DaGirls Rv Travels: Today is the Day

Ok, day 1, Mike and Lorraine left, we did all the rv stuff, moved vehicles around, connected the truck, checking lights and watching the wheels roll. Huh what was that sound? Truck still in gear? No, in neutral, then what was it? Looked and checked, everything seems good. Susan started driving on 260 and Thump, Thump, Thump, what is that sound? It’s in the pattern of tire rotation. Next thing Clunk, and all is good. So, here we are on 260, not even a mile from the cabin, pulled to the right lane (no shoulder), emergency lights on. After careful inspection of all tires, looking underneath, we take off driving, good no sound. Now what? Well, we decided to pull into a lot so I could get a closer inspection of the tires. Even though we have a tire monitor, a good hammer, touching and watching the tire roll is still the best inspection method, they have developed.

Sorry no Photo, but I notice a big rub spot on the passenger inside dully. Best guess, is I picked up a good size rock driving out of the driveway.

Finally, by 8:49 we were on DaRoad and traveling. Need I say, this pass week the weather has been wonderful, 40’s – low 50’s at night and 70’s during the day. We are currently traveling up to Holbrook, with a stop at T/A to top off the tank, this will be the last place for the TSD card. The next fuel up, may be with our Mud-Flap. After that, it will be whatever we see that can accommodate us.

Plan, well what is our plan, head up to Canada and then Alaska. With some stops along our way, is the best I came up with, however we have found some unique places around St. George and also onus 93 in Nevada, also known as the Great Basin Hwy.

Did you know, that US 93 starts in Wickenburg, Az. and runs all the way to Canadian border. Hum, think about that what a trip that would be. Something to think about in the future.

Hun? We are in Holbrook, already, better put this away, as we will be topping off the fuel within a few miles.

Well since Susan was driving, I spent sometime writing and watching the roadside, when I spot what looks like a strange rock formation on the South Side of I-40 Specifically 35.115268, -111.093564.

Google Satellite View

Which is all I need to go into search mode. This is what I found about this spot.

Apache Death Cave

IN 1878, A GROUP OF Apache raiders attacked a Navajo encampment near the Little Colorado river. Almost every Navajo man, woman, and child was killed in the raid. When the Apache finished looting the encampment, only three girls remained and they were swiftly taken prisoner by the Apache.

When the Navajo leaders got word of this attack, they sent out a team of 25 men to avenge the fallen encampment. They tracked the Apache across the land and blocked the borders to the region. However their efforts failed and the trails went cold, disappearing into the river and volcanic cinder.

News arrived that another nearby Navajo encampment had been raided, which meant that the Apache were still in the area. Scouts were deployed again, two of whom were sent to check the short arm of Canyon Diablo. The scouts had found nothing until they were startled by a blast of hot air from underground. Upon further investigation, the scouts discovered that the hot air was coming from an Apache campfire in an underground cavern beneath them, large enough to house both the Apache raiding party and their horses.

The scouts returned with news of their discovery, and the Navajo came back with a vengeance. After killing two watchmen, they gathered up the dry sagebrush and driftwood on the canyon floor and started a fire at the entrance of the cave. Now aware of the attack as smoke billowed into their hideaway, the Apache slit the throats of their horses and used what was left of their water to put out the flames, doing their best to seal off the entrance with corpses of their former mounts.

A lone Apache man escaped from the fiery barrier and begged for mercy. The Navajo proposed the customary payment of goods and stock in exchange for forgiveness, and the Apache man agreed. However, when the Navajo asked about the three girls who had been captured, the Apache spokesman hesitated, confirming the Navajos’ worst fears: The girls had already met their end.

Enraged, the Navajo shot into the cave and added more fuel to the fire. Smoke and the sound of the Apache singing death songs filled the air. When the songs faded and the smoke cleared, the Navajo broke through the charred barrier of horse corpses. They retrieved their goods, and stripped off the valuables of the 42 Apache's who had suffocated inside of the cave.

From that point on, it is said that no Apache has used that cave for any reason. Local tribes warned would-be pioneers about the cave, saying that the land around it was cursed, but settlers often passed off the stories as silly superstition. The pioneers who lived there would later report hearing disembodied groans and ghostly footsteps outside their cabins, the horrendous stories of the massacre at the cave finally burrowing their way into their imaginations.

Know Before You Go

It's on Old Route 66, at the Two Guns interchange, between Flagstaff and Winslow, Arizona. On the side of a canyon with an abandoned gas station.

Make sure to bring equipment to enter the cave. There is a ramp, but it's falling apart and probably should not be trusted. There is nothing and nobody nearby, so please be careful.

The abandoned gas station also used to operate a zoo full of desert animals. Many of the ruins around the gas station are parts of the zoo. It's also rumored they used to sell artifacts from the Apache Death Cave at the gift shop.

So, put this on your bucket list - I know I will.

I will let you know where we ended up on day 2.

DaGirls Rv AKA Gus

Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me

Thanks to Atlas Obscure for the information on Apache Death Cave
Oh, you're missing the photos ? Well lets' see what I can find.

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