Diablo Canyon @ Two Guns, AZ
We didn't
actually conceive this cache, it was place by someone else long
ago. This is such an interesting site that we thought it should be
continued. The cache isn't exactly at the same location as the
last, but close. Please enjoy yourselves.
At Two Guns, go
to the gas station right at the exit (south side of the freeway)
and, if you play your cards right, pardner, you might just find
this cache. (CAUTION: RATTLESNAKES---no kidding!! Wear heavy shoes
or preferably boots. Do NOT wear jogging shoes,
etc.)
Two Guns is
great, though I almost got blown into Canyon Diablo more than once
by a sudden gust of wind while taking pictures. This was a massive
tourist stop on old Route 66 at one time. The stone ruins attest to
the fact that this once was no small operation. The fate of Two
Guns is uncertain, at the moment the Ghost town of Two Guns is for
sale(2003).
I only hope
whomever buys the property will respect the historical significance
of this area.
The name Two
Guns is as wild west a name as you will find out here. Believe it
or not, it actually comes from the original inhabitant of the area,
a wild, violent individual called "Two Gun" Miller. It is said that
this eccentric hermit lived in a cave in nearby Canyon Diablo and
was hostile to visitors. Apparently his spirit lives on in Two Guns
by the way things were just a couple of years
ago.
Just west of the
closed gas station and campground you cand still see stone ruins
left over from the heyday of Route 66. Tourist stops lured the
Route 66 traveler to stay awhile in Two Guns at one time. There was
even a small zoo located here for the pleasure of the tourists who
came through. All that is left of them are the stone ruins along
the rim of Canyon Diablo. There are also numerous ruins associated
with the zoo, as well as the remnants of buildings associated with
various eras of Two Guns's past.
It was at this
point that Route 66 crossed Canyon Diablo. The old bridge across
Canyon Diablo which was a part of the National Trail and Route 66
is still standing, I think the highlight was when I drove across
the old RT.66 Canyon Diablo Bridge in my 99 Honda V-Tec. It was a
reflective moment for me. Once a nation on the move crossed this
very bridge!
You can see old
Route 66 Bridge that crosses Canyon Diablo that gave early
explorers such a problem. The canyon was named by Lieutenant
Whipple during the 1853 35th parallel survey. The canyon presented
such an obstacle to the expedition that they had to go 25 miles out
of their way to cross it! Lieutenant Beale with his Camel Corps in
1857 had the same problem in crossing the canyon. Today, I bet most
people don't even realize they are crossing a notorious canyon as
they speed down the I-40.
The Story of
Two Guns, AZ.
Murder at Two
Guns
Two Guns'
legendary niche on Route 66 history really began in March of 1925
when Harry "Indian" Miller set foot there. Miller, who claimed to
be a full blooded Apache - except for a smidgen of Mohawk - was
well educated and a veteran of the Spanish American War in the
Philippine theater. As time went on he proved to have a flair for
gaudy publicity and fashioned a quintessential Route 66 tourist
trap, maybe the first of its kind on the
highway.
Here you find
the old ruins of a famous and classic old roadside attraction where
a pseudo zoo was put together for the delight of the younger "66"
back-seat travelers in decades gone by. Neat old structures out in
the middle of nowhere! Not to be out done, take a look at one of
the best remaining artifact "66" highway bridges in the entire
country while on your walk to the Mountain Lion building
ruins.
Two Guns was, in
the past, the site of a major confrontation between the Navajos and
the Apaches in the 19th century. Its modern history begins when the
site is recognized as an easy place to cross Canyon Diablo--first,
by wagon, and then later by motor cars. It was originally called
"Canyon Lodge" when the National Trail Highway moved westward; when
the Trail was re-named Route 66, the site's name was changed to Two
Guns, because the proprietor of the facilities located there was
one Henry E. Miller, who called himself "Two Gun Miller" (for
reasons unknown). During the heyday of Route 66, Two Guns became
one of the numerous tourist traps along the way, with a gas
station, overnighting accommodations, a food emporium, etc., as
well as the zoo (signs of which are still visible from the
Interstate). Two Guns went into decline with the building of
Interstate 40; although numerous resuscitations have been attempted
(including by the owner of The Main Event, in
Quartzsite)
Over a decade
ago we met Robert and Gypsy the caretaker of this awesome site. he
told us stories of the history surrounding Two Guns and for a
hour-and-a-half, we listened to tales of vengeance, murder, corpse
abuse and much more -- all part of the legend of Two Guns,
Arizona.
They area's
checkered history began in 1878, when Apache Indians used nearby
Diablo Canyon as an escape route after raiding Navajo
encampments.
"The Apaches
would raid the camps, steal horses and some of the women, and
escape through the canyon," Robert said. "The Navajos would ride
out after them, hoping to cut them off when the came out of the
canyon. Only the Apaches would - poof --
disappear."
As we talked, we
were led us toward the rock strewn gully that was the Apache escape
route. Eventually, he said, Navajo scouts discovered a large cave
in the canyon, and they heard voices inside -- Apache
voices.
In spite of the
fact that a number of their women were held captive inside, the
Navajos took drastic action. They gathered a huge pile of sagebrush
and wood, built a fire, and then pushed the burning mass into the
cave.
According to the
legend, the Apaches threw what little water they had on the fire.
Eventually, they even killed their horses and tried to quell the
flames with their blood. But it wasn't enough. When the fire burned
out the next day, the Navajos discovered 42 badly charred bodies
inside.
Pointing in the
direction of the cavern, located just a stone's throw from the Two
Guns gas station, Robert told us the site has been known as the
Apache Death Cave ever since. Anyone who disturbs it, he said, runs
the risk of being cursed by evil spirits.
The area's
violent history didn't end there. In 1905, two outlaws, Bill Evans
and John Shaw, had their luck run out in Two
Guns.
In September of
that year, Evans and Shaw bellied up to the bar at the Wigwam
Saloon in nearby Winslow, Arizona, for a drink. But as the
bartender poured whiskey into their glasses, the two noticed a
nearby dice table sagging under the weight of some 600 silver
dollars that were being wagered. Shaw and Evans stared at the
money, then reached for their guns instead of the whiskey. They
relieved the dice players of their stakes, then made tracks for
points west.
The two got as
far as Two Guns before a posse ran them down. In the ensuing
gunfight Shaw was shot dead and Evans was wounded. Evans recovered,
but Shaw was buried where he fell.
When word of the
gunfight reached the boys who had remained behind, drinking whiskey
at the Wigwam Saloon, a short, drunken moment of silence fell over
the place. Then somebody piped up that although it wasn't very
neighborly of the two to rob the place, it seemed a shame that poor
old John Shaw never got that last shot of whiskey he'd left on the
bar.
A plan was
quickly hatched. Somebody rounded up a bottle of whiskey (and
several others to keep it company) and the saloon keeper provided a
shovel. The gang of well-lubricated mourners hopped a freight train
and jumped off at Two Guns. There, they exhumed Shaw's
bullet-riddled corpse, stood him up and poured a shot of whiskey
between his blue lips. One of the men even took
pictures.
Robert's version
of this particular tale closely agreed with other accounts I've
read.
Chain-smoking
and talking all the way, Robert led us over unstable piles of
boulders ("earthquake did that"), crumbled buildings ("watch for
nails, busted glass and snakes"), and rotting wooden bridges over
deep chasms. He told us these ruins represented another phase in
the history of Two Guns.
In the late
'20s, he said, when Route 66 was in its infancy, an entrepreneur
named Henry Miller (a.k.a. "Two Guns Miller" and "Chief Crazy
Thunder") opened a gas station, wild animal zoo and Apache Death
Cave exhibition. Miller had a partner, Earl Cundiff, when he
started the project. But whether you chalk it up to the Indian
curse or some other cause, their association didn't last
long.
Robert pointed
with his knife to a dilapidated building. "That there," he said,
"is where Miller shot and killed Earl Cundiff in '26. Shot him over
some woman . . . got off scot-free, too."
Finally, Robert
led us down a treacherous pile of rubble left behind by an
avalanche and stopped inside the mouth of the Apache Death Cave.
Then he lit an old lantern, held it up to his face and croaked,
"Follow me."
Up until then,
I'd been thinking of Robert as a friendly eccentric, a
self-proclaimed mountain man who lived in the middle of nowhere by
choice and sometimes liked to "sit in the ruins late at night and
watch for stuff."
But a few
minutes later, when he walked us deep into the cave, then
extinguished the lantern to show us how dark it was, I began to
have other thoughts. My mind wandered to things like Robert's
knife, my wallet, his gun and my life. When he re-lit the lantern,
I noticed J. B. apparently shared my apprehensions. He had inched a
good 20 feet back toward the mouth of the cave, banging his head on
the low ceiling in the process.
Our experience
in the Apache Death Cave was similar to the tours Two Guns Miller
offered tourists back in the '30s and '40s, except that Miller, the
man who blew out the lantern on them, really had killed a man
there!
In spite of the
scare he threw into us, Robert was careful to make sure we got back
to our bikes safely. And along the way, he explained how Two Guns
was going to be rebuilt just like it was by a rich investor "real
soon."
As for the
curse, Robert said it still exists. How else can you explain the
fact that the motel and gas station at Two Guns survived for
decades in this remote location, then burned to the ground on the
very day Interstate 40 opened and Route 66 was bypassed? It had to
be the curse -- or perhaps that mysterious form of spontaneous
combustion that can occur when a deed rubs up against an insurance
policy.
Please replace
the cache exactly as found or better. This area does get some
traffic. Enjoy yourself and spend some time stepping back into
history. You are seeking an .30 cal ammo can, and adventure we
hope.