Places That Were

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Abandoned Remnants of Mesa, Arizona's Agricultural Era

After checking out a few abandoned places in the Phoenix area, I drove down to Mesa to explore an old grain elevator.

Urban Exploration of abandoned F.P. Nielson & Sons Grain Elevator in Mesa, Arizona

The cluster of grain silos bearing the faded lettering "F.P. Nielson & Sons" towers above the surrounding area, looking very out of place among the more modern buildings. Built in 1938 by Frihoff Peter Nielson, it is a remnant of an era in Mesa's history that has all but faded away.

While difficult to imagine based on the city's current appearance, Mesa, Arizona was once the center of major agricultural activity. Farms and ranches spanned the area, producing livestock, various grains, citrus, grapes, and other fruits and vegetables.

A stretch of train track still sits alongside the old structure, where freight cars once stopped to be loaded with grain from the silos.

Nielson and his three sons operated the grain elevator for three decades and then sold it to a grain broker from out of state in 1969. In 1975, it closed for good. Housing developments were rapidly replacing Mesa's farmland and agriculture in the area was in its death throes.

I walked around the towering structure, but it was locked up tightly. After reading several news articles about people falling to their deaths while exploring silos, I can understand why the owners keep it sealed up.

A peek inside the main building through a hole in the wall.

While snapping photos of F.P. Nielson and Sons, I noticed that the neighboring structure, a Sunkist packing plant, was also vacant.

Urban Exploration of abandoned Sunkist Packaging Plant in Mesa, Arizona

The citrus-packing plant was built in the 1930s and was cooperatively owned by citrus growers who wold their produce under the Sunkist brand. The facility was expanded several times in the '70s and '90s.

In 1996 the plant processed 1.4 million cartons of Sunkist products, its highest ever. But since then, the number of cartons dropped steeply to only 200,000 in 2009.

The facility closed in 2010 as the number of orchards in the area dropped and crop prices did no increase enough to compensate for rising production costs.

For decades, groves have been disappearing from the landscape, sold off to real estate developers and replaced by subdivisions.

In a region that once contained 17 citrus packing plants, the number fell to 0 with the closure of Sunkist in 2010.

The 20 remaining citrus farms in Mesa now must ship their produce to packaging plants in Yuma or California, or sell their goods at local farmers markets.

The good news is the Sunkist plant will not sit empty for much longer. Autoline Industries, an auto parts manufacturer, plans to invest $3.8M to renovate the facility into a manufacturing plant and corporate headquarters. The project is expected to create 80 new jobs over the next five years.

Next week I'll tell you about my misadventure at an abandoned airport.

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Sunshine Trading Post Ruins near Canyon Diablo

In a barren expanse of desert outside the remote Navajo town of Leupp stands the ruins of a large unmarked structure. Despite its advanced state of decay, the old building is still quite beautiful.

Abandoned Sunrise Trading Post Ruins in Leupp Arizona near Canyon Diabo

After exploring Ella's Trading Post and the neighboring abandoned campground and cattle ranch, I got back out on the road. Barely eleven a.m. and already I'd explored four interesting sites, it was going to be an outstanding day. I had one more site to check out before heading south to Phoenix, where I wouldn't have to worry about freezing my ass off at night.

I stopped in Winslow for gas and a quick bite to eat. I happened by a massive abandoned Senor D's travel center. I would've loved to see the inside, but it was tightly boarded up.

Senor D's abandoned travel center station in Winslow, Arizona

Next to the abandoned gas station stood an old Denny's, also abandoned.

I grabbed lunch at a pizza joint called Captain Tony's. I'm not sure why a captain would open a pizzeria, but the food was pretty tasty.

After lunch I followed AZ-99 through rolling hills to the Navajo town of Leupp (pronounced LOOP). With a population just shy of a thousand people, Leupp is quite small, but has an interesting history. It was once home to a boarding school run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During World War II, the school was transformed into the Leupp Isolation Center, a special internment camp for Japanese Americans who were transferred from other camps after being labeled as "troublemakers".

I pulled up to the rectangular piece of land, which was totally empty except for fading dirt roads and the stone ruins of what I assumed to be the Leupp Isolation Center. It turns out I was wrong and it was actually the site of the Sunrise Trading Post.

Sunrise was built in 1920 by H.W. "Nebby" Smith, an employee of the Babbitt Brothers, who owned a trading post at the nearby settlement of Tolchaco. Smith is said to have dismantled the stone walls of the Tolchaco building, carried the stones south, and used them to build Sunrise Trading Post, all without the Babbitts' knowledge.

The story sounds pretty far-fetched, but I wasn't able to find any other information about the place. It is unclear when or why Sunrise Trading Post eventually closed.

The main building was in rough shape and looked like it had already had a run-in with a wrecking ball. A large chunk of wall was reduced to a pile of bricks and most of the roof was gone. Still I found the place beautiful.

Pacman would not be a fan of this graffiti.

The porch out front was really nice. I would love to sit out there on a warm summer day and enjoy the view.

I liked the place so much, I took a rare selfie there. The "Nerd" graffiti in the background seemed appropriate.

Aside from the main structure, there were some walls left over from what was probably a barn or shed.

And a little cylindrical building.

I walked along a dirt road to see if I could find remnants of any other buildings. It led to an old bridge that crosses Canyon Diablo where it splits from the Little Colorado River. The canyon, which was dry at the time of my visit, meanders through miles of desert hills, eventually reaching the ruins of the notoriously lawless frontier town of Canyon Diablo. Sadly, I didn't explore the ghost town because I didn't learn of its existence until after I had left the area.

On the left is the defunct metal bridge across the canyon. The bridge on the right is part of the highway that crosses Little Colorado River.

Diablo Canyon bridge is no longer can no longer be crossed by vehicles.

I wandered around for a while, finding a few overgrown foundations, the only remnants of structures that disappeared long ago.

On the way back to the freeway, I stopped at a lonely shop in the middle of nowhere.

I would have loved to order a piece of pie, but the shop was closed.

Near the freeway is a neat little ranch with a locked gate. The sign reads "No Trespassing. Navajo Nation Property."

I didn't try to get a closer look. The sign and what appeared to be a guard tower were enough to deter me.

I returned to Flagstaff and stopped at McDonald's to use the free internet. After several minutes of failing to connect, I tried using my phone as a hotspot, but that too failed. I overheard the manager saying that a major fiber optic cable had been cut, which meant there was no internet or phone service in Northern Arizona. The only carrier not affected was Verizon. The manager gave me directions south to Phoenix, and I was soon on my way.

There were several really interesting sites I wanted to stop at on the way to Phoenix. Without cell service, finding them would be tricky, but I wasn't going to let that stop me.

Next stop: an abandoned dog racing compound. It was phenomenal. I can't wait to tell you all about it next week!

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Abandoned Twin Arrows Trading Post

Twin Arrows Trading Post sits abandoned along a freeway exit outside of Flagstaff Arizona, a lost remnant of Historic Route 66.

Twin Arrows Trading Post Abandoned in Arizona

I woke up to freezing cold air and windows covered in snow. My car windows aren't tinted, so I was glad to have the added privacy. I pulled on my coat and looked outside. A thick layer of snow blanketed everything. In the distance a snowplow turned onto the street. I am originally from Wisconsin, and the beauty of fresh fallen snow made me nostalgic. But the sentiment was tempered with memories of shoveling driveways, scraping ice from my windshield, and navigating slippery roads. It hadn't occurred to me to bring an ice scraper on the road trip, so I had to wait for the defroster to clear the windshield.

After exploring the abandoned remains of the Christmas Tree Inn in the ghost town of Santa Claus, Arizona, I headed east on the I-40, the freeway that made Route 66 obsolete. Segments of the old highway still exist along the interstate, some now privately owned and gated off. Along exit 219 sit the ghostly remains of Twin Arrows Trading Post. Concrete barriers line the exit ramp to prevent vehicles from accessing the property, so I drove several hundred feet past it and parked on the narrow shoulder.

The trading post, built in the late 1940s, was originally named Canyon Padre Trading Post after a nearby gorge. In 1955, owner Ted Griffith was hit by a car while removing weeds along the property. His injuries were severe enough that he had to sell the business.

The new owners, the Troxell Family transformed the trading post into a memorable roadside attraction. They changed the name to Twin Arrows to compliment the nearby town of Two Guns, and erected the iconic arrows out front. They also added a gas station and Valentine Diner.

Valentine Diners were prefabricated restaurants sold out of Wichita Kansas by Arthur Valentine from the 1930s to the '60s. Modeled after railroad dining cars, the portable restaurants seated 8-10 customers at a time. Valentine Diners were easy to set up and could be operated by one or two people, making them popular for small business owners.

A large hole has been ripped in the back wall of the diner.

When the interstate came through in the 1970s, business began to decline for Twin Arrows. Quicker transportation through the area decreased the demand for shops and refueling stations. The business changed hands several times before closing in the late '90s. The property is now owned by the state of Arizona.

Weeds now grow up through the crumbling asphalt.

Gas was stored in above-ground tanks.

The arrows, which had deteriorated over the years, were restored in 2009 during an event organized by the Hopi tribe. There was talk of restoring the entire trading post, but nothing ever came of it.

The main building contained the store,

storage area,

and living quarters.

The structure is badly weathered. Water dripped from the ceiling in many places.

A large chunk of ceiling had caved in, and flurries of snow fell lazily through the opening.

The large fireplace in the living room is still intact.

The office, exposed to the elements, was littered with snow and tumbleweed.

On the back patio lay an overturned picnic table, where workers probably sat on their lunch breaks.

Several apartments behind the main building housed employees who worked at the service station and diner.

The reservoir tank once stored precious water piped in from nearby Drye ranch. Kind of an ironic name, don't you think?

I'm not sure exactly what this little building was used for.

Judging by the state of things, I'd say the chance to restore the buildings is long gone.

Fortunately a Facebook page was created to document the history of this neat old roadside attraction: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Twin-Arrows-Trading-Post/767379229987962?fref=ts . It contains some personal accounts from people who lived and worked there. There is even mention of a time when they saw a distant mushroom cloud from a nuclear weapon test.

By the time I finished exploring this neat little gem, my fingers were numb. I got back in the car, cranked up the heat, and began the short drive to the incredible ghost town of Two Guns. I can hardly wait to share my pictures and tell you all about it's dark history!

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Abandoned Remnants of Mesa, Arizona's Agricultural Era

Sunshine Trading Post Ruins near Canyon Diablo

Abandoned Twin Arrows Trading Post