By the Time I Get To Phoenix, Day 3

Monday morning, Kevin had some errands to run, so he left me at the motel with my books and iPhone.  As I have the geocaching app on my iPhone, I decided to see if there were any nearby caches, just so I could add Arizona to my list of states.  Sure enough, there was one just one third of a mile away, so off I went in search of the proverbial needle in the haystack.  As a rule, I do not like urban caches.  There are too many people hanging around wondering what the ... you're doing with your nose to the ground by that power station.  Also, I have no desire to be picked up by Homeland Security as a threat to public decency and order.  But this cache was hidden on a hillside covered with scree, mostly shale, and there were no buildings around.  I did have to get past the fence that bordered the sidewalk, but behind a bus shelter, the fence was open, so in I went.

 Arizona Countryside

10/27/2014

North of Wickenburg, Arizona

I don't know how much time I spent scrambling up that hill and looking in various places, but in time the hiding spot became obvious, and I found the cache.  This was a fairly normal sized cache, hidden in a Tupperware sandwich container, but there was no writing instrument in the box.  Of course I had none with me either, so I was not able to sign the log.  I did take a photograph of the container in case anyone questioned my claim to have found the cache.

Standing up, I faced one of my worst fears--going downhill on slippery ground.  Fortunately, from this vantage point I saw what I had not seen climbing the hill.  There was a very clear trail from the hiding spot back to the sidewalk.  I didn't have to scramble down on all fours, the way I had gone up.  But somehow, even though I was wearing shoes, I managed to bruise my left foot and by the time I made it back to the motel, I could barely walk.  A month later, that injury still troubles me at times.

Kevin returned shortly after my adventure, so we packed up the truck and headed home.  With no desire on either of our parts to follow the same route we had taken southbound, we headed northwest, instead, driving toward Wickenburg, a town sixty miles northwest of Phoenix, but still in Maricopa County.  Wickenburg is the southern terminus of US 93, and it was our goal to drive 93 all the way home--well at least to where we would have to turn onto Montana 200 to get to Plains.

We've made the drive between Phoenix and Wickenburg several times, and I don't see anything scenic about the route.  This time we took a different highway, and I still didn't see anything worth mentioning, but once on 93 heading toward Las Vegas, we started climbing into the mountains and the desert showed its pretty face.

 Proposed Interstate 11

(U.S. Highway 93)

10/27/2014

South of Hoover Dam, Arizona

Between Wickenburg and Hoover Dam, we kept seeing signs indicating that our beloved US 93 would possibly be renamed Interstate 11.  I gathered that someone felt it beneficial to connect Phoenix with Las Vegas by something other than a two-lane mountain road, but in doing my research for this post, I have learned that the proposal goes even further, with the possibility of I-11 reaching from the Mexican border to the Canadian, probably following US 95 from Vegas north.  When this will actually happen remains to be seen.  The highway is just in feasibility studies at present.

We stopped at Bullhead City, Nevada for lunch, and following a meal that was way too heavy in carbohydrates, we stopped in the parking lot long enough for me to take some photos of Lake Mead, a body of water that is dangerously low thanks to the ongoing drought the West is experiencing.  While I was standing there, camera in hand, a sight-seeing helicopter took off from the edge of the parking lot and seemed to drop right on top of me.  Yes, of course I got pictures even as I wondered if the thing was going to fall out of the sky.  But no, it righted itself and took off on what has to be one of the shortest helicopter tours around.  We didn't check to see what the five minute ride cost, but frankly, after getting a private helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon a few years ago, I'm kind of spoiled.  This ride was much too short, in my opinion, as the 'copter was landing back in the parking lot as we drove off.

 Water, Rocks, Helicopter

10/27/2014

Hoover Dam, Nevada

We spent as little time in Vegas as possible, getting off the highway only to refuel the truck, and in a short while, we were leaving Interstate 15 and heading north again on US 93.  This section was the only part of 93 new to me.  The highway itself runs from Wickenburg to the Canadian border north of the town of Eureka, Montana.  It is the most heavily traveled highway in the state of Montana, connecting Missoula and Kalispell, with all the Missoula commuters from the Bitterroot Valley driving it daily, not to mention all the folks headed to Flathead Lake which borders the highway.  A good many Glacier National Park visitors also drive 93.  North of the international border, the highway becomes British Columbia 93, and when it crosses the Rockies into Banff National Park, it becomes Alberta 93, extending past the Columbia Ice Fields to meet up with the Yellowhead Highway north of Jasper, Alberta.  I've driven every mile of the highway from its northern end west of Edmonton to Wells, Nevada, and again from Las Vegas to its southern end at Wickenburg.  Never before had I caught the section between Wells and Vegas.

North of I-15, we crossed into Lincoln County, one of two Nevada counties I had never visited.  I'll have to go back, because this time, with the exception of a couple quick stops in the the town of Caliente, we didn't really do any sight seeing.  Caliente itself caught our attention first for the size of the Union Pacific Railroad Station there, and second for a beautiful old DeSoto parked for sale alongside the highway.  Judging by the station, Caliente was once a destination stop, probably because of the hot springs that gave the town its name.  Today that station houses the city library, other public offices, and a museum/gallery, according to Wikipedia.  I couldn't say as the closest we got to it was parked alongside the highway so I could take this picture.

 Union Pacific Station

10/27/2014

Caliente, Nevada

The DeSoto was well worth the time it took to photograph as well, and it is for sale, but I have more vehicles than I can care for myself, so I sent the picture off to my friend Ken who is looking to buy an older DeSoto.  Who knows what will become of that.

The seat of Lincoln County is Pioche, a town we drove through without stopping.  If I'm to have a photographic record of the Court House, I'll have to return to Pioche.  Lincoln County itself was a late addition to Nevada, formed in 1866, two years after statehood.  In its original configuration, Nevada's eastern border was miles west of what it is today.  Two separate additions were made to the state, taking land from Utah Territory and what would become Arizona.  Lincoln County originally included Las Vegas, as Clark County wasn't formed until 1908.  

Rock Formation

10/27/2014

White Pine County, Nevada

White Pine County lies north of Lincoln, and was the only other county I'd never seen in Nevada.  We crossed into White Pine in the early evening, with the intent of reaching the county seat, Ely, and there spending the night.  Ely, where US 93 crosses US 50, is an unusually large town, with several impressive structures.  We found a small, mom-and-pop motel which suited us just fine, and had a surprisingly mediocre dinner in the old jail.  One building set behind a park was brightly illumined, and I should have taken a picture.  The next morning, the White Pine County Courthouse was not nearly as photogenic.  Ely (and according to Wikipedia it is pronounced EE-lee, not Ee-Ligh) is definitely on my return trip list, and not just because it is the town where Pat Nixon was born.  The climactic scene in one of my favorite movies, Rat Race, was filmed there.  Ely, I'll be back!

  

By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Day 2

Across the street from our Beaver, Utah motel was one of those super-sized gas station convenience stores that seem to be popping up everywhere these days.  Inside was a combination Mexican fast-food/Cinnabon place.  I do love my Cinnabons.  It's the one thing that makes the Salt Lake airport worthwhile.  But take heed, my friends.  If you're ever in Beaver, Utah, and want a good cinnamon roll, this is not the place to get it.  I ended up throwing half of mine in the trash, and that should tell you a lot, right there.

Just south of Beaver, Utah Highway 20 crosses the mountains to connect up with US Highway 89 some 21 miles east of Interstate 15.  As 89 was the road we would be taking on into Phoenix, we needed to cross over.  The summit on highway 20 is over 7900 feet, and this is considered the preferable route across the mountains.  I love Wikipedia's opening sentence in its description of the highway:  "State Route 20 SR-20 is a state highway in southern Utah, running 20.492 miles (32.979 km) in Iron and Garfield Counties , without directly serving or connecting any cities."  (Emphasis mine)  The highway has some history, and I recommend reading the Wikipedia article about it.  I don't recall anything about our crossing, though, and soon enough we were on US 89 headed south.

Along US 89

10/26/2014

Near Panguitch, Utah

The first town you come to on 89 is Panguitch, a town settled by Mormon pioneers in 1864.   Their story is one more tale of desperation and perserverence--the kind of story that helps explain why I admire the Mormon people while being terrified of the Mormon church.  Today, thanks to nearby Bryce Canyon National Park and other recreational venues in the area, Panguitch survives mostly through the tourist trade.

We didn't stop in Panguitch, though, nor did we take the sidetrip to Bryce Canyon.  Instead we continued south toward Kanab, passing a series of billboards advertising a restaurant and its "Ho Made Pies."  Didn't sound very Mormon, but then, neither did the billboards advertising Polygamy Porter that appeared at the time of the Salt Lake Olympics.  We didn't stop for pie, either, so I can't really comment on the quality of the goods made by those poor Hos.

US Highway 89 Southbound

10/26/2014

Kane County, Utah

US 89 is a beautiful drive through southern Utah.  It takes off from Interstate 15 near Provo, and parallels the Interstate on the eastern side of the mountains.  South of Panguitch and Utah Highway 12 which leads to Bryce Canyon, the route has been designated The Mount Carmel Scenic Byway.  Heading south, we were descending what's been called The Grand Staircase, a geologic formation that begins with the Grand Canyon and extends northward to Bryce Canyon and beyond.  The "steps" of the staircase include the Chocolate Cliffs, the Vermillion Cliffs, the White Cliffs, the Grey Cliffs, and the Pink Cliffs.  We certainly saw all of those colors in the rocks walls along the highway.  I wish I had known then what I have since found out about the local topography.  I would have insisted on more camera stops, rather than relying on taking pictures through the windows of a moving vehicle.

The Pink Cliffs?

10/26/2014

Kane County, Utah

Driving south-bound on 89, you must make a decision at Kanab.  Highway 89 turns due east, and stays north of the Utah/Arizona state line while 89A continues south, crossing the state line then paralleling the north rim of the Grand Canyon, albeit at quite a distance away.  The two eventually reconnect in northern Arizona, but 89 is a faster highway in that it is both wider and has fewer twists and turns than the alternate.  I've now traveled both, and I would be hard put to say which is the more scenic.  It all depends on what you like in scenery.  For this trip, we turned east at Kanab and headed toward the Escalante Canyon and Glen Canyon Dam.

Descending the Grand Staircase

10/26/2014

US Highway 89, Kane County Utah

Just north of Glen Canyon Dam, the road turns south again and crosses into Arizona.  I made Kevin stop the truck so I could take a picture of the dam through the safety barrier fence that lines the highway.  The dam is impressive, as I find all such dams impressive, and I never miss the opportunity to photograph these structures. 

Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River

10/26/2014

Page, Arizona

We refueled in Page, Arizona, a town built to service Glen Canyon Dam, and couldn't help but notice that watersports were particularly popular in this desert community.  Highway 89 was closed south of Page due to reconstruction necessary after a landslide buckled the pavement back in 2013.  The Arizona Department of Transportation paved Navajo Highway 20 and opened it as US 89 Temporary.  They estimate it will take two years to rebuild the original highway.  If you're interested in such things, KPHO, the CBS affiliate in Phoenix, has a fascinating article on line about the incident.

The drive on into Flagstaff, and ultimately Phoenix, was notable only in that we missed every single opportunity I had planned out to grab a few Arizona geocaches.  I had geocached in 17 states and the Canadian province of British Columbia, but had never scored a find in Arizona.  I was determined that this trip would remedy that situation, but even though I had several caches programmed into my Garmin, we managed to miss every one of them.  Oh well.

We stopped for a late lunch in Flagstaff, and in no time at all we were on Interstate 17 heading south to Phoenix.  Dinner with friend Jeffory at a Chinese restaurant was fun, and after dinner we found wonderful lodgings through the HotelTonight app on my iPhone.  Two days of driving had carried us over 1260 miles and lots of scenic landscapes.

By The Time I Get to Phoenix, Day 1

Mount Powell at Sunrise

10/25/2014

Deer Lodge, Montana

The end of October found Kevin and me making a quick trip to Phoenix, Arizona.  Just a down and back, but an interesting four day drive, none-the-less.  We arose early on Saturday morning, October 25, and were on the road by 6 a.m.  It was still dark and quite foggy here at Wild Horse Plains, Montana, and I guessed we'd be in fog all the way to Butte, some three hours away.  Well, the fog lifted around Drummond, and by the time we passed Deer Lodge, there was color in the sky.  

Turning south on I-15 just west of Butte, I was reminded once again that most of Silver Bow County, like most of Montana, is rural.  Yes, Silver Bow is the smallest county in area in the state, and yes, one hundred years ago, fully one fourth of the people of Montana lived there, but still, once you get outside of Butte and the surrounding communities, there's a lot of open land.  By  the time we crossed into Madison County, the fog was returning, and when we crossed the next line into Beaverhead County, it was back full force.

Beaverhead County Line, I-15 Southbound

10/25/2014

We stopped for gas in Dillon, but held off on breakfast till we could get to Dell.  I use any excuse I can to eat at the Dell Calf-A (say it out loud if you don't get the name), and I recommend it to all traveling through southern Beaverhead County.  With our bellies more than full, we returned to I-15 and soon were crossing Monida Pass and heading south into Idaho.  We had heard that Idaho had raised the speed limit to 80 mph, but this was our first chance to experience it.  Clark County, Jefferson County, Bonneville County and Bingham County all flew by, although we did stop for gas near Blackfoot.  No more stops in Idaho, not even at the Near Eastern restaurant I so enjoyed last time I was in Pocatello, and in no time at all we crossed into Utah.

Utah, too, has raised the speed limit to 80 on I-15, and it seems we traversed the northern part of the state rather quickly.  I love photographing public buildings, but as Kevin was in no mood to get off the interstate in Salt Lake City, I had to take this picture of the Utah state capitol through the windshield of a speeding pickup truck.  Sorry 'bout that.

The Utah State Capitol

10/25/2014

I-15 Southbound, Salt Lake City, Utah

South of the metropolis, we needed fuel and stopped in Fillmore.  Much to my surprise, I was able to get shots of two government buildings in this seat of Millard County.  As we passed the sign noting that we had entered Millard County, my first thought was of our thirteenth President, and sure enough, both the county and its seat are named for the man who was President when Utah became a territory.  Although it seems to me they got the names backward.  Shouldn't the town be Millard and the county Fillmore?  

Turns out that Brigham Young selected this spot in the Pahvent Valley to serve as the capital of his proposed state.  Originally, the proposed state of Deseret included most of the land the US claimed through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and spread from the Pacific Ocean in southern California to the west slope of the Rockies in Colorado.  When California entered the union in 1850, Utah Territory was created with its boundaries significantly reduced.  It covered only present day Nevada, Utah, and the southwestern corner of Wyoming.  Fillmore was in the geographic center of that area, and Young felt it was the perfect location for his new capital.  Young laid the cornerstone and over a period of two years the first wing of a proposed four-wing building was built.  The Utah Territorial Legislature met there for three terms before the capital was moved back to Salt Lake City.  I also photographed the Millard County Court House which stands on the main street of Fillmore, just in front of the original capitol building.  

The Utah Territorial Capitol

10/25/2014

Fillmore, Utah

With the gas tank full and no further photographic side trips envisioned, we got back on I-15 and drove on to Beaver.  Kevin remembered a good Mexican restaurant in Beaver, as well as a decent priced motel.  We didn't try the restaurant, and found that the motel he remembered was now quite expensive.  We found another place to stay and I checked on Yelp for a place to eat.  While not the one that Kevin remembered, we ended up eating (at my insistence) at Maria's Cocina where I had the best restaurant-cooked chile relleno I've ever had.  Their flan, however, left a lot to be desired, in my opinion.  Definitely not worth the extra blood sugar.

After dinner we retired to our motel, and rested happily after a day on the road.  One last note about Beaver, Utah.  Beaver (the city) is the county seat of Beaver County.  The High School is, predictably, Beaver High School, and what do you suppose their mascot is?  You got it, they're the Beaver High School Bandicoots.  Nope, just kidding.  They're the Beaver High School Beavers. Really now, doesn't anyone in the area have any imagination?

Evening skies over Beaver, Utah

10/25/2014