Wrench Rock — a reflection

Here's a scene starring the always fascinating Wrench Rock — sometimes called Indian Head, Upper Indian Head or Bobby — in a relatively artistic shot from the TV show "Annie Oakley." This scene appears in a 1956 episode called "Dilemma at Diablo." I love the full reflection of the rock in the pool of water.

Also visible in the shot are the Aztec on the left (next to the horse, if you can make it out) and Two-Humper, an important Iverson marker, in the top left corner. (See detail shots below.)


Detail: Two-Humper


Detail: The Aztec

Here's the same group — Wrench Rock, the Aztec and Two-Humper — in a recent photo taken from more or less the same spot. The shot is taken in springtime when the California neon green is in full bloom.


Wrench Rock was probably the original "Indian Head" that became confused with another rock, located on the Lower Iverson, originally known as Tower Rock. Tower Rock, later known as Indian Head (and often seen paired with another rock, known as Eagle Beak or Sphinx), became one of Iverson's most famous rocks, helped by an appearance in John Ford's epic Stagecoach. That's why Wrench Rock ultimately started being called other things, including Upper Indian Head, which isn't exactly elegant. (But then, neither is Wrench Rock.)


I didn't help matters when I came along years later, unaware of any of the rock's existing names, and started calling it Bobby. But I've since come to my senses, and I think Wrench Rock is the least confusing name for it.


If you want to get deeper into the complexity of rock names at Iverson, here's a blog post tackling the movie ranch's various Indian Heads.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto in the Garden of the Gods

Here are a couple of shots from early episodes of the "Lone Ranger" TV show (1949), also used in the 1952 movie version. The photo above gives an overview of some of the major figures in Garden of the Gods on the Lower Iverson Movie Ranch. On the left are the Three Kings, including Indian Head, the tall figure just behind the Lone Ranger. To the right of Indian Head is a little glimpse of Pebblehead in the background. At right is a portion of Eagle Beak, also known as Sphinx Rock.


Another shot taken in the same area shows the rest of Eagle Beak — and reveals why it is sometimes called Sphinx Rock. To the right of Eagle Beak is the Phantom. Here's a more current look at the Phantom.

Iverson Village: the northern end of town

I've posted photos of the southern end of Iverson Village already (here), and this is what the rest of the town looked like. The shot above is from "The Hills of Utah" (1951). Note the stone buildings on both sides of the street. Most Western movie towns were wood, so the stone buildings help distinguish Iverson Village, also called El Paso Street. The traditional consensus was that the main street was oriented more or less north and south, although comparing the positions of Gumdrop and Church Rock, the marker rocks at the southern end of town seen in the other post, gave rise to the idea that the street would have had to be positioned at an angle, southwest to northeast. This idea was confirmed after an aerial photo of Iverson surfaced from 1952, when the Western town was still in place.

I searched at Iverson Ranch for months for that hill at the north end of town — the prominent dark shape in the photo above, which I call Smooth Hill — and even though I had a hard time believing it at first, I finally had to accept that it's gone. It was essentially leveled for development when the 118 freeway went through in the 1960s. Chunks along the southern edge of the hill were blown away to put the freeway through, and while they were at it they lopped off the top of it, probably in the name of stabilizing the terrain. Conveniently, that cleared the way for what is now a batch of condos and a large apartment building sitting on that spot, overlooking the freeway. I'm used to it, but it still bugs me that Smooth Hill isn't there anymore. It was a key marker identifying Iverson Village in the old movies, and it's kind of famous in its own right.

This shot from "Calamity Jane and the Texan" (1950) shows more of what would have been the eastern side of the street, and gives a better look at Oat Mountain to the north — the series of hills with streaks of white, in the background. One of the markers on Oat Mountain, Dark Triangle, is also visible, at the top of the photo, toward the left, partially hidden behind a small hill (Notch Hill).