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The specter of pyramids rising from the desert seems more Egyptian than Arizonan, and yet for more than 100 years, three pyramids holding the bones of Arizona leaders, explorers, and visionaries have dotted Arizona’s landscape.
I jumped on my Harley Davidson Road King to explore the backstories of people buried within, including Arizona’s first Governor, George P. Hunt, Hi Jolly, a camel herder, and Arizona’s first Congressional Representative Charles D. Poston.
Riders yearning to see tilted Americana or cruise the roads less traveled will find pyramids of masonry, quartz, fieldstone, basalt, petrified wood, mortar, and even fragments from an early Indigenous American structure. Visiting the pyramids will take about 8 hours of riding time, but plan more as you’ll want to explore historical sites and check out the flavor of local shops and restaurants.
Arizona’s desert is a place fitter for camels than people. It’s hard on riders and bikes, requiring frequent breaks for water and gas. Realistically, plan two days and pack your walking shoes. Starting in Phoenix, my pyramid trifecta began on Interstate 10 by going west for 140 miles through Arizona’s Outback to Quartzsite, about 250 miles east of Los Angeles and 82 miles north of Yuma.
Quartzsite is dotted with RV parks catering to explorers and bikers strolling the streets and sidewalks of Quartzsite with dreams, wanderlust, and a thirst for adventure. The same characteristics brought Hi Jolly from Greece to Arizona in 1857.
Hadji Ali, as he was known in his native Syria, was recruited to train U.S. troops in camel riding and serve the newly established American Camel Corps (1856-1866). Camels are superior to horses or mules in desert environments, and that’s why Secretary of War Jefferson Davis procured them for the Beale Expedition to map the Arizona Territory and establish a wagon trail from Fort Defiance (then New Mexico) to California. Quartzsite has made a big deal out of its camel history and still holds the annual “Camel Days” and Hi Jolly days.
Jolly passed away in 1902, and in his honor, residents created a pyramid monument over his grave. The Arizona Department of Transportation added a bronze plaque in 1934 with a steel camel on top of the pyramid which appears to be walking into the dying light at sunset. The pyramid’s base measures 9 feet between the four corners and eight feet at the pyramidion. When I visited, a POW and an American flag were swaying in a slight breeze on a nearby flagpole.
Jolly’s monument, the most visited site in Quartzsite, is easy to find. Take the Quartzite exit from I-10 and immediately turn right on U.S. 95 (Main Street) for about a half mile to Hi Jolly Lane and go left (west) for a short drive to the pyramid.
A small wooden fence surrounds the pyramid but think twice about riding up to the monument. It is a desert cemetery and looks like a giant sandbox with hot sand, but deserves respect as a resting place for the deceased.
The National Register of Historic Places signified the pyramid with a bronze plaque on site in 2011, and Hi Jolly’s story is featured in movies and music including the Randy Sparks’ song, “Hi Jolly, The Camel Driver.”
From this pyramid tomb, it’s a short drive to local pubs or restaurants. I’d recommend stops at The Readers Oasis Bookstore on Main Street (See Readers Oasis Bookstore Sidebar) and Silly Al’s Homemade Pizza. During my visit, a few customers sat at the long bar, but my partner and I grabbed a table and ordered the Rueben Pizza. It sounds strange, like many things in Quartzsite, but it was surprisingly good.
After seeing the pyramid, I was eager to get on Highway 95 for the 82-mile trip to Yuma and a planned stop at Territorial Harley Davidson. I wanted one of their t-shirts illustrating Yuma’s history as a territorial prison. Unbelievably, the Yuma High School athletics team’s mascot is still called The Criminals.
The first six miles out of Quartzite are popular with boondocking RVers, a way of camping in remote areas without electricity or water service. Arizona State Trust Lands for camping are available for visitors but require a recreational permit and camping is limited to 14 days (about 2 weeks) per year.
Highway 95 is a thoroughly enjoyable ride with mountain vistas both east and west. With extra time, you can visit part of the 665,400-acre Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1939 to protect bighorn sheep and other desert fauna and flora. Other places of interest include Crystal Hill, once mined for crystals, and the Wildlife Refuge known as Palm Canyon, which boasts the only Arizona native palm trees and a featured National Recreational Trail.
Forty-four miles out of Quartzsite, we paused at the entrance to the Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds, a 1,307 square-mile military installation that is the Department of Defense’s fourth largest. A spokesperson said, “The YPG is primarily a testing site staffed with civilian and military scientists and engineers. Every piece of military equipment comes through the YPG and is tested during its development before use by soldiers.” It’s a serious place, but Hollywood knows about YPG too, as a portion of Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi was shot in the dunes at the proving grounds.
Pyramid 2, Poston (The Mysterious)
Poston Butte in Florence is 214 miles from Yuma. It’s a fast gas-guzzling ride on I-8 and I-10 through dry and barren land. But along the way, the Dateland Travel Center is a must-see and a good stop for gas and a date shake. (See Dateland sidebar).
From the north side of Florence, take the Hunt Highway west to Poston Butte, and the pyramid was completed in 1925 and dedicated to “The Father of Arizona,” Charles Debrille Poston.
Poston’s pyramid, on the north side of Hunt Highway, is 14 feet from bottom to top and is built on a four-foot stone-and-mason base. Because the surrounding area is flat, you can see the tip of this pyramid from a few miles away heading toward Florence.
For a close-up look at Poston’s Pyramid, you’ll have to grab your walking shoes. From the parking lot off Hunt Highway, cross under a wooden railroad trestle before going up approximately 233 feet. The trail is easy to see, but random rough boulders make it a challenging walk. You’ll want about 20 minutes to climb at a slow pace.
Poston was a relentless force pushing for an Arizona Territory separate from New Mexico, and when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Arizona Territory Act, Poston was elected as the first Arizona Territory Congressional Representative for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1864.
Like curious American Riders, taking risks and traveling for adventure, Poston toured India after learning about the Parsee people and Zoroastrianism. He was inspired to explore their beliefs and build his own “Temple to the Sun.” Branded as an oddball, Poston died penniless in Los Angeles. Twenty-two years after his death, Poston’s remains were exhumed and reburied in the pyramid temple he started but didn’t complete.
Sitting near Poston’s Pyramid on the butte’s precipice, I could hear bikers coming down Hunt Highway long before seeing them. It was like watching old friends appear when the leather-clad bikers rolled past, echoing through the valley below. Just two miles away, at the intersection of Highway 79 and Hunt Highway, bikers can find a prime gathering spot at The River Bottom Grill. (See River Bottom sidebar).
Pyramid 3, Phoenix (The Majestic)
A bright pyramid with a white tile façade reflects the bright sun in Phoenix’s Papago Park where George P. Hunt is buried. Like the Hi Jolly monument, Hunt’s pyramid is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and marked by several plaques telling the story of Arizona’s first Governor who served a record seven non-consecutive terms.
Hunt was a progressive thinker, and like Poston, toured overseas where he was deeply struck by the pyramids in Giza. This led to his fascination with them and was the impetus for building his.
George Hunt’s wife, Helen D. Huett, was the first person laid to rest in the pyramid at Papago Park. Unlike the previous two pyramids, Hunt’s pyramid is well-kept and protected by a tall steel fence. It’s the largest of the three, standing 20 feet at its pinnacle and 12 feet between each of the four base points.
Riding into Papago Park, the pyramid is not visible but the tourist spot known as Hole-in-the-Rock, a geological cluster with a large open space that looks like an arch, is easy to see.
Hunt’s Tomb is just south of Hole-in-the-Rock and northeast of the Phoenix Zoo. I’d suggest following signs toward Hole-in-the-Rock or the Zoo while keeping a keen eye for the pyramid sign.
From the summit of Hunt’s Pyramid over Papago Park sound travels well, and you will hear the Phoenix Zoo’s dragon exhibit emit a roar, something that does not frighten bikers riding another kind of fire-spitting beast.
The pyramid tombs of Arizona come in assorted sizes and shapes. They are like each of us straddling our machines and sporting our unique styles, sizes, and shapes. If you have not seen the three pyramid tombs of Arizona, fire up your bike to take in the memorable, mysterious, and majestic ride destinations, and to feed your taste for risk or satisfy your thirst for road adventure and a date with unexpected discoveries.
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Sidebar The Reader’s Oasis Bookstore
On West Main Street in Quartzsite is a tightly packed bookstore with rare and hard-to-find books, magazines, and more. This oasis is a maze sending the curious into nooks and crannies startling and unforeseen. Anyone interested in anything will find something: Western, Military, Crafts, Sci-Fi, Metaphysics, and more. Along with this, find vintage videos, audiobooks, and artwork decorating the shop.
Paul and Joanne Winer owned the bookstore for many years, but it was sold last year after Paul passed away. I met Joanne as she was cleaning out some of her belongings, and she provided me with a copy of Quartzite A to Z Encyclopedia.
Paul was a unique businessperson, and he didn’t like wearing clothes. Known as the Naked Bookseller, his business attire consisted of a strategically placed sock, a necklace, sandals, and a hat. A video of Paul playing ragtime blues piano at the Oasis is embedded in our digital edition. https://youtu.be/VxbHKCkGSUc?t=526
CAPTIONS
Sidebar Dateland Travel Center
Encouraging you to take exit 67, billboards along I-8 announce Dateland Travel Center’s World-Famous Date Shake at exit 67. I did, and no longer doubt the legend that generations of families have driven miles to enjoy a variety of date shakes. The date shop is connected to the service station so you can fill your gas tank and your stomach.
Travelers can purchase all things dates: cookies, ice cream, pies, jellies, salsa, jams, and a variety of fresh dates picked from the 9-acre date palm lot right out the door. It’s also fun to motor up to the palm tree grove and see the harvest bags that catch the fruit attached under the date clusters.
Park your bike and walk a few feet to the palms and you can scoop dates from the ground. In the desert climates of Arizona, the best times to visit are September or March when fresh dates are harvested and available for sale or pureed into fresh date shakes. A plaque outside the shop tells visitors the history of the land and how it was used in 1940 as an auxiliary airfield for the Air Force.
Sidebar River Bottom Bar and Grill
Connecting east Phoenix and Tucson along Highway 79 in Florence, the River Bottom Grill is a well known biker stop conveniently located at the corner of Hunt Highway and 79. It caters to bikers with live music from Wednesday through Sunday. An outdoor patio/bar seats 100, and there’s room for another 75 inside.
You’ll find some uncommon menu items like clam strips and calamari but also chicken strips and fries for those not into experimenting at the table. My experience at The River Bottom has always been good, and I’ve always run into biker friends.
Looking south from the patio bikers can see the sprawling Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. It’s known to many bikers because it’s been the site of the annual Hell’s Angels prison run that has taken place since 1983.
The specter of pyramids rising from the desert seems more Egyptian than Arizonan, and yet for more than 100 years, three pyramids holding the bones of Arizona leaders, explorers, and visionaries have dotted the desert spaces of Arizona.
Intrigued when I heard of Arizona’s three pyramid tombs, I jumped on my Harley Davidson Road King to explore the backstories of people buried within, including Arizona’s first Governor, George P. Hunt in Phoenix, Hi Jolly in Quartzite, and Charles D. Poston (Arizona’s first Congressional Representative) in Florence.
Riders yearning to see tilted Americana or cruise the roads less traveled will find unique memorials in these structures of masonry, quartz, fieldstone, basalt, petrified wood, and mortar, and in Poston, fragments from an early Indigenous American structure.
Visiting all three will take about 8 hours of riding time, but you’ll want to nearby explore historical sites and check out the flavor of local shops and restaurants. If you giddy-up on the fast track, the trip can be done with one overnight stay.
The desert is a place fitter for camels than people, and it’s taxing on riders and bikes, requiring frequent breaks for water and gas. Realistically, plan two days and pack your walking shoes. Since I live in the Phoenix area, my pyramid trifecta began on Interstate 10 by going west and into what’s called the Arizona Outback.
About 250 miles east of Los Angeles and 82 miles north of Yuma, Quartzite is home to hundreds of RV parks catering to travelers, explorers, and bikers. Look in any direction and see bikers and outlanders alive with dreams, wanderlust, and the explorer spirit.
These characteristics also brought Hi Jolly from Greece to the territorial outback in 1857. Hadji Ali, as he was known in his native Syria, was recruited to train U.S. troops in camel riding and serve the newly established American Camel Corps (1856-1866).
Camels are superior to horses or mules in desert environments, and that’s why Secretary of War Jefferson Davis procured camels for the Beale Expedition, charged with mapping the Arizona Territory and establishing a wagon trail from Fort Defiance (then New Mexico) to California.
Hi Jolly was revered among the local citizenry, passing away in 1902. In his honor, residents created a pyramid monument over his grave. In 1934, the Arizona Department of Transportation added a bronze plaque and a 2-foot steel silhouette of a camel on top which appears to be walking into the dying light at sunset.
His monument is supposedly the most visited site in town and is easy to find. Take the Quartzite exit from I-10 and immediately turn right on U.S. 95 (Main Street) for about a half mile to Hi Jolly Lane. Then turn left (west) for a short drive to the pyramid. A small wooden fence surrounding the Hi Jolly Cemetery has an opening where a bike can squeeze through and ride up to the monument but think twice about it. It’s a desert dirt cemetery and there are no amenities or benches, and while it deserves respect as a resting place for the deceased, it looks like a giant sandbox with hot sand.
The pyramid’s base measures 9 feet between the four corners and eight feet at the pyramidion. When I visited, a POW and an American flag were swaying in a slight breeze on a nearby flagpole. The National Register of Historic Places signified the pyramid with a bronze plaque on site in 2011.
Jolly’s story is memorable and told in movies and music. “Hi Jolly, hey jolly, 20 miles a day by golly, 20 more before the mornin’ light,” is a snappy version by the New Christy Minstrels from the Randy Sparks’ song, “Hi Jolly, The Camel Driver.”
It’s easy to explore in Quartzite and bikers can quickly get around for a thirst quencher at local pubs or restaurants. Quartzite celebrates Jolly’s story annually with the Camel Daze Parade, and history buffs will want to check out the Hi Jolly Museum for information on all things Western and weird. I’d recommend a stop at The Readers Oasis Bookstore on Main Street. (See Readers Oasis Bookstore sidebar.)
After motoring up and down the streets of Quartzite, we stopped at Silly Al’s Homemade Pizza early in the evening. A few customers sat at the long bar, but we grabbed a table and ordered the Rueben Pizza. It sounds strange, like many things in Quartzsite, but it was surprisingly good.
In the morning, with the slight roar of I-10 in the background, I was eager to get on Highway 95 for the 82-mile trip to Yuma and a planned stop at Territorial Harley Davidson. I wanted one of their t-shirts illustrating Yuma’s history as a territorial prison. Unbelievably, the Yuma High School athletics team’s mascot is still the Criminals.
The first six miles out of Quartzite are popular with boondocking RVers, the term for camping in remote areas without electricity or water service. The Bureau of Land Management established the La Posa Long Term Visitor Area in 1983 to serve winter visitors and protect the desert ecosystem. Other Arizona State Trust Lands are available for visitors but require a recreational permit and camping is limited to 14 days (about 2 weeks) per year.
Highway 95 is a thoroughly enjoyable ride – during the week – smooth and beautiful in its silence and simplicity. We enjoyed open spaces and mountain vistas both east and west. With extra time, you can visit part of the 665,400-acre Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1939 to protect bighorn sheep and other desert fauna and flora. Other places of interest include Crystal Hill, once mined for crystals, as well as the region within the Wildlife Refuge known as Palm Canyon, which boasts the only Arizona native palm trees and is cited by American Trails.org as a featured National Recreational Trail as a place of “rugged beauty.”
Along the way, I stopped to enjoy the sights and snap photos. At mile marker 44, we paused at the entrance to the Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds, a 1,307 square-mile military installation that is the Department of Defense’s fourth largest. A spokesperson told us the YPG is primarily a testing site staffed with civilian and military scientists and engineers. Every piece of military equipment comes through the YPG and is tested during its development before use by soldiers. It’s a serious place, but Hollywood knows about YPG too, as a portion of Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi was shot in the dunes at the proving grounds.
Leaving the big guns out front, we headed toward Yuma where I spotted a small church in the middle of an active field. A story in the Quartzsite, A to Z Encyclopedia tells of a widowed farmer who built the chapel board by board in his wife’s honor. It includes a few small pews, a tiny altar, and a sign inviting the public to PAUSE, REST, and WORSHIP.
Pyramid 2, Poston (The Mysterious)
After Yuma, it’s a 214-mile ride to Poston Butte in Florence, so we hit the road for a fast gas-guzzling ride on I-8 and I-10 through dry and barren land. The Dateland Travel Center, an hour out of Yuma, is the perfect stop for gas or refreshments. (See Dateland sidebar).
Once in Florence, take the Hunt Highway west, from north of town, for a short jaunt to Poston Butte and the pyramid dedicated to “The Father of Arizona,” Charles Debrille Poston. His pyramid was not completed until 1925, 23 years after his death.
Poston’s pyramid, close to the giant “F” marking Florence on the north side of Hunt Highway, is 14 feet from bottom to top and is built on a four-foot stone-and-mason base. Because the surrounding area is flat, you can see the tip of this pyramid from a few miles away if you’re on Highway 79 toward Florence.
To see it up close, pull your walking shoes from your saddlebag for a half-mile uphill trek. From the parking lot off Hunt Highway, walk toward the butte and cross under a wooden railroad trestle to start your promenade up approximately 233 feet. The trail is easy to see, but it’s littered with rough boulders. Give yourself about 20 minutes to climb at a slow pace.
Poston had been a relentless force pushing for an Arizona Territory separate from New Mexico. Efforts by Poston and others came to fruition in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Arizona Territory Act, and Poston was elected as the first Arizona Territory Congressional Representative for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1864.
Like curious American Riders, taking risks and traveling for adventure, Poston’s resume reads of a man pushing the edges. He served as a county clerk, explorer, politician, prospector and miner, civil servant, author, lecturer, alcalde (official Spanish municipal magistrate), railroad promoter, and civilian-military agent for the USGS. He also authored a book, The Sun Worshipers of ASIA [sic] published in 1877.
Poston toured India and, after learning about the Parsee people and Zoroastrianism, was inspired to explore their beliefs and build his own “Temple to the Sun.” He was branded as an oddball and died penniless. A notice in the Los Angeles Herald from 1902 said that Poston died in Phoenix in an alley and was buried in a pauper’s cemetery. Twenty-two years after he died in 1925, his remains were exhumed and reburied in the pyramid temple he started but didn’t complete.
From the butte’s precipice, I could hear bikers coming down Hunt Highway long before seeing them. It was like watching old friends appear when the leather-clad bikers rolled past, I heard their bikes echoing through the valley below. Just two miles away, at the intersection of Highway 79 and Hunt Highway, bikers can find a prime gathering spot at The River Bottom Grill.
A bright pyramid with a white tile façade reflecting the bright sun shines majestically in Phoenix’s Papago Park. Like the Hi Jolly monument, the George P. Hunt pyramid is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is marked by several plaques telling the story of Arizona’s first Governor who served a record seven non-consecutive terms.
Hunt was a progressive thinker and co-author of Arizona’s State Constitution. He saw to it that women voted eight years before the rest of the country and was known as a champion of the common man. Like Poston, Hunt also toured overseas and was deeply struck by the pyramids in Giza. This led to his fascination with them and was the impetus for building his. Hunt was also partly responsible for the reinterment of Poston’s remains from the pauper’s grave to Poston Butte and his beloved sun temple.
Hunt’s wife, Helen D. Huett, was the first person laid to rest in the pyramid at Papago Park. George Hunt was interred three years later, then in turn by his in-laws, his wife’s sister, and his daughter. Unlike the previous two pyramids, Hunt’s is protected by a tall steel fence. This majestic structure is the largest of the three pyramids, 20 feet at its pinnacle and 12 feet between each of the four base points.
Riding the roads coming into Papago Park, Hunt’s pyramid is not visible, but the tourist spot known as Hole-in-the-Rock, a geological cluster with a large open space that looks like an arch, is easy to see. Hunt’s Tomb is just south of Hole-in-the-Rock and northeast of the Phoenix Zoo. Signs that simply say Hunt’s Tomb with an arrow in Papago Park are visible on the ingress roadways but are small, so I’d suggest following signs toward Hole-in-the-Rock or the Zoo and keeping a keen eye for the pyramid sign.
It’s a beautiful view from the summit of Hunt’s Pyramid over Papago Park and north toward the city of Scottsdale. Up there, sound travels well, and you will hear the Phoenix Zoo’s dragon exhibit emit a roar, something that does not frighten bikers riding another kind of fire-spitting beast.
The pyramid tombs of Arizona come in assorted sizes and shapes. They are like each of us straddling our machines and sporting our unique styles, sizes, and shapes. If you have not seen the three pyramid tombs of Arizona, fire up your bike to take in the memorable, mysterious, and majestic ride destinations to feed your taste for risk and satisfy your thirst for road adventure and a date with unexpected discoveries.
The Reader’s Oasis Bookstore
On West Main Street in Quartzsite is a bookstore you must see to believe. It’s tightly packed with rare and hard-to-find books, magazines, and more. This oasis is like a maze and will lead the curious into nooks and crannies startling and unforeseen. Anyone interested in anything will find something: Western, Military, Crafts, Sci-Fi, Metaphysics, and more. Along with this, find vintage videos, audiobooks, and artwork decorating the shop.
Paul and Joanne Winer owned the bookstore for many years, but it was sold last year after Paull passed away. I met Joanne as she was cleaning out some of her belongings, and she provided me with a copy of Quartzite A to Z Encyclopedia.
It’s an understatement to say Paul was an unusual businessperson, as he didn’t like wearing clothes and was known as the Naked Bookseller. His business attire consisted of a strategically placed sock, a necklace, sandals, and a hat. A video of Paul playing ragtime blues piano at the Oasis is embedded in our digital edition. https://youtu.be/VxbHKCkGSUc?t=526
Dateland
Giant billboards along I-8 announce Dateland Travel Center’s World-Famous Date Shake at exit 67. I tried it and found it was incredible. I no longer doubt the legend that generations of families have driven miles to enjoy these shakes, which come in many flavors. If you fill up your bike first, there’s plenty of parking at the date shop which is connected to the service station.
Travelers can learn about or purchase all things dates: cookies, ice cream, pies, jellies, salsa, jams, and a variety of fresh dates, some are picked from the 9-acre date palm lot right out the door. Bikers can motor up to the palm tree grove and see the harvest bags that catch the fruit attached under the date clusters.
Dismounting my bike, I walked a few feet to the base of a palm tree and scooped up a handful of dates from the ground. It’s an experience available in the desert climates of Arizona and Southern California. The best time to visit is during September or March when fresh dates are harvested and available for sale or pureed into the date shakes. A plaque outside the shop tells visitors the history of the land and how it was used in 1940 as an auxiliary airfield for the Air Force.
Got a date with a shake.
River Bottom Bar and Grill
Bikers gather at The River Bottom Grill for a perfect day ride that connects the eastern sides of Phoenix and Tucson along Highway 79 in Florence. It’s a convenient stop at the corner of Hunt Highway that caters to bikers and has live music from Wednesday through Sunday. It’s equipped with an out
door patio/bar that seats 100, and there’s room for another 75 inside.
There are some uncommon menu items like clam strips and calamari, but I’d recommend chicken strips or garlic fries for those not into exploring at the table. My food experience there has always been good, and I’ve always run into friends.
A view to the south is the sprawling Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. It’s known to many bikers because it’s been the site of the annual Hell’s Angels prison run that has taken place since 1983.
Trip Rating:
Scenery: 3
Historical: 5
Traffic: 3
Curves: 2
Road Conditions: 4
Three Points of interest are the focus of this story. With three sidebars, I include a biker restaurant, a gas stop, and a historical book store.
Trip Map:
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