Holbrook is a town of just over 5000 population, located on the old Route 66, the new I-40 and the original railroad that helped settle the west. In fact, the town was founded in 1881 when the railroad arrived and was named for the railroad's Chief Engineer. Early settlers were either associated with the railroad or cattle ranches. Outlaws and lawmen soon followed. (Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens became famous in a shootout in which he shot four men and a horse without sustaining injury himself.) Of course, the area had been home to the Anasazi, Navajo and Apache Indians for hundreds of years.
Like most towns along the "Mother Road", as Route 66 was known, Holbrook tried to capitalize on tourist travel with motels, restaurants, gift shops and other "attractions" that now appear to be cheesy. Many of those businesses still operate in hopes their Route 66 charm will attract customers. Being close to Petrified Forest National Park, and with lots of petrified wood available on private land, there are quite a few rock shops selling petrified wood and other stones from the area.
Teddy Roosevelt spent time in the area, recruiting cowboys and lawmen for his "Rough Riders" Army unit that fought in Cuba. As President, he designated the Petrified Forest as a National Monument in 1906.
One popular cafe on Route 66 is Joe & Aggie's Cafe. I enjoyed a great green chili cheeseburger there, and had the pleasure of meeting Joe & Aggie's grand-daughter who now manages the restaurant.
A mural in town reflects the origin of Holbrook, its railroad depot. I took a photo of the depot in its current state, apparently not being used. The trains I saw, and some sixty go through each day, never even slow down.
Fossils of dinosaurs and other pre-historic critters have been found nearby, along with the petrified wood and other stones. Somehow I don't think that is a thriving business to be in .
Although I had visited Petrified Forest N P a couple times before, I went back in hopes of getting sunset photos at some scenic location in the park. I was disappointed to learn the park closes at 5 pm, a couple hours before sunset. So, I made short visits to a few of the park's viewpoints.
Petrified wood resulted when volcanic ash covered forest land, followed by mineral rich water flowing through the ash replacing wood fibers with minerals. This did not happen overnight, mind you. The petrified wood was then exposed through erosion, mostly by the constant winds in this area.
In addition to petrified wood lying all about, the park has some colorful badlands. When Coronado came through in 1540, he called the area El Desierto Pintada, The Painted Desert, and it still goes by that name.
The Painted Desert Inn, originally called the Stone Tree House, was built around 1920 of petrified wood and other area stone. It was a lodging place for early visitors to the park. In the 1930s, the inn was modified to an adobe structure by the Civilian Conservation Corps and re-named. For a time, it was owned by the Fred Harvey Company, part of their chain of restaurants and hotels along the railroad. Now a museum, the "inn" contains one of the most famous petroglyphs known, a large incised mountain lion. It would be illegal to remove it today.
The park also has some interesting petroglyphs and ruins.
Although Mormons had tried to settle near here, they found the town to be too rough and sinful for their tastes, so moved south to settle Snowflake and Taylor. For many years, there was no church in Holbrook. Now, there is a Mormon church and a Catholic church, Our Lady of Guadalupe. I went inside, but no lights were on and it was too dark to photograph. I liked the Mosaic on the entry wall, so took a photo of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment