The sixth day on the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Route began as usual, with a sunrise and a fresh cup of coffee. I’d spent the evening at the site of the Oatman Massacre, and was ready to move further down the trail. The trail originally took this route off of the mesa, but was far too rocky and deteriorated to attempt. I could see the trail on the desert floor below, but would have to find another way down.
You can see the original path in this old lithograph.
After breaking camp, I set off to find my route and reconnect with the trail. Along the way, I came across this sign:
I found it comical, as there was no such sign as I approached from the West (if you saw the previous video, you know this sign is accurate).
I was able to find a much easier path down the Mesa, and soon arrived at the site of Oatman Flat Station, called Fourr’s Station after the Civil War, named after old Billy Fourr, a Missouri man who lived here and paved an easier road up the next mesa, of which he charged a toll for use. Fourr and his family also were plagued by the Apaches, having over 150 cattle stolen, and his homestead burglarized over the decade they lived here. The cemetery at the site is the resting place for four of Billy’s children who died here. Times were hard.
There is an outstanding Eagle Scout project that has beautifully preserved the history of this station. Kudos to Stanley Heisey for organizing it, and congratulations on becoming an Eagle Scout. The station, as well as Fourr’s house, are now amidst plowed fields. As you drive by, you can almost see Billy Fourr out in the fields. The section Billy paved is impressive, and certainly fun to ascend, I made my way up, and on to the next mesa.
Soon I reached the end of my time mesa-hopping and followed the trail to the last descent. Somehow my film here became corrupted, but as you can see from the first part of the video, and below, it was a challenging, tight fit, that ultimately resulted in a shifting rock dislodging one of the large rocks on that pile into my rear fender. Fortunately, Land Rover designed the fenders to take a beating, so the rock only popped off one piece securing the plastic fender to the actual panel.
I passed some old ruins along the way, but these were inconsistent with the common Butterfield station layouts… but the area is full of ghost towns and unique sights One of those sights, along the trail and only a short distance east from the Oatman Flat Station is the fascinating Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, the largest known site in the area and home to over 3,800 petroglyphs and another 1,000 instances of historic inscriptions or graffiti spread across 644 boulders.
The Hohokam people once lived and farmed here from 350-550 AD, but due to the high traffic of traiding and raiding in the gila river valley, the petroglyphs are not attributed to solely one tribe. Archaeology Southwest has recently published an outstanding report on the boulders if you’re keen on learning more about them.
From there I set back out on the trail and headed to the Gila Bend Station, The town of Gila Bend has remained, and while the only old structure in the area is a church, the location plotted for the stations is fittingly now a United States Post Office. This is indicative of why I believe the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Route, as the first true interstate system in America was so instrumental in enabling out vast country to be connected.
Saddling back up, I was off to the next station on the trail, the aptly named Butterfield pass. Located within the Sonoran Desert National Monument, I had read remnants of the trail were still present in this portion, and didn’t want to miss them. Upon arriving to the entrance, the local map informed me the area had been closed to motor vehicles and 4×4 traffic… fortunately, it was situations just like this that I had my bike along with me for.
I met a native Arizona woman who highly advised me to visit Tombstone on my journey, as I unpacked the bike and all of its accoutrements. Once I was ready, I set forth into the desert. The soft sand along the path was really a challenge to pedal through, but I was determined to check out the pass, so I persisted onward. A short way into the pass, I reached Happy Camp, one of the only watering holes along this stretch of the trail. This sign was also courtesy of an Eagle Scout Project. I inspected the cistern and prepared for the final push up the pass.
It was a challenge, but it was cool to crest the pass and see the route continuing onward ahead of me… now to ride back down and get on the road! I made a quick detour, joining my friend Layton for a dinner at Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe, bypassing several station sites that have been covered by the highway system, before heading to my camp for the night in the mountains of the Ironwood Forest National Monument.