ARIZONA TRAIL: GILA RIVER CANYONS PASSAGE 16
ARIZONA TRAIL: GILA RIVER CANYONS PASSAGE 16 Trellis bridge over the Gila River below the golden spike site. The �golden spike� moment for the Arizona Trail is marked only by a simple brass survey post set in a concrete base banked with native rocks. Dedicated on December 16, 2011, the low-key monument that sits above the banks of the Gila River near the town of Kelvin denotes the completion of a decades-long effort to build a non-motorized recreation trail from Mexico to Utah. The monument bears the initials of Dale Shewalter, the �Father of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Sadly, Shewalter did not live to see the completion of the trans-Arizona trail he worked for beginning in the mid-1980s. "Golden spike." The understated tribute on a ridge overlooking a river and trellis bridge at the gateway to one of the trail�s most spectacular segments is an apt tribute to the tenacious teacher, activist and adventurer. ASARCO Ray Mine in distance It�s also the key...