We departed Point of Rocks Campground and headed North on
State Route 89. We passed by the Granite Dells and quickly out of that area. It
is very interesting that these Granite Dells are so visible and then so quickly
fade from the landscape.
The first town we came to after Prescott was Chino Valley.
It is nestled comfortably in the mountains of central Arizona, at an elevation
of 4,650 feet this town offers a mild climate, gentle four seasons and 300 plus
days of sunshine every year. It is close enough to larger towns, yet far enough
away to maintain that small-town feel.
There is ample grasslands and we were lucky enough to see a few Pronghorn Antelope in the grasslands. The Pronghorn Antelope is also the "mascot" on the town's shield. The town of Chino Valley has several theories of origin attached to it. One is that during the historic 1850s survey, a Lieutenant chose the name Chino Valley. The Mexicans called the range grass ‘de china,’ or ‘the chino,’ hence the name.
We found many roundabouts or traffic circles on State Route
89 between Prescott into the Chino Valley. But which is it, a traffic circle, a
rotary or a roundabout? Roundabouts are not the same as traffic circles or
rotaries. Traffic circles or rotaries have high-speed entries, allow lane changes
within the circle, are low capacity, and have many high-speed crashes.
Sometimes motorists in the circle must yield to those entering. They are large
and scary to drive – a “free for all.” Roundabouts are the opposite. They
require motorists to yield on entry, don't allow lane changes, speeds are low,
capacity is high, and crashes are few and minor. We were passing through
Roundabouts!
One of the roundabouts, at Road 4 South and Highway 89, in
Chino Valley had three bronze horse statues in the center. They were installed
in 2013 and these three horses represent the gate to the town. Thus, these
statues represent the guardians of Chino Valley, Arizona and were recently
named “Lock, Stock and Barrel.” Lock is the horse that faces Williamson Valley
in the west. Stock looks east, toward Jerome. And Barrel, who seems to have a
bit more attitude than the other two, looks south, greeting drivers as they
arrive from Prescott. A contest to name the horses was opened to the residents
of Chino Valley. The other two finalists were Earth, Wind and Fire and Tribute,
Jubilee and Sundance. The Town Council voted on all three finalist names and
selected “Lock, Stock and Barrel.” They really are the guardians of Chino
Valley.
Just north of Chino Valley along highway 89 is a road east
to Del Rio Springs. There is an historical marker along the highway at this
site. This location is of particular interest for the founding history of
Arizona Territory. The name derives from the fact that these springs are a
source for the Del Rio River. Water sources like this, have often been places
for settlements. In January of 1864, the governor’s party arrived and set up
the first Territorial capital in Arizona here. In May, 1864, Fort Whipple was
moved to Granite Creek, closer to the settlement that would become Prescott. In
1900, after the fire in Prescott, the town acquired the main springs and in
September 1901, began pumping water to Prescott through a 19-mile pipeline. By
that time, the Santa Fe RR spur had a depot in Del Rio Springs and the city
sold water to the RR at 72 cents a gallon. The railroad then provided water for
Ash Fork and the Grand Canyon. This water enabled the Grand Canyon to develop
the resort hotel of El Tovar. In 1956, the Del Rio Ranch was sold to developers.
Continuing north on Route 89, you will come to Hell Canyon,
so named because of the difficult wagon road in and out taken by the stage from
Ash Fork to Prescott. Judge Joseph P. Allyn, traveling with the Governor’s
Party to Prescott in 1864 writes of this canyon, “About ten o’clock we got
under way and an hour brought us to the most infernal canyon for wagons I have
yet seen. It was about 300 ft deep and the sides nearly perpendicular, and
covered with rolling stones.”
Soon after Hell Canyon, the Santa Fe RR branch line crosses
the highway and nearby there is a turnoff for Drake. Drake was originally named
Cedar Glade, a little community that sprang to life with the mining of lime and
quarrying of local sandstone. The railroad bridge here over Hell Canyon was
completed in 1901. In 1920, the name Cedar Glade was changed to Drake, after
William A. Drake who was in charge of railroad construction in the area in
1899. Today the historic ruins around Drake have been obscured by the
construction of a large cement plant. It is a Cemex plant, for a minute I
thought we were back in Florida!
The town of Ash Fork was named for the ash trees located on
the town site. Stage coaches connecting the Santa Fe with Phoenix started from
here for many years, until the spur railroad could be taken to Prescott and on
to Phoenix. In the 1950s, Route 66 gave a boost to the town’s economy, but the
construction of the interstate by-passed the town. In 1960 the Santa Fe
Railroad moved its main line north of town and a 1977 fire destroyed many
businesses. The economy and population never recovered from this triple blow.
Ash Fork is where we picked up Interstate 40 and started to head east toward
Williams.
If we did not think we were high enough already, it was a
steady climb on I-40 toward Williams!
While on Interstate 40, we were notified that we were in Elk country again!
The owner, of Yankee RV Tours, and our Wagon master for this caravan is named Rod Coe, looks like we found his restaurant!
We arrived in Williams and were glad to get back onto Route 66.
We ended our 100 mile journey at the GrandCanyon Railway RV Park. This will be our home for 4 days as we start our
caravan with Yankee RV Tours.
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