Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Local Group Blazes 4,500 Mile Trail On Four-State Bus Trip

The Prescott Trailblazers just recently returned from a 4,500-mile, 13-day trip through Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

The group viewed the Enchanted Mesa, which is a high monolith that stands 400 feet above the surrounding plain that is a few miles East of Acoma, N.M. It is known as such because of the awe that it creates. According to Acoma legend, it was inhabited by ancestral Acoma.

Afterwards, they took a guided tour of Acoma Sky City, which is the oldest continuously inhabited Indian Pueblo in North America. Acoma is a very unchanged ancient 367 ft. mesa, much as a millennium ago, without benefit of running water, electricity or most other conveniences one might take for granted.

Nowhere else can one get a better-preserved glimpse into native American culture and witness how the Acoma people lived centuries ago.

The Trailblazers toured the Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Ariz., which is home to the world's largest deposit of petrified wood.

This prehistoric forest of stone, the result of water and minerals percolating through ancient trees, has yielded fossils and dinosaur remains that tell the story of Arizona's earliest inhabitants.

They also toured the Painted Desert, which is on the northern edge of the park and named for its rippling and undulating mounds of purple, red and blue-grey sediments that grace the landscape.

When the group arrived at the Grand Canyon in Arizona, they took a guided sightseeing Sunset Tour.

Within its vast expanse and awesome depth, there is an every changing panorama of color, from the first light of day until the sun sets on the distant horizon. A stop was made at Mojave to see the magnificent sunset.

In Bakerfield, Calif., the group enjoyed going to Buck Owens Crystal Palace.

When the trailblazers arrived in San Francisco, they toured of the city, which included Union Square, Chinatown, Nob Hill, the financial district, the civic center, the Painted Ladies of Almo Square, Victorian homes, Twin Peak, Cliff House at Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Bridge for a picture stop.

The group enjoyed touring the beautiful St. Mary's Cathedral. The startling design is truly an architectural wonder of great beauty. The organ, designed and built especially for the cathedral by Ruffatli of Italy, has been acclaimed as one of the finest in the world.

Everyone was excited and thrilled to go to Fisherman's Wharf. This historic area was once the domain of fisherman and their nets.

The group enjoyed browsing around at the waterfront market places and eating at the many seafood restaurants.

Later in the afternoon, the group took a cruise along the historic Fisherman's Wharf waterfront, sailed under the famed Golden Gate Bridge, cruised past the Marin Headland, Sausalito, Tiburon, Angel Island State Park and Alcatraz, which was phased out as a federal penitentiary in 1963.

Another enjoyable day was a guided tour of Muir Woods and Sausalito.

The group viewed the city and the bay as they crossed the spectacular Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County. They wound along picturesque Highway 1 to Muir Woods for a brief stroll through this 550-acre national monument, admiring the fabled giant coastal redwood trees and drove on to Sausalito for a short visit in this bay side town.

Everyone wondered at the sight of the 1,000-year-old redwoods. The redwoods soar up to 360 feet and there's just one word awesome, according to Sybil Sherman, tour director.

The group traveled through scenic Monterey and Carmel, Calif.

The Central Coast region, which stretches between Los Angeles and San Francisco, is so enchanting that it's often called California's Middle Kingdom and the Trailblazers had a thrill of a lifetime, as they traveled the 90-mile cliff-hugging Pacific Coast Highway 1. It is one of the world's most scenic drives.

When the group arrived in San Simeon, Calif., they visited Hearst Castle.

Almost three-quarters of a century ago, William Randolph Hearst, began building a magnificent estate, which he called 'The Enchanted Hill.' Its 165 rooms, vast collection of art, antiques, exquisite pools and acres of gardens, terraces and walkways, comprise California's most impressive state historical monuments.

When the trailblazers arrived in Simi Valley, Calif., they had a two-hour guided tour of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

Reagan Museum tells the fascinating story of one of the country's most popular presidents through interactive displays, a recreation of the oval office, special events, changing exhibits and a 6,000-pound section of the Berlin Wall.

In Hollywood, the group took a guided tour of Hollywood and Los Angeles, which included the towering skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles, viewed the Pavillio where the academy awards were held, the Hollywood Bowl, the world famous Chinese Theater, where they gazed at the Walk of Fame and viewed hundreds of foot and hand prints of stars, cruised Sunset Strip on their way to Beverly Hills and Bel-Air, where they saw a dazzling array of stars, homes and mansions, traveling through downtown Beverly Hills and Farmer's Market.

One day they drove to Yorba Linda, Calif., to see the Richard Nixon Library and birthplace, which was impressive.

As the Trailblazers traveled on their journey, they stopped and toured the beautiful Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., which sets on 36 acres of landscaped grounds. The all glass sanctuary is enclosed by 10,000 mirrored windows. It resembles a four-pointed crystal star.

In Alamogordo, N.M., the group went to the International Space Hall of Fame and had a self- guided tour of the Space Center and saw the many artifacts of the shared space history.

The Trailblazers had reservations for a Sunset Tour at the White Sands National Monument for a 16-mile tour.

This is one of the world's great natural wonders. The glistening white sands of New Mexico, with nearly 300 square miles of great wavelike dunes of gypsum was breathtaking.

Before leaving Alamogordo, the group drove out to the Eagle Ranch

Pistachio Groves. Eagle Ranch is home to over 12,000 Pistachio Trees.

Devotionals were given on the bus each Sunday morning by Allene Spencer and Billie Ridling with special music by Sue Lambert.

Those making the trip from Prescott, besides Sherman, were Bobbie Gautsche, Flo Brackman, Allene Spencer, Ann Wilson, John L. and Lenora McWilliams, James and Ann Oliver, Billie Ridling, Ted and Ann Foster, George Darrell and Vicki Glass, Derald Williams, Bud Vandiver, Jody Smith, Pearl Payne and Mary Kisselburg.

W.E. McFarland from Emmet went, and from Hope, James and Leta Morrow took the trou.

Others going wree Mary Frances Moore and Joe Morgan from Stephens; Nelle Thomason of Hampton