Road Trip 2017 - Day 5

March 31


The best reference I have seen for the Armijo Route from Las Vegas to the Los Angeles area is  In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los angles, 1829-1848, by C. Gregory Crampton and Steven K Madsen. In a series of vignettes these authors document the Northern Old Spanish Trail, but the final leg of all of the Spanish Trails from Barstow into Los Angeles is the same: The route originally  followed the Mojave River, but the closet approximation of that route is IS15.  The relatively easy ascent over the east side of the Cajon Pass was followed by the steep descent along the western side. After dropping down into the basin bordered by the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains the  route turns north, closely parallel, but slightly north of, the current San Bernardino Freeway (IS10). The route travels through El Monte, the San Gabriel Mission (which had been in existence for 50 years before Armijo got there), and ends in Los Angeles Plaza, now known as of Olvera St.

I did not follow this route, but instead went over the Tehachapi Pass and continued north to Oakland.   The Crampton and Madsen  book describes a number of locations along this last leg of the route where there are monuments of one kind or another to the Armijo Trail. Rancho Cucamonga was a large ranch and, importantly, the site of the first vineyard in California.   Certainly when I was growing up in Pasadena not too far from Cucamonga and very close to Mission San Gabriel I was not aware of the historical significance of either place. Maybe I'll combine a visit to some of those places with a California League baseball tour later in  the summer

But before I finish this blog I want to mention a few random thoughts:


Barstow has a historic spot on the Historic US Route 66,as well and trains and Spanish Trail routes.  There is a museum, maybe more than one in Barstow, commemorating all of these routes and I'd like to visit there some time.  I drove over much of that Cajon Pass route with Steve Shaffer 15 or so ago ago when we were going to some Cal League games..

After the Mexican War the trade routes from east to west went in more a a straight line.  One of those, the Beale Military Road may have gone to the Southern San Joaquin valley.  I know that later in his career Beale was station at Fort Tejon, so tracing that route would be interesting.

When I go to historic places, along the historic trails or elsewhere, I like to buy little souvenirs that I can use when I give tours at the Oakland Museum.  I have a piece of gold ore, a piece of quartz, a piece of obsidian, a vial of gold, a miniature Indian basket about half the size of a pea, a spoon showing the golden gate bridge, a little bag of "trade" beads, a little magnifying glass(another trade item), a round chunk of chocolate (the favorite staple of the DeAnza expedition), and few other things.  I also have a replica of a 1-real Spanish coin that has been cut into pieces: a half, a quarter and two eights  - one eight is 1-bit(of the coin). The quarter, therefor, is  2-bits, and the half is 4 bits.

Atocha reverse

Atocha obverse

When I was at the Aztec Ruins I a bought a replica 8 reales Spanish coin (a "piece of 8").  The design, production, use, loss, recovery, and current sales of these coins in a fascinating and complex story. You can learn more  here. Atocha-style coins were minted by Spain in the New World between the mid-15th and mid-18th centuries.  The designs on the coins relate the history of Spain during that period, with elements of the design reflecting the names of the Spanish monarchs, the various regions of the Spanish Empire (Austria, Old Burgundy, Flanders, Tyrol, Brabant, France, Granada, and more), the names of the assayer, the relationship of the church and the state, etc. Studying this coin is like a History of Spain and Europe.  The Atocha name is from a ship, the Nuestra Atocha de Senora, that sunk, along with several other ships, in a hurricane in 1622 on the way back to Spain with tons of treasure from the new world.  350 years later the wreckage was found by famed treasure-hunter Mel Fisher, who salvaged some 160,000 coins and numerous other artifacts. Now, jewelry based on the Atocha coin design, and maybe incorporating actual Atocha coins, is sold. If you are interested in any more of the many parts to this story click here.

And, finally, I'll mention a web site I found, "Discover Our Shared Heritage". This site has a interactive map with over 60 travel itineraries linking National Monuments in the USA (and a few elsewhere) based on various themes and in various parts of the country. Developed by the National Park Service it is a fantastic resource for exploring our country - its history, geography, culture, and people. It is going on my bucket list. Anyone like to come along?

Road Trip 2017 - Day 4

March 30

The route from St. George to California gets a little confusing. After the old northern and southern routes merge near Mesquite NV they are close together for a few miles when the Southern route again diverges to the south. A few miles later along the southern route, that trail splits again with one branch, called the Mojave Road, turns south toward Searchlight NV and the Armijo Route continues southwest to the town on the current map of Tecopah..  The Mohave Route turns due west just south of the present California-Nevada border and rejoins the Armijo Route south of Tecopah. At Tecopah North Branch of the Old Spanish Trail again joins with the Armijo Branch.  Here is where things  got confusing.

I had read somewhere - and I can't remember where - that in the little village of Blue Diamond in NV there was a museum, of sorts, devoted to  the Beale Wagon Rd. That was a 19th Century military wagon road that went due west along the general route of the later Southern Pacific railroad and the  IS40 highway routes.  I wanted to check that out.  Blue Diamond is a little village that is off AZ160 west of Las Vegas. That is the way to Tecopah as well. The Armijo Route on the Old Spanish Trail map that I have (A current government map on a nnumber of brochures) shows that after diverging from the Northern Route just west of Mesquite  Mesquite the Armijo Route heads south, turns southwest then, at the same latitude as Tecopah, turns west.  The Northern and Armijo Routes then merge again at Tecopah. So I thought that was a lucky coincidence to find another destination that I did not know about until I started the trip.
 
I stopped at Blue Diamond and asked around for the Beale Museum and no one had heard of it. And now I cannot find again the reference that I had originally seen. So, frustrated, I continued on to Tecopah.

As I left Blue Diamond I continued along NV160 until I saw the Tecopah Rd. sign. I didn't notice the road that comes in from the east (see map) but just turned and continued on the same road as I crossed into California  without realizing it was also called the the Old Spanish Trail Highway.  As I drove along the wind was getting stronger and stronger.  When I reach Tecopah it must have been blowing 50 miles an hour.  I was a bit confused as to which way to turn at that point so I stopped at the "resort" area where there were a couple of cars.  I saw a sign on what appearance to be a reception area for visitors, so I got out of my car and was immediately stung by the blowing sand.  I staggered  to the door and knocked.  A woman answered, pushed open the door and screen door and told me, "hurry up - get in here." And closed the door behind me.

It was obviously in a small store - there were various items traveler's or visitors to the nearby Hot Springs might need, but she was doing no business today. I asked her which way to go and she said it did not make any difference because both roads led  to CA 127, and that I should turn left to go to Baker where I was headed.
 
When I reached CA127 I tried to open the car door, but the wind was blowing from left to right and I could not get the door open. So, cleverly, I turned the car around, then easily opened the door, got out and took a picture:

 

At this point both the trail and I headed south along CA127 on the way, ultimately, to Barstow, by way of Baker.

  The wind was blowing furiously. At one point where  the conditions were not quite so blinding I looked to my right and saw this dark, ominous, snake-like cloud of dust slithering across the desert floor toward the road.  I don't know whether to stop, slow down, speed up, turn around, or pray. I just slowed down and as the cloud enveloped may car I could not see past the front end of my car. I wasn't even sure I was still on the road.  I recalled the semi-truck that had appeared in my rear view mirror a few moments earlier - two big headlights and a grill were all I could  see.  I had slowed, he pulled out and  passed me a a pretty good clip while blasting with his air horn. I don't know if he was thanking me, mad at me for going slowly, warning me that he was passing, or warning oncoming cars that he was bigger than them. He just then disappeared in the  blowing  sand.  Was there another truck ready to just roll over me? Was the truck that just passed going to regain his senses and just stop so I could plow into him?

The road itself was barely two lanes wide, with no shoulder except sand. I didn't want to pull over for fear I would never get out.  It is possible that drivers of big rigs could see over the top and spot me, I thought, so I hoped that was right and I would not become a new speed bump in the desert.

It was 40 or so miles of the wind and sand until I finally reached Baker.  AS I drove into town the road was blocked by fire engines and police cars.  There apparently had been a fire in the mobile home park.  I maneuvered around that and finally pulled into a gas station to use the rest room and calm my nerves.   As I opened the car door I was surprised that the wind caught it, ripper it from my grip,. The door slammed in tot he side of a very nice, customized Chevy. Shiny black, slightly lowered, and obviously someones pride and joy. The blaring alarm brought the someone from the convenience store at the glass station. A young man who turned out to be very polite and seemingly not too upset.  We exchanged credentials. I ultimately continued on my way and saw a long, long line of cars going east on the Interstate15 due to a trailer overturned ion to the shoulder of the road. People headed to Las Vegas for the Cesar Chavez  holiday, I guess,

We ultimately all ended in Barstow - me, the Northern Route, Northern Branch, Armijo Route, Mohave Route, Interstate 15, Interstate 40, US Highway Route 66, Southern Pacific Railroads to name a few., 

Road Trip 2017 - Day 3

March 29



After closely following US160 between Farmington and Kayenta the Armijo route heads north across Shonto Plateau. Armijo was apparently relying on intelligence gathered by the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition.  These two priests, accompanied by a cartographer Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco, set out from Santa Fe in 1776 to find a route to California.  The ran into trouble finding a route across the Colorado River.

"These Spanish were the first European men to travel the route through much of the Colorado Plateau into Utah, and back through Arizona to New Mexico.^[4] During the course of their trip, they documented the route and provided detailed information about the "lush, mountainous land filled with game and timber, strange ruins of stone cities and villages, and rivers showing signs of precious metals." [see wikipedia  accessed 4/8/2017]

The river was a significant impairment to east-west travel in the southwest.  Following the Armijo route I continued north on AS98 to Page - the city that was built to accommodate construction of the Glen Canyon Dam.  The Armijo route is north of the current highway between the Kaiboto Plateau and the Rainbow Plateau and crosses the Colrado River a few miles north of where I cross at Page   In Page I stopped at the John Wesley Powell museum that is devoted to the history of the man, and the geologic and paleontology of the area.

On the drive to Page, and any time I drive in the southwest, I am fascinated by the geology.  For example, here is a view from a roadside rest on AZ98 looking east on the Kaiboto Plateau and toward the Rainbow Plateau- the route of the Armijo expedition went across the plateau and turned north as it anticipated the Colorado River.

Looking northwest across the Kaiboto Plateau- Northern Arizona

 It is doubly fascinating when you consider the relationship of the paleological record with the geological record. After viewing the geology as I drove through New Mexico and Arizona, and reading a about it in the Powell museum I am dismayed by my own ignorance. Combine that with my ignorance about paleontology, despite my desires as a junior high school student to be a paleontologist,  I find the whole subject to be a fascinating "forensic" puzzle. I have been reading  Michael Lewis' book The Undoing Project" about Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky "for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty." [The quote is from Kahneman's Nobel Prize citation.] Are there any fields of study more subject to "decision-making under uncertainty" than either geology, paleontology, or forensic science? But I digress.

One of the women , Kim, who was working at the Powell Museum was a Spanish Trail aficionado. What I learned from her is that the route of the Armijo expedition across the Colorado river was upstream from the Glen Canyon dam, and now is under several hundred feet of of water of Lake Powell.  This was the site which has become known as the Crossing of the Padres where the earlier Dominguez-Escalante party crossed the river.  Kim at the Powell Museum, though, had a different theory.  She said she is of the opinion that they crossed somewhere upstream from the Padres crossing. Her theory is based on a report of a inscription on a rock possibly by a member of the Dominguez-Escalante party. In Kim's exploration in the vicinity of the alleged inscription she discovered a piece of pottery in the area that she proposes  is "definitely not Indian, but is Spanish" pottery. Therefor it could be from the Armijo expedition.

Following my visit to the Powell Museum in Page I proceeded to the Glan Canyon Dam site - it is an impressive piece of work. A large large 710 ft. high concrete dam with associated generating facilities, spillways, diversion tunnels.

and a beautiful bridge.  The visitors center at the site of the dam is very inter sting and I had another discussion abouyt how the Armijo expedition got across the Colorado River.  The people I spoke to there were generally of  the opinion that Armijo used the Crossing of the Padres which is not under several hundred feet of water of Lake Powell. Whatever the detail , the party did cross the Colorado and proceeded across the Mojave Desert .  The trail is parallel to the US160 route which I will follow tomorrow from St. George.

Today I followed US89 southwesterly. The road closely follows Armijo's route as heads to the difficult part of his journey across the Moaje Desert. A few miles after Kanab in Utah, where the road truns south, the route crosses the Utah-Arizona brder to Fredonia where US89 turns east but AZ Route 389 turns west. Both the road and the Spanish Trail then go to another site that I basically stumbled across, Pipe Springs National Monument. Located on the Kaibab Paiute reservation and in an area Arizona Strip.

There I met Range Ben who, with two long, gray hair braids and nice jewelry,  pretty clearly was a Native American. He provided a good fascinating and history of the place.  It is the site a natural spring which until ran until only a few years ago.  In \the middle of the 19th Century the spring fed a grassland with grass as high as the belly of a horse the stretched for 30 miles in all direction.  Thanks to over grazing, the grassland is now replaced by scrub brush except for a 30 square foot plot where the Park Service is trying to grow some of the original grass.

When the Mormon's arrived in Utah Brigham Young apparently recognized the potential of the place and wanted to include it in his claim which he called Deseret.  A proposal was sent to congress from Young  to create the Deseret Territory consisted of most of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and parts of some of the adjoining states. To make a long story short, Young's proposal was not accepted by Congress.  In the meantime, some buildings were erected on the Pipe Springs site, without asking the naive Paiute Indians, and a cattle ranch was started.

Living quarters and cheese production building

It was operated by a Mormon family with a husband and three wives and, consequently, a large number of children.  Their daily routine was to milk cows and made butter and cheese - nearly 1000 pounds a week. The butter and cheese was shipped  by wagon to St. George to give to the people there who were involved in building the Mormon Temple there or to sell to raise money.

Typical Paiute living area

Ranger Ben regrets the loss of the Native American population in the neighborhood, even tough a chart in the visitor center museum shows that the population has increased substantially over the past few years, but  no where near what is was historically. Along with starvation, loss of traditional food resources due to the cattle, and imported diseases, Ben  blames the Mexican and US traders who, beginning the the 16th Century, came to the area.  They brought some goods but their main goal, according to Ben, was to take women as slaves to either Los Angeles or Santa Fe.  That was a more profitable business.  I learned later that there are  no records of this illegal activity because under Spanish law anyone who went into that Spanish Territory had to pay a fee to the Governor in Santa Fe.  To avoid the fee the simply didn't  keep records.  However, Indian oral history and discovery of abandoned mining sites (the other resource that the traders were looking for) provide ample evidence of the slave trade.

Toward the end of the 19oth Century the site was transferred to private hands and fell into disuse due to the destruction of the grasslands. The Armijo route passes right through the Pipe Springs site then proceeds west to an area just just northeast from the present-day Mesquite, Nevada, where the later Northern route of the Old Spanish Trail came down along the San Juan River. The area where the two route merge is just southwest of Saint George where I spent the night.