burned them all.” Then followed the trip by Burro from Bluff , over and under the three Natural Bridges, down through Valley of the Gods (Olympic Gardens), Mexican Hat, out into Monument Valley, as far as the Totem Pole, and then were headed for Rainbow Bridge, but the photographer said he could go no farther, and they returned to Bluff. They survived and lived together thru many more ventures, until they both died at age 90 within six weeks of each other. Thanks to Dave, the Road Scholar, and all else who have shared in this journey. It has been quite a ride. As Dad and Dr. Hopkins proclaimed, “FIX THE ROAD, the tourists are waiting.” Berwyn Andrus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 Berwyn, thanks so much for sharing not only details of your father's activities but some of the "behind the scenes" flavor, too. It seems that both of your parents were extraordinary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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