Verde Wagon Roads

This is an area of wagon roads that has fascinated me for way more than 30 years.  I continue to be in awe of how wagons navigated this incredibly convoluted landscape.  We are going to add a lot of commentary and graphics to this post.

Here is how to find the original map that we will be discussing in the weeks to come.

https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/Browse/AZ/AZ_Verde_315621_1892_250000.jpg

In the meantime, we'd like to say a little bit about the map from which the above snippet came.  The survey work for this map was done in 1885.  John Wesley Powell (yes, THAT Powell) was Director of the USGS at the time.  A.H. Thompson was the "Cartographer-in-Charge".  If the name A.H. Thompson doesn't mean anything to you consider that Almon Harris Thompson is one of the most legendary personalities of the Southwest United States!

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almon_Harris_Thompson

Here's his diary of Powell's 2nd Expedition on The Colorado River:

https://www.amazon.com/Diary-Almon-Harris-Thompson-Explorations/dp/0874809622