Very conveniently located on my new back-roads route from the Ranger Doug Intergalactic Headquarters in Seattle (my warehouse) to Tucson is Hood River, Oregon. And conveniently located in that town are two good friends whom I’ve known most of my adult life–John and Adele. They’ve built a magnificent life together and have included me on my vagabond journeys.
You can see what I mean here. Now the real reason I like to visit is this…..
A 1948 Farmall Cub tractor. I learned to drive on one of these–when I was 14 and so did John. John’s grandfather and my dad were shipmates on the USS Escambia in WWII in the Solomon Islands. In the early 1960s, I worked at Weaver’s horse farm–four miles from my house near Juanita Beach and would ride my one-speed bicycle twice a day to transfer 20′ irrigation pipes–10 pipes which had to be unlocked and moved down two sections of the feeder pipe. I got 50 cents for each visit–or a dollar a day–good money then. I also had two paper routes. On weekends, I got to shovel out horse stalls (fun!) and would accompany the Weaver family on horse shows around the Pacific NW. Part of my skill set then included driving a Farmall Cub. But my childhood work history is another topic–so maintaining my reputation for staying on the subject, I’ll leave this for later post.
This particular tractor hasn’t run in 25 years and is a bit stiff. We pull the cowling off, remove the spark plugs, dump in diesel fuel–remove the starter and bar over the flywheel–it moves easily. Next step is to remove the mower which is DANGEROUS! We tow it out of its garage and attempt to free-wheel it to loosen things up a bit. You’ll have to stand by for future blog-posts to get updates here. There is nothing more fun on a fall day than messing around with old tractors with old friends. Adele cooks up a whopping good dinner and the next morning after pancakes, I hop back into my new Toyota and hit the road–my third roadtrip to Tucson since August! Gotta peddle that book!
Right on my route (after weaving around Mt. Hood and spending a night in Klamath Falls), is this majestic hotel–the Mizpah in Tonopah Nevada. What’s so special about the Mizpah? First, it’s got a good bar and restaurant. The floors creak when you walk them and there are no drug busts and rude and noisy trucks starting up outside your hotel window at 3am like there is at the Travelodge in Redding California. It’s peaceful! Click the active link above and read the detailed history.
And above the bar is this plaque–written by the WPA–Federal Writer’s Project (April 1940. No kidding!) Paper money was issued in lieu of an actual silver dollar beginning in about 1933 and the real stuff (silver) was banked in US Treasury vaults until the Nixon era when it was uncoupled entirely. I won’t expound too much on the economics of currency exchange–since I know practically nothing about it–but suffice it to say that Nevadans were pissed-off and commissioned this poem from WPA hired poets. The politics of Nevadans has changed considerably since.
Here’s the lobby–the bar is called the Wyatt Earp bar (where he purportedly worked) and the dining room is named after Jack Dempsey, who was a bouncer in Earp’s bar and promoted fights–neither of which is true. They serve a beautiful steak, though. All the waitresses call you “hon.” The hotel sports a huge vault which presumably kept the pokes of silver miners and is now open as a small museum. I highly recommend this place. (Mizpah–it means two halves of a heart that couple together into a locket.) It was built beginning in 1907 for $200,000 and stood the highest building in Nevada back then. Besides Wyatt Earp and Jack Dempsey, Howard Hughes was rumored to have married Jean Peters there. It’s also haunted…..by the “Lady in Red.”
After leaving Tonopah, one travels through Goldfield and they are restoring several of the buildings there. I had to stop and take a few photographs.
Magnificent! Perhaps another hotel? Nope, it’s the old school. I had to move on, but I applaud the citizens of Goldfield for tackling these projects and not putting up another Travelodge. (I’ll put out a blog on Wyndham–Travelodge soon after I resolve my issues there after getting assaulted during road-trip #1-23…..). I’m sticking to historic hotels from now on.
Another Goldfield restoration–the County Courthouse built in 1907 right after the largest silver discoveries in Nevada and the same year the Mizpah was built. I may move there if this keeps up. I almost became an architect although I almost became a lot of things.
YYou’ll all recognize this place–Boulder Dam, renamed Hoover Dam by Herbert hisself. This bridge bypass is a monster of engineering. I recommend taking the slow road through Boulder City nearby and then crossing the dam. The main route used to transit the dam crest but it’s now a dead-end.
There is very high security–not sure why–but it’s like entering the Federal Treasury or any American airport. The dam is 600′ high and 600′ wide at the base and was the largest concrete structure in the world at the time it was built (1931-6, I recall). It’s full of art deco design. But the security……no one could put a dent in this monster of a dam.
Now, I mentioned Boulder City–this sign caught my eye–I’m glad I didn’t practice dentistry here–between the vape shop and a liquor store. This place doesn’t compare with Goldfield or the Mizpah Hotel. Keep driving south, Doug.
After a few weeks in Tucson, I drive north again to Salt Lake City and then Jackson Hole. I’m SLC, I greet old climbing friends at a short rally about the cable-car proposal for Little Cottonwood Canyon. Jenny Lake Rangers Bob Irvine, Ralph Tingey and Ted Wilson share the stage with Ted’s daughter and Salt Lake County Mayor, Jenny Wilson and her son–a future mayor of Salt Lake City. They show “The Grand Rescue” video–an epic and spellbinding rescue on the North Face of the Grand Teton in 1967.
This is why we have National Parks–right outside of Joshua Tree National Park. Enroute to somewhere.
My old digs–Beaver Creek cabin #8 with the Grand Teton towering above and right, John Molton’s home which is one of the last standing home on Mormon Row.
Here is another photo of Beaver Creek #8 courtesy of fellow ranger Jim Bellamy:
Driving south as far as Signal Mountain Campground just for kicks–I pass Catholic Bay and this majestic view of Mt. Moran, which dominates the north end of the range.
The Cowboy Bar is still operating and just received a complete renovation–right down to red felt on the pool tables. Charlie Craighead just put together a great book on this classic bar along with book designer Carole Thickstun (Thickstun & Ormsby–who designed my book). This is one of the last old businesses on the town square. Wyoming Outfitters finally folded replaced by Kuhl with two dots over the “u” to sound “cool.” Teeshirt shops dominate three out of four corners now.
And seen in an art gallery–I forget which one–there are dozens now. Everyone is doing the WPA thing now–even Jackson Hole artists. Frankly, it’s getting a bit overdone, methinks. Look what I started.
On the Miller Butte/Curtis Canyon road, a Rocky Mountain sheep finds my new Toyota interesting and walk slowly over to me. Quite puzzling until…..
….I realize he’s after the salt/minerals off my tires–which I picked up in the Salt Lake City basin driving north. Elephant Carwash charges an extra two bucks for this service in Seattle.
When I return through Salt Lake City, I do a book signing at Ken Sanders Rare Books which is now housed in three levels adjacent to the The Leonardo Museum–Salt Lake City’s premier art museum. Quite by an amazing coincidence, the owner has the same name–Ken Sanders–who was an acquaintance of Edward Abbey. He strictly denies any involvement in sculduggery though. He introduces me to the Executive Director of the museum, Alexandra Hesse–and we hatch a plan to do an exhibition of Brian Maebius’ and my park poster art; perhaps next year. Stay tuned for this one!
Heading south again……and speaking of old hotels–this is a 1930s Fred Harvey hotel “La Posada” in Winslow Arizona renown for their hospitality. It was designed by Mary Colter who also designed the Desert Tower in Grand Canyon National Park. After my stay at La Posada, I got a nice letter from the owner hoping I had a good time (which I did). Wonder why I didn’t a letter from Travelodge in Redding CA? (did I mention this before?)
The Turquoise Room at La Posada–I drove 100 miles out of my way to dine here.
La Posada parking lot……. There is no in-between here in northern Arizona.
Got to love these roadtrips–here passing an ancient volcanic plug eroded bare like Devils Tower–the landscape in Northern Arizona is dotted with these. I’ve done four round-trips to Tucson since August (2023) and will now depart to Washington DC in two weeks for more hand-shaking and politicking. Rob Wallace, a former park ranger who spent serious time at Interior confer at dinner at my cabin in preparations….. In early March it’s a NPS Tradeshow in San Francisco and finally, I host my dental school classmates for a reunion late March–whew!!–a busy winter. Well, this long post catches me up a bit on my travels….stay tuned!