Ten Gateways to Mohave Countty

TEN GATEWAYS TO MOHAVE COUNTY

It's been six long years since this publication last took a look at that vast expanse of northwestern Arizona we call Mohave County, and what a difference the years have made! New cities, new industries, and many new residents are found throughout the 13,227 square miles of my home county, but the most exciting change of all lies in the network of new and improved highways that carry the traveler into fabled Mohave. They combine to make up 10 GATEWAYS TO MOHAVE COUNTY, gateways to one of the West's most scenic and fast-growing areas.

With Kingman, the county seat, as clock dial center, Gateway No. I enters from the southeast at about the 5 o'clock position. This is U.S. 93, the main route from Phoenix to Las Vegas, noted in its entry into Mohave County by passage through a wonderland of jumbled rock masses north of the Santa Maria River. The most dramatic change is found less than twenty miles north of the county line, where U.S. 93 used to dip down into the depths of Burro Creek Gorge to cross the creek on a low bridge. Early 1967 brought completion of a high bridge that not only speeds the motorist's travel but adds a scenic attraction that is worth a special trip in its own right.

Whenever I cross over the new bridge at Burro Creek, I think of the decades of pioneering work by two public-spirited Mohave County men who really brought the project to reality. The first was Arthur Black, who brought to his service on the Arizona Highway Commission his invaluable background as veteran operator of a fleet of trucks and passenger buses over this very route, beginning in days when travel from Kingman to Wickenburg via the Big Sandy Valley was high adventure. The second was State Senator Robert Morrow, able and highly respected legislative leader. North of the new bridge, U.S. 93 continues through the valley of the Big Sandy and on towards Kingman. At a point about twenty miles south of Kingman the road becomes a fourlane divided superhighway for the remainder of the trip to Kingman. This is interstate highway construction for the future routing of Interstate 40 east from Kingman (See Gateway No. 10), and this stretch will be shared with U.S. 93 as the route skirts the foothills of the Hualapai Mountains.

Improvements in U.S. 93, with others just south of the Mohave County line near the Santa Maria River, have shortened travel from Wickenburg to Kingman through Mohave's Gateway No. 1, an interesting introduction to a big subject.

Gateway No. 2 also has much to do with a new milliondollar bridge, this one over the Bill Williams River just above Parker Dam on the Colorado River. Arizona 95 and U.S. 95 start in Yuma and head north towards Mohave County. The road has stopped at the barrier formed by Lake Havasu behind Parker Dam, resuming its trip to a junction with U.S. 66 only north of Lake Havasu City. Thus, there has been a gap in Arizona 95, a barrier of some twenty-five miles of desert isolating Lake Havasu City from the shortcut routes leading from both Phoenix and Southern California. Gateway No. 2, with its key bridge, will close this gap.

The story of Lake Havasu City and its exciting future is a saga itself. When I noted just six years ago that "this facility is scheduled for rapid expansion into a full-fledged luxury resort," I had really little suspicion of just how "rapid" and how much "full-fledged luxury" it would turn out to be. In a country filled with exciting new developments, this is easily the foremost, and the grandiose statement of only a few years past that "Lake Havasu City is destined to become Arizona's third city in population" now appears ridiculously conservative when the "bricks and mortar" accomplishments are viewed at firsthand.

In planning our return visit to Mohave County this issue we were fortunate to be able to call upon the talents, knowledge, interest, appreciation and enthusiasm of a long-time contributor to these pages, Carlos Elmer, who knows the subject better than anyone else we could find to do the job for us. First, he is an outstanding photographer and writer (witness his work for us in issues that go back to the early 1940's); second, he knows the subject, being a native son of Mohave County where he spent the happy and carefree days of his youth; and, third, while he lives with his family in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has traveled far-flung horizons, he returns to his native county whenever time permits because he has never lost his boyhood interest and affection for the manifold and enduring charms and attractions of Old Mohave.

Carlos Elmer was nineteen years of age when he first had a photograph published in this magazine. (It might be interesting to note that his son, Frank, was twenty years old when his first photograph appeared in these pages a year or so ago. Photography apparently runs in the family.) Since he first appeared in our pages, Carlos has had work in FORTUNE, READER'S DIGEST, SUNSET, FORD TIMES, VERMONT LIFE, WALT DISNEY MAGAZINE and other national publications, as well as on post cards, record albums and calendars.

In this connection it pleasures us to tell you about and recommend to you his book, CARLOS ELMER'S ARIZONA, which appeared late last year. The book contains thirty-five striking and select full-color photographic studies of the Arizona scene with lucid and literate explanatory text, all expertly put together to give a good portrait of the state. CARLOS ELMER'S ARIZONA sells for One Dollar. It can be purchased at bookstores or ordered direct from Carlos Elmer, 6620 E. Cholla St., Scottsdale, Arizona 85252. R.C.

“Spring in Black Canyon of the Colorado River” DAVID MUENCH

Our No. 3 Gateway to Mohave County should bear the proud old name of U.S. 66 as it enters from California at Topock, but the forces of "progress" tell us that this must be henceforth known only as Interstate 40. As a boy who grew up on U.S. 66 this is a difficult adjustment to make. After all, we were not only one of the most famous roads in all America, but we even had our own song! As a motorist, there can be no doubt that this entry to Mohave County is a much more relaxed process now that the multi-million-dollar four-lane bridge has been completed across the Colorado River. The old highway bridge was somewhat akin to a game of Russian roulette as a turn at the California side prevented a view of the bridge's roadway until you were almost on it, and if a big truck were coming your way it looked as though you had had it for sure. By contrast, the new bridge, which has no superstructure, tends to make the river crossing an almost unnoticed event. Much of the distance between Topock and Kingman has now been completed to full four-lane interstate highway standards, following resolution of a rather bitter battle over routing of the interstate highway on this alignment vs. a route many miles to the north via Searchlight, Nevada.

While a swamp may seem a bit out of place in the Arizona desert, and might not sound like much of an attraction, sportsmen would disagree on the subject of the Topock Swamp. This is one of the nation's great wildfowl hunting areas, located in the uppermost waters of Lake Havasu and the backwaters of the Colorado River. Downstream from the highway bridge and on the Arizona side are rugged mountain spires which provided the name for the city of Needles, California, a few miles upstream from this point. This is another Mohave County gateway with much scenic charm, and decided interest to the fisherman, hunter, and boating enthusiast. It's part of Mohave County's 1,000 miles of shoreline, a figure unmatched by any other county in the continental United States, whether it is inland or on the seacoast.

After entering Mohave County at Topock, there is immediately a choice to be made of routes to Kingman the modernas-tomorrow superhighway that stretches out ahead as far as the eye can see in a straight line towards Yucca, or the winding route of old U.S. 66 which turns left from Topock and heads for Oatman and the Black Mountains. There's no doubt at all as to which one is the more fun. Oatman wins hands down every time. This picturesque mining camp nestled in the rugged mountains was one of the world's great gold mining camps in its day, and the oldtimers still residing there are convinced that the day of the Great Bonanza is just around the corner. Oatman may look familiar to you, even though this is your first visit. It served as the entire location for the motion picture "Foxfire" several years ago, and was "Gold City" in the concluding scenes of the more recent Cinerama epic "How the West Was Won." Take a few minutes from your breathless schedule to talk to some of the good people of Oatman you will hear many a story of the good old days and of hopes for a bright new future.

After leaving Oatman the highway climbs over the top of the Black Mountains and reaches a great overlook of the broad Sacramento Valley and the lofty Hualapai Mountains beyond. You won't set any speed records from here to there by taking a detour through Oatman, but I'll bet you'll fondly remember that excursion for many years to come.

GATEWAYS from page 12

Gateway No. 4 to Mohave County sounds like something from a “Whodunit” on TV - it's a “secret” portal to Arizona. If you can get detailed directions from a friendly service station man in Needles, and if you can follow the twisting route around the city golf course and through the river bottom thickets, you may arrive at the wooden bridge that leads to Mohave County's River Road. When you get to the bridge, if you do, take my advice that this is a real, genuine one-way structure, and you must pause to see if any other vehicle has started towards you. What's on the other side? Well, I would describe it as the “river” counterpart of the “lake” boom found at Lake Havasu City. This is the river bottom area, stretching upstream some twenty-five miles to Bullhead City and Davis Dam. Here, many new residents have settled in the past few years, with a high percentage of mobile home dwellings, as contrasted to the planned city atmosphere of Lake Havasu City, with its predominance of conventional houses. Some developments, such as the very attractive Colorado Riviera, near the “Big Bend” of the Colorado River, have interspersed blocks of mobile homes with other blocks containing conventional houses. While the population of the area swells during the winter months, a surprisingly high percentage of residents is now here for the year around.

The big attraction is the balmy winter climate, supplemented by the rainbow trout fishing in the Colorado River that rushes past these new communities. The capital city of Mohave County's river lowlands is Bullhead City, which has blossomed forth into an impressive shopping center and residential area. The River Road provides an interesting diversion for the traveler on U.S. 66, who would leave it at Needles, go over the elusive wooden bridge, and then rejoin U.S. 66 at Kingman via Bullhead City and Arizona 68.

Gateway No. 5 just halfway through is at 9 o'clock on the dial, due west of Kingman. No bridge, here, but rather a broad cement roadway on top of Davis Dam, with Lake Mohave to port and the Colorado River to starboard. As reported six years ago, the self-guided tour through Davis Dam and its powerplant is as interesting as the better-known conducted tour at Hoover Dam to the north. Just east of Davis Dam a side road leads four milés north to Katherine Landing, the major resort and boat harbor on Lake Mohave. Under the expert and friendly management of Ham Pratt, Katherine Landing has developed into a popular and fully equipped facility for boating, camping, and resort vacation living.

The big change in Arizona 68 east of Davis Dam is found in its new alignment over the Black Mountains at Union Pass en route to Kingman. This was formerly a winding mountain road, now replaced by a broad high-speed road that skims over the rugged and colorful hills marked by the extensive diggings by prospectors of years past.

The gateway by Davis Dam provides an interesting alternate route to Kingman for the tourist traveling from California to the east. As previously described, the road can be reached from Needles via the River Road and Bullhead City. Two other ways to reach Davis Dam from the west are on old U.S. 66 leaving U.S. 66 at Essex, then north on U.S. 95, or east from Interstate 15 to Searchlight, Nevada, and then south on U.S. 95. Any of these routings adds variety to a trip on highways that are well maintained but little traveled.

PIPE SPRING NATIONAL MONUMENT

HOOVER DAM Colorado Riviera on the Colorado River, south of Bailhead City.

At Gateway No. 6 we find the other end of Arizona-US. 93 as it enters Mohave County on one of the world's most expansive places of roadway about a half a billion dollars per milel This highway happens to be the top of Hoover Dam. The broad new highway that leads southeast from Hoover Dam towards Kingman is a far cry from the dusty trail we traveled in the '30s, however. The major improvement of U.8. 93 is Black Canyon near the dam has been Mohave County's most expensive highway building project of recent years, excepting, of course, the interstate highways.

Hoover Dam was first called Boulder Dam, and was scheduled to be constructed in Boulder Canyon. Some engineer decided Boulder Canyon, about fifteen miles uplake from the den, was the site of an earthquake fault, so the location of the dun was moved south to its presets location in Black Canyon.

The traveler's first view of Arizona when stering Gateway No. 6 actor Hoover Dam is of Black Canyon.

Some of it is actually black, or very dark grey, lending a rather somber appearance to the large gorge in which the dam is constructed. In other parts, however, one finds almost every other sort of color except black, culminating in the vivid displays of color at the base of Fortification Hill. This is some bitit would rate as a major mountain peak anywhere but out here in this land of superlatives. Take the dirt road marked "Kingman Wash" that branches off from U.S. 93 just a mile or to after entering Arizona, and it leads to the colorful base of Fortification Hill as well as to a bay on the deep-blue waters of Lake Mead.

Willow Denck Fisking Resort.

The next attraction in Black Canyon is Willow Beach, site of a huge fish hatchery that supplies rainbow trout to all of the cold waters of the Colorado River. Willow Beach is more than just a cousary for fish, however. It is also a major fishing camp favorite campground, and foreverfamed location of the lang of the granddaddy of all Colorado River rainbows a whopper weighing in at ar pounds, 5 cances! The short drive down pered road to Willow Heach is one of the most pleasant of all detours from U.S. 93. The clear, cold waters of the river/laka are attraction enough, but there are also the fall services of mobal, restaurant, store, and excellent public campground ar the end of that trall.

Motorists traveling this portion of U.S. 93 during tha sama naar of z968 will encounter another set of detours, since construction work is now under way close to the Willow Beach turnoff. Traffic is controlled at certain hours of weekdays, so check those signs at either and to insure a minimum of delay.

If one took all the available side roads which branch off from U.S. 93 on its way from Hoover Dam to Kingman, King mao would probably never be reached! Some of my favorites are White Hills, a true ghost town, once county seat of Mobave County and one of time intins's leading silver camps: Cotto wood Cove on Lake Mohave; the newly paved road through Dolan Springs and the Joshua Tree Forest to Meadview, the Grand Wash Cliffs, and an excellent new boat-leaching zamp at South Cove on Lake Mead: Temple Bar resort with full facilitios con Lake Mead; and Chloride.

The paved road to Chloride is only four miles long, but it lends one into a different world, the world of the roaring mining camp of many decades ago. The famous mines that surround the town, such as the Tennessee and Arizona Magma, are silent now, just waiting for a revival of activity that will surely come whose metal prices hit the right level. The town, though, is bulging at the seams with reddents, including a good many rotired people and workers at the nearby open-pit copper nimas. A newly paved loop roed leads south of Chloride towards the huge new Duval coppar mine and concentrate plant, getting back to U.S. 93 near Christmas Tree Inn ar Santa Claus, Arizona, which is still dispensing that diet-breakers known as Kra-Kringle Rum Pie. As ane drives down this huge valley, which is called Detrital Valley ar the north end and Sacramento Valley down there closer to Kingman, there is a constant panorama of lights and shadows on the rugged mountain ranges that contain the valleythe Black Mountains to the west, and the Cerbat ca the sast. Both of these ranges are known throughout the world among geologists and mining engineers, for therein are situated some of the great Golcondes of this surth's mining history. Grizzled prospectors still ramp those hills, convinced there is mace whors that came from, and they surely must be right. Whether they over yield another ounce of gold or silver, how ever, they daily give great vahas in plessure and enjoyment to these passing motorists who treasure Nature's sonic beauty above precious meris.

Gateway No. 7 is a rather small sliver of Interstate 15 the road from Las Vegas, Nevada, to St. George, Utah, which happens to pass through the extreme northwestern tip of Arizona for a few miles. Some Arizonans grambled about the luck of the draw that grography dealt to the state in this respect, for thes now alignment of the interstate highway as it passes through the gorge of the Virgin River in this area will represent a most difficult and expensive pisce of road building. When com plated, however, it will also give the motorist quite a bonus in spectacular scenery in addition to the obvious benefits of shortened distance and thue when compared to the old routing of U.S. gr. This is one Mohave County gateway that is far the future the exact date being completely dependent spon the resources that can be devoted to its completion. When it is dons, though, it also is going to be worthy of a special mip se enjoy this new view of a portion of Mohave County's desolate country worth of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon.

Gateway No. 8 doesn't have to wait, although it is brand new and probably unknown to most travelers or touring advisers. This is also in the wild "Strip" of Mohave County, labeled Arizona 389, and swinging in a semicircle from Hurricane, Utah, to Fredonia, Arizona. This is a new and interesting east-west alternate route that bypasses Zion Canyon National Park. The main attraction is Mohave County's only National Monument, Pipe Spring, a perfectly preserved Mormon fort constructed of sandstone around a constantly flowing spring. This is also the taking-off area for the dirt road that leads the adventuresome traveler to the grandest view of them all - the Grand Canyon of the Colorado as seen from Toroweap Point. If you are looking for the wide open spaces, this is the place.

Our last gateway, No. 10, also lies in the future, as one of the three great new alignments of highway in Arizona brought by the Interstate Highway program routes that strike out across completely new country far from the previous roads. The other two are the Virgin River Gorge, described previously as Mohave County's Gateway No. 7, and the Brenda Cutoff on Interstate 10, west of Phoenix. Interstate 40 east of Kingman will head out through some of the roughest and wildest country in the state before linking up with the old U.S. 66 routing at Seligman.

Gateway No. 9 is our old friend U.S. 66 as it enters Mohave County from the east and goes to Kingman. This will continue to be an important road long after its more glamorous successor, Interstate 40, siphons off nearly all of the present traffic in its new routing to the south. Many thousands of travelers will still choose U.S. 66 to see the wonders of Grand Canyon Caverns, east of Peach Springs, and it will certainly be a most important roadway when that day inevitably comes marking the beginning of a great new high dam on the Colorado just north of Peach Springs at Bridge Canyon. So there should be a bit of U.S. 66 left, after all, for the motorist who doesn't mind spending a little more time to enjoy Northern Arizona. Well, there are ten different ways to get to Mohave County so what else is new up thataway?

First and foremost is fun and recreation, the attraction that has been the magnet drawing thousands of visitors weekly for many years, most of them from neighboring Southern California. The pace in development of new and enlarged recreational facilities in Mohave County has dramatically increased during these past six years to accommodate an ever-increasing number of such visitors.

Take Lake Mead, for example, When we talk about Mohave County's 1,000 miles of shoreline, people tend to think first of Lake Mohave, Lake Havasu, or the clear, cold Colorado River waters connecting these two "new" lakes. The Lake Mead boating areas on the Arizona side are somewhat further removed from the main highways, but it's worth a few extra miles to get out on the first of the big manmade Mohave County lakes, still one of the biggest of all.

Creation of Lake Havasu City also brought with it the creation of a brand-new state park, developed by McCulloch Properties, Inc., the builders of Lake Havasu City, but forever reserved for the free use by the general public. From the vantage point of this fine white sand beach, picnickers can view the world-championship outboard motorboat race, held here in November each year.

My quiet little hometown of Kingman just doesn't look the same anymore it is one of the fastest growing communities in Arizona. Much of this can be attributed to the dramatic turnabout in recent years of the area's slump in mining. While Mohave County was a great gold and silver producer in my youth, the big news now is copper copper gouged from huge open pits in two locations north of Kingman, with more mines probably on the way. When I worked at Producers Mines one summer I thought it was a pretty big operation with its 200-ton-per-day mill. By contrast, the copper mine at Emerald Isle, run by El Paso Natural Gas Company, has a milling capacity of 800 tons per day, while its neighbor, the Duval Mine, can mill a whopping 18,000 tons per day! Most of the more than 400 employees of these two mines live in Kingman or in the revived mining ghost town of Chloride.

The big employment news in the immediate future can be found just five miles east of Kingman at the airport's industrial park. General Cable Corporation's new factory, now nearing completion, is described by Dick Waters, publisher of The Mohave County Miner, as being "as high as an elephant's eye and as wide as the Rio Grande in flood." We do know that it will represent an investment of ten million dollars, and will doubtlessly show the way for rapid entry of other major manufacturers into this unique location.

So little old Kingman has changed a great deal.