US 60 red, traveled green

On yet another pleasant winter day in Arizona, we left our boondock camp south of Quartzsite bound for the Phoenix area. Our route was via Wickenburg along US 60. Today the highway terminates 12 miles east of Quartzsite, but I-10 tracks the original routing from there all the way west to central Los Angeles.

East bound however, the two highways split like a giant pair of scissors, 60 veering north from the interstate. I looked back at the junction to see if the end of US 60 was marked in any way. But this grand old highway that starts in the East at Newport News, Va., ends here in the desert with no ceremony at all.

Within minutes we passed through the small town of Brenda. Once a mining town, Brenda is now a snowbird haven with seasonal inhabitants outnumbering permanent residents probably ten to one. The Ramsey Mine has been closed for decades, but the area still attracts rockhounds.

The Sunset Motel, Wendon, AZ, by jkbrown

To the east the highway extended arrow straight across the open desert to a dark mountain range on the horizon. Below lay the little crossroads town of Hope with one RV park, one gas station, and one

Do not fish from this bridge, Wickenburg, AZ, by jkbrown

antique store. What caught my attention was the sign outside town: "You are now beyond Hope." After passing through the hills, the next town was Salome, then Wendon, maybe a little larger but appearing less prosperous than the burgs that preceded it. I stopped to snap a picture of the  defunct Sunset Motel, probably dating from the 60s and now converted to rental units. It seemed to capture the present state of Wendon, which has likely been in decline ever since I-10 opened its shorter and faster Phoenix-to-Los Angeles route. Another straight 25-mile segment led to the sandy Agila valley where some farming activity was evident, though I saw no obvious source of irrigation. Judging by the present state of Agila itself with derelict motels and little else, they weren't doing very well.

The "Jail Tree", Wickenburg, AZ, by jkbrown

Despite the generally dilapidated condition of the towns along this stretch of US 60, it's still a good intrastate highway, serving the cities of Wickenburg and Prescott to the north. After another mostly straight run, we entered the old west town of Wickenburg. On my previous trip through, almost exactly a year earlier, traffic had been snarled because the rampaging Hassayampa River  was threatening to spill over the bridge in the center of town. Nothing like that this time, with that same river now bone dry. A couple of miles south of town though, there was some flow, evidence that in dry times the river still runs in underground channels.

We pulled into the Horspitality RV Resort for the night, a campground where your horse can stay too. Next day we took a walking tour of Wickenburg, enjoying the old west feel of this one-time mining town. The "Jail Tree,"  where they shackled prisoners for nearly 30 years in the "gold days," is a reminder of those times. After the ore played out in the early 20th century,

Six young ladies on a monumental mount, Wickenburg, AZ, by jkbrown

Wickenburg survived by becoming the dude ranch capital of Arizona. Much of the area's history is preserved at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, which also includes fine exhibits of Western and Native American art. The large Joe Beeler statue "Thanks for the Rain"  stands outside. It's a popular photo backdrop with tourists. Six young women asked me to take their picture.

After our walk, we pulled back onto the highway. Almost immediately US 60 turned diagonally south and west for the 30-mile

Early tourist cabins, El Mirage, AZ, by jkbrown

run to the outskirts of greater Phoenix. The few crossroad hamlets along there have probably sprouted in recent years; there was little of historic interest. The urban boundary starts at present day State Route 303, marking the point where US 60 takes on the name of Grand Avenue. From there a succession of suburbs – Surprise, El Mirage, Sun City, Peoria, and Glendale – straddle the highway. Little remains from the early days, but in El Mirage I noticed a row of old  stone tourist cabins, now fenced off and boarded up. These surely date from the earliest days of US 60 as a major highway.

In downtown Phoenix US 60 turns east again. It passes through Tempe, Mesa and Apache Junction on its way to the mountains of eastern Arizona. You can read about our travels there in a previous column.

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