A colorized and paper-thin postcard connected to 1973.12.7bcd. It is a picture of Fish Creek Canyon located on Highway 88, also known as the Apache Trail in the Superstition Mountains. This section of the road is particularly treacherous because it is dirt, one-lane, and very narrow with very little room for error. Multiple automobile wreckages can be seen on the straight drop on the left. The front caption at the top reads: “On the Apache Trail, Fish Creek Canyon.” The postcard is unused, and the publisher is unknown. Jessie Bevan Collection.

The Superstition Mountains is a mountain range that lies east of Phoenix. The mountains are made up of igneous rock and at it’s highest point measures 4,000 feet. The area is dotted with many saguaro cacti and the most well known of it’s canyons is cut by the drainage in the center of the range called Fish Creek. The main road winding through Superstition Mountains is State Route 88. The road was a former trail for pack mules guided by the pioneers Lewis and Pranty in the 1860s. Development in the area was fueled by the 1902 Reclamation Act involving the nearby Tonto Dam. A road was built as part of the project in 1904 and Apaches were among the road’s workforce, later on the road was given the name Apache Trail for their contributions. The Apache Trail has been closed since 2019, when the Woodbury Wildfire razed through Superstition Mountains burning almost 124,000 acres of wilderness and a subsequent flood further damaged the road and area.

1973.12.7d