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American Road Magazine
Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

11. The Old Spanish Trail And The Monumental Highway


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This segment of the adventures of the Motor Men of 1917 picks them up in Kayenta. I rushed ahead in segment 9 and 10 to be a part, albeit at a great distance, of the discovery by Chris and Linda Curley of the long lost MONUMENTAL HIGHWAY carving. So now we backtrack to Kayenta where we left the Motor Men in segment 8.

 

At Kayenta the Motor Men spend some time at the Wetherill trading post. They also see the first cars on the trip. They have come mainly via Gallup, NM, but some have come via Tuba City as well. Kayenta has become the center for exploration of nearby ruins and natural bridges.

 

Hopkins attempts to get some financial support for the Monumental Highway from the folks at Kayenta, but without luck. Dolph speculated in his memoirs that perhaps they didn’t feel they needed the highway, in that they already had a successful business taking wealthy tourists on pack trips. Not long before, Teddy Roosevelt had been among them.

 

From Kayenta, they are headed south for Marsh Pass and then on to Red Lake. Dolph marks the top of the divide (which must be Marsh Pass) at 14.2 miles from Kayenta. As the bird flies, the distance is closer to 11.2 miles, so the men either wandered a bit, or the odometer on the Maxwell was somewhat inaccurate….my guess is both.

 

Dolph provides no clear landmarks other than the top of the divide, so I will forego speculating on the route, with one exception. Between Kayenta and Marsh Pass they followed on or near the Armijo variant of the Old Spanish Trail (the mule and foot trail of ca. 1829, not the auto trail of the same name). Constrained by river and cliffs through Marsh Pass, the Maxwell with the Motor Men and the mules and horses of the Mexican traders likely followed the same trail.

 

The Old Spanish Trail turned northwest at Tsegi Canyon, and Dolph added a dashed line showing a horse trail leaving Marsh Pass going northwest at Tsegi Canyon. This would have been the Old Spanish Trail before the modern road up Tsegi Canyon was graded.

 

ARMarshPass.jpg

 

As the Motor Men approach Red Lake, they note the Elephant Feet at 49.6 miles. The two towers still attract tourists and can be viewed on Google Earth and Panoranio HERE.

 

Red Lake is a busy Indian trading post and Hopkins tries again to gain some financial backing for the MONUMENTA HIGHWAY, to no avail. They offer him some canned food instead!

 

Dolph doesn’t comment why canned food, but I am left with the impression that maybe our wayfarers appeared a little ragged by now! The tiny Maxwell coupe with all the gear on it, carrying two unassuming men, wasn’t the typical “pathfinders” party with its multiple vehicles emblazoned with appropriate slogans, driven by chauffeurs, and accompanied by a mechanic!

 

More of the adventures of the Motor Men of 1917 to follow!

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

 

 

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