Superstition People, Places, & Things.

[Hal Croves]

I have had the honor of meeting some truly remarkable people on this site, a few in person, many more thru PMs, texts and posts. It is a strange idea to have had so much contact with people that I have never seen before. This thread is a place to post pictures of your favorite Superstition people, places, and things. Its an album of Coronado's Children and a few of their discoveries. The next generation of treasure hunters is right behind us and I guess this is for them.

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Hal

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Hal

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Hal

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Jomo

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Thomas & Kurt

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Hal & George

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Matt
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[Azquester]

Hal, Nice photo's!

You're not to bad to look at my wife says! (Stay away from my wife now you Gigolo!) You look in better shape than I. At least thinner for now. I've lost thirty five pounds in three months so far. Just have another 25 to go! Which ain't easy when you have so much muscle (Fat) from being over weight!

I like your Knife, and camera, and monopod. That green slime is everywhere when it hasn't rained for a bit.

Your friend Jomo is a surprise. I've never met a black man hiking out in the wilderness before. I had two best friends I grew up with that were black and their parents told them to stay away from me and my family! I think they called our family "Hillbilly Cracker's and White Trash".

Hell, we even went to jail together one time in 1976...ah...the memories...I was the only white guy in that east St Louis jail!

I know what your thinking, and, no, it wasn't anything but speeding.

145 mph in a 55 mph zone.

I think they called it "Fleeing to avoid a Motorcycle Cop's speeding tickets" or something like that. I guess the Cop wasn't impressed. He had never taken his Harley above 100 before! The Fine was $80 or 80 days! It took me 5 days before I could bail out of there! It actually happened in Illinois so I was transferred over there from East St Louis for a bit. Same scenario I was the only white man in there. The fine was small but Court costs huge! Needless to say I lost my driving privilege's in Illinois for a few years. It never mattered I was from Missouri. Darrel my cohort in speeding never rode with me again, I can't blame him.

Nice Hike Hal!

Oh it was an early 70's Gran Torino GT that I did the 145 mph stunt.


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[Azquester]

 

[cactusjumper]

Hal,

Al Morrow in Needle Canyon:



Al at his claim:



Al was a true gentleman and always welcomed us in his camp.

Nice pictures. Good topic.

Take care,

Joe

 

[sdcfia]

I love it. The Jacket that Al is wearing in the first photograph looks like my Filson. If it is, not only was he a gentleman but he had excellent taste.
"Might as well have the best".

Absolutely. I still have my Filson field vest from the 70s. Rugged, perfect pockets selection and placement, rear cargo pouch. Bulletproof classic. Al's got my support too.

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

What have been the Grandest treasures known that have come out of this area (fact ) ?

 

[adtofca]

Beautiful Place when the Water is high

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Geeze, we have a convicted criminal amongst us, need horrors.

 

[releventchair]

Geeze, we have a convicted criminal amongst us, need horrors.

 

[hoseman1]

Nice panorama view. Only problem is it is not looking south, it is looking almost due west.

 

[somehiker]

Nice shots Hal. And from one of the best trails out there, with impressive views of many of the landmarks that are part of the history and legends of the Superstitions.

With that in mind, here's something for the "things" category of your topic. As far as I know, this cast Crucifix was found somewhere within the visual range of one of your photos. This was taken quite a few years ago at the old saloon in Tortilla Flat, before the fire that destroyed the original buildings and motel, again so far as I know. I don't know if it was recovered from the debris or not. I've done some research on the artistic style and symbolism, with interesting results ranging from medieval era...eg: MacMillan's Cross (Celtic), to !700 to early 1800's period Indigenous-made Spanish Colonial Crucifix art......common from Sonora down to Peru.

View attachment Cast Crucifix TF.bmp

 

[captain1965]

Good times

 

[somehiker]

Thanks Victor.

It's too bad the photo isn't higher resolution.
The artifact appears to exhibit a wide range of symbols which are difficult to make out.
The representation of the corpus as dismembered and/or disjointed, suggests an iconoclastic style, with the lower/base casting resembling the Arabic (N) Nazarene symbol.

 

[cw0909]

tried to enhance the Crucifix art /artifact/object, somehiker posted
i think it has to many styles of artwork going on in one piece
makes me think of a contrived/made up piece, to fool someone for ?
do you know when/year this was found

 

[EarnieP]

Multi tool; bottle top opener/screw driver/boot remover/nail puller

 

[somehiker]

tried to enhance the Crucifix art /artifact/object, somehiker posted
i think it has to many styles of artwork going on in one piece
makes me think of a contrived/made up piece, to fool someone for ?
do you know when/year this was found

View attachment 1268959 View attachment 1268960

Yes, there does appear to be a lot going on with the artwork. Spain (Andalusia/Al-Andalus) and the Holy Land were two areas where the clash of Christianity and Islam inspired this style of abstract art. Rome wasn't as enthusiastic about it though, with the artists often branded as heretics.
I don't think anyone has ever tried to link it to any of the legends, so if contrived as you suggest, for some conspiratorial purpose, the effort was wasted.
I don't know what year, but it may have been found during an earlier phase at TF.

 

[cw0909]

somehiker, im not trying to link it to any of the legends, the object just
reminded me of the Tucson artifacts, have you handled the object you
posted, do you think it is 200-300 yr. old or older

not sure if these were ever deemed fakes or real,havent heard read anything
for a couple yrs
http://i0.wp.com/doughocking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/20130927_160057.jpg

 

[cw0909]

i dont know what it is hal, JMO it doesnt look like an old or real artifact to me
but who knows could be

 

[somehiker]

somehiker, im not trying to link it to any of the legends, the object just
reminded me of the Tucson artifacts, have you handled the object you
posted, do you think it is 200-300 yr. old or older

not sure if these were ever deemed fakes or real,havent heard read anything
for a couple yrs
http://i0.wp.com/doughocking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/20130927_160057.jpg

As I said... "I don't think anyone has ever tried to link it to any of the legends,".....which would include yourself.
I've never seen any mention of it in any of the many LDM/Peralta or Stone Map stories and discussions to date.
The craftsmanship is much better than that of the Tucson/Silverbell examples....which I believe were a result of someone's hobby....and this object was cast in either bronze or iron, rather than in lead as were all of the T-S castings. I haven't handled this Crucifix, nor do I know where it is now, if in fact it still exists. The original Saloon, and all but the tiny schoolhouse burned to the ground in 1987, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was lost at that time.
There are many examples of genuine Spanish Colonial Crosses and Crucifixes in photo collections on the internet. They and this are similar in several ways, which suggests a creation date somewhere in the 1700's or early 1800's, so yes, that would make it at least 250 years old.

 

[somehiker]

somehiker,

Age and origin will not explain where it was found and why, could have been stolen and left, could have been remains. Something about it is very familiar and I am willing to say that if you figure out how it got to where it was found, from that, it would be possible to understand what really happened in the Superstitions.

I sure would like to hear the back story.

?


I would lean towards it being authentic.

All I have in the way of notes on this came on one of the cd's from Jim Hatt.

" old cast iron crucifix found by workmen near Tortilla Flat "

Thus, it could have been found during the construction of the Apache Trail and/or the leveling and building of the original work camp at that location for example....at the earliest. As I recall, TF was severely damaged by flooding on at least one occasion as well, At that time, the buildings were located on the other side of where the road is today.
I also have no doubt that it is an authentic artifact, with some kind of story behind it, but I don't know anything more.
It doesn't seem like something someone would have stolen, even the Apache who raided the settlements and missions. Nor by others who carted away what was left behind at abandoned Spanish compounds. To a collector, it might have some value today, but back then it wouldn't have been worth very much IMO.