Bisbee daily review., 1921-07-12
ROADCONDIT|ONS
! IN OUTHERN
A RIZ D n A
Cochise and Pima Counties
Have Best Roads Encoun-
tered on Way to Globe

southern Arizona is indeed blessed
except in dry seasons. Roads that
have been excellent and which are
still fine threaten to degenerate into
series of chuck holes.
Of the four counties traversed by
an automobile in making a trip 10
Globe, Cochise and Pima enjoy the
best roads. One of the worst spots
lies between Government Draw, south
east of Tombstone, and the Canyon
road west of Bisbee. On some spots
of the recently completed Benson
Vail link of the Bankhead- Borderland
chuck holes are appearing. The sum-
mer rains and a drag should cure them
however,
In Pima county the roads are almost
universally good The worst stretch
is Immediately south of Tucson and
adjoining the Old Pueblo's city limits
On that side. Here for about one-halt
mile row of chucks are in existence
that test the strongest springs This
bad spot will be eliminated when the
link of pavement provided for by the
Pima county bond issue and the funds
OF which are already in the hands of
the highway commission, is put down
Bids for this have already been sub
mitted. North of Tucson for dis
lance of three and a quarter miles the
road is paved with concrete. Coch1se
county motorists need no introduction
to the joys of driving over this class
of highway. Once off the pavement
the highway continues good. . 1t winds
along the ridges of hog backs which
cid Df h.
mountains for So miles Here Oracle
is reached, some 10 miles within the
border of Pinal county and situate on
an excellent road.
In former years the highway be-
tween Oracle and the San Pedro river
followed long sand wash that was
hard in any kind of weather, blister
ing in the summer and dangerous dur
ing the wet period Pinal county has
constructed a highway there, follow
Ing the ridges, over easy grades, that
will be monument to its builder and
blessing to tourists. The county
has also done some repair work on
the highway between Mammoth and
Winkleman, though this part of the
road is constructed along the valley,
over soft soil and skirtlng sand wash
es that pour floods of damaging wa
ter against the roads, in season, and
cause much highway wreckage.
The ella, lower than it has been
in years, makes a horseshoe around
land promontory which houses the
American Smelling and Refining smell
ter at Hayden and the town of Win
KEENAN,. A bridge, which should stand
the test of time, spans the river en-
tering Winkleman and also introduces
the tourist to more heat than the av-
erage person is accustomed to-espe-
cially if he is an inhabitant of sou;n-
ern Arizona
Some days ago a Bisbee party mo-
tored to Roosevelt Dam, to enjoy the
bass fishing at that point. Upon re-
turning to the Warren District they
passed with a remark the excellence
of the sport at the fountain head of
PhoeniX's prosperity and launched in
to discussion of the heat to be found
at Winkleman. They were correct.
Heat and the ella Valley, or that
part of the ella traversed by automo-
bile between Winkleman and the
Christmas Hill, are synonymous. -ne
walls of the canyon which box the
ella are giant reflectors for the heat
The sun pours its rays into the gorge
and they never get out. They are like
compound interest and the resultant
temperature is akin 10 Turkish bath
and as welcome as an enforcement of
ficer at home brew party.
From Winkleman the highway,
built high along the canyon wa..s,
sometimes above and sometimes be-
low the Arizona Eastern tracks which
penetrate so far as Christmas, consti-
tutes a connecting link between ;ne
county seat of ella county and the
most extreme southwestern precinct
of the subdivision. For many years
this precinct was practically isolated
from Globe. Returns from elections
were sent either by rail through Phoe-
nix. Maricopa. Tucson and Bowie, or
were sent by saddle over trails in the
Pinal mountains. The canyon high
way solved the difficulty. The dis
lance between Winkleman and Globe
is approximately 45 miles. They are
not Cochise county road miles, how
ever. They are ella county miles
miles that rise and fall over indiffer-
ent but creditable highways They
are miles that necessitate much sec
ond gear and some first gear work.
Christmas Hill, which carries the
highway to the highest point on the
canyon walls of the ella, is formidable
but not dangerous or impossible From
the summit sheer drop of perhaps
$50 feet to the river bottom is to be
seen.
From Christmas Hill to the top of
the Pinal mountains. through the
Dripping Springs Wash. the highway
is continual grade. In many places
the road, while good, is steep. Again
second grade is a favorite with the
or long stops for the purpos O. cool-
ing-is Indispensable All through
this section, favorite range for
stockmen, the need of more rain is
apparent Dead stock can be seen
aiCng the highway and many of the
springs are dried completely.
Globe is, by this route. roughly 239