Gribblenation

Upon taking Arizona State Route 89A Spur on Fain Road southeast from mainline AZ 89A I made a left turn south onto AZ 69.  My next destination was in Phoenix by way of AZ 69 and I-17.  Both AZ 69 and I-17 serve as part of a corridor that made travel through central Arizona massively easier through the progression of the 20th Century. This article serves as the 25th entry in the 2016 Fall Mountain Trip Series.  Part 24 covered the history of AZ 89A/Old US 89A from Flagstaff to Prescott: 2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 24; Arizona State Route 89A/Old US Route 89A Prior to the designation of the current AZ 69 the only State maintained highway that took traffic from the Phoenix area to Prescott was US Route 89 (likely US 280 for a short time) over the Bradshaw Mountains via Yarnell Hill and Prescott National Forest.   The grades of US 89 on Yarnell Hill were extremely hazardous even by the conventions of the 1920s and the route through Prescott National Forest...

Circumstance had me flying by one of the more infamous road features in Arizona; "The Stack" interchange for I-17, US 60 and I-10. The Stack is a four-level interchange west of downtown Phoenix which was one of the last parts of I-10 to open in Arizona in 1990.  Previous to the completion of the Deck Park Tunnel and Stack the route of I-10 through downtown Phoenix was a contentious issue.  The section of I-10 through downtown Phoenix was known as the Papago Freeway.  The original plans for I-10 in downtown Phoenix called for an elevated structure that was largely despised locally.  During the 1970s local opposition to the elevated Papago Freeway was spurred by campaigns by the Arizona Republic which led to a bill that defeated the construction of the elevated freeway through downtown Phoenix.  In 1983 plans for the Deck Park Tunnel was approved which as stated above opened in 1990 with the Stack interchange. Arizonaroads.com has a stub article which shows...

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 ...