Cool Springs Camp AZ - Route 66 Ghost Towns

Although this place probably never qualified as an actual town, it was a desert oasis on the original Old Trails Highway (later renamed Route 66) until it was bypassed by a new alignment of the road that took most of the traffic elsewhere.  It consisted of a gas station, cafe and a few cabins. In 1965 the place caught fire and all that remained was the stone work. A guy named Ned Leuchtner bought the property and using the original stones, rebuilt the gas station and cafe.  The gas station doesn't pump gas and the cafe doesn't serve food, but they do offer up cold drinks, snacks and some awesome history.  Like most ghost towns and abandoned places on Route 66, Cool Springs is in the middle of desert and is very isolated.

I found the old photos on the internet and I'd love to attribute them to somebody, but was unable to find out who that would be. I took all the other photos last month.

Circa 1940

Thimble Mountain in the background. I believe this photo was taken in the early 1920s. As you can see, this is desolate and blazing hot desert. Cars in the old days couldn't stand up the desert temperatures like they can today and many people perished in the desert heat. These little outposts of civilization were literally life savers.

Thimble mountain last month 

 Another photo of Thimble Mountain I took through the window of one of the many old wrecks around the place.

Speaking of wrecks, you know I was happy to see all these old cars and trucks. 

 This may have been one of the original cabins, but I don't really know. However, I'm pretty sure that they didn't offer satellite TV back then.

What jaunt into the desert is complete without a desert oddity?  Yes, it's a Class A RV and EVERY inch is covered with paint.

It may be in the middle of nowhere, but if you've been limping across the desert trailing a plume of steam from an overheated engine, its an oasis...

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While the new alignment of Route 66 led to the demise of Cool Springs and many other places; those along the new alignment, like Yucca Arizona, prospered. Eventually, a new Interstate Highway (I-40) bypassed them as well (including Yucca).  As we were on the trail of history, we went there . Yucca will be the subject of a soon to come blog post.

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Amboy, Ca. Route 66 Ghost Towns

The town of Amboy was established in 1883 as the first of a series of alphabetical railroad stations and towns that were to stretch across the gigantic Mojave Desert in Southern California.  After the construction of Route 66 through the town in 1926, Amboy's glory days commenced.  In 1938 Roy's Motel and Cafe opened. It did very well because there was nothing else for MANY miles in any direction. I don't think the population of Amboy ever came anywhere close to 100 people and there appears to be only a few in the area these days. In 1973 a new highway (Interstate 40) was constructed that bypassed the town and started it's demise.  The good news is that the place has been purchased and they are pumping gas again! I'm pretty sure the motel and cottages will never be opened again, but it's a start.

Public domain USGS Ariel Photo

All of the photos below were taken in the boxed area in the upper right corner of this photo. Route 66 is the barely seen road passing in front of the buildings. The Atlantic and Pacific RR tracks cut through the middle of this photo.  The new I-40 is several miles out of this photo.  As you can see, this is pure desert.

Bender's One Stop Super Service Station and Cottages

In 1938 Roy and Velma Crow bought the place and  installed the now famous "Roy's" sign. The also added one of the first "modern" style motels behind the cottages and the futuristic looking motel lobby.

 Another older photo of the gas station and cafe.

 A better photo of the derelict motel.

The original abandoned cottages

 Have you seen the movie Cars? This place
 was the inspiration for part of it.

 We noticed this old church across the highway

 It appeared to be in better shape from afar

Back across the street again, we noticed the Amboy School.  Apparently it was still being used as recently as 25 years ago. It is said to be VERY haunted. We really wanted to get in there...

 I got closer and stood on a piece of concrete to take this photo over the fence. When I turned to walk away away, I saw...

This! I have no idea how old it is, but it's clearly hand prints of former students. It makes me wonder what's become of these kids.

This was between the school and the motel. you know it was the old truck that caught my eye. Right? 

Amboy even had an airport! Judging by the windsock, it still does. 

These next few were taken inside of the old cottages.

I wonder how long this has been hanging there? 

There are several of these "shoe sculptures" in the SoCal deserts.  Some of them are miles away from anything. People drive by and hang a shoe and then others spot it and do the same.  This one is just outside of Amboy.

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no phone or internet

we are in a very isolated place for the next two weeks. usually no cell phone signal at all. no phone equals no internet for me. I may be able  to post something eventually.  It is a beautiful place though so I'm not complaining.

Santa Claus Arizona

We were on our way from Kingman to the Ghost Town of Chloride, Arizona. The highway is very desolate and goes from A to B with very little in between. Well, there was this billboard by the side of the road. Santa Claus Arizona? For sale? This was most certainly worth a closer look.

I apologize in advance for the poor photo quality. Technical gremlins were at work that day.  Maybe, they were the ghosts of unemployed Christmas elves.

Apparently, the town of Santa Claus was established in the mid 1930's by a real estate developer named Nina Talbot. The idea was to draw people to her land office by disguising it as a tourist attraction. There was food, a place to spend the night and rides for the kids. Maybe oddest of all was the fact that Santa Claus was available everyday of the year. Mind you now, place is in the middle of the desert, yet the owner was sure she could sell lots and actually establish a growing town here. She was wrong...

If we would have found this place about 20 years earlier, I understand we would have still seen the little cars used in the rides and some other things. 

Apparently, Ms. Talbot's grand plan never panned out and after losing her shirt, she sold the town in 1949. The new owners kept this building open as a restaurant and it operated for several more years.

In 1950, world famous science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote a short story, either about this place, or this place was in the story. Either way, I'm looking for it now.

You NEVER, EVER know what you are going to find in the desert...

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Yuma - Some Thoughts...

Some of you might just want to look at the photos and ignore the rest, because I'm going to vent for a bit. If you do comment and it's just about the photos, I understand. 

The very south western portion of Arizona and the south eastern portion of California have a lot in common. The area is the largest producer of winter vegetables in the world and provides over 90% of the winter vegetables eaten in the United States.  One other thing they share is that almost all of the work is done by migrant Hispanics. I have no way of knowing who is here legally and who is not, but I do know that many of them cross the border legally everyday to come to work. 

Something else I know is that there aren't enough people to work the fields. This area (and many others) have actually had to cut back on the number of acres planted at any given time because of manpower shortages. The local folks don't want to do it, the non-Hispanics don't want to do it and there just aren't any white migrant workers any more. 

Yuma is so close to the border that it seems to have fewer manpower problems than agricultural areas in other parts of the country. Based on what I've seen, read and heard, the migrants here usually fall into one of four categories. 

1. Illegal workers who have a pass to cross the border for shopping, visiting relatives, medical care, etc. They are here legally, but they are prohibited from working here.
2. Workers who have snuck* into the country and are totally illegal and undocumented.  
3. Documented workers who are usually middle aged, legally in the U.S. and work in the fields for a living. The children of these folks, just like most other Americans, have exactly ZERO desire to work in the fields like their parents.  
4. Legal workers who have obtained a work visa to temporarily work in this country.  These workers are bound to the company who petitioned the government for temporary help.

Oh yeah, these folks don't just work, they bust their humps every day in brutal conditions. Long hours, low pay, pesticides, various other chemicals, back breaking work and the realization that they are at the absolute bottom of the economic totem pole in a multi-billion dollar industry. 

At first glance it looks like the company at least gives them some shade to work in, but It isn't exactly what it looks like. That contraption giving them some shade (if they're lucky) is MOVING and it doesn't stop.  I've worked a lot of jobs in my life. Many of them involved VERY hard work. I've spent a lot of time watching these folks and there are middle aged ladies in this group who could work me into the ground on my best day. 

The thing that struck me the most (and not in a good way) is that the unemployment percentage in the Yuma area is almost 30%! It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that they don't require some of the recipients of unemployment benefits to take those jobs. I especially don't understand it when I think about the Arizona state stance on the subject.   I've heard people say more than a few times, that "those people are taking our jobs!"  Maybe it's just me, but I've NEVER heard any parents that I know say, "I sure hope Junior grows up to be a field worker."  I'm not trying to make a political statement here, but I live in southern California and as you know I spend a lot of time traveling around the southwestern part of the country.  In most of these areas; if all the illegal/undocumented immigrants (from Mexico alone) were sent packing. Our economy would grind to an immediate halt.  The state of Arizona estimates that about 10% of their TOTAL workforce is made up of illegal aliens. Some folks there are also quick to point out that the percentage of unemployed Arizonan citizens is about 9% and simply removing the illegals would solve the unemployment problem.  Seriously? 

Just one more little issue that bugs me. At one time, this house belonged to a farm owner. This sight can be seen all over our country. Do you think the huge corporate farms that either bought, or forced out the small farmers have even the slightest problem hiring illegal immigrants who go there for work? I don't think they care in the slightest. I'm sure that some of them would probably like to import Chinese slave labor and make even larger profits.  

I'm not sure if I've ever ventured into political waters before on this blog and I don't mean to do so now. I KNOW there are huge problems with our immigration policies and enforcement, but I don't think either political party in this country really and truly even thinks it's a problem. If it was, they would have fixed it years ago.  Most of these folks come here for some of the same reasons our ancestors did. It's the land of opportunity.  Most of them are dedicated family folks, who just want their families to survive.  If you've ever been to Mexico, you know what I'm talking about. Poor, totally corrupt and full of people that are desperately poor.  

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*"Snuck."  I know this is one of those modern day words that has made it's way into our dictionaries and many folks shiver every time they see it in a sentence. It's kind of like starting a sentence with a conjunction. Things have changed...


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You Do Not Want to Serve Your Prison Sentence Here

Yuma Territorial Prison

If you were a murderer, cattle rustler, stage robber, or even your average convicted adulterer (boy have times ever changed);  this is not the prison you wanted to be sentenced to. Sorry about that, because it was the only “prison” in the southwestern part of the country.   If you've ever viewed even a few American Westerns or “cowboy” movies, you've probably heard this place being referenced.

I apologize about the glaring sky in this photo. I hope you brought sunglasses.

Now

Then

The prison was isolated in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, where blistering summertime temperatures average over 100 degrees.  Being locked in a cell with up to 5 other men, with a bucket for a toilet (changed once a day if you were lucky); is not where I would want to be when it’s blistering hot. From what we saw, the cell looked pretty good, because...

Most of them looked much more like this.

This cell was called the “snake pit” or “hell hole” and was probably the worst thing that could happen to you.  The iron grating on the floor is what is left of the ten by ten feet, iron box that was in this room. The walls and top were made of the same material.  When they really wanted to punish you, they threw you in here; unfortunately you weren't always in there alone.  Anybody else who needed “special” treatment was also in there with you and sometimes there were several men in there at once.  Stripped down to their underwear and given bread and water once a day.  The only light came from a small open vent in the ceiling. The worst thing was the fact that they didn't even have a bucket. You just did your business right there in the cage, on the floor.  Imagine the fragrance of that after a few 100 degree days!  I just triggered my own gag reflex!  Believe me, that isn't easy...

 Main guard tower

Escaping wasn't a very good option because the place was surrounded by desert. If you did happen to escape (and many tried), they were usually hunted down (for money) by the local Indian tribe.

The prison was opened in 1876 and the last prisoner was discharged in 1919. After the prison closed, the city of Yuma used it as the local High School (after their school was destroyed) for a while. That’s pretty weird, right?  Can you guess what the school’s sports teams were known as? Yep! The Yuma Criminals!  The name stuck and it is still the school mascot today!

Go Criminals!  Go Team Go!

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Although the prison was a terrible place and a lot of crazy things went on there, I think the oddest thing we found that day related to the Yuma High School mascot. Seriously, isn't that odd? When combined with other things we've learned about Arizona recently, maybe it isn't really isn't all that odd...

Don't get me wrong, being different is one of the great things about this state. You never know who you are going to run into, or what you are going to see.

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Speaking of the Arizona desert. We are back in Arizona again. Same state, different desert. This time the Mojave. We've put a lot of miles on the jeep since we got here a week ago and have seen some great and interesting things...

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