Echoes of the Southwest

Sometime in 1881 or 1882 when the railroad was constructed, the town of Holbrook was established. They named the town after the initial chief engineer of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is about 25 miles from the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. Today, there are roughly 5,000 souls who live in Holbrook. Route 66 runs through the town. Some of the things to see while in Holbrook is the historic Navajo County Courthouse (built in 1898); Wigwam Motel (next post); Bucket of Blood Street (ranked 6 th “wackiest street names”); Agate House Pueblo; Sidney Sapp House; and dinosaurs surrounding the Rock Shop.

Roughly 75 miles southeast of Flagstaff on I-40 (Route 66) sits the town of Winslow. The settlement’s name was designated after Edward F. Winslow who was the president of St. Louis and San Francisco Rail Road. Others will tell you that it derived its name from a prospector, Tom Winslow. Some of the places to see and visit while in Winslow are the Harvey House (La Posada Hotel). It opened its doors in 1930 and was the creation of Mary Colter. It lasted almost 3 decades but closed down in 1957. It became offices for the Santa Fe Railway and then it was left deserted. They wanted to bulldoze it down in 1994, but it was resurrected and is now a plush hotel. Another of Winslow’s attractions is the “Standing on a corner” statue and display. It was in 1972 when the Eagles added the line “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow Arizona…” in their song “Take it Easy” that put Winslow on the map. When you visit Winslow, you can stand on the corner and be a part of the song. They erec...

Walking around Tombstone, AZ, you see lots of interesting and quirky people. Most of which are reenactors, but others just wander around the town in their western clothes as if time has stopped in the Wild West. Johnny Bones

If you travel about 70 miles north of Phoenix and approximately 15 miles southwest of Wickenburg, you will find the ghost town of Vulture Mine. This once booming mining town now sits empty with many of the still standing structures slowing decaying with time. Underneath its dirt floors lay the many bones of those who crossed the wrong person and was buried right where they died. This ghost town is rumored to be haunted by the spirits of those who died there, and is an astonishing walk back into Arizona’s most colorful past.  Vulture Mine started mining gold in 1863 and proved to be one of the most industrious mines in Arizona’s history.  It was a man named Henry Wickenburg who first unearthed a quartz deposit which was encompassed with gold and started excavating the mineral to preserve for him.  He sold the mine to Benjamin Phelps, who was the representative for the Vulture Mining Company.  In the town’s heyday, the mine was yielding 340,000 ounces of gold and 260...