A month ago, I headed up to the Peeples Valley on AZ Route 89 between Wickenburg and Prescott to take some sunrise photos. I had also arranged to meet a writer and photographer from National Geographic Adventure for breakfast. Mark Sundeen, the writer, and Jeff Pflueger, the photographer, had been traveling down US Route 89 for two weeks. We met up in Wilhoit, took some photos for their article and headed for The Ranch House restaurant in Yarnell for breakfast. That?s where we met Ben Evans and Lois Hight.

Ben and Lois live in Stanton which struck me as odd since I thought Stanton was a ghost town. It was one of a trio of towns in the foothills of the Weaver Mountains that grew up around one of the richest gold strikes in Arizona history. Stanton is at the base of Rich Hill on top of which the famous scout, Pauline Weaver, found a pocket of gold nuggets in 1863. The area teamed with eager prospectors and miners for several decades. Then the rich veins ran out and Stanton was abandoned, or so I thought.

Lois invited us to visit Stanton which is only five miles down a dirt road from Yarnell. After a quick discussion, we decided a short side trip wouldn?t throw Mark and Jeff off schedule. What we thought would be a 15 minute visit to the ruins of a town turned into two hours of fascinating conversations with the new prospectors of Rich Hill. Stanton has become the winter home of some two hundred folks who arrive in their RV?s and spend six months looking for gold.

We met Will Bass who gave us a lesson in using metal detectors to uncover buried treasures. James Plunk showed us specimens of quartz with veins of gold prized by collectors. Ben Evans told us the story of Charles P. Stanton, a ruthless scoundrel who cheated his way to a small fortune. His life ended in gun fire and he is buried up Antelope Creek in a solitary grave. Ben recounted how when he parked his trailer near Stanton?s grave, he started having nightmares and felt the malevolent presence of a restless ghost. He finally had to move to restore peace.

There were many more stories and fascinating people we met that day in Stanton. But here?s the point for all of us Interstate Addicts. You can find the cure on the back roads of America. Stop and have a meal and be open to new possibilities. Allow the journey to be your destination.

Photographer Mark A. Culbertson has spent many hours on the back roads of Arizona. He travels in vintage cars that he has lovingly restored and stops whenever he sees ?an abandoned building, a rusty old car, a wrecking yard, a dusty storefront window.? These things become his subjects and are transformed into strangely beautiful photographs.

In a recent conversation, Mark mentioned that one of his favorite abandoned buildings is a gas station in Wilhoit at the north end of the Peeples Valley on Route 89. So on my recent trip to that area I went looking for it. Much to my chagrin all that is left are the two old gas pumps behind a chain link fence with a ?No Trespassing? sign in front. Here is one more reason to get off the Interstate. The special places may not be there next time.

Here are a couple more of Mark?s photos of the Wilhoit gas station. Visit Mark A. Culbertson?s website to see his entire collection of Junk Stock.

Wilhoit gas station photographs: Copyright 2006 Mark A. Culbertson

You are not alone in your passion for a trip on a ?slow road.? There are many others like you. Together we can spread the word of the joys of leisurely travel. Join the US Route 89 Appreciation Society and you?ll receive an official membership certificate and button to attest to your belief in the "slow road" movement.

General Membership: $5
Benefits:
? Membership Certificate
? Membership Badge
? Email Newsletter
? Invitations to all project events