mga707

The '64 or '65 Plymouth Barracuda at lower right is the newest vehicle I can definitely ID.

Excellent--love this!

Historic 80 signs are also on what is now SR 80 from Benson down through Tombstone/Bisbee/Douglas and over to the NM border. Also in the Yuma area, if memory serves. Minor correction to the above post: The State Route from Florence Junction to Oracle Junction is 79, not 77. 77 picks up old 80/89 at Oracle Junction and continues into Tucson. The historic 80 signage continues to the Tucson city limits.

Correct. Most '46-'47, and many '48 models as well, were '41-'42 bodies with 'freshened' trim. It was a unique seller's market given the pent-up demand caused by the lack of new car production during the war years, so anything that was built sold, usually at or above above sticker price (lots of 'under the table' payments to dealers to guarantee a spot on the delivery list!). The 'independent' manufacturers came out with 'all-new' postwar cars first, starting with Studebaker in mid-1946 with their Raymond Loewy-designed 'aero-look' 1947 models. Hudson, Nash, and Packard all followed at some point during the 1947 model year. The 'big 3' were slower, with both GM and Ford holding off until the 1948 model year to bring out all-new top end brands (Lincoln, Cadillac, and some Buick and Oldsmobile models) and until 1949 for their 'bread and butter' lower-priced marques. Chrysler Corp. was even slower, keeping their pre-war bodies through early 1949 and replacing them with a 'second series' of new 1949 designs in mid-model year.

Looked through my 'Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980' to no avail. Will go out on a limb and say it looks like either immediate pre-war (1941-42) or just after (1946-47) to me.

The 'Reader's Digest' short version is that commercial radio stations have contracts with the two main music publishing organizations, BMI (Broadcast Music International) and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) whom they pay. The two publishing organizations then distribute songwriting royalties to their respective songwriters.

Thank you for that update--really disappointing that the signs were stolen, one would assume merely for the value of the metal. The Next Exit article is fascinating!

Oh, and to update another facet of this 10-year-old thread, I still have the '05 Vibe. 187,000 miles and still zero major problems. Did have the infamous Tanaka airbag recall, and then a recall on the recall. Did not drive it on this particular trip, though, but it is hitting the road for San Diego in less than a month. The '99 Miata was not so lucky, took a check from insurance for it in '16 following a chain-reaction crash on I-10 that would've cost about 7K to repair.

Revisited the 1927 bridge yesterday, and drove the nearly the entire stretch of Old US 80 from the Salome Highway down to Gila Bend. Some changes in the last 10 years: The bridge now has height 'sizer' barriers at each end--wonder if there was an 'oops' accident? Also, at the east end of the bridge there is now a parking area and raised viewpoint, constructed in 2012 according to the sign. It looks like there are places for interpretive signs in two places, but they have not as of yet been installed. The view area does have a steel 'knuckle' of the type used in the bridge--neat touch. Here's some pictures:

Dave, I just looked on Google Earth at the Fairbank area and saw the structure you mention above. That is a horse corral, presently in use. Horseback riding in the National Conservation Area is popular, and there are many trails. If you follow the old rail bed south from the Highway 82 a short ways you can see the foundation remains of the old rail depot.

Very nicely done!

Not sure about the foundation you mention. The old two-story railroad station, which was demolished after passenger service ended in the mid-1960s, was located farther south along the old rail bed, so it's probably not that. I'm going to have to check Google Earth as well--love looking at their aerials of abandoned places I've visited. Yes, the BLM had done a wonderful job of historical preservation in a couple of National Conservation Areas not too far from my home in Tucson. Fairbank is located within the San Pedro Riparian NCA, and they have also beautifully restored the Empire Ranch buildings, including the main ranch house that dates to the 1870s, in the Las Cienegas NCA, which is located just east of State Route 83 near Sonoita. Here are two more shots from Fairbank, of the interior and exterior of the old three-room schoolhouse that is now the Visitor Center. The school closed in the mid-1940s, which is when the town declined to just a few dozen residents. The desks came from the old school in Tombstone. The schoolhouse is to the left of the store in the above pictures, and the former teacher's house is next to it. Unfortunately, due to safety concerns, the school is the only one of the three buildings open to the public, although the house can be looked into through the windows. Fairbank is one of those rare 'ghost towns' that are located right along a paved State highway.

The Fairbank Commercial Company store, gas station, and post office sits along one of Arizona's original State Highways, SR 82, a few miles NW of Tombstone and right by the San Pedro River. Fairbank got it's start in the late 1800s as the rail stop for Tombstone. The trains stopped running in the 1960s, but the store remained open into the early 1970s. By the early 1980s it was in very bad shape and in danger of collapsing. Luckily, the BLM has restored the building and the entire Fairbank townsite around it. Original plan was to put a visitor center in the old store but the building was just too deteriorated so the center went into the three-room schoolhouse next door. It is a gem! Here's a photo of the old roadside store from last month, and one from 1982 for comparison. State Route 82 is just to the right in both shots.

KFI Los Angeles at 640 on the AM dial was another 50,000-watt clear channel station, so I'm sure you were able to hear them at night as well. As well as 1520 KOMA in OKC, who came in all over the western US at night. But I digress.. Got a sample of those bygone days last summer in Raton NM. All of the eight or so chain motels were full due to forest fire evacuations, so we would up at a place I believe was called the Maverick Motel. An absolute time warp 'Mom and Pop' place straight out of the 1950s. Room (one of 12) was clean and quiet, but definitely 'no frills'. Even had one of those old-fashioned tiny free-standing bathroom sinks. And a tiny stall shower! At least the AC was good and not too noisy. Mattresses were thin but not too bad. We slept well!