Highways – RDZ Photography

San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona – March 2023 – Coolidge Dam

The Gila River runs for hundreds of miles through New Mexico and Arizona. For centuries it ran wild, sometimes flooding, many times dry, until the early 1900s when the U.S. federal government built a number of dams.

The Coolidge Dam was started during the administration of Calvin Coolidge, finally being completed in 1930, after Silent Cal was out of office. Regardless Cal and his wife came to this remote area of Arizona for the dedication.

Also there was noted satirist Will Rogers, who when he gazed out at what was supposed to be a lake behind the dam, but was nothing but tall grasses because of an ongoing drought remarked ‘someone should mow the lake’.

Not long ago it was almost back down to nothing but weeds but thanks to a very rainy couple of monsoon seasons and a equally rainy winter, the lake is back.

The dam and lake is located in a mountainous area of the San Carlos Apache Reservation.

The dam is designed with three concrete domes, supported by buttresses. After 100 years of Arizona weather, the dam looks a bit rough, even with major reconstruction in the 1990s.

The dam is 580′ long, and consists of a 2 lane roadway.

The art deco architecture of it’s 1920s construction is evident.

The dam is 249′ above the Gila River.

The reservoir behind the dam is known as San Carlos Lake.

U.S. route 70 is a major 2 lane route through much of Arizona (and across the country). It’s original design ran straight from Safford to Globe, but once the dam and lake were completed it was re-routed to take a scenic route up to and across the dam, before returning to the main route.

After about 20 years the straighter route was repurposed for U.S. 70, but by this time the state had placed mile markers on the longer, dam route. As a result when the road returned to it’s original route, it was ‘missing’ 12 miles. Rather than replace all the mile markers from here to New Mexico, they just skipped it, so to this day if you drive along U.S. 70 the mile markers make an unexplained 12 mile jump. The Arizona DOT has a page detailing this anomoly. https://azdot.gov/adot-blog/case-us-70s-missing-12-miles

The dam route was obviously built for the U.S. highway system of the 1930s as there are bridges across all of the washes, but the road doesn’t look as though it has been repaved in 90 years. Though bumpy as hell, it is a scenic ride.

Fry Canyon, Utah – September 2022 – Scenery Along Utah Highway 95

Nature, Transportation

The road trip continues with a ride along Utah Highway 95. Known as the Bicentennial Highway since it was completed in 1976, Highway 95 is one of the few routes north and south through southern Utah.

The scenery makes this route a must if you are in the area.

Eastern Washington & Oregon – May 2022 – Walla Walla to the Snake River Canyon

Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Our cold, rainy Memorial Day weekend continued with a visit to one of the best named towns in the country, Walla Walla Washington.

The area around Walla Walla has always been farmed, only in the last few decades it has become known for it’s vineyards.

Further east, at the Idaho/Washington border lie the twin towns of Clarkston, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho. The Snake River south of the towns has an impressive canyon.

Washington Highway 129 leaves Clarkston south towards the Oregon border, which when reached turns into Oregon Highway 3. It is a very cool drive!

Vail, Arizona – December 2021 – Views From The New Neighborhood

History, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Our move to Arizona has found us living in a town called Vail, at the far east end of Tucson. It predates the same named town in Colorado by about 100 years, but for most of it’s time was a small, dusty railroad stop. The Colorado town has nothing on the Arizona one, the mountains here have more vertical gain above the town – just without so much snow (thankfully).

In the last 30 years it has grown tremendously but still has that ‘outpost’ feel, being at the edge of town, next to the mountains and desert. This posting has random views of some sights around Vail and beyond.

While Route 66 is the most famous east-west route in the pre interstate days, in reality more people actually took U.S. 80 west to California. This route made it’s way across Southern Arizona, including a portion between Benson and Vail, on it’s way to Tucson.

U.S. 80 crosses Cienega Creek on a 1921 bridge, next to where two Southern Pacific railroad routes also traverse the creek. A cienega is a wetland unique to the Southwestern U.S., resulting in a landscape unlike the surrounding area because of the constant availability of water, with large trees lining the banks.

Just to the east is the ghost town of Pantano, another railroad stop in the late 1800s, early 1900s. Today only the water tower remains.

About 30 miles south of Vail is the town of Sonoita. As you cross the Empire Mountains the landscape changes yet again, with large fields of tall grasses, instead of the Sonoran Desert look of Vail.

A local propane dealer has a cool collection of decorated tanks.

While Saguaro National Park East has a Tucson address, it is in the Vail area. It was a good day to take the dog for a walk, and take a closer look at the cacti.

The Vail area, and all of Southern Arizona, have spectacular sunsets.

Note the full moon peeking through the clouds.

Virtual Travel – Indiana

Architecture, Art, History, Museum, Nature, Sports, Transportation

The Hoosier State – Indiana.

1946 – Dedicated to James Whitcomb Riley, Indiana’s Poet.

His boyhood home in Indianapolis is now a museum.

1953 – Intersection of Highway 52 and 136 in Indianapolis.

1957 – Tri State Express. This is the same freeway featured on the Illinois 1959 map.

Today that freeway is 10 lanes wide

The Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond has a statue from the movie Christmas Story. It was set in Hammond, but filmed in Cleveland.

1970 – Indiana State Capitol. Dating from 1888 it is the 4th building to be the Indiana Capitol.

2015 View.

1971 – The map as a map cover. Columbus, Indiana is shown on the right.

Columbus has a fantastic collect of modern architecture. Irwin Miller was the Chairman of Cummins Engine Company, and a fan of this type of architecture. His leadership resulted in a town known around the world for the quantity and quality of architecture.

1972 – Indiana Highway 37 near Bloomington.

Bloomington, home to Indiana University, is a small city in south central Indiana. (Photo from Bloomington Tourist Office)

1973 – A collection of signs.

1976 – Indianapolis – The Return Home on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is the center of Indianapolis. Rising to a height of 284′ (87m) this obelisk has numerous statues surrounding it and an observation deck near the top. (photo from Wikipedia)

1978 – Unidentified country scene.

1979- Whitewater Canal State Memorial. In the early 1800s canals were built all over the country, and Indiana was no different. The route of the Whitewater Canal was unique in that it had a drop of almost 500′ at a rate of 6.4′ per mile, compared to the the Erie Canal at 1.7 feet per mile.

Located in the historic town of Metamora, the canal and the accompanying buildings give a sense of life in the early 1800s.

1986 – Indianapolis

Indianapolis, as the state capitol and largest city in the state. Highlights of the city include:

The Ruins of Holiday Park are remnants from an old building in New York City sitting in the middle of a park in Indiana.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Museum.

Indiana War Memorial Building

The former baseball stadium is now apartments.

Indianapolis Museum of Art. The time we were there they were having an exhibit on prototype automobiles.

The current baseball stadium

Lucas Oil Stadium – Home of the NFL Colts

Skyline view (Photo from Pintrest)

1991 – 175th anniversary of Indiana.

1994 – Indiana State Highways 75th Anniversary

1995 – Indiana Countryside. The tourist bureaus in Indiana play up the country life quite a bit.

Shipshewana is the largest tourist center for this ‘country life’. With some Amish residents it is common to see horse and buggies on the roads. In addition their flea market is one of the largest in the country. (Photo from Tourist Office)

1997 – Generic map

2001 – Transportation in Indiana. The Indianapolis Airport is the 5th largest air freight center in the country.

Indiana is the capital of RV production. Elkart has the RV Museum, as well as a number of manufacturing faciities.

2003 – As with the other states in the path, this year is a celebration of Lewis and Clark.

On October 26, 1803 Merriweather Lewis meet William Clark across the river from Louisville, Kentucky and set sail down the Ohio River. That spot is now known as Clarksville, Indiana. That meeting is celebrated at the Falls of Ohio State Park.

This park has a nice view of Louisville.

2004 & 2016 – Indiana State Museum. The current building pictured here was completed in 2001.

The building is over 40,000 square feet, and covers the natural and civil history of the state. Also included is the ’92 walk’ – a collection of sculptures representing each of the 92 counties in the state.

2005 – Wildflower.

A few of the the Indiana State Symbols include: (Photos from Wikipedia)

State Flag – 19 stars, representing Indiana being the 19th state.

State Motto – Crossroads of America.

State Seal – Depicts a setting sun, sycamore tree, a woodsman and a bison.

State Bird – Cardinal

State Flower – Peony

2009 & 2012 – Unidentified Road Construction Projects

Lincoln Highway construction in Indiana in the early 1900s.

2014 – Southern Indiana Hills

The largest city in Southern Indiana is Evansville. We made a stop there on Road Trip 2019.

Vanderburgh County Courthouse

Restored Art Deco Greyhound Station – now a hipster hamburger place.

Bosse Field – One of the oldest baseball stadiums in the country.

Primary filming location for the movie League of Their Own.

2015 – Bristol, Indiana – Bonneyville Mill. This mill is the oldest in the state. It was built by Edward Bonney in 1833.

2017 – Brown County State Park, Hesitation Point. This is the largest state park in Indiana, covering more than 15,000 acres. It is known for it’s scenic vistas.

2018 – Williamsport Falls. This 90′ high falls is the 2nd highest in the state.

The flow of the falls is very seasonal.

2019 – Berne, Indiana – Settled by Mennonite immigrants in 1852. The town has been built by Swiss and German immigrants, resulting now in a small town of 4,000 residents.

It is known for it’s picturesque town square.

Virtual Travel – Alaska

Nature, Transportation

Our virtual travels take us north to Alaska. Being so large, and so remote there are few roads. As a result the Alaska road maps feature far more facts about the outdoors than the other states.

My collection of Alaska maps is small, but our memories of the state are huge. The oldest in the collection is from 1973. This map pre-dates the famed Alaska Pipeline by a couple of years, and features a Native American Totem Pole Owl.

One unusual note on most of the Alaska maps is they were published by Rand McNally, and not the state government.

In 1973 Alaska is still a remote frontier, reached by land only via the Alaska Highway through the Yukon in Canada. This closeup of the map shows Yukon on the right in yellow, and Alaska in white on the left. Note that the Alaska Highway in the Yukon was still gravel (indicated by the alternate white and red line).

The 1500 mile long Alaska Highway was build during World War II to connect the contiguous U.S. to Alaska. It was legendary for years as being a rough, challenging multi-day drive. The drive itself goes from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Fairbanks.

The back of most Alaska maps have features of the vast array of wildlife found in the state.

The follow year’s map features a boat! While this might not make much sense for a road map, it does in Alaska. In addition to the Alaska Highway the other surface route to reach the state is via the Alaska Marine Highway – an 1850 mile route of waterways from Seattle to Alaska. You can rent a cabin on the boat, or as many do – pitch a tent on the deck.

For 1977 a dogsled huskie make an appearance on the cover, along with the state flag.

As we jump ahead to 2002 the theme continues with wildlife and natural scenery being the focus.

The final two maps in the collection have the same theme, campers in the wilderness, along a lonely highway. These maps dare from 2006 and 2007.

As with most Alaska maps there is also the view from the Marine Highway Ferry.

The inside of the map shows the development over the past 40 years, but still nothing like the lower 48 states. The entire route of the Alaska Highway has been paved, but is still a real adventure to drive the distance.

Also note the road going due north from Fairbanks – the Dalton Highway. Built in the 1970s as a supply road for the pipeline, the 414 mile road is still an adventure, punctuated by the couple hundred trucks blasting along. There are only two tiny towns the entire route.

Our one and only visit so far to Alaska was a very memorable one. We flew from Seattle to Juneau to start a 1 week ‘small boat’ cruise (30 cabins and 50 people).

The landing alone was amazing, coming through the clouds to see the water, trees and the Mendenhall Glacier!

As soon as we got our rental car we headed out to the glacier.

The waterfall next to it was equally impressive.

The next day we set off on our 7 day sail, seeing an amazing collection of natural scenery and wildlife.

Upon our return to Juneau we had a chance to explore the mountains above town waiting for our night flights back to Seattle, Chicago and Columbus.

We look forward to returning to Alaska some day and exploring the interior of the state.

Across America – May 2019 – Random Scenes Part 2

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Central Tennessee – Bus Graveyard

Northern Alabama – Rock Zoo

Scottsboro, Alabama – Did you ever lose your luggage on an airplane and never get it back. It likely ended up here, as they buy all of the unclaimed luggage from the airlines and sell it in essentially a thrift store.

Pawhuska, Oklahoma

Bartlesville, Oklahoma – Phillips 66 Petroleum Company Headquarters

Vinita, Oklahoma – Will Rogers Rodeo

Eastern Oklahoma – Pensacola Dam. A mile long and releasing a lot of water because of the recent rains.

Joplin, Missouri – America’s 2nd largest truck stop.

Southern Missouri – Presumed dead armadillo

Somewhere else in Southern Missouri – Coke Machine Graveyard

Scenes around Cairo, Illinois – At the confluence of the Ohio River and Mississippi River – with flooding.

Evansville, Indiana – Restored Greyhound Bus Station, now a hipster hamburger place. Manhattan prices in small town Indiana.

The interior looked nothing like a bus station.

Evansville, Indiana – County Courthouse

Scenes around Louisville, Kentucky

And after 3 weeks of running around the country – back in Ohio (in Cincinnati). Only 2 hours to home.

Joliet & Pontiac, Illinois – October 2017 – Route 66 begins

Architecture, Art, History, Transportation

While officially Route 66 started in downtown Chicago it isn’t until you get out of town a bit to Joliet before it really is emphasized by the local communities.

Downtown Joliet has the unique position where Route 66 crossed the first major trans-continental road, the Lincoln Highway.

Joliet is also the home of old Joliet Prison, home of the (fictional) Joliet Jake Blues – of Blues Brothers fame. Now closed the day we were there an Illinois Department of Corrections van and officer was in the parking lot – to keep people from breaking into prison!

The Blues Brothers are celebrated throughout town – on the ice cream stand…

An auto parts store…

And a replica Bluesmobile high above a truck stop.

Further south along Route 66 is the town of Pontiac, where they have a nice museum celebrating the history and impact of the road on Illinois.

Also throughout town are mural/billboards. The town was once home to a ‘Walldog’ festival. Walldogs are the names of the group of artists who paint these impressive murals. During the 3 days they had the festival in Pontiac, 19 of the murals were painted.