Old US 80 (Gila Bend to Buckeye)

An historic highway, Old US 80, between Gila Bend and Buckeye, was my adventure destination this past Saturday. My daughter Cheryl, who is my frequent adventure companion, joined me on what turned out to be a picture-perfect day in Arizona.

Our adventure began just after our lunch stop in Gila Bend. As we were pulling out of Love's, I noticed a gorgeous old pickup at the gas pump, which turned out to be a 1941 International. A true "sympathy" restoration, the weathered patina on this old truck was incredible.

A monster of an engine lurks beneath this battered old facade. I got goosebumps when the owner started it up and pumped the throttle. Love the sound of V8 power!

After our love fest with the old "corn binder", we headed to the turn-off to the old highway. Just look for the Shrimp Farm sign, you can't miss it. What you can easily miss is which way to go when you hit the fork in the road. Fortunately, a nice artist erected a sign that clearly marks the way.

You must be this tall to ride!

Once we were headed in the correct direction, we were treated to lots of typical Arizona desert and farmland, and I am happy to say, several "Solar" farms, but, there is a reason why Old US 80 has so much appeal. It's the Gillepsie Bridge and Dam that are a "must see". The concrete dam was built in 1921, and to enable traffic safer passage, the bridge was completed in 1927.

Due to heavy rains in 1993, the dam suffered a breach and has been standing "as is" ever since.

Our next discovery was of an old bridge section of US 80 that is no longer functioning. At some point, this bridge crossed a large wash, but has been out of commission for quite some time.

Sticking our toes over the edge.

It's hard to tell from this angle, but it's about 20 feet from the edge to the ground.

Driving along, we spotted an old abandoned farm house, which allowed for some haunting photos.

Our next gem of a discovery was an old Dodge work truck that has been wasting away for decades. I'm not sure of the year, but I estimate this truck to be an older 40s model.

Grapes of Wrath

As we approached Buckeye, we passed through the small community of Arlington, or should I say, we almost didn't pass through Arlington. A few days earlier, this area had experienced some heavy monsoon rains, which unbeknownst to me, caused Old US 80 to be closed due to flooding.  While pondering whether we should ignore the road closure signs, we decided to take some photos of the Arlington Cattle Company, where we encountered some very old grain equipment rusting away.

We decided to try an alternate road, but quickly found out it was also closed! So, we found ourselves back at the original road closure. In no way did we want to turn around and head back to Gila Bend, as we were only a few miles from Buckeye. So, being the adventurer that I am, and with my daughter's gentle prodding, I drove past the road closure signs to see how bad the flooding was (if any). My thought was the road had been completely washed out, but when we got to the wash, all we found was some left-over debris, and no water. Win!! Buckeye, here we come!

Our final "find" of the day was the heart-shaped marking on the face of a beautiful Holstein dairy cow. Cheryl spotted it as we were passing the dairy. Good eye, Cheryl!

"Bessie" (aren't all cows named Bessie?)

She was enjoying the salt lick when we interrupted her for a photo.

So, if you ever find yourself in the Phoenix area and have a few hours to spend, check out Old US 80. Who knows what treasures you might find.

Amazing Macro Photography

I am a huge fan of macro photography. Last night while reading the news on the Internet, I stumbled across Nicky Bay's blog: http://sgmacro.blogspot.com/.

Nicky has taken some absolutely gorgeous macro photos over the years of insects in his part of the world. Here's a screen grab I made of a recent blog post. Beautiful!

Labor Day!!

Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.

This past Labor Day weekend was surely a celebration on my part. I was lucky enough to spend the entire weekend with my oldest daughter, Cheryl. We had so much fun taking a couple of day trips!! I didn't want the weekend to end. Our weekend started Friday afternoon. After picking Cheryl up at her place, a huge monsoon storm moved into the valley.

I took this picture about a mile and a half southwest of my house

Saturday morning, we headed south to Florence looking for interesting things to photograph. Florence has an absolutely beautiful courthouse building, as well as other older homes and buildings.

My daughter snapped this image of an old door. It looks like a painting!

This particular building is one of the oldest in Florence.

Another gorgeous building in Florence is the old Catholic Church. It's very simple, but I loved just sitting and looking at it. I love the rainbow effect from shooting into the sun.

From Florence, we headed down to Oro Valley, and then on to Tucson. Due to all of the monsoonal moisture and rain we've had this summer, the countryside was so clean and green. The Catalina Mountains were amazingly beautiful. I wish I could take credit for this next photo (it was taken by a Flickr member), but this is exactly what we experienced on our drive through Oro Valley to Tucson.

On the way back to Gilbert, we stopped in to visit the Casa Grande National Monument. I get chills when I touch the walls of this ancient native american dwelling. The weather was so warm and humid, I completely forgot to take any pictures. I had to "borrow" this old photograph from the NPS web site, which provides an idea of its size. Two of the amazing facts about this building are that the walls face the four compass points, and that a hole in the ceiling lines up perfectly with the sun during the summer solstice. Reminds me of the Aztecs and Mayans.

Sunday, we decided to head up to the cooler climes of Jerome, which is "America's Most Vertical City". This town has its own special charm and has attracted a lot of artists and is a perfect place to hang out for a day. It is situated on the side of a large hill and has narrow winding streets, which are great for exploring.

This image captures Cheryl reflecting on the greenery. These old steps, which provide a quick way to ascend to a higher part of the town, remind me of the steep walkways in San Francisco that take you from one street to another.

This next picture reminds me of so many places in California, where from Venice Beach to Santa Cruz, a vehicle like this can typically be found. Without a doubt, I am 100% confident that this van belongs to a woman.

Built in 1898, the Hotel Connor, located on the corner of Main Street and Jerome Avenue, hasn't changed much in 115 years. One thing for sure, bikers love this spot!

 Another view of the hotel looking down Main Street from an elevated parking lot.

This next image highlights the doorknob of a shop located just down the street from the old hotel. Another stunning piece of imagery. I was reminded of "Alice in Wonderland" when I saw this old piece of hardware.

While perusing one of the many shops, I came across a pair of fancy dress cowgirl boots. I owned the same exact style of buck-stitched, lizard skin-tipped Tony Lama boots as a teenager, so I know they are from the early '70s. In fact, I have a picture of me wearing them that was taken in 1972. They were in absolutely perfect condition, and it was a good thing they were two sizes too small or I would have taken them home with me.

My favorite place in Jerome is the old "Surgeon's House" located high up on the aptly named Hill Street, which is now a Bed & Breakfast. This image taken by my daughter, shows the ancient vines (grape and wisteria) that cover the front of the building.

We encountered this interesting doorway, which is part of the Surgeon's House property. I have no idea what its purpose is, but it sure was interesting to see.

While admiring the Surgeon's House, we noticed several "Hummingbird Moths" flitting about. I managed to capture a decent image of one while it was drinking in some flower nectar. The second image that I found on the Internet, shows its beautiful coloration.

My cat loves to catch these moths when they visit my yard and brings them to me alive. Catching and releasing them can be quite an event.

No trip to Jerome is complete without driving over Mingus Mountain on the way back to Phoenix. This is one of the prettiest drives in all of Arizona and takes you from an elevation of 7200 feet and winds you through some amazing geography before dumping you into the Prescott Valley. The thunderstorm we had encountered before leaving Jerome was the leading edge of a huge storm we drove through as we entered the Prescott Valley.

NOTE: All of the images from inside my car were taken by my passenger daughter.

As we came out on the other side of the storm, the shafts of sunlight streaming through the clouds were spectacular.

From the Prescott Valley, we ventured through the town of Prescott (pronounced Prescuit, like biscuit). Unfortunately, this was just a quick "whistle stop" to grab a bite to eat before making our way back to the Phoenix area. So, no pictures, but this is another one of Arizona's wonderfully historic and scenic towns. Its story will have to wait for another day.