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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US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains. The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54. US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932. US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943. The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico. The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains. The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Former California State Route 215

California State Route 215 was a short-lived state highway which existed in the Los Angeles Metropolitain area after the 1964 State Highway Renumbering. California State Route 215 was aligned from US Route 60 at 5th Street in Pomona north to US Route 66 near Claremont via Garey Avenue. California State Route 215 came to be after California State Route 71 was bisected in Pomona due to relinquishment of a portion of Garey Avenue due to the opening of a portion of the Corona Freeway (now Chino Valley Freeway) during 1958. California State Route 215 was deleted by the Legislature during 1965. The history of California State Route 215 The initial segment of what was to become California State Route 215 was added to the State Highway System as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act. The First State Highway Bond Act defined what would become Legislative Route Number 19 (LRN 19) as running from Claremont to Riverside. The segment of LRN 19 between Claremont and Pomona would in

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 . According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. - Ocean Street - 2nd Street - Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz. A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River.

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