Amazing American Accomplishments – Hoover Dam & Narrow Gauge Railroads

After the RightOnline Conference 2010, I’m spending a couple of days relaxing, meeting new friends and taking in the gorgeous desert mountains of Arizona.  Early Sunday Barbara Espinosa and I left the Venetian Hotel for the drive from Las Vegas on a route that took us over the Hoover Dam.

Note the new ‘Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge’ bridge span included in the slide show below — it connects Mexico to Canada.  Can you say “North American Union”?

Later, we accepted an invitation extended by Arizonian Vic Pomel, longtime friend of ThirdWaveDave’s, to join him and his wife Lana for dinner.

Vic had another treat in mind before we would dine on their outdoor deck to enjoy barbequed beef and perfectly grilled vegetables from his and Lana’s garden.

“Come on”, he said, gesturing to his “ranch” pickup truck, inviting us to climb aboard for a two-hour tour on what had to be the bumpiest ride in the world (think “buckboard”) through the mountains on a narrow rail bed that a century ago held a narrow gauge railroad.  The  line traversed the mountains from Chino Valley to Jerome, AZ, offering fabulous vistas of the red mountains of Sedona, the triple rises of the San Francisco peaks, monsoon clouds, breathtaking heights, deep gorges, fragrant junipers, prickly pear cactus and big, BIG sky.  (Join us vicariously in the images below!)

Vic, our knowledgeable tour guide, took us into the mountains on the same trail that once held the rail bed for the United Verde Copper Company’s narrow gauge railroad.  According to my research (and what Vic told us), this portion of the route that wound around the hairpin turns, up into the highest reaches, was constructed to haul minerals (copper, silver) from the mines to the smelting factories.

“The United Verde Copper Company initially hauled ore out of its mines at Jerome by wagon to the Santa Fe mainline at Ash Fork at a cost of about $8 per ton.  A tramway from Jerome over the mountain range to the west in 1891 reduced this by about half. …the easternmost ten miles were in extremely difficult mountainous country, with grades of 3 percent and curves of 40 degrees — one of 45 degrees.” (American Narrow Gauge Railroads by George Woodman Hilton, pg 313).

Way better than Disney’s Thunder Mountain ride (which was patterned after portions of the route we rode). So, here’s what we saw as we wound our way over the Hoover Dam and through the mountains past the mines and into the charmingly funky little town of Jerome, AZ.   A “mountain” of gratitude to our hosts Vic and Lana for showing us Arizona big country hospitality. And to Barbara for pushing the Caddie to 110 mph to get us there!  What a ride!!!

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