If there is one motto that we would like all drivers to observe, it's buckle up and drive safe.

But if there are two mottos we would like all drivers to observe, it's buckle up and drive safe and to always take time to read historical markers.

State highways take you to some incredible places, often by ways of small towns or communities that have a lot more history than you think. Take US 70, for example, as it traces a path between Globe and Safford, moving through the San Carlos Reservation. An intrepid ADOT employee was recently in the area and snapped a few shots of historical markers along the way. 

For example, you may have driven through the community of Bylas, but did you ever stop to wonder how it got its name? Turns out that if you stop at a monument erected in 2018, you will find that Bylas is actually the name of an Eastern White Mountains Apache chief. Bylas (or Bailish depending on your transiteration of the original Apache) settled in the area when the White Mountain Apache were forced to relocate to San Carlos in the 1870s. Even after they were allowed to return to their traditional lands, Bylas and his family chose to stay and build their lives there. 

Though Chief Bylas and his immediate family were killed by the chief of the Warm Springs Apache, some of his descdents still live in the community named after him. 

Just down the road from Bylas you'll pass another historical marker for the former community of Geronimo. As you might have guessed, the location was named for THE Geronimo, whose stiff resistance to the U.S. Army made him one of the most well known Native Americans ever. 

So famous, in fact, that we aren't going to get into the life and times of Geronimo the man here. But the marker did get us curious so we looked a little more into the community of Geronimo. 

In his book, "Roadside History of Arizona," state historian Marshall Trimble states that the community, just across the boundary of the San Carlos Reservation, was a haven for outlaws and others on the lam during warmer weather. Because most of the buildings were flat-roofed adobe, someone on the run would get on roof, pull up the ladder after them and get a good night's sleep without having to worry about being surprised. 

But Trimble spends most of his time describing Geronimo's resident con man, "Doctor" Richard Flower. Flower was a consumate snake-oil salesman, hawking a cure-all he claimed would help everything from baldness to a toothache. Trimble makes sure to point out "Doc Flower's" recipe had no actual value besides having a lot of alcohol mixed in. 

However, the good doctor decided to move past his penny-ante operation and get into the big times. To that end he gathered up his ore, headed east and started selling shares in the "Spendazuma" mine. Mining was big business in those days and eager investors were always looking for the next big strike, like those that had launched Tombstone, Wickenburg or Prescott. 

There was just one problem.

A newspaper reporter went to see this mine that was exciting so much interest, and found nothing more than an elaborate set. As you can imagine, the paper ran that story and Flower's investors evaporated. 

Whew – that is a lot of history and we got that from looking at just two markers that are relatively close together! Imagine what else you can learn from stopping at the many others set up along the highways and at rest areas across the state.

Just please promise us you will drive safely to go see them. 

There's no getting around the fact that we here at ADOT generally, and on this blog specifically, are road geeks. Highway history, engineering, construction, etc., is what we find fascinating.

And we get excited when other folks out there show interest as well. That's why we can't help but pass along this photo, shot by an employee while on vacation in northern Arizona recently. Now, for anyone out there not versed in vintage automboiles, that's a rusted-out 1932 Studebaker sitting just a stone's throw away from modern Interstate 40. 

But the best part is, that's not just an abandoned car our employee just happened to stumble across and thought would make for a nice photo. No, this particular vehicle was placed in this specific spot to commemorate something special.

Who exactly would want to stage a nearly 90-year old car out on the Colorado Plateau, you ask? Well, for that look no further than the National Parks Service. The federal agency set up the car and a small pull out to see it inside of Petrified Forest National Park on the north side of Interstate 40 back in 2006. You see, this old Studebaker now sits right where the Mother Road itself, US Route 66, used to pass through – the only national park the highway crossed, by the way. What's more, from where this not-so-mobile automobile is (or from a nearby bench shaped like the hood of a classic car) visitors can see the original road bed and historic telephone poles of what was once the "Main Street of America."

We don't think we need to tell you the importance that US Route 66 used to have as it crossed through eight states on it's 2,000-some-odd-mile journey between Chicago and the Pacific Coast. As our 2012 Transportation History notes, it has already been the subject of songs, movies and even an eponymous television series. Even today we still ocassionally write blogs about its legacy, including not too long ago when we invited you to get your kicks on the extant portion that runs between Seligman and Kingman. 

Next time you are traveling up that way, why not pull over? You can look out and imagine for a second the thousands of 1930s Dust Bowl-stricken workers heading toward California, the World War II-era military convoys or the 1950s families packed up in station wagons on their way to visit Meteor Crator or maybe even Two Guns.

We don't know about you, but to us that sounds like the perfect pit stop.

It isn't exactly news that history abounds along Arizona highways. A casual driver can learn about historical figures ranging from Hi Jolly to Tom Mix by visiting various historical markers and monuments.

But what might be news to you, as it was to me, is the Indian Gardens historical marker on State Route 89A as you head to or from Oak Creek Canyon.

Like many a motorist intent on reaching the leafy shade and instant heat relief of a dip in the creek, I’ve driven past this marker many a time, despite signs pointing it out.

But recently, reluctant to return home from a socially distant vacation along the creek, it suddenly seemed a good idea to visit the site at milepost 378.  

Erected by the Arizona Department of Transportation in 1965, the marker commemorates Oak Creek Canyon’s first settler, a man named John James Thompson.

Like other ADOT historical markers, this plaque is filled with intriguing facts.

“In 1876 or 1877, Jim Thompson built a log cabin here and began cultivating the old Indian Gardens where the Indians had grown corn and squash long before Oak Creek was known to white men. Thompson remained here at his Indian Gardens Ranch until his death in 1917.”  

Here is a brief history of Thompson gleaned from other historical accounts: Born in Ireland, he ran away to the United States as a teenager and fought in the Civil War. He also prospected for gold, herded cattle and ran a ferry boat before using squatter’s rights to settle on the Indian Gardens Ranch.

He and his wife, Maggie, had nine children.  When their youngest was born, Thompson was 72 and Maggie was 47. Today there are more than 100 Thompson family descendants. You can learn more about them at the Sedona Heritage Museum and through the Sedona Historical Society.

What is the moral of this story? Perhaps it is that while some of us can’t stop and smell the roses, we can still stop for an historical marker. I’m glad I did!

We don't know about you, but we can't get enough of highway historical markers. Over the years we've covered many of them on this blog, from the well-known to the more obscure. 

Today we are going to add one more to the pile. Sitting off of State Route 82, roughly 3 miles west of Sonoita, the sharp-eyed traveler can find the marker shown at right. Erected in 1968 by ADOT's predecessor, the Arizona Highway Department, this monument reminds travelers about Camp Crittenden, one of several Army outposts in southern Arizona established to protect settlers. The post was actually the second in the area, built to replace the nearby Fort Buchanan, which had been burned by Apaches in 1865 as part of the continuing war that kicked off several years earlier with the Bascom Affair, something commemorated by another marker we told you about recently.

The new outpost received its name in September 1867 in honor of Colonel Thomas Crittenden, who commanded the 5th Division of the Army of the Ohio during the Civil War's Battle of Shiloh. At some point it was also upgraded from a "camp" to a "fort." As prestigious as that was, the post was short-lived. In June 1873, the camp was officially closed. The only major highlight – which is also on the plaque – is that during the Apache Wars, Lieutenant H.B. Cushing was killed by a member of Cochise's Apache band while stationed there. 

Though the camp is long gone, this plaque is a good reminder that roads developed where they have to move people between important places. Camp Crittenden was one such destination, and its location, plus that of Fort Buchanan, probably played a role into why State Route 82 is where it is today. And that's at least worth a stop, wouldn't you agree?