When old highways die

Ther is something very sad and lonely about roadways that have been decommissioned. Northern Arizona is full of bits and pieces of old Route 66 and older SR89, if you are on the lookout for them. And they are accessible, being on federal and state land. Not so this old section of 89A recently replaced by a spiffy new 4-lane speedway between Prescott north and Prescott Valley. It's scheduled to become a part of a huge real estate subdivision one of these days when the market picks up again. And it's locked off. Twice.

Yes, that is the old railroad crossing, now the Peavine Trail, which means that if you walk long enough you can access the old road. Of course, you'd be trespassing.

What always shocks me is just how quickly the grass takes hold in abandoned asphalt. That white stripe is still pretty dang clean and yet the forces of nature and life are already breaking up the pavement, which gets other visitors, as well (below).

Really old, original road markers (above) and fairly new ones (below) are still in evidence out old 89A.

There are even remains of older roads (above). The two-track is strictly local, but the heavy cut is part of old Rte. 79, the earlier Prescott-Jerome highway, built when, of the two towns, Jerome was by every measure the more important and larger. Below, the latest version of 89A is visible in the distance.

The old road passed closer to our local volcano (Glassford Hill). Is that a blowout on the side of the mountain; I'd never noticed it before. And it offered a terrific view of Granite Mountain as you headed into Prescott.
Way lonely, right? This is the picture from my neighbor that piqued my interest in revisiting the old highway.

Heading downhill toward the Dells, the railroad crossing is barely visible in the background. Below, the road curves as it approaches the bridge across Granite Creek in the Dells. But travelling this section is a no-no, blocked completely off. Too bad.

There are times I really hate change!

Prescott Scenes: Foolsewoode and Jarart both photographed El Dia de Los Muertes; Tombo has found another of those low-key critter graffiti works, this one a squirrel; PrescottStyle is all about the great zombie celebration; an out-of-town grandmother took pictures on Mt. Vernon Street Halloween night, and Catalyst collected costumery on WhiskeyRow the same night.