Throwback Thursday; Montezuma Castle National Monument

Back in 2012 I visited Montezuma Castle National Monument located just of Interstate 17 exit 289 near Camp Verde in Yavapai County, Arizona.

Montezuma Castle is a preserved Sinauga cliff dwelling on a limestone cliff above Beaver Creek which was occupied between 1100 AD to 1425 AD. Montezuma Castle was rediscovered by European Explorers that it had some sort of connection to Aztec Emperor Montezuma. Montezuma Castle is located 90 feet above the terrain below the cliff-face and has approximately 4,000 square feet over five floors. Montezuma Castle was set aside as a National Monument in 1906.

Approximately 11 miles northeast of Montezuma Castle is a detached area of Montezuma Castle National Monument located on a sink hole known as Montezuma Well. Montezuma Well is located above a fresh water spring which chewed through the surrounding limestone to create a 386 foot in diameter sink hole. Being one of the few locations in Arizona with easy access to fresh water Montezuma Well was obviously an attractive location for settlement which apparently date as early as the 8th century. Montezuma Well is also surrounded by cliff dwellings much like the nearby Montezuma Castle.

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Breezewood - The Rise and Decline of a Highway Rest Stop

It's the Pennsylvania Turnpike Interchange most people hate - and with a passion. The Breezewood Interchange - a junction of two Interstates (70 & 76) that became complicated due to archaic rules, rural politics and power, and an unwillingness to change. At its romanticized best, this small unincorporated community of under 100 residents is a reminder of travel days of the 1950s-1970s; at its worst, it is a gradually dying relic of old motels and services that drivers are forced to slow down and drive through on their way to bigger and more modern destinations.

The Breezewood Interchange is an exception to the rule in the Interstate Highway System. Depending on your direction, Interstate 70 joins or leaves the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76) here. However, unlike nearly every Interstate junction in the United States - Interstate 70 must traverse on a roughly 1/4 mile stretch of US 30. A four lane highway complete with traffic lights, center turn lanes to cross traffi…

Old US Route 99 in Goshen, Traver, and the Warlow Rest Area

This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Traver and Goshen. The photo below is take from Camp Drive northbound in Goshen on what was US Route 99 until the early 1930s.

Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Goshen and Traver

Goshen and Traver were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley. Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road. The Stockton Los Angeles Road lied to the east of San Joaquin Valley in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and was less subject flooding. Before the Southern Pacific Railroad most of San Joaquin Valley was a sparsely inhabited wetland which made travel by road difficult. Goshen and Traver can along the Southern Pacific Railroad on the 1873 Ore…

California State Route 283; former US Route 101 over the Rio Dell Bridge

This week we examine one of California's shortest State Highways; California State Route 283. California State Route 283 includes the 1941 Rio Dell Bridge and is a former segment of US Route 101. The photo below is the Rio Dell Bridge after the 1964 Christmas Floods which wiped out the northern approach span.

California State Route 283 ("CA 283") is a 0.36 Mile State Highway between modern US Route 101/Redwood Highway and the community of Rio Dell in Humboldt County. The key feature of CA 283 is the 1941 Rio Dell Bridge which was the second alignment of US Route 101. The Rio Dell Bridge connected Scotia north over the Eel River via Wildwood Avenue to Rio Dell. The Rio Dell Bridge is a steel truss design which 1,643.1 feet in length. The Rio Dell Bridge is also known as; North Scotia Bridge, Eel River Bridge, Scotia-Rio Dell Bridge, Albert Stanwood Murphy Memorial Bridge, and the Eagle Prairie Bridge. CA 283 is unsigned presently ranks as the second shortest State…

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