In pursuit of Kerlin's Well -- a breakthrough

One of the most interesting things about the Internet is the connectivity of people around the world. A couple of days ago, I was checking voice mail and found a message from Jack Beale Smith. Mr. Smith is the author of a book on Kerlin's Well. In past posts I have talked about searching for this obscure location on the Colorado Plateau where my Great-grandfather carved his name into the rock. In this post, I told about our trip to look for the location in the vast desert of northern Arizona south of the Grand Canyon.

It is absolutely amazing to me that I can post a comment online and have the person I am looking for call me out of the blue. Jack Beale Smith is the author of a number of books about the Beale Wagon Road, the original road that ultimately became U.S. Route 66 and now I-40. Here are a few of the books written by Mr. Smith:

Smith, Jack. A Guide to the Beale Wagon Road Through the Coconino National Forest. Flagstaff, Ariz: Tales of the Beale Road, 1991.

Smith, Jack. John Udell, "the Rest of the Story": With an Adventure on the Beale Wagon Road. San Bernardino, Calif: Borgo Press, 1989. 

Smith, Jack. The True Story of How Peach Springs, Arizona Received Its Name. Flagstaff, Ariz: Tales of the Beale Road Pub. Co, 1991.

Smith, Jack. Tales of the Beale Road. San Bernardino, Calif: Borgo Press, 1989. 

and, of course the book I was interested in reading:

Smith, Jack. Kerlin's Well: A Unique Site on the Beale Wagon Road Near Seligman, Arizona. San Bernardino, Calif: Borgo Press, 1989.

 I had an extremely enjoyable conversation with Mr. Smith about the history of Northern Arizona and the Beale Wagon Road and Edward Fitzgerald Beale. OK, so now I have both map directions and a verbal description of how to get to Kerlin's Well. We are planning on making another trip to the area in the near future. I will be eager to report our success or another failure.