Indian Gardens Camping 1928-1932

Babe's Family drove from Phoenix to Indian Gardens in
a black 1926 Willys-Knight touring car such as this model.

Arizona's Old Roads were very primitive well into the 20th Century. Even after Arizona's system of numbered State Route highways was created in 1926, portions of those roads were nothing more than pre-existing wagon trails.  Such was the case with State Route 79 in the late 1920's and early 1930's.

We are grateful to have been able to talk with Esther "Babe" Robart Daley, Camp Verde, about her childhood memories of traveling and camping alongside State Route 79 from 1928 to 1932.  Babe's parents ran a Phoenix hay farm in the vicinity of today's Phoenix College.  Thomas Road was dirt back then.  Babe's Family spent most of their indoor time in a palm-frond-thatched screened building and slept in a separate bunkhouse nearby.

Babe's Uncle drove a Model T pickup truck packed with all of the Family's camping gear.

Each year, Babe and her siblings eagerly awaited the annual Family Camping Trip to Indian Gardens in Oak Creek Canyon. Between August hay cuttings, Babe's Dad, Uncle and oldest brother would load up the Family camping gear into a Model T pickup truck.  Babe and her three brothers would then ride in the Family's 1926 Willys-Knight open touring car.  The three boys rode in the back seat and fought over who would be able to sit on the outside.  Babe rode in between her parents in the front seat. Babe's Uncle drove the Model T.

It was an all day trip from Phoenix to Oak Creek Canyon.  The pair of vehicles drove north of Phoenix on the Black Canyon highway.  Babe recalls often having to wait at New River until monsoon water flows receded enough for the vehicles to safely cross.  The Willys and the Model T eventually made it to Dewey for a refueling stop. Babe remembers an old gas station run by a pot-bellied bald man who had a parrot.  She said her brothers always tried to get the parrot to talk but she can't remember what it said.

After leaving Dewey, the vehicles caravaned over to Cherry and then down the steep grade in Cherry Canyon.  They usually crossed the Verde River at Camp Verde and then made their way through Cornville to the old Sedona-Cottonwood wagon road which had only recently been named State Route 79.

The red line shows the route of the Old Thompson Wagon Road.  This is what early State Route 79 followed to get around Wilson Canyon in the days long before Midgely Bridge was finished in 1939.

Babe has distinct memories of the "road" between Sedona and what's now Midgely Bridge.  The vehicles traversed a very narrow route that was built  in the 1880's as a wagon road by the legendary Big Jim Thompson.  Babe recalls the road was so narrow that two vehicles could not safely pass each other.  Fortunately, there was basically no traffic in those days.  In the only time Babe recalls meeting an oncoming car on the old Thompson wagon road, the Model A climbed "high side" while Babe's Dad carefully slid the wheels of the Willys over a steep embankment.

Babe's Mom was so worried that she had all four of the children get out  of the car in case it would roll down the embankment.

Today the Old Thompson Wagon Road is a hiking trail.  Few hikers know or could even imagine that it was once the main vehicle road linking Sedona and Oak Creek canyon via a circuitous route around the head of Wilson Canyon.

Once the Family was safely delivered to Indian Gardens, Babe's Dad tied a tarp between the trees and the Family camped beside the open springs that flowed out of the red rock wall there.  Babe remembers seeing perhaps one or two cars a day during the 12 days the Family camped at Indian Gardens each summer.  When the Family might be expecting visitors, Babe and her brothers would hike back toward Wilson Canyon and climb on top of a big rock to keep a lookout for any car that might be headed their way.

During the Family's Oak Creek Camp Trip, Babe's Dad would fish all day while the children played in the creek.  Babe couldn't swim and had one narrow escape when she fell off the rope swing under the timbered bridge across the creek to the Thompson Place.  The Thompson Family enjoyed socializing with Babe's Family and the Thompson boys were frequent camp fire visitors, bringing musical instruments, singing songs and telling stories.

In the early 1930's, a dance hall was built at Indian Gardens.  Babe then remembers heavy traffic on Saturday when evening "dance time" drew near.  On one notable excursion up Oak Creek Canyon, Babe's Family visited the fish hatchery at the head of Oak Creek below what is now the Switchbacks.  A bear was kept as a pet and chained to a tree. When one of Babe's brothers tried to pet the bear, he almost was clawed and the bear succeeded in ripping his shirt.  Babe's Mom was none too happy about such damage to scarce clothing in those Depression Days.

Babe graciously provided over 35 minutes of audio commentary about her experiences on and alongside old State Route 79 back then.  We haven't yet mastered the art and skill of editing digital audio files so we're including all of the unedited files for your perusal.  Bear in mind there are pauses in the recordings and you will often hear the Editor asking inaudible questions in the background.

We wish to Thank Babe for taking her time to help us understand just how primitive and little used this early portion of what became US89A was in those days.  As we see hundreds of vehicles whizzing across Midgely Bridge, it's hard to imagine a time when seeing just one vehicle was a Big Deal and the cause of much consternation.  We can imagine the excitement of the children waiting up on that tall rock when they could see a car coming.

Below are the audio files from our interview with Babe.  We have renamed the files to reflect the general content of each narrative.  The time is also listed to give you an idea of the length of each audio file.

1. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/phoenixhome (10.17)
2. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/gettingreadytocamp (2.21)
3. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/theroutenorth (2.01)
4. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/ridinginthecar (1.59)
5. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/narrowroad (2.00)
6. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/roaddescription (1.58)
7. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/thebigrock (0.59)
8. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/thompsonbrothers (1.54)
9. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/camprecollections (5.03)
10. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/campfoodfriends (2.34)
11. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/dancehall (2.36)
12. https://soundcloud.com/us89team/fishhatcherybear (1.23)

The audio files were recorded February 18, 2018, in Camp Verde, Arizona.

The remnant abutments of an old bridge across Wilson Canyon can be seen less than a half mile from the Midgely Bridge parking area and trailhead.  This was not part of the Old Thompson Wagon Road.  It was built in the 1930's prior to the construction of Midgely Bridge later in the decade.

The W.W. Midgely Bridge was completed in 1939.  It's gala dedication was attended by hundreds of people from throughout the region.  W.W. Midgely was a prominent Flagstaff businessman who headed the State Route 79 Association.  That group was instrumental in getting the federal Bureau of Public Roads to begin work in 1930 to improve State Route 79 from Prescott to Flagstaff.  Completion of the bridge marked the culmination of various projects that made Route 79 into a notable Arizona highway.  Not long after the bridge was finished, State Route 79 became US 89A.