I will now quote from "The Old U.S. 80 Highway Traveler's Guide, Phoenix to San Diego," by Eric J. Finley for information about Dateland's name.
"The town's name (on some older maps as 'Datelan'), comes from a grove of of date trees to which a Mrs. William Harrison tended in the 1930s. She built a home and work buildings here, but they are gone."
"In February of 1994, a Montana investor purchased the entire site for $400,000. upon making the purchase at an auction held in town, the gentleman stated the he probably would make inprovements to the aging desert hamlet so that it could start turning a profit from passersby on the interstate."
The first time I was ever in Dateland, in approximately 1993, it was essentially a ghost town. The convenience stores were not there and everything on Old Highway 80 was abandoned and desolate. I am not sure what was north of the interstate back then because I did not venture up that way, but it was little, if anything. Just about everything that is north of the freeway now is of a more recent vintage.
Dateland, in its original incarnation, was not much more than "a wide spot in the road" that most likely never had more than about 100 people, after the old Army Airfield closed. It basically just served travelers on U.S. Highway 80. I doubt the population was much more than just the employees of the few businesses that were in the town. At any rate, these businesses that were located in the old Dateland must have been a welcome sight to travelers in the hot summer months in an area that routinely has temperatures of 120 degrees or more for about 3 to 4 weeks of each year.
The convenience stores today do a brisk business because they are the only services for about 30 miles towards the west and about 50 miles towards the east.
There are still alot of date palm trees in Dateland, reinforcing the town's name. They are all planted, of course, because the only wild palms in Arizona grow in Palm Canyon in the northern part of Yuma County.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Land Of Dates
Dateland is a town that has moved slightly north since Interstate 8 supplanted U.S. Highway 80.
With one exception, everything along Old Highway 80 is either abandoned or demolished. The first time I was ever in Dateland, in the early 1990s, there was an abandoned
gas station/store/cafe/ gift shop/post office combination at the intersection of Old Highway 80 and Avenue 64E (crazy road numbering system in Yuma County, but it indicates that it is 64 miles from Main Street in Yuma and it is east of Main Street). The Postal Service decal was still affixed to the window of the old post office the first time I saw this complex. This complex was demolished in 1997. There is still a post office in Dateland, but at another location.
Next to the site of the old business complex is a big, rectangular concrete slab that is lined on 3 sides with date palm trees that were planted as part of a landscaping project. It looks like a motel used to be located here, but I'm not sure. The buildings could have been located along the outer edge of the slab and the parking area was concrete instead of asphalt. It could have been something else, but a motel is the most likely explanation. Just to the west of the concrete slab lined with palm trees is an RV park that I believe is only occupied during the winter months when
"Snowbirds," or retirees from colder climates descend on this area and increase the population significantly for about five months of the year. Beyond the RV park, it looks like little, if anything, was ever located here and, in fact, Old Highway 80 dead-ends about one mile west of Dateland when it runs into the embankment of Interstate 8. In that area, the interstate was built directly on top of the old highway.
East of the old business complex, across the county road, is just vacant land, but there is some surface debris that indicates buildings used to be located there.
About 1/4 mile north of the old business complex is the heart of modern Dateland. There are 2 convenience stores at the interchange of Interstate 8 and County Road 64E. One is on the southeast corner and one on the southwest corner. They are both pretty big but the one on the SE corner is actually a truck stop. It is called the Dateland Travel Center and they sell date shakes. Shakes made from dates from the palm trees in the area. The shakes are pretty good, too. They also serve things like date pies, date bread, etc. There is a very good restaurant in this truck stop, also.
The bulk of the town spreads out north of the interstate for 2 1/2 miles and includes an airport that was once the Dateland Army Airfield. There is an elementary school with about 250 students a short distance north if the interstate. Middle school and high school students are bussed 30 miles west to Antelope High School and Antelope Middle School halfway between Tacna and Wellton.
With one exception, everything along Old Highway 80 is either abandoned or demolished. The first time I was ever in Dateland, in the early 1990s, there was an abandoned
gas station/store/cafe/ gift shop/post office combination at the intersection of Old Highway 80 and Avenue 64E (crazy road numbering system in Yuma County, but it indicates that it is 64 miles from Main Street in Yuma and it is east of Main Street). The Postal Service decal was still affixed to the window of the old post office the first time I saw this complex. This complex was demolished in 1997. There is still a post office in Dateland, but at another location.
Next to the site of the old business complex is a big, rectangular concrete slab that is lined on 3 sides with date palm trees that were planted as part of a landscaping project. It looks like a motel used to be located here, but I'm not sure. The buildings could have been located along the outer edge of the slab and the parking area was concrete instead of asphalt. It could have been something else, but a motel is the most likely explanation. Just to the west of the concrete slab lined with palm trees is an RV park that I believe is only occupied during the winter months when
"Snowbirds," or retirees from colder climates descend on this area and increase the population significantly for about five months of the year. Beyond the RV park, it looks like little, if anything, was ever located here and, in fact, Old Highway 80 dead-ends about one mile west of Dateland when it runs into the embankment of Interstate 8. In that area, the interstate was built directly on top of the old highway.
East of the old business complex, across the county road, is just vacant land, but there is some surface debris that indicates buildings used to be located there.
About 1/4 mile north of the old business complex is the heart of modern Dateland. There are 2 convenience stores at the interchange of Interstate 8 and County Road 64E. One is on the southeast corner and one on the southwest corner. They are both pretty big but the one on the SE corner is actually a truck stop. It is called the Dateland Travel Center and they sell date shakes. Shakes made from dates from the palm trees in the area. The shakes are pretty good, too. They also serve things like date pies, date bread, etc. There is a very good restaurant in this truck stop, also.
The bulk of the town spreads out north of the interstate for 2 1/2 miles and includes an airport that was once the Dateland Army Airfield. There is an elementary school with about 250 students a short distance north if the interstate. Middle school and high school students are bussed 30 miles west to Antelope High School and Antelope Middle School halfway between Tacna and Wellton.
West To Dateland
From the ghost town of Aztec, there is a 6 mile segment of Old U.S. Highway 80 that parallels Interstate 8 on the south. I have driven this stretch several times, and it is a much more peaceful drive than the interstate, which closely parallels the old highway. It is a little rough in spots, but it is very driveable in a passenger car. For four of these six miles, there is an even older alignment paralleling Old Highway 80 on the south, between the highway and the railroad tracks. I am undecided about whether or not highway 80 was a 4-lane, divided highway for 4 miles, or if it was just re-routed slightly to the north. It seems unlikely that it would have just been re-routed a few feet to the north for 4 miles with the distance between the westbound lanes and eastbound lanes being the exactly the width one would find in a typical median strip on a divided highway, but why would it only be a divided highway for 4 miles? Were there plans to make it a divided highway for a much longer distance but the plans were interrupted by the construction of the interstate? Also, if highway crew were in the process of turning it into a divided highway, why not start from Yuma instead of one mile east of Dateland in a remote area? At any rate, it looks like it was a divided highway for these 4 miles and that is the assumption I am going on until I find out otherwise.
That being said, the more southerly alignment, what I believe were the eastbound lanes of the divided highway, is now completely abandoned and is partially overgrown by weeds and grass. The former westbound lanes now carry two-way traffic. The bridges over washes, or dry streambeds, are still intact. It is now a county-maintained road.
One mile east of Dateland, the abandoned alignment ends and Old Highway 80 becomes a typical two-lane highway with wide shoulders.
Dateland, Arizona has a population of 440 people, which is a slight decrease from the 2000 Census when it had 482 people. Dateland is also at an elevation of 440 feet above sea level, so the population and elevation match. The 440 foot elevation makes Dateland the highest town in Yuma County. The highest point in Yuma County, Signal Peak, is 4,877 feet above sea level. It is on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.
That being said, the more southerly alignment, what I believe were the eastbound lanes of the divided highway, is now completely abandoned and is partially overgrown by weeds and grass. The former westbound lanes now carry two-way traffic. The bridges over washes, or dry streambeds, are still intact. It is now a county-maintained road.
One mile east of Dateland, the abandoned alignment ends and Old Highway 80 becomes a typical two-lane highway with wide shoulders.
Dateland, Arizona has a population of 440 people, which is a slight decrease from the 2000 Census when it had 482 people. Dateland is also at an elevation of 440 feet above sea level, so the population and elevation match. The 440 foot elevation makes Dateland the highest town in Yuma County. The highest point in Yuma County, Signal Peak, is 4,877 feet above sea level. It is on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Signs Of The Past
I guess I will start my tour of Yuma County at the eastern border, on Interstate 8, the "main drag" of Yuma County. The eastern border of the county is near milepost #81, which means it is 81 miles from the point where the interstate crosses the Colorado River into California. However, that is not the widest part of the county. From the farthest reach of the county, north of San Luis, it is a distance of 92 miles from the eastern border.
The eastern border of Yuma County is a long, continuous line that runs for approximately 300 miles from the border with Mexico to the southernmost reach of the Colorado River when it flows through the Grand Canyon. This southernmost reach of the Grand Canyon has Grand Canyon National Park on one side of the river and the Hualapai Indian Reservation on the other side. This is the far, western end of the canyon that few people see. This long, continuous line separates Yuma, La Paz and Mohave Counties on the west and Pima, Maricopa, Yavapai and Coconino Counties on the east.
Back to the hot sands of Yuma County. Most maps show a town called Aztec in the far eastern part of the county, but Aztec is a ghost town. The townsite is marked by a square canopy that used to cover gas pumps. This ghost of the desert sits forlornly by the side of a busy freeway. There is only a concrete slab to mark the site of the gas station's building. There are a few other concrete slabs, foundations and some debris scattered along the road north of the interstate. It doesn't appear that Aztec ever had much of a population. It was most likely just a gas stop and probably had a couple other tourist related businesses to serve travelers on U.S. Highway 80 and its replacement, Interstate 8. I doubt Aztec ever had more than 40 or 50 people.
Six miles west of Aztec is Dateland. Dateland has a unique tourist attraction that I will mention in the next installment of this blog.
The eastern border of Yuma County is a long, continuous line that runs for approximately 300 miles from the border with Mexico to the southernmost reach of the Colorado River when it flows through the Grand Canyon. This southernmost reach of the Grand Canyon has Grand Canyon National Park on one side of the river and the Hualapai Indian Reservation on the other side. This is the far, western end of the canyon that few people see. This long, continuous line separates Yuma, La Paz and Mohave Counties on the west and Pima, Maricopa, Yavapai and Coconino Counties on the east.
Back to the hot sands of Yuma County. Most maps show a town called Aztec in the far eastern part of the county, but Aztec is a ghost town. The townsite is marked by a square canopy that used to cover gas pumps. This ghost of the desert sits forlornly by the side of a busy freeway. There is only a concrete slab to mark the site of the gas station's building. There are a few other concrete slabs, foundations and some debris scattered along the road north of the interstate. It doesn't appear that Aztec ever had much of a population. It was most likely just a gas stop and probably had a couple other tourist related businesses to serve travelers on U.S. Highway 80 and its replacement, Interstate 8. I doubt Aztec ever had more than 40 or 50 people.
Six miles west of Aztec is Dateland. Dateland has a unique tourist attraction that I will mention in the next installment of this blog.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Yuma County, part 2
While Yuma County has very few roads, it still has more than 200,000 people. It is a very concentrated population located on or near the two rivers that flow through the county, the Colorado and the Gila. Outside of these areas, the population is pretty close to 0. There is probably the lone dwelling in the desert in various places, but it is mostly an uninhabited land with a sprinkling of short-lived ghost towns.
The majority of this unpopulated land is owned by the federal government. The biggest of these areas is the Barry Goldwater Air Force Bombing Range. There is also the Yuma Proving Ground.
In addition, there are three national wildlfe refuges in Yuma County. There is the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, which is the location of the aforementioned Palm Canyon. There is also Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, on the Colorago River north of Yuma and, lastly, there is the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge on the border with Mexico in the southeast part of the county. Cabeza Prieta is one of the most isolated and least known areas in the United States. There have
never been any towns located in this area and no evidence of any aboriginal habitation on a permanent basis. The archaeological evidence suggests that people only passed through this area on their way to somewhere else. This is the location of El Camino del Diablo, or The Road of Death, that 19th century pioneers took on their way west to California. As the trail's name suggests, many of them died in this harsh, unforgiving land.
There are also three federally designated wilderness areas located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. These are the Trigo Mountains, Muggins Mountains and Eagletail Mountains Wilderness Areas.
Outside of the settled areas of Yuma County, there are very few roads. Any road that does exist in this area is unpaved. Some of them are maintained, such as the road to Palm Canyon and the roads to the now defunct Castle Dome Mining District and the also abandoned mines in the Kofa Mountains such as the North Star, the Rob Roy and the King of Arizona (better known as the 'Kofa' mine). Any other roads that exist in the county are primitive dirt tracks only negotiable by four wheel drive vehicles.
There are only four highways in the entire county, three federal and one state. There is Interstate 8; Interstate 8 Business Loop, which is the 'main drag' through Yuma (by far the county's biggest city and the seat of government), U.S. Highway 95 and State Highway 195, which is a new highway that is only a few years old. It is a 4 lane, divided highway that was built to serve as an alternative route from Interstate 8, on the east side of Yuma, to the Mexican border crossing at San Luis. Only four highways in a county with more than 200,000 people! The populated areas also are served by a network of county maintained roads which are mostly paved and then there are also Martinez Lake Road, which runs from highway 95 to Martinez Lake, a distance of 10 miles, and Imperial Dam Road, which runs from highway 95 to the border with California and beyond. It is an alternative route to Yuma if one is coming from the north.
It is stunning to know how empty, remote and inaccessible most of Yuma County is even though alot of people live in the county.
The majority of this unpopulated land is owned by the federal government. The biggest of these areas is the Barry Goldwater Air Force Bombing Range. There is also the Yuma Proving Ground.
In addition, there are three national wildlfe refuges in Yuma County. There is the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, which is the location of the aforementioned Palm Canyon. There is also Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, on the Colorago River north of Yuma and, lastly, there is the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge on the border with Mexico in the southeast part of the county. Cabeza Prieta is one of the most isolated and least known areas in the United States. There have
never been any towns located in this area and no evidence of any aboriginal habitation on a permanent basis. The archaeological evidence suggests that people only passed through this area on their way to somewhere else. This is the location of El Camino del Diablo, or The Road of Death, that 19th century pioneers took on their way west to California. As the trail's name suggests, many of them died in this harsh, unforgiving land.
There are also three federally designated wilderness areas located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. These are the Trigo Mountains, Muggins Mountains and Eagletail Mountains Wilderness Areas.
Outside of the settled areas of Yuma County, there are very few roads. Any road that does exist in this area is unpaved. Some of them are maintained, such as the road to Palm Canyon and the roads to the now defunct Castle Dome Mining District and the also abandoned mines in the Kofa Mountains such as the North Star, the Rob Roy and the King of Arizona (better known as the 'Kofa' mine). Any other roads that exist in the county are primitive dirt tracks only negotiable by four wheel drive vehicles.
There are only four highways in the entire county, three federal and one state. There is Interstate 8; Interstate 8 Business Loop, which is the 'main drag' through Yuma (by far the county's biggest city and the seat of government), U.S. Highway 95 and State Highway 195, which is a new highway that is only a few years old. It is a 4 lane, divided highway that was built to serve as an alternative route from Interstate 8, on the east side of Yuma, to the Mexican border crossing at San Luis. Only four highways in a county with more than 200,000 people! The populated areas also are served by a network of county maintained roads which are mostly paved and then there are also Martinez Lake Road, which runs from highway 95 to Martinez Lake, a distance of 10 miles, and Imperial Dam Road, which runs from highway 95 to the border with California and beyond. It is an alternative route to Yuma if one is coming from the north.
It is stunning to know how empty, remote and inaccessible most of Yuma County is even though alot of people live in the county.
Yuma County
When a person gazes at a map of Yuma County, one thing becomes readily apparent, the lack of roads. Nearly all of the roads are concentrated in three areas, the Yuma Valley, which is in the southwest corner of the county below the confluence of the Colorado and Gila Rivers and also in the Mohawk Valley in the central part of the county. These two areas are separated by the Gila Mountains (also called the Fortuna Mountains). The third area is the Dome Valley, which wraps around the north end of the Gila Mountains and connects the other two areas.
The Yuma Valley is by far the biggest of these areas and it lies along a wide floodplain that was created by the Colorado River. The river has wandered across this flat valley over the eons, carving new channels and abandoning old ones. The old channels are now plowed up and planted with a variety of crops. Looking at an aerial map of this area will reveal faint swales in the farmland. These swales are ancient channels of the Colorado River. The silt in this area, laid down by the river over thousands of years, is very deep and very fertile, creating one of the most productive farming areas in the United States.
The Mohawk Valley is a long, linear area that lies mostly south of the Gila River, which is one of the principal tributaries of the Colorado. The Mohawk Valley is 25 miles long and seven miles at its widest point, but it averages only four miles in width. Interstate 8 and Old U.S. Highway 80, now a county maintained road, are the principal transportation arteries in this area.
The Mohawk Valley is also a productive farming area. The soil here was laid down by the Gila River. There are several towns in this area with the largest one being Wellton, which has about 2,000 people.
The other area that contains most of the county's roads is the Dome Valley, which also lies along the Gila River. This area is narrower than the Mohawk Valley with an average width of only about two miles. There are no towns in this area, but there are quite a few farms.
East of Mohawk Valley, are the Hyder and San Cristobal Valleys, that have a much smaller road system and a much smaller population than the Mohawk Valley. The major town in the San Cristobal Valley is Dateland, which grew up along U.S. Highway 80 and is now a major stop on Interstate 8, serving travelers on a remote stretch of highway. This area also lies along the Gila River. The only town in Hyder Valley is Hyder, which only has a handful of people.
The only other populated place in Yuma County is Martinez Lake, in the northern part of the county on the Colorado River. I am undecided about whether Martinez Lake is a town or just a remote housing development, but I do know that there is a resort there. At any rate, about 300 people live here year round and several thousand more take up temporary residence during the balmy winter months.
There are also some residential areas, and roads, on the property of the Yuma Proving Ground, which is a military base that serves all branches of the military. The Proving Ground has about 3,700 people, from what I can gather.
The Yuma Valley is by far the biggest of these areas and it lies along a wide floodplain that was created by the Colorado River. The river has wandered across this flat valley over the eons, carving new channels and abandoning old ones. The old channels are now plowed up and planted with a variety of crops. Looking at an aerial map of this area will reveal faint swales in the farmland. These swales are ancient channels of the Colorado River. The silt in this area, laid down by the river over thousands of years, is very deep and very fertile, creating one of the most productive farming areas in the United States.
The Mohawk Valley is a long, linear area that lies mostly south of the Gila River, which is one of the principal tributaries of the Colorado. The Mohawk Valley is 25 miles long and seven miles at its widest point, but it averages only four miles in width. Interstate 8 and Old U.S. Highway 80, now a county maintained road, are the principal transportation arteries in this area.
The Mohawk Valley is also a productive farming area. The soil here was laid down by the Gila River. There are several towns in this area with the largest one being Wellton, which has about 2,000 people.
The other area that contains most of the county's roads is the Dome Valley, which also lies along the Gila River. This area is narrower than the Mohawk Valley with an average width of only about two miles. There are no towns in this area, but there are quite a few farms.
East of Mohawk Valley, are the Hyder and San Cristobal Valleys, that have a much smaller road system and a much smaller population than the Mohawk Valley. The major town in the San Cristobal Valley is Dateland, which grew up along U.S. Highway 80 and is now a major stop on Interstate 8, serving travelers on a remote stretch of highway. This area also lies along the Gila River. The only town in Hyder Valley is Hyder, which only has a handful of people.
The only other populated place in Yuma County is Martinez Lake, in the northern part of the county on the Colorado River. I am undecided about whether Martinez Lake is a town or just a remote housing development, but I do know that there is a resort there. At any rate, about 300 people live here year round and several thousand more take up temporary residence during the balmy winter months.
There are also some residential areas, and roads, on the property of the Yuma Proving Ground, which is a military base that serves all branches of the military. The Proving Ground has about 3,700 people, from what I can gather.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A Barren Land
The western edge of Arizona, along with the southeast part of California, and southern Nevada, is the driest part of the United States. This is an extremely harsh desert with an average of only 3 to 4 inches of rain per year. In fact, there is a portion of Death Valley, in California, that only averages 1.6 inches of rain per year! Most of the western edge of Arizona is a nearly naked landscape, only occupied by the hardiest, most drought-resistant plants. In fact, Yuma, in southwestern Arizona, only averages 2.88 inches of rainfall per year and San Luis, 25 miles south of Yuma, on the border with Mexico, probably averages less than that, but I have not found statistics for that town. I am guessing San Luis averages about 2.7 inches of rain per year.
Yuma County is the second driest county in the United States. The eastern edge of county, the "wettest" part, still only gets about 6 inches per year. The only county that is drier is its neighbor to the west, Imperial County, in California.
Even the mountains of this area support very little in the way of vegetation. Their slopes, with a few exceptions such as Palm Canyon, are almost completely barren and, in many places, they are completely barren.
Yuma County covers an area of 5,518 square miles, so it is a big county by the standards of most states, but not by Arizona standards. Arizona, the nation's sixth largest state, only has 15 counties. The counties in Arizona are way too big, for the most part, and many of them need to be divided into smaller units.
Before 1983, Yuma County was nearly twice the size that it is now. The northern 45% of the county split off and formed La Paz County. This new county became official on January 1, 1983. I will talk more in depth about La Paz County in the future. For now, my topic is Yuma County.
Yuma County is the second driest county in the United States. The eastern edge of county, the "wettest" part, still only gets about 6 inches per year. The only county that is drier is its neighbor to the west, Imperial County, in California.
Even the mountains of this area support very little in the way of vegetation. Their slopes, with a few exceptions such as Palm Canyon, are almost completely barren and, in many places, they are completely barren.
Yuma County covers an area of 5,518 square miles, so it is a big county by the standards of most states, but not by Arizona standards. Arizona, the nation's sixth largest state, only has 15 counties. The counties in Arizona are way too big, for the most part, and many of them need to be divided into smaller units.
Before 1983, Yuma County was nearly twice the size that it is now. The northern 45% of the county split off and formed La Paz County. This new county became official on January 1, 1983. I will talk more in depth about La Paz County in the future. For now, my topic is Yuma County.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Wild Palms Of The Kofas
Fifty-five miles north of Yuma, in the southwestern part of Arizona, is a turnoff to an unusual biome for Arizona. After one turns east off of U.S. Highway 95, it is nine miles of dirt road to Palm Canyon, which is located in the western facade of the Kofa Mountains. The first five miles of this dirt road are in good to decent condition. Then the road then enters the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge for its final run to its dead-end. This four mile stretch within the wildlife refuge is a slow going affair because the road is extremely washboarded. The bone-jarring drive is well worth it because, at roads end, is the only place in Arizona where palm trees grow in the wild. Cities such as Phoenix, Mesa, Tucson and Yuma have lots of palm trees lining the streets, but they were all imported and planted in beautification efforts. The palm trees in Palm Canyon are growing in the wild and they are even thriving. The older, more mature trees are twenty to thirty feet tall with the tallest one being thirty-seven feet tall, I believe.
These palm trees are rather dimunitive in stature compared to palm trees elsewhere, but they are doing quite well in their secluded location. Palm Canyon is nearly vertical and the trees grow in a sort of stairstep fashion. All but one or two of these trees grow on the sunny, south-facing wall of the canyon.
This species of palm tree is called the California Fan Palm and its scientific name is Washingtonia filiferia. They grow in scattered locations in California and in Baja California, in Mexico, but they only grow in this one location in Arizona. Most likely, the seeds which gave rise to these anomalous palm trees were dropped by birds that happened to be flying over the area. Perhaps the seeds landed in this area after being blown about by incessant winds. Who knows?
I once spent a very peaceful night camping in this area but I had to be prepared because there are no services whatsoever in the area. The nearest town is Quartzsite, 35 miles away. I camped in January, which is the perfect time to camp in this area, because it is blazing hot for the majority of the year. It is one of the most memorable camping experiences I have ever had and, if I ever work up the nerve and do the necessary preparations, I have always wanted to spend about a week completely by myself and completely removed from society and, if I ever do this (doubtful at this point), this is the area that I want to do it in.
These palm trees are rather dimunitive in stature compared to palm trees elsewhere, but they are doing quite well in their secluded location. Palm Canyon is nearly vertical and the trees grow in a sort of stairstep fashion. All but one or two of these trees grow on the sunny, south-facing wall of the canyon.
This species of palm tree is called the California Fan Palm and its scientific name is Washingtonia filiferia. They grow in scattered locations in California and in Baja California, in Mexico, but they only grow in this one location in Arizona. Most likely, the seeds which gave rise to these anomalous palm trees were dropped by birds that happened to be flying over the area. Perhaps the seeds landed in this area after being blown about by incessant winds. Who knows?
I once spent a very peaceful night camping in this area but I had to be prepared because there are no services whatsoever in the area. The nearest town is Quartzsite, 35 miles away. I camped in January, which is the perfect time to camp in this area, because it is blazing hot for the majority of the year. It is one of the most memorable camping experiences I have ever had and, if I ever work up the nerve and do the necessary preparations, I have always wanted to spend about a week completely by myself and completely removed from society and, if I ever do this (doubtful at this point), this is the area that I want to do it in.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Dowa Yalanne
Dowa Yalanne, also known as Corn Mountain, is sacred to the Zuni Tribe and the centerpiece of the Zuni Reservation. It is a flat topped mesa and its highest point is 7,235 feet above sea level . Although its summit is only about 800 feet above the surrounded high desert floor, it is an imposing mountain nevertheless.
When Spanish explorer Coronado attacked the Zuni people in the 1500s, the residents of the pueblo took refuge on top of Dowa Yalanne. Today, the Zuni people maintain shrines on the mesa's flat top and a Zuni legend says that the mountain is the "House of the Gods" and rain, lightning and thunder are made here. For this reason, people sometimes call it Thunder Mountain. I have seen, on many occasions, a storm just sitting on this mountain, completely engulfing it, while blue skies dominated the surrounding area. It was a surreal scene. The name "Dowa Yalanne" is sometimes written as "Taaiyalone."
The prinicpal town on the Zuni Reservation is Zuni Pueblo, which has about 6,800 people. A drive around Zuni Pueblo is definitely a step back in time to a simpler era. Most of the mud-brick houses have an "horno," or beehive-shaped adobe oven in the yard. Every time I am in Zuni Pueblo, I almost get the feeling that I am in South America. At least it is my perception of South America must be like.
Although there is some modern development in Zuni Pueblo and on the Zuni Reservation, there is very little. The Zuni people are very traditional and have done a better job of preserving their culture than most indigenous tribes have done. That is one of the things I love about the Zuni Reservation.
Just two miles east of Zuni Pueblo is Black Rock, which has about 1,000 people. It is a modern town with modern-looking housing developments. The houses all have a terra cotta exterior, however. The reservation hospital is located in Black Rock.
Many historians believe the Zuni Reservation to be the supposed location of the "Seven Cities of Cibola" or "Seven Cities of Gold," that enticed the 16th century Spanish explorers in their quixotic search for riches.
When Spanish explorer Coronado attacked the Zuni people in the 1500s, the residents of the pueblo took refuge on top of Dowa Yalanne. Today, the Zuni people maintain shrines on the mesa's flat top and a Zuni legend says that the mountain is the "House of the Gods" and rain, lightning and thunder are made here. For this reason, people sometimes call it Thunder Mountain. I have seen, on many occasions, a storm just sitting on this mountain, completely engulfing it, while blue skies dominated the surrounding area. It was a surreal scene. The name "Dowa Yalanne" is sometimes written as "Taaiyalone."
The prinicpal town on the Zuni Reservation is Zuni Pueblo, which has about 6,800 people. A drive around Zuni Pueblo is definitely a step back in time to a simpler era. Most of the mud-brick houses have an "horno," or beehive-shaped adobe oven in the yard. Every time I am in Zuni Pueblo, I almost get the feeling that I am in South America. At least it is my perception of South America must be like.
Although there is some modern development in Zuni Pueblo and on the Zuni Reservation, there is very little. The Zuni people are very traditional and have done a better job of preserving their culture than most indigenous tribes have done. That is one of the things I love about the Zuni Reservation.
Just two miles east of Zuni Pueblo is Black Rock, which has about 1,000 people. It is a modern town with modern-looking housing developments. The houses all have a terra cotta exterior, however. The reservation hospital is located in Black Rock.
Many historians believe the Zuni Reservation to be the supposed location of the "Seven Cities of Cibola" or "Seven Cities of Gold," that enticed the 16th century Spanish explorers in their quixotic search for riches.
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