Starting 70
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Day 16: June 28, 2019 Starting 70 Comment via blog |
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On leaving Gila Bend, I picked up AZ-85 at the east edge of town and
followed it north to I-10. I'd left home with no idea of how I would be
returning and left La Mesa with not much more of one. At some point I hit
upon the idea of following US-70 and did just enough research to learn
that its current western terminus is in Globe, Arizona. That's where my
course had been more or less aimed. I now got a little more focused and
scurried through Phoenix on the expressway. My first photos of the day
were taked on US-60 east of Phoenix.
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I was still not quite to Globe when I took this picture in Miami, Arizona.
I really wanted it to be authentic but I had my doubts. So did Debra
Seltzer who has a much better picture but says it "appears to be a
simulated station dressed up with Mobilgas signs."
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This was my second visit to Globe. The New Tonto Hotel was there -- and
even newer -- in 2003. I don't recall the Globe Theater but that doesn't
mean much. I do recall the old courthouse and even climbed those steps in
109 degrees to verify that it is still an art gallery.
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I knew better than to just show up in Globe and expect the end point of
US-70 to be immediately apparent but that's pretty much what I did. When
that turned out not to work so well, I turned to the internet to learn
just where that end point was. What I found wasn't crystal clear to me,
but I eventually determined that the location of interest is this Ash
Street intersection where US-60 takes off in a northerly direction and
US-70 begins its journey east. The END 70 sign on the westbound side of
the street verifies that.
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So now I'm on US-70 which is sort of the planned segment of the homeward
drive. I don't know what the crop is, but there really is some farming
going on in these parts.
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One of the signs in the first photo ties in with the farming I just
mentioned while another identifies this section of US-70 as part of
The Old West Highway. There is a third sign, in the
background, which is connected with the other pictures in this panel.
The sign is several miles from the business it
advertises and is one of many that line the road, Wall Drug style, leading
to Taylor Freeze in Pima, Arizona. The business started
as a Tastee Freeze franchise but became independent during the reign of
the second of three generations of Taylors to operate it.
A sign inside the restaurant tells the story.
I stepped outside with my Avalanche with plans to photograph it with the store as background as I have with other food items. Panic set in when I saw just how ice cream melts at 100+ degrees and realized that there was no identifying sign visible from where I was standing. I rushed around the restaurant and used a mural on the neighboring building as background. I ate the treat inside my air conditioned car, then snapped a photo with the roof-top sign in sight before leaving town. |
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The town of Duncan first caught my eye with a long line of vintage
vehicles display at the edge of town. Then I was somewhat surprised to see
signs of life at what I initially took to be an old and defunct hotel. The
Hotel Duncan is very much a going concern with recent
positive reviews. The town has several Old West Highway signs prominently
displayed and even uses the name on its street signs.
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About twenty miles beyond Duncan, I was struck by how pretty things had
become but that could just be the clouds talking.
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