October is a great time to travel US Route 70 through Texas

Updating a previously published column:

Exiting Oklahoma, US Route 70 crosses the Red River of the South into the Lone Star State near Oklaunion, Texas. 

From there, the highway (known as the “Texas Plains Trail”) cuts across the Texas panhandle toward New Mexico.

 

This is a great time of year to travel along the route, as farmers are busy harvesting pumpkins in and around Floydada, the “Pumpkin Capital of America.” (Floydada is pronounced “floy-DAY-dah.)

 

Floydada is the county seat of Floyd County. Both were named after Dolphin Ward Floyd of Nash County, N.C., who was born in 1804. 

One genealogist said that Dolphin Floyd caught “Texas fever” in 1825 and moved west, finally settling on a farm near Gonzales, Texas, in 1832.

During the Texas Revolution, Floyd joined the Gonzales Rangers. The men arrived at the besieged Alamo in San Antonio on March 1, 1836, to join the Alamo defenders who were fighting for independence from Mexico.

 

The unit from Gonzales was memorialized as the “Immortal 32.” Dolphin Ward Floyd was killed March 6, 1836, on his 32nd birthday. 

A Texas state historic marker on the Floyd County courthouse lawn in Floydada tells the full story.

 

Floydada area farmers anticipate harvesting about 2 million pumpkins this year. Pumpkins thrive here because the climate is ideal – arid and mild with cool winters and hot summers. 

Some of the “Big Mac” variety pumpkins top 100 pounds.

 

One of the local celebrities in Floydada is Jason Nutt, a country music singer/songwriter. His band is named “Jason Nutt and Highway 70.”

 

Farther west on US Route 70 is Muleshoe, another interesting place to explore.

Muleshoe was formed in 1913 when the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway came through. A settlement rose up along the tracks on property that was part of the prominent Muleshoe ranch. Folks were content to “borrow” the name Muleshoe.

The centerpiece of the community is the National Mule Memorial, a fiberglass sculpture of “Old Pete,” a real mule that was owned by a local rancher. 

 

They do love their mules in Muleshoe. The city’s logo features a kicking mule. Muleshoe High School’s nickname is Mules.

 

Located on US Route 70 in New Mexico, between Alamagorda and Las Cruces, is the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range. 

Occupying approximately 3,200 square miles across five counties, it the largest military installation in the country. 

Motorists are advised: US Route 70 is subject to temporary roadblocks and safety closures during active missile test firings.

 

Another important chapter of the US Route 70 story relates to the discovery of “12 ghost miles” in Arizona.

 

Historian Robert VanBuhler revealed that between Bylas and Safford, the mileposts “adjust” from 314 to 326. He asked: “Did someone forget to order 315 to 325, or were they misplaced? Did the road crew leave them out as a prank?”

 

VanBuhler checked with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for an explanation and was told that “the mystery gap” is called an “equation” and not a mistake.

 

“The milepost markers needed to correct the mileage to the New Mexico border,” VanBuhler wrote.

ADOT’s spokesperson explained that US Route 70 initially followed the old Gila River Trail, which was used by wagons and railroads in the 1800s.

The location of the highway was later affected by construction of Coolidge Dam on the Gila River in 1930. 

In 1956, US Route 70 was readjusted to the original – and 12 miles shorter – route.

ADOT figured the best solution was to remove 12 mileposts in a remote section of the highway, “rather than go to the expense of changing all the mile markers” going east and west.