Tag: transportation
Meet Kirby Chambliss, Arizona’s Aerobatics Ambassador
If you think motorsports are limited to the land, you’ve never heard of the Red Bull Air Race, one of the fastest motorsports in the world. Among this growing sports’ most accomplished stars is Kirby Chambliss, who lives and trains right here in Arizona. Active in the sport since 2003, he is ranked #9 in ...Cruising into the Dwarf Car Museum in Maricopa
Driving the backroads of Maricopa in Pinal County, I saw a trailer with the painted words “Dwarf Car Museum.” How could I pass that up? I immediately headed down West Halfmoon Road and encountered a larger-than-life EXXON sign and an old garage. Inside the garage, I spotted a candy apple red car, chopped and dropped. It ...That Arch Over McDowell Road has a Name and Story
Since 1991, an odd-looking arch has spanned McDowell Road just east of 16th Street. It's made of structurally reinforced steel and painted with white enamel and, in a way, resembles Roman numerals careening high above the street.Horsing Around at The Wigwam
Before the historic hotel was home to three championship golf courses, The Wigwam was home to much larger, four-legged and hooved guests. Horses were a big part of the resort when it first opened its doors. In 1918, the Goodyear Rubber & Tire Company purchased 17,000 acres of land...Yuma’s Bridge to Nowhere
YUMA – The McPhaul Swinging Bridge is located about 18 miles north of Yuma on Highway 85. It was constructed by Yuma County and the state of Arizona in 1929 to allow travelers driving between Yuma and Quartzsite to cross the Gila River.Leo, the Lost Lion near Tonto Creek
Charles Lindbergh once inadvertently caused a lion roundup in Arizona's Mazatzal Mountains. In the summer of 1927, MGM Studios hired a stunt pilot to fly Leo, the studio's trademark lion, on a non-stop flight from Los Angeles to New York...Another Recycled Depot in Douglas
DOUGLAS -- Long before there were Home Depots, there were train depots. But now they are, for the most part, relics of a bygone era. Only about 40 of them remain in Arizona and most are being used for something other than their original purpose of sheltering waiting rail passengers.Eleanor Roosevelt Leads Sober Dedication of Douglas International Airport
DOUGLAS -- The first North American international airport dedication ceremony was held in Douglas in 1933, and it was a non-alcoholic affair. The airport began operations in 1929 and had an international designation because it was connected to the airport in the border city of Agua Prieta, Mexico, by a common runway.Even More Odd Street Names in Sedona
SEDONA -- A recent Arizona Oddities entry listing peculiar street names in Sedona drew responses from numerous readers. Mike Peach commented that all the streets in west Sedona have one name if you go north -- but a different name if you go south. "It might have been that this dual-naming gave the illusion of ...Grand Canyon Steam Engines Powered by Cooking Oil
WILLIAMS -- The old steam engines that once chugged and their way across the nation are, for the most part, relics of a bygone era. Most were turned into scrap metal or shipped off to railroad museums. But the Grand Canyon Railway owns two of the old iron behemoths and they both still run. But ...
Why Does Downtown Phoenix Seem to Have Two Downtowns?
The Tucson Artifacts are the Southwest’s Greatest Hoax