GET INTO THE OUTDOORS!

SEPTEMBER 2018

ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE

Explore Arizona’s BACKCOUNTRY

LOCATION: ESPLANADE, GRAND CANYON Jacob Lake

2018 Grand Canyon September National Park

2 EDITOR’S LETTER Sedona 3 CONTRIBUTORS Wickenburg Arizona Trail 4 LETTERS PHOENIX 5 THE JOURNAL People, places and things from around the state, Fort Huachuca Amado including a look back at the Mountain View Officers’ Bisbee Club, an important landmark from Fort Huachuca’s POINTS OF INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE segregated past; a B&B in the rolling grasslands of the Santa Cruz River Valley; and the winners of our 2018 photo contest. 18 GET INTO THE OUTDOORS We don’t have anything against living room furniture, per se, but it’s our mission to inspire you to get off the couch. At least once in a while. With more than 35 million acres of public land in our state, you have a lot of options, including some gorgeous backcountry. A Portfolio Edited by Jeff Kida 28 A WALK IN THE PARK An esplanade is a long, open, level area. Something people walk for pleasure. The Esplanade of the GET MORE ONLINE Grand Canyon is long and open, too, and parts of it are easy to walk, but our writer didn’t venture out for www.arizonahighways.com pleasure. He was intent on seeing the “Chicken Train,” an unusual rock formation that’s part of a lost world /azhighways inside the greatest landscape in the world. @arizonahighways By Tyler Williams Photographs by Bill Hatcher 46 WE DELIVER The Arizona Trail runs the length of the state, from 36 HE CAN TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF JUST FINE north to south, for 800 miles. Most of the route is remote, which means hikers must either carry in Al Cornell doesn’t look like the impudent, shirtless all of their supplies, cache them along the trail or gurus featured on reality TV shows, but he’s one A horned lizard clings to a weathered pine depend on friends. Last fall, our writer volunteered of the most respected survival and primitive-skills cone at Sunset Crater Volcano National to be one of those friends — a Sherpa on wheels experts in Arizona. Among other things, he can make Monument, northeast of Flagstaff. loaded with camp chairs, cast-iron pans, a maxed- Eirini Pajak sandals from yucca leaves, he taught himself how to out ice chest and 30 gallons of water. CANON EOS 5D MARK II, 1/2500 SEC, track human beings, and he’s an expert on primitive By Chels Knorr F/4, ISO 500, 100 MM LENS fire-making techniques. And another thing: He’s Photographs by Eirini Pajak FRONT COVER: Writer Tyler Williams explores 77 years old. the sandstone landscape of the Esplanade, By Annette McGivney a defining geologic feature of the Grand Photographs by John Burcham 52 SCENIC DRIVE Canyon. Bill Hatcher House Rock Valley Road: Although this route gets NIKON D810, 1/40 SEC, F/16, ISO 100, 42 TRUE GRIT rugged in places, the payoffs are many, including 40 MM LENS a national monument, a remote wilderness and a BACK COVER: The moon rises over Ash Creek An Essay by Kelly Vaughn wrinkle in the Earth’s crust known as the Cockscomb. Falls in the Pinaleño Mountains, near Safford Photographs by Christian Otjen in Eastern Arizona. Joel Hazelton By Noah Austin CANON EOS 6D, 1/4 SEC, F/13, ISO 100, Photographs by Shane McDermott 29 MM LENS 54 HIKE OF THE MONTH Inner Basin Trail: There are many hikes in Arizona that feature fall color, but this scenic route in the San Francisco Peaks might be the best. By Robert Stieve Photographs by Shane McDermott 56 WHERE IS THIS?

2 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 1 editor’s LETTER CONTRIBUTORS

ANNETTE McGIVNEY To be clear, both of those encounters were SEPTEMBER 2018 VOL. 94 NO. 9 frightening, but this one was worse. It was dark Annette McGivney and getting darker. It was remote, and I had no 800-543-5432 says Al Cornell (see idea where the lion was. I figured it was watch- www.arizonahighways.com He Can Take Care of ing me, though, and if it wanted to attack, it GIFT SHOP: 602-712-2200 Himself Just Fine, would have made its move long before I got to page 36) isn’t like the deer. So, calmly, I started walking, as tall as I PUBLISHER Kelly J. Mero the other survival could, and never looked back. Just another day in EDITOR Robert Stieve experts she has All I could think about was the backcountry. MANAGING EDITOR Kelly Vaughn written about. “The Marlin Perkins. “The adult sea cow will go to In 1951, Editor Raymond Carlson described the ASSOCIATE EDITOR Noah Austin gurus at Al’s level any length to protect its young. The same is true quiet places like this: “The surfaced roads go on EDITORIAL typically are pretty ADMINISTRATOR Nikki Kimbel of your Mutual of Omaha insurance agent.” and on and then they stop. Gravel roads take up cocky — Bear Grylls PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jeff Kida I wasn’t confronting a sea cow, though. I where the surfaced roads end and they, too, go types,” she says. “But CREATIVE DIRECTOR Barbara Glynn Denney was in a stare-down with a turkey. In the back- on and on. Finally, there are only wagon tracks Al isn’t that way at all. Instead, he’s so enthusiastic about wanting to help people that ART DIRECTOR Keith Whitney country of the Bear Wallow Wilderness. The mother hen was protecting her or aimless trails. When you can’t go any further, he’s just very generous with his time. He’s not a showoff — although he probably could MAP DESIGNER Kevin Kibsey brood. And I was hiking to the remote boundary of the Apache reservation. just look around: You are in the backcountry.” survive far longer on a desert island than Bear Grylls could. And he’s just very enjoyable to PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Michael Bianchi At first I thought she might back down. Most animals do. But she was deter- With more than 35 million acres of public be around.” McGivney went on several day hikes with Cornell and spent hours with him at WEBMASTER Victoria J. Snow mined. Like Geronimo or Eddie the Eagle. She stood her ground. Then, after land in our state, we have a lot of backcountry to the fire pit in his backyard. “The hardest thing about this story was that Al is so humble, CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Nicole Bowman a minute or so, she started charging. explore. Before you head out, though, you’ll need he refuses to believe that anything about his own history is interesting,” she says. “He just FINANCE DIRECTOR Matt Bailey She ran about 20 feet and stopped, as if to say, “You want a piece of me?” to study the maps and make a plan. You should wants to talk about the skills and teach them. I almost had to trick him into talking about OPERATIONS/ Then she backed up and charged again. And then she did it one more time also understand the principles of Leave No Trace, IT MANAGER Cindy Bormanis himself to get his life story.” McGivney featured Cornell prominently in her 2017 book to reiterate her point. This was before the big fire, when the surrounding one of which is to respect wildlife. You probably Building Wood Fires: Techniques and Skills for Stoking the Flames Both Indoors and Out. Her ground cover was thick with poison ivy and other deterrents. I wasn’t des- won’t see any big cats in the backcountry, but you other recent work includes stories about the Grand Canyon for Outside magazine. CORPORATE OR perate enough to circle around and fight through that mess. However, I had might come upon one of their half-eaten meals. If TRADE SALES 602-712-2018

to get past her. So, I picked up a pine branch, protected my head and ran the you do, be smart and be aware. The same is true SPONSORSHIP SALES gantlet. Encounters like that are rare in the backcountry, but it was my sec- if you see a wild turkey. Like an adult sea cow, REPRESENTATION On Media Publications Deidra Viberg ond time that summer. A few weeks earlier, I had to get past a mule deer on they’ll go to any length to protect their young. 602-323-9701 CHELS KNORR the Kaibab Plateau. The deer, by the way, was dead. This month’s story on the Coincidentally, I’d just had a conversation — that same day — with Bran- MEET THE NEW BOSS Arizona Trail (see We Deliver, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [email protected] don Holton, a wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park. He was This month, it’s my privilege to introduce Kelly 2039 W. Lewis Avenue page 46) is the first contri- wrapping up a 10-year study on mountain lions. Among the things we talked J. Mero as the new publisher of Arizona Highways. Phoenix, AZ 85009 bution to Arizona Highways about was feeding patterns. Following a kill, lions like to drag their meal, You may have seen his name. He’s been on the by Chels Knorr, a Phoenix

preferably venison, to a protected area. (For example, under an old growth masthead as direc- GOVERNOR Douglas A. Ducey writer and editor. And she ponderosa along the Rainbow Rim Trail.) Then, after they’ve loaded up, tor of sales and mar- wrote it, she says, for “peo- DIRECTOR, they’ll try to hide what’s left of the carcass by covering it with twigs, pine keting since January DEPARTMENT ple who love the outdoors OF TRANSPORTATION John S. Halikowski needles ... whatever they can find. That’s interesting, I thought. I’ve never seen 2005, and a few but aren’t athletes” — in anything like that. A few hours later, I threw on my hiking boots and headed years ago, he was other words, people like her. off to a place called Timp Point. promoted to associ- Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published “I wanted to write to these monthly by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Sunset was still about two hours away, but it was cloudy and drizzling, ate publisher. Now Subscription price: $24 a year in the U.S., $44 outside people because, like me, so the forest was dusky and eerily quiet. About a mile in, the Rainbow Rim he’s at the top, and the U.S. Single copy: $4.99 U.S. Call 800-543-5432. UP- there are many who love DATED PRIVACY POLICY: Our privacy policy has been Trail dips into a side canyon that’s thick with trees — it’s reminiscent of we’re excited to updated to reflect the new changes in data protection everything Arizona has to Bear Wallow. From there, it zigzags uphill and makes a beeline to the rim of have him there. In laws, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regu- offer but aren’t going to be lations. To read our updated privacy policy, go to www hiking Camelback Mountain the Grand Canyon, before dipping back into the woods. That’s where I saw addition to having .arizonahighways.com/privacy-policy. Subscription cor­re­ the mule deer. About 10 feet off the trail. Half-covered with pine needles. all of the requisite spon­dence and change of address information: Arizona anytime soon,” she says. As Highways, P.O. Box 8521, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Peri­ you’ll read, Knorr’s story They tell you to stay calm and stand upright when you see a mountain skills, and a strong odical postage paid at Phoenix, AZ, and at additional lion. The thing is, I couldn’t see the big cat, and that’s what shook me. Sev- commitment to the legacy of this great organiza- mailing office. Canada Post international publications offered her an education on eral years ago, in the Grand Tetons, my brother Matt and I were followed by tion, Kelly is one of the nicest people you’ll ever mail product (Cana­dian distribution) sales agree­ment the Arizona Trail, along with No. 40732015. Send returns to Quad/Graphics, P.O. Box a curious moose calf. Fortunately, we could see the overprotective mother meet. We look forward to what’s ahead. 456, Niagara Falls ON L2E 6V2. Post­master: Send ad- the sometimes-challenging through the trees, so we knew what direction to go — the opposite direction. dress changes to Arizona Highways, P.O. Box 8521, Big roads used to access it. “I knew the roads would be rough, but they were much worse Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Copy­right © 2018 by the Ari­zona On a hike in Alaska, with my brother Adam, we crossed paths with a grizzly ROBERT STIEVE, EDITOR Department of Trans­­por­­tation. Repro­duc­tion in whole or than we anticipated,” she says. “Our car overheated. I thought we’d be able to just pull off and her two cubs. Again, we could see the momma bear. Follow me on Instagram: @arizonahighways in part with­out permission is prohibited. The magazine if the roads were really bad, but there was nowhere to turn around. It was up or nowhere.” does not accept and is not responsible for un­solicited ma­ter­ials. After working as a magazine managing editor and the content director for a tech com- pany, Knorr is now working on a collection of essays about renovating a Midcentury Mod- PRODUCED IN THE USA ern home in Phoenix. — NOAH AUSTIN

2 SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL MARKOW PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP RACHEL TSO ABOVE, RIGHT TYLER KNORR www.arizonahighways.com 3 LETTERS [email protected] THE

U.S. Route 191 curves into JOURNAL the pines near Hannagan Meadow in Eastern Arizona’s White Mountains. This section of U.S. 191 is known as the Coronado Trail. RANDY PRENTICE

A tear of gratitude puddled in my eye as I realized I had visited all of the places covered in The Ultimate Arizona Road Trip [July 2018] — many of them more than once and others in between. As a bonus, I relived my overnight trek to Keet Seel 20 years ago. I am 84 years old and I am coming again, minus Keet Seel, I suppose. Joe Sullivan, Santee, California 16 JULY 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 17 July 2018 My Stars! olt’s Shell is worth the stop [The missed out on the opportunity to impart matic sky. In fact, the spread on pages A starry sky and the cliffs of the Goldfield Mountains loom over Ultimate Arizona Road Trip, July 2018]. a sense of the wonder and beauty that 36 and 37 is almost all sky. Psalm 19 the Salt River northeast of the H Let me tell you about a stop I made his stops offered. I truly love Arizona says, “The heavens declare the glory Phoenix area. This spot is just in Sonoita one day. As I was entering the Highways, but in this instance, I’m afraid ­of God, the skies proclaim the work of downstream from Saguaro Lake, town, there was a banner over the road that in my experience, the focus of your His hands.” Shane captures one beauti- one of several popular recreation declaring Sonoita as the “Wine Capital July issue was a lost opportunity. ful moment of God’s glory in each of destinations along the river. of Arizona.” I had to stop to get gas and Keith Godshall, Souderton, Pennsylvania his pictures. For more information, contact did so at the Sonoita Mini Mart. An old Charlotte Singleton, Arroyo Grande, California the Tonto National Forest’s Mesa guy came out to pump my gas. He had he May 2018 issue on the Colorado Ranger District at 480-610-3300 tobacco juice down both sides of his River is a keeper. I, too, went down y wife and I experienced the 1983 or visit www.fs.usda.gov/tonto. mouth. As he was pumping my gas, the river. My trip was in 1989, before flood from the top [Inside the Box, SKY: NIKON D750, 30 SEC, F/3.5, ISO 6400, T 14 MM LENS; LANDSCAPE: NIKON D750, I commented that I had not seen any the river runners and ecologists won the M June 2018]. We were traveling from 689 SEC, F/5, ISO 100, 14 MM LENS grape vineyards in the area and was argument on river flows. We took the Silver City, New Mexico, to Reserve, wondering how Sonoita could be the last trip of the year, after Labor Day, and New Mexico. When we arrived at the wine capital. His response was: “Son, the water was low, causing some boats bridge that crosses the San Francisco grapes ain’t the only things wine is made to get stranded on rocks in the river. It River, both the San Francisco River and out of.” I didn’t ask. also resulted in some wicked rapids. We the canyon from Pueblo Park were at Bill Loftin, Daytona Beach, Florida decided to camp early on the first day. full capacity. At Saliz Pass there was a It changed up our trip so that we didn’t virtual lake. All the ground was covered always love the day when Arizona stop at some of the common spots, but with water. Water was flowing in all Highways arrives in my mailbox, and got to see others that aren’t normally directions. I commented to my wife that I I’ve written to you in the past regarding on the schedule. We had the full moon Clifton, Arizona, was in trouble (and your outstanding work. I felt compelled that week and the weather was wonder- maybe Morenci). I also lived through a to comment on the July 2018 issue and ful. We camped across from Deer Creek major flood on the Blue River in 1951, one The Ultimate Arizona Road Trip, which Falls, and dinner that night was grilled that probably had an impact on The Box. dominated the issue. After reading it in steaks — we sat around the fire and It lasted two weeks and washed out a its entirety, I was left wondering: What told stories. large bridge. We had to have school in was the point? I was eagerly anticipat- Cheryl McGregor, Phoenix my home for the duration, because my ing reading the story, as I’ve traveled to mother was the teacher. several of the locations, but Matt Jaffe’s can almost always recognize a Shane David Haynes, Kennewick, Washington vagueness and lack of capturing the McDermott photograph before I check essence and beauty of many of his stops I the photo credit. I have always won- contact us If you have thoughts or com- left me baffled. If not for the photogra- dered why his pictures are so unique to ments about anything in Arizona Highways, we’d phy, much of his prose would not have me. The July 2018 issue helped me figure love to hear from you. We can be reached at editor@ arizonahighways.com, or by mail at 2039 W. Lewis compelled me to visit these areas. While it out. Shane loves the sky and clouds. Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009. For more information, Jaffe obviously knows how to write, he At least one-third of every picture is dra- visit www.arizonahighways.com.

4 SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY MIKE SANCHEZ nature J

Painted Buntings

NOAH AUSTIN

Like many Arizonans, painted buntings (Passerina ciris) are part-time residents of the state. Their normal summer range includes Texas and northeastern Mexico, but according to the National Audubon Society, a few of these songbirds travel to staging areas in Southern Arizona to molt in late summer and fall before head- ing to Central America for the winter. Vivid blue, green, yellow and red plum- age is found only on adult male painted buntings. Females and immature birds are lime green and closely resemble other bunting species. Despite their extensive range, painted buntings currently are con- sidered “near threatened” due to habitat loss and being illegally trapped and sold as pets.

ADDITIONAL READING: To learn more about Arizona’s wildlife, pick up a copy of the Arizona Highways Wildlife Guide, which features 125 of the state’s native birds, mam­ mals, reptiles and other animal species. To order online, visit www.shoparizonahighways.com.

6 SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY BRUCE D. TAUBERT www.arizonahighways.com 7 J history dining J

THIS MONTH egg sandwiches on House’s soft brioche IN HISTORY The Quarry Bisbee buns, scratch biscuits with sausage gravy, n On September 1, 1894, Like most things in Bisbee, The Quarry is quirky. On the surface, it’s a bar, and eggs Benedict with made-to-order a flood sweeps through but the food coming out of the kitchen is anything but bar food, especially hollandaise. the Southeastern Arizona the smoked Gouda mac and cheese. House sources her ingredients locally town of Willcox after a as much as possible and feels strongly nearby cloudburst, causing KELLY VAUGHN about customers knowing where their many of the town’s adobe food comes from. buildings to crumble. IT’S A TUESDAY EVENING in spring, Through and through, the food is “Americans as a whole are so discon- n Two shootings occur in and L.A. Witch is playing at The Quarry reflective of Bisbee’s famed quirky vibe. nected from their food supply,” House Tucson on September 11, Bisbee. The psych-rock band is prepar- “Bisbee has a strong pull for certain says. “I’m trying to raise my children 1911. The crimes are attrib- ing for a big European tour, in front of kinds of people, and I believe this is one and impart knowledge to our custom- uted to free liquor given crowds that will far outnumber the one of the reasons I moved here seven years ers about where our food actually comes out at the city’s Republi- here, but the room glitters with tinsel, ago from San Diego,” House says. “I like from. In that sentiment, I believe that if can campaign headquar- the queue at the bar is long, and there are to think The Quarry is an excellent rep- you can’t sit under a cattle skull and eat ters. plenty of empty plates on the tables that resentation of Bisbee, in that I’m an artist. a medium-rare burger without feeling n Coolidge Dam gener- line the perimeter of the room. My medium is food and harboring cre- uncomfortable, one may have some re- ates power for the first That’s because The Quarry’s menu ative people through music, performance evaluating to do.” time on September 20, is loaded with chef and owner Dana art and quality entertainment overall. That said, The Quarry’s craft cocktails 1929. The dam impounds House’s take on Southwestern comfort Customers have significant emotional — served at brunch, Saturday lunch or Fort Huachuca’s Mountain View Officers’ Club, shown in the 1940s, is getting new life. San Carlos Lake on San food, from smoked Gouda mac and experiences in Bisbee — and [in the daily dinner — require no re-evaluation. Carlos Apache Tribe land. cheese to the Bang Bang BLT, which the restaurant], due to the environment and If you hit a show on Saturday, a Sunday n Charles Lindbergh menu describes as “an abomination” — vibe I set.” morning Bloody Mary, garnished with Mountain View Officers’ Club arrives in Tucson in his adding house ranch (instead of mayon- That vibe resonates during Sunday house-made pickled veggies, is the per- In the mid-1940s, the U.S. Army was still segregating its troops at Fort Huachuca, near plane, the Spirit of St. naise), caramelized onions and avocado brunches, too, and you won’t be disap- fect antidote to those late-night-to-early- Sierra Vista. Today, one of the most important buildings from that era is being renovated Louis, to dedicate the to the standard sammie. pointed by the offerings. Think drippy morning rock ’n’ roll blues. with support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. city’s new airport on Sep- tember 23, 1927. KAYLA FROST

he Mountain View Officers’ Club, near tecturally unremarkable, but its walls were far 50 YEARS AGO Sierra Vista in Southern Arizona, is a from bland in the club’s heyday. Starting in IN ARIZONA HIGHWAYS remnant of World War II’s segregated 1943, they displayed an exhibition of more than TU.S. Army. From 1942 to 1945, the club 80 works by 37 black artists, including Progress was a bustling social center for African-Amer- of the American Negro, a large mural by Charles ican officers, particularly those in the all-black White. The exhibition was supervised by Lew 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions, which were Davis, an internationally known artist from stationed at Fort Huachuca. Out of the hun- Arizona, who also painted a mural inside the dreds of permanent and temporary buildings club. Later, these works were rehomed at constructed at Fort Huachuca to house, feed, Howard University in Washington, D.C. train and entertain thousands of African- As World War II came to a close, the troops American troops during World War II, the at Fort Huachuca thinned out and the Moun- Mountain View Officers’ Club is one of the tain View Officers’ Club closed its doors to few structures still standing. members. It was subsequently used as a rec- After a long day’s work, member officers reational facility, a community theater and an Two months after spot- headed to the club to eat, drink, attend par- administrative space before being left vacant lighting Mohave County, ties and enjoy entertainment. It was a place for many years. But plans are in the works to Arizona Highways ventured for officers to relax and mingle. White officers bring new life to the facility. Because of its to Eastern Arizona for its had their own “separate but equal” facility, the historical significance, the building will be September 1968 issue on Lakeside Officers’ Club, which was a point of renovated and reused as a community events Graham County. Longtime contention at Fort Huachuca. Although more center that interprets the club’s history. This contributor Darwin Van African-American soldiers were allowed to undertaking is supported by the National Trust Campen’s photos, includ- fight in World War II than in any previous for Historic Preservation and funded in part by ing his cover shot of Riggs war, segregation in the Army wasn’t officially a $500,000 grant, announced in early 2018, by Flat Lake in the Pinaleño phased out until 1954. the National Park Service’s African American Mountains, played a prom­ The Mountain View Officers’ Club is archi- Civil Rights Grant Program. inent role in the issue. BISBEE The Quarry Bisbee, 40 Brewery Avenue, 520-366-6868, www.facebook.com/thequarrybisbee

8 SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF U.S. ARMY/FORT HUACHUCA MUSEUM ARCHIVES PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MECKLER www.arizonahighways.com 9 J from our archives [November 1951]

A Mike Roberts photo titled A Home in the West was among the photographs of Red Rock Country featured in our November 1951 issue. Shots by Roberts, Bob Brad- shaw, Ray Manley and other photographers accompanied Bonnie and Ed Peplow’s story on Sedona, which they said “promises to become one of the nation’s favorite Shangri- Las for those seeking a fabu- lously beautiful, serene and inspiring place to live.”

10 SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY MIKE ROBERTS www.arizonahighways.com 11 photography J

The Best Pictures Our 2018 Photo Contest Winners

PHOTO EDITOR JEFF KIDA

t’s always a pleasure to judge our annual photo contest. This year, we had nearly I4,500 entries, which Editor Robert Stieve, Creative Director Barbara Glynn Denney, Art Director Keith Whitney and I narrowed down to 10 finalists in each of the three cate- gories: Landscape, Macro and Wildlife. From those 30, we chose our winners. The grand prize went to Bernhard Michae- lis for his shot of a cinder field (left) near the San Francisco Peaks in Northern Arizona. This is an image about light and textures, but also about shapes. You have the triangular shadow in the foreground, and the shadows on either side of it form an intriguing pattern. I also like the fact that the branch is partly in shadow and partly in light — it ties everything together by including and mirroring the scrub grasses in the background. The moon in the sky is a nice touch as well, and converting the image to black and white makes it stronger. In black and white, what we’re seeing are shapes and textures, which really carried this photograph. Tina Wright took second place with her stormy panorama of Cathedral Rock (follow- ing page, top), one of Sedona’s best-known sandstone formations. The plateau or mesa in the foreground really made this scene a natural composition for a panorama, and Tina deserves credit for finding the right location to make this shot work. It’s a nice,

GRAND PRIZE WINNER Black Cinder Beach, by Bernhard Michaelis FUJIFILM X-T2, 1/40 SEC, F/1, ISO 200, 100 MM LENS

To learn more about photography, visit www.arizonahighways.com/photography.

12 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 13 J photography

HONORABLE MENTION Curious Burrowing Owlet, by Tina Wright NIKON D800, 1/400 SEC, F/4, ISO 400, 500 MM LENS SECOND PLACE clean shot, and the clearing clouds evoke the mountains in the background. Fantasia, by Tina Wright NIKON D750, 1/125 SEC, F/9, a feeling of change. And, of course, the Linda’s delightful photo shows a blue ISO 400, 28 MM LENS photo is defined by the beautiful light on dasher dragonfly (opposite page, middle) the rocks, the clouds and the ridge in the on a tamarind branch in Tucson’s Tanque background. Verde Valley. She used a limited depth contemplating this twig sticking out of the For third place, we chose Gannon of field, which blurs the foreground and ground, and I love that the background is McGhee’s photo from the Santa Cata- background and reveals the dragonfly’s completely out of focus, so all your atten- lina Mountains (below), where fog was details. There’s also nice symmetry here, tion goes to this owl and this twig. In its shrouding saguaros on a January morning. both in the dragonfly’s wings and in the simplicity, it creates a wonderful narrative. For me, this is a magical shot. You have way the insect bisects the two out-of- Selecting the winners is never easy, and this dense, heavy fog we don’t often see focus hot spots in the background. this year was no exception. We received in the desert, and because of the nature of Tina photographed a young burrowing so many impressive submissions. Thanks that fog, everything recedes into the back- owl (opposite page, top) in Gilbert, a city to everyone who entered this year’s con- HONORABLE MENTION ground. I like the pattern of the saguaros, east of Phoenix. I crack up every time test. We look forward to seeing what you Blue Dasher Dragonfly, and I like how Gannon used the ocotillo I look at this photo. The owl seems to be come up with next year. by Linda Benziger

to show other life forms and OLYMPUS OM-D E-M5, 1/640 SEC, F/6.4, ISO 200, textures. It greatly softens 240 MM LENS the desert, which often is thought of as a harsh place. Honorable mentions went to Rusty Childress, Linda Benziger and Tina Wright — Tina was on a roll this year. Rusty’s shot, of wispy layers of fog over the Verde River (opposite page, bottom), was shot with a drone, which is the only way to get a shot like this. There are beautiful colors and textures, and the fog and trees act as leading lines, with the payoff being

THIRD PLACE Saguaros in the Fog, HONORABLE MENTION by Gannon McGhee Fog on the Verde, CANON EOS 5D MARK III, by Rusty Childress 1/125 SEC, F/6.3, ISO 320, DJI FC330, 1/115 SEC, F/2.8, 138 MM LENS ISO 100, 3.6 MM LENS

14 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 15 J lodging

out beyond, bound by the Santa Ritas to Amado Territory B&B the east and the Tumacacori Mountains With its wide front porch, knotty pine floors and wainscoting, this lovely to the west. Nearby, cattle graze in a sea B&B in the Santa Cruz River Valley reflects the area’s ranching history, of backlit grasses so tall they tickle the which dates to the 1850s. undersides of spreading velvet mesquites. TAKE YOUR Despite its proximity to Interstate 19, KATHY MONTGOMERY the landscape feels remote and unspoiled. In truth, this land between Green Valley LITTLE RAINBOWS DANCE like a ben­ It feels a little magical. But then, so and Tubac has been occupied since before ediction across my breakfast table at the does the view, which takes in a well- recorded history — first by Indians and Amado Territory B&B. As the sun crests maintained cactus garden with doves later by missionaries and ranchers. the Santa Rita Mountains, sunlight catches and finches flitting about the feeders. A The B&B, built in the 1990s, reflects the CDs strung up to shoo birds from the cottontail pauses to sniff the air, its ears that history in a wide front porch, knotty BEST SHOT. expansive picture windows. They cast pink and translucent in the rising sun. pine floors and wainscoting. The town little bursts of color with every breeze. The Santa Cruz River Valley spreads and the inn take their name from Manuel Amado, a rancher who settled in South- Every month, we showcase the most talented ern Arizona around 1850. “The Amados used to own all this photographers in the world. Now it’s your turn land,” says innkeeper Doug Getchel, to join the ranks. Enter your favorite photo in the who’s chatting with guests in the break- 2019 Arizona Highways Photography Contest. fast room. The two-story inn’s nine spa- cious guest rooms are named for local ranches, including the Alamo Bonito (an You could win an Arizona Highways Photo Amado family ranch), the Elephant Head Workshop valued at $2,500 or additional prizes. and the J. Parker Cattle Co. The large, sunny atrium’s furnishings Our contest is open to amateur and professional combine Western pieces, such as the photographers. All photos must be made in Arizona and mesquite bench I’m sitting on, with Mid- fit into the category of Landscape, Wildlife or Macro western items Doug and his wife, Teah, (close-up). For details, visit www.arizonahighways.com. brought from Michigan. Teapots line the top of a Hoosier cabinet, where a note invites guests to help themselves to toast and coffee. Cheerios line a sideboard. The posted breakfast menu for the coming days — eggs, bacon and French toast — reflects the Getchels’ roots. “We’re going to do pancakes and sausage today, if that’s all right,” Teah says as she emerges from the kitchen. The Getchels are tall, garrulous and Midwestern polite. Phrases like “Gosh,” “Doggone” and “Are you kid- ding me?” pepper Doug’s patter. He is broad-shouldered, with a thick head of wavy hair. Teah is thin and blond, with a homecoming queen’s smile. Doug admits Arizona was an adjustment after living in Michigan, then Key West, Florida. But something about the place cast its spell. For Teah, it’s a spiritual quality. Spotting a pair of middle-aged women setting up easels, hats shielding their eyes from the rising sun, Doug hurries out to invite them in for coffee.

AMADO Amado Territory B&B, 3001 Interstate 19 Frontage Road, 520-398-8684, www.amadoterritoryinn.com

16 SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MECKLER HORN AMY We don’t have anything against living room furniture, per se, but GET it’s our mission to inspire you to get off the couch. At least once in a while. With more than 35 million acres of public land in our state, INTO you have a lot of options, including some gorgeous backcountry. THE A PORTFOLIO EDITED BY JEFF KIDA 18 SEPTEMBER 2018 OUTDOORS www.arizonahighways.com 19 “May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, danger- ous, leading to the most amazing view. May your moun- tains rise into and above the clouds.” — EDWARD ABBEY

PRECEDING PANEL: Reflected light from a canyon bottom illuminates an arch in a remote section of the Navajo Nation. Backcountry hiking on the tribe’s land requires a permit. Rick Goldwasser

RIGHT: Autumn hues punctuate a view of Workman Creek Falls in the Tonto National Forest. The waterfall is located east of State Route 288 (the Desert to Tall Pines Scenic Byway), which runs from State Route 260 east of Payson to State Route 188 northwest of Globe. George Stocking

20 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 21 Shadows form in evening light at Western Arizona’s Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, as viewed from the north ridge of Kofa Queen Canyon. More than 80 percent of the 665,400-acre refuge is a federally designated wilderness area. Joel Hazelton

22 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 23 LEFT: Haigler Creek rushes over rocks in the Hellsgate Wilderness east of Payson. This spot is about 5 miles downstream from Haigler Canyon Campground, where there’s also a day-use area. Joel Hazelton

ABOVE: Rippled sand dunes contrast with craggy peaks at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge along the U.S.-Mexico border. The refuge protects Sonoran pronghorns, desert bighorn sheep and more than 20 snake species, among other wildlife. Paul Gill

24 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 25 A double rainbow forms after a monsoon storm over a canyon carved by the Little Colorado River. This location is on Navajo Nation land east of Grand Canyon “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” — FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT National Park, where the Little Colorado empties into the Colorado River. Mike Olbinski

26 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 27 A WALK IN THE PARK An esplanade is a long, open, level area. Something people walk for pleasure. The Esplanade of the Grand Canyon is long and open, too, and parts of it are easy to walk, but our writer didn’t venture out for pleasure. He was intent on seeing the “Chicken Train,” an unusual rock formation that’s part of a lost world inside the greatest landscape in the world. BY TYLER WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHS BY BILL HATCHER

Writer Tyler Williams navigates around sandstone formations on the Esplanade below Fishtail Mesa. This area is in the western portion of Grand Canyon National Park.

28 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 29 T FIRST GLANCE, THE ESPLANADE doesn’tA stun the senses the way a Grand Canyon view from the South Rim does. There is no perfect layer cake of multicolored rock, no glimpses of the magical Colorado River sneaking through a gap far below. No, the Esplanade looks like a rather typical Southwestern scene: a red-rock valley beneath a ram- part of buff cliffs. But as one looks more closely, the gauzy expanse begins to reveal itself in layers of detail. There is a dome, a pinnacle, a pile of stone billiard balls 200 feet tall. The sheer scale of the landscape begins to sink in as you dis- cern fingers of canyon slicing through the orange plateau. Soon, the pedestrian red-rock valley has morphed into a 3D world of sculpted amphitheaters, plazas of rock, draws of piñon pine, razorbacks of sandstone. Just as your eyeballs become lost in this endless jungle gym, there appears, at the far edge, a vague shadow — an awful and mysterious gash plunging into dark- ness, toward some distant underworld. Photographer Bill Hatcher and I schlepped heavy packs as we stepped off the rim into this naked wildland. Our loads weren’t bulging with weeks of food or extravagant luxuries, but we did have water — at 8.3 pounds a gallon. We should have been here after a storm, when depressions in the Espla- nade bedrock hold shallow reflecting Below the Canyon’s North pools that glisten in the sunshine and Rim, the Esplanade’s readily slake one’s gullet. Instead, nearly expanse of red sandstone two months had passed since the last cradles a variety of hoodoos and other rock formations. rain, and the Esplanade was a waterless expanse of dull brown. Our timing was less than ideal. We’d chosen to explore this part of the Esplanade, just west of the popular Thunder River Trail, because it contains a particular rock formation that river runners call the “Chicken Train.” Viewed from Mile 138 along the Colorado, the inexpli- cable turrets of rock cut a cartoonish skyline, as if the stones have come to life in an animated film: a parade of farm fowl marching along, with their possessions in tow, toward the edge of the abyss. The eye-catching rocks seem untouchable from the river, perched as they are atop 2,000 feet of vertical limestone. But they are alluring. This was my second attempt at reaching the landmarks. My first try ended well short, with me sipping a dwindling water supply amid a sea of sunbaked stone. Daunting as the endless Esplanade might seem, its vast stony sidewalks are perfect for walking — hence the name. Geologically, the Esplanade is the bench at the top of the Supai Group, which forms a prominent red cliff about halfway down the Canyon’s colorful bands. Geologist Eddie McKee first described the Supai Group, consisting of four geologic subunits.

30 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 31 Esplanade sandstone is the top rock unit. The others all carry an exotic and distinctive sound: Watahomigi, Manakacha, Wescogame — titles that unmistakably originate from the Havasupai people, who dwell below the sandy, pumpkin-colored rocks, along the banks of Havasu Creek on the south side of the Canyon. Havasu is just one of many tributaries that create huge canyon bays within the Esplanade Platform. We could see the massive side can- yon from our perch, near Fishtail Canyon. Here, the Esplanade is just starting to develop into the hanging plateau that soon dominates the Canyon. Despite its prominence, few ever see the Esplanade, because there are no popular viewpoints nearby. The Esplanade is perhaps the most prevalent feature of the Grand Canyon’s geography that remains unknown to the casual observer. Below the South Rim’s Grand Canyon Village, about river Mile 90, the Esplanade hasn’t yet developed. The top of the Supai Group here is merely a ledge, lost among the stack of cliffs that create the Canyon. East Rim views reveal even less. It’s only downstream, around river Mile 115, that the Esplanade asserts itself into a noticeable terrace. For the next 50 river miles westward, the Esplanade is in full flourish, forming a vast but hidden world within the Canyon: separated from the river below by a deep gorge, isolated from the rim above by sheer cliffs. The Esplanade gets covered in old lava flows around Mile 175, but it re-emerges in the far western Canyon with a slightly different character. The various phases of the Esplanade are representative of the Canyon’s geologic history, which basically tells us Arizona was a very dry coast- line for a very long time, preserving eons of sediment before the Colo- rado River rapidly sliced through the buried layers. The Esplanade was primarily an expanse of desert sand dunes before it got compressed into rock, and those dunes led straight to the edge of the ocean. Geologist Wayne Ranney explains: “In the very western portions of the Canyon, the Esplanade sandstone grades into another formation called the Pakoon limestone. This change in rock type is called a facies change, and it doc- uments that the near-shore terrestrial sands were grading into coastal and off- shore marine environments. Simply put, land was transitioning to seawater. It’s a neat part of the story.” This transition zone, the old coastline, comes just before the Grand Canyon ends abruptly at the Grand Wash Cliffs. Out here, the Esplanade forms the South Rim of the Canyon because the upper Canyon layers have eroded away. Here, it’s not a Canyon feature to gaze at; rather, it’s an open landscape Las Vegas tourists cross by the busload to reach the rim. Ranney adds, “The Esplanade is what the Grand Canyon Skywalk is built on.” LEFT: An ancient spear point lies in the Esplanade soil below Fishtail Mesa. There was no glass-bottomed viewing station where Bill and I stood,

TOP: The Canyon is framed by a slot much less any human sign except for the one set of footprints, probably between two rock formations. a year old, that we kept seeing. Then Bill stopped and pointed: “Is that ABOVE: The Esplanade’s human history a square rock?” I pulled up my binoculars, “No, it’s historic stuff,” I said, is evident at an old cowboy camp. differentiating it from prehistoric, which we’d already seen that morn- ing at a place called Ghost Rock. Those flowing white figures, painted by Ancestral Puebloans a millennium ago, had an almost cheerful feel

32 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 33 eople like Walapai Johnny, and the cattlemen for whom he worked, eked out an P existence here because the landscape had a hold on their souls. It’s a connection shared backward and forward in time.

this pool over the centuries, and what it might have meant. A standard resupply on their journey? A part of the day’s chores? A chance at survival? For us, the water hole meant reaching the Chicken Train was again a possibility. Even so, we would have to ration, and we’d likely be plenty thirsty by the time we got back here two days hence. Skidding into gullies, weaving through flats of scratchy black brush, contouring along orange sidewalks and pausing now and then to gaze at some peculiar pictograph, we marched into a setting sun. Camp came upon bare rock, among giant stone mushrooms that overlooked the dark depths of Fishtail Canyon. Looking out toward the river gorge revealed a fiery maze of sandstone LEFT: Williams is dwarfed by the “Chicken Train,” the fins and, beyond them, the Chicken Train. trip’s destination.

The entire formation looked distant and RIGHT: Lichen covers one of the unimpressive compared with the many Esplanade’s sandstone boulders. buttes that were closer, and there was talk about not even going out there, saving our water and staying closer to camp. But that was just talk, something to provide to them, calling out at the Canyon’s majesty. The stuff in my an out if we lost our mojo. The fact was, this was my second binoculars just looked like discarded junk. attempt at reaching those rocks, and I wasn’t too sure there’d It was a bit more than that: an old wooden box, several be a third. I wanted to float beneath that striking sandstone, glass jars, a couple of axes, a canteen, two ceramic mugs, some someday, and bring my visual full circle. I wanted to get there. horseshoes and an arrangement of ancient lithics. On the wall In the morning, we set off on a meandering course, tracing behind were inscriptions: M.V. Adams, Danzil Frost, Ken B., different ledges of sandstone that narrowed and broadened Walapai Johnny. They were dated February 21, 1925. Wala- with their own unique rhythm, so that a wide pavement one pai Johnny made another visit in 1958. That’s an impressive minute might blend into a vertical cliff the next. But there was timespan between trips to such a lonely place, but Johnny got always a way up or down or around; it was just convoluted. As around. I’d seen his name in this part of the Canyon before. He we distanced ourselves from camp, I began to make mental was a guide and ranch hand back when cattle still roamed this notes of the route, correlating our progress with formations part of the Esplanade. It never was prime cow country, but the that weren’t hard to remember or describe: red-on-white butte, cliffs above and below the platform provided natural barri- royal crown, soft-serve cone. ers to roaming bovines, and in winter, there was just enough As impossibly distant as the Chicken Train had always water out there to keep them alive. Besides, what a place to seemed to be, it appeared before us quite suddenly. I scrambled ride the range. People like Walapai Johnny, and the cattlemen atop part of the formation before following Bill out to a sombrero- for whom he worked, eked out an existence here because the like rock perched on the rim of the river gorge. There was liter- landscape had a hold on their souls. It’s a connection shared ally no place left to go. So we sat and snacked and looked down backward and forward in time, from the Natives of centuries on the glinting water we’d always looked up from. past to folks like me who gain spiritual renewal with too-infre- But the Esplanade is not about a destination, or the river, or quent forays here. the rim. It is a place totally unique, a lost world sandwiched With such signs of humanity in the area, we held some hope within the greatest landscape of the world. As we rimmed that reliable water was nearby. The map indicated a spring in out the next afternoon, I grabbed the binoculars and gazed the canyon bottom below us, but maps lie during droughts like westward, down a corridor of canyons swathed in smoky this one. We set out with empty water bottles, dubious they’d haze. Esplanade peninsulas overlapped into the distance, be refilled. A bighorn sheep trail led to a cliff edge, which each separated by gorges of shadow: Hundred and Forty Mile, led to a gap, which led to a series of ledges. Near the bottom, Matkatamiba, Havasu. But as my eye drifted farther, the scene greenery appeared, and then a wall of clinging ferns; beneath became muddier, peninsula after peninsula, seemingly to them was a Jacuzzi-sized pool of clear, cold water. I thought infinity. I became lost in a sea of stone, and that was just fine of how many others had gratefully lapped up the liquid from with me.

34 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 35 He Can Take Care of Himself Just Fine Al Cornell doesn’t look like the impudent, shirt- less gurus featured on reality TV shows, but he’s one of the most respected survival and primitive-skills experts in Arizona. Among other things, he can make sandals from yucca leaves, he taught himself how to track human beings, and he’s an expert on primitive fire-making tech- niques. And another thing: He’s 77 years old. After a long military career, Al Cornell retired in Sedona and decided to “upgrade” By Annette McGivney his survival skills, including learning how to start a fire Photographs by John Burcham with a hand drill. He now has made more than 8,000 embers using the technique.

36 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 37 Cornell is happy to share his expertise in tracking (below) and primitive fire-making techniques (right) with search and rescue organizations, archaeologists, Al Cornell likes to main- Native American tain stats on his personal tribes and others. performance. But it isn’t a golf handicap, a cycling distance or a running speed he’s tracking. What really matters to Cornell is how many times he’s started a fire with a hand drill — essentially, rub- bing two sticks together, cave-man-style. As of this year, Cornell has made But there’s one more number worth noting, and it’s perhaps the most more than 8,000 hand-drill impressive of all: Cornell is 77. embers. And counting. Like many retirees in the Sedona area, Since Cornell mastered the difficult Cornell lives at the end of a cul-de-sac fire-starting method nearly two decades in a tan adobe home surrounded by red ago, performing it has become his rocks. He is slim and silver-haired and barometer for vitality. The most hand- wears hiking pants and a sweat-stained drill fires Cornell started in one day: SAR cap. This mild-mannered senior 23, during a 2004 demonstration at the doesn’t look like the cocky, shirtless V-Bar-V Heritage Site. The most in one gurus featured on reality TV shows, but month was 86, in March 2004. The most Cornell is one of the most respected in one year was 607, in 2009. survival and primitive-skills experts in The Sedona resident is also an active Arizona. volunteer for a Yavapai County Sheriff’s “Al has been the heart and soul of our Office Search and Rescue (SAR) unit. SAR unit since the mid-1990s,” says Since joining the unit in 1995, Cornell Roy Julian, who volunteered with the has been on more than 250 search Yavapai County team for 10 years and student to arrive. It had probably taken Cub Scouts,” Cornell jokes. fortable in the wild since long before the tion on ancient cultures. Everywhere missions and led upward of 100 train- often went on rescue missions with Cor- him an hour to set this up just for me, After getting a bachelor’s degree in advent of modern outdoor gear. he went, he studied literature on the ing sessions. The primitive-skills and nell. “Even the sheriff’s deputies defer but he wouldn’t have it any other way. nautical sciences from the California Once the war was over, Cornell area’s anthropological history and que- survival-related classes he has given to Al’s judgment, because he has more He’s devoted his retirement to becom- Maritime Academy, Cornell joined the obtained a second master’s degree, in ried indigenous people about what they over the past 25 years to civic groups, experience than any of them.” ing a survival expert, but also to enthu- U.S. Army as a second lieutenant in 1963. Latin American studies. After mastering knew of their traditions. archaeological gatherings, Boy Scouts I met Cornell in October 2016, when siastically sharing that knowledge with He did two tours in Vietnam as a heli- Spanish, Cornell was given assignments “Back then, I was really interested in and just about anyone who asks are too I was writing a book about humans others. As the consummate instructor copter pilot, flying missions into combat in Central America, where he met his the ethnographic aspect of the cultures, numerous to count. and fire. I’d been told he could start a on all things primitive, Cornell was zones; while he was on active duty, he wife, Ruth, in Panama. The couple then rather than survival skills,” Cornell says. hand-drill fire in seconds and was one going to teach me, rather than tell me, got a master’s degree in aerospace oper- moved on to missions in Nicaragua “I would visit prehistoric rock-art sites of the most knowledgeable people in the about ancient fire methods. Because as ations management from the University and Guatemala. In the 1980s, Cornell on my own time and started collecting Southwest about primitive fire-making far as he’s concerned, if you aren’t learn- of Southern California. As part of his was a military attaché during some of artifacts. People would bring me arrow- techniques. I expected Cornell and I ing something new, you aren’t living. Vietnam training, Cornell completed the the region’s most infamous political heads. And I wondered: How were they would simply have a conversation about U.S. Navy’s Jungle Survival School in the conflicts. The military even assigned making fires?” In Guatemala, where more what he knew. If I was lucky, maybe Philippines. “They just dropped us off Cornell a bodyguard to keep him from than 20 different languages are spoken, he’d give me a demonstration. But Cornell grew up among rows of with nothing, and the indigenous people being kidnapped by guerrillas. Cornell was fascinated with the cultural when I pulled into Cornell’s driveway, I cookie-cutter homes in post-World War II there took us into the jungle and showed He served as U.S. military liaison to diversity he saw as he traveled from one instantly realized this was not the plan. Fresno, California. As a kid, he was us how to make fire from whatever was the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and he village to the next. At the edge of Cornell’s patio was a interested in the outdoors, but neither available,” Cornell recalls. It was there gathered information on the Panama- But after three decades of active ser- card table filled with prehistoric fire- his parents nor his Cub Scout troop had that Cornell was introduced to prehis- nian military under Manuel Noriega vice and derring-do, Cornell had reached making tools. Cornell stood next to the the skills or desire to venture into the toric fire technologies. He also realized and rebel fighters in Guatemala. For the limits of allowable military duty and makeshift classroom, wearing his hik- wilderness. “I guess I am finally doing humans have possessed the skills and most people, that would be enough, but reluctantly retired in 1994. He and Ruth ing pants and SAR cap, waiting for his now what I should have been doing in materials for keeping themselves com- Cornell also wanted to collect informa- rented an apartment in Florida, because

38 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 39 it seemed the Sunshine State was the Cornell explored how humidity levels logical place to live. “After a few weeks, affect fire-starting and investigated Ruth and I came to the same conclusion: types of fungi that likely were used as Florida wasn’t for us,” Cornell says. “You tinder by prehistoric humans. Cornell have to be a boater, a golfer or a fisher- published his findings in a series of man to enjoy it. There was no hiking in scholarly articles in The Bulletin of Primi- the woods. Everything was wet.” tive Technology. To evaluate the benefits It’s no surprise, then, that after a fire provided to the evolution of early drive across the country to find the humans, Cornell even ate raw meat to right home, the couple landed in see how much longer it took to chew Sedona — dry and full of hiking trails. than the cooked variety. They bought a house that borders a Not long after retirement, Cornell vast swath of national forest. At 53, the became an active volunteer for the physically fit, perpetually curious Cor- Yavapai County SAR unit, one of the nell found he suddenly had a lot of time busiest such units in Arizona. While not on his hands, and he was drawn to the quite as demanding as flying helicop- wilderness just beyond his backyard. ters in a war zone or negotiating with “I started taking hikes out of the guerrillas in Central America, the SAR house, and every day, I went a little far- missions became like a second career ther,” he says. “I noticed all these ani- for Cornell: He served on the front lines, mal trails, and I really enjoyed following rescuing stranded tourists who had ven- them.” Cornell had knowledge of land tured too far into the Coconino National navigation from his time in the Army, Forest without the necessary provisions. but he realized he needed to “upgrade” “On one mission, we were out all his survival skills if he was going to night looking for this couple who were wander through the wilderness, follow- way up in Secret Canyon,” says Julian, ing animals. the longtime SAR volunteer. “Al was one In the mid-1990s, Cornell completed of the oldest volunteers in the group, but multiple tracking and survival-skills he was out in front, and he was the guy courses taught by survival guru and who finally helped the couple find their groups. Cornell has also helped some of couldn’t even keep the moving parts in every meeting with new outdoor skills author Tom Brown Jr. And the obses- way down some very steep cliffs the Arizona’s Native American tribes who’d position long enough to get smoke. Cor- to improve, and maybe even save, my sion with primitive skills expanded next morning.” lost their traditional knowledge of fire- nell wasn’t letting me give up so easily. own life. In addition to using the bow exponentially from there. In addition During his first training with the unit, making relearn those skills. “Let’s try a different drill,” he sug- drill, I learned about edible plants on to animal tracking, Cornell began in 1995, Cornell realized many of the “I know a lot of people who can do gested. “I think you might do better the trail, how to make an emergency making stone tools. He worked with volunteers didn’t know how to navigate. primitive fire,” says Flagstaff-based with willow.” shelter with a space blanket, and how to mineral pigments. He made cordage and Cornell instantly assumed the role of survival and “bushcraft” teacher Tony Cornell suspected my body mechan- start a fire with batteries and steel wool. sandals from yucca leaves. He learned navigation instructor. “After two staff Nester. “But Al is very unique because ics were not suited to the cottonwood But, more than anything, I learned how about edible and medicinal plants. He meetings, everyone knew how to use a he combines the applied skills with the drill I was using. He went into his to have a joyful and productive life, taught himself how to track humans. He map and compass,” he says. scholarly knowledge around anthropol- garage, where hundreds of wood drills which Cornell continues to do at 77. experimented with survival shelters. Cornell has provided critical training ogy and ethnobotany.” When Nester gathered from the forest were catego- He never stops asking questions, And he voraciously consumed anything ever since, volunteering, along with fel- teaches survival courses to U.S. military rized and stored on shelves the way a experimenting and hiking. Three related to primitive fire techniques. low searchers, to teach courses that help special operations units, he brings in carpenter organizes his tools. Cornell weeks after major back surgery in Cornell regularly visited Northern Ari- SAR organizations meet their state certi- Cornell to demonstrate primitive fire came out with a piece of willow about 2017, Cornell was starting hand-drill zona University’s Cline Library to mine fication requirements. In addition to land techniques. the size of a fat Cuban cigar. fires again. A few months after that, he archives on indigenous fire practices in navigation skills, he regularly teaches “Al blows them away with the hand I positioned a hearth board under my returned to searching for stranded hik- the Southwest, then sought to replicate wilderness survival, GPS and human drill,” Nester says. “He shows them it is foot; grasped the bow, entwined with ers. By the spring of this year, he had ABOVE: Cornell continues to add hand- the methods by gathering raw materials tracking. And he does it all for free. drill embers to his total, and he’s also not about the size of your biceps or how the willow drill, in one hand; and held already logged hundreds of embers for on hikes and making his own primitive “I shouldn’t be paid,” Cornell says collecting different drill materials to see much you bench-press, but about tech- the contraption steady with my other his annual count, and he continues to fire-starting kits. when it’s pointed out how much time he which work best in survival situations. nique and attention to detail.” hand. Pulling the bow back and forth as collect different kinds of materials for OPPOSITE PAGE: Cornell navigates “I was experimenting with different spends volunteering his knowledge and a hiking trail amid the prickly pears and Cornell coached me, I suddenly sensed hand drills, to see which work best in woods and strings and bows,” Cornell skills. “The public is already paying my red rocks of the Sedona area. I was going to do it. Then there was survival situations. says. “I decided to try and go out with retirement.” On Cornell’s patio during my first smoke. And did I see fire? There’s a saying Cornell often repeats. nothing and make a fire with just my He also gives freely when it comes to meeting with him, I was a miserable “Look at that!” Cornell exclaimed, He calls it a Chinese proverb, but it shoelace and the materials I collected. teaching primitive skills. When Cornell student. He was trying to teach me how visibly thrilled that he’d won over might actually be from Will Rogers. The first time, I couldn’t do it. But by isn’t out on a search mission, he’s doing to use the bow drill, and I was positive another student. “You’ve got an ember!” Either way, it’s Cornell’s motto for a life the third time, I could.” fire demonstrations or sharing prehis- I wouldn’t be able to do it. He demon- In the coming months, while I was well lived: In addition to experimenting with toric technologies with Arizona Archae- strated the technique and produced ostensibly interviewing Cornell for a “When you’re through learning, you’re different types of wood for hand drills, ological Society chapters and other an ember in about two seconds. But I story about his life, I came away from through.”

40 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 41 T R UE GRIT AN ESSAY BY KELLY VAUGHN PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTIAN OTJEN

A 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer and 1969 Ford Bronco rumble through the Prescott National Forest on Day Two of the 2017 Copperstate Overland.

42 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 43 of trucks that date to 1979 or older. For four days, we bounced ing mud holes with their dad. a bandanna or a bottle of water and doesn’t mind at all a little around the woods and over rocks as part of the Copperstate Decades later, he was driving the truck from Prescott to wind. Or a little dirt. Overland, a nearly 560-mile, off-highway rally created and exe- Camp Overland, otherwise known as Juniper Well Ranch, near So, the video still makes me smile. Mike is in khaki, the cuted by the Men’s Arts Council (MAC), a fundraising group Skull Valley, on Day Two. He was seated next to his longtime edges of his hat rolled up. The truck rattles a little as it accel- There’s a certain intimacy that supports the Phoenix Art Museum. friend, Brian Daugbjerg, and their twangy banter passed the erates. I am silent. Kat lets out a little breath. Water splashes to traveling Arizona’s back roads — like seeing the state I am told that by the time we arrived to Prescott’s Has- time as we got a little turned around on our way to our lunch onto the windshield. We laugh and start to climb again. undressed, her backbone and all of her lovely long curves saympa Inn (from Wickenburg, via Crown King) on the first spot — Coleman Lake, northeast of Paulden. And then we stopped. The engine stalled. exposed. There’s something more intimate still about traveling night, I looked a bit rattled. We found it, though, with a little help from another driver, But thanks to the inimitable skills of Copperstate’s crew those trails in a vintage, four-wheel-drive, off-road machine. Riding on the jump seat of a 1975 Toyota FJ40 for six or and after a catered meal under the pines, we took off again. A of mechanics, we weren’t delayed long — even though they Nearly a year ago, I found myself in the back seats of a series seven hours will do that to a person. herd of sheep, their shepherd and two dogs slowed the traffic, had worked long into the night before and were awake hours Your bones shake. but soon we were southbound, passing through Perkinsville before the rest of us, fixing the aches and pains of trucks that Your teeth grind. and Chino Valley and skirting the Granite Mountain Wilderness. had had a rough second day. Your skin wears a glaze of sweat and The camp, tucked near the base of Tonto Mountain, was Soon, we were cruising near and through the open space dirt. lined with custom tents for glamping. As the sun dipped of the O RO, past windmills and through old tunnels. Horses Your perfume is Earth. behind them, drivers and co-drivers mingled with a cowboy grazed as we kicked up our dust and the great, gorgeous world It is a lovely and rich and freeing feel- poet. The campfire popped and clapped. And as the stars opened up before us. After lunch in Seligman, it was an easy ing, especially as the jagged landscape began their slow crawl ride along Williamson unfurls ahead of you and fades to a mem- into the darkness, a sort Valley Road, back to the ory, to so many miles, behind you. of collective, quiet con- comforts of camp. Close your eyes — even for a moment tentment blanketed the The next day meant a — and you’ll miss a fall of boulders, a group. slow return to Wicken- ponderosa so tall you can’t see its top, a Moments like those burg, by way of Bagdad. jay that flies so close to the ground, you are the ones Josh Peabody Because of some trouble wonder if it was born from it. relishes the most when with the Ford Bronco I For T.G. and Sally Mittler, who have MAC hosts the Overland thought I was going to been part of the Overland event since its and its sister event, the ride in that day, I ended inception in 2015, the FJ was built during Copperstate 1000, which up jumping in with a the “malaise era” for autos, but it’s “any- sends pre-1974 sports cars MAC member who dou- thing but dull.” With its Chevrolet 350 on a 1,000-mile journey bles as a Department of engine and an Edelbrock four-barrel car- along the state’s scenic Public Safety sergeant and buretor, it could power through whatever highways. then into co-chair Keith beating it might encounter. All of this “The best part of the McLaine’s rig, a wildly was according to the rally book — the event is showing people from across the country parts of colored Bronco he’d purchased just months before. top-secret guide, featuring route details, Arizona that they never knew existed,” says Peabody, the The road curved and tumbled, first through forest, then the truck lineup and plenty of area his- 2017-2018 MAC president. “If you take them even 4 miles off along a winding, downhill mountain road cut through giant tory, that participants receive when they Interstate 17, their jaws just drop.” boulders that were red-orange against the day’s bright sky. We arrive. What’s more, MAC presents a $150,000 check to the mus­ talked about roadrunners and about preparations for the event So sturdy was the FJ, in fact, it was eum each spring and provides additional funds for acquisitions. — McLaine and his co-chair, Tom Wilmer, begin “pre-running” “ready to pull other trucks out of the mud “Just recently, we bought a painting with the Western Arts the event nearly a year in advance. Roadrunners themselves. or muck, because Mittler don’t get stuck.” Association,” Peabody says. “We try to benefit the museum any Often, they’re on dirt bikes. Always, they find some of the fin- way we can.” est scenery and the most exhilarating back roads Arizona has Eventually, some of us got stuck. Part of that is treating rally participants to experiences up her sleeve. But that’s a story for later. First, there that can’t be duplicated elsewhere, like Day Three’s journey As we made the final approach to Wickenburg, a problem. was an air-conditioned ride in the back through the O RO Ranch, which includes Baca Float No. 5. We came upon that pretty, gritty FJ from Day One. It was done, of Cameron Carlile’s ’78 Blazer, painted Taking a group of landscape and history buffs through a swath its transfer case shot. It would have to be towed. The Mittlers Russet Metallic and Ivory White. of land that includes the last 100,000 deeded acres awarded jumped into the Bronco. I jumped into mechanic Lyman Scher- When Cameron was young, he and his by Congress to heirs of Don Luis Maria Baca in an 1860 lawsuit er’s Jeep, which was stuffed to capacity with tools. brother would ride around their family’s means that those participants are likely to want to return to Being on paved road again felt a little like flying. Texas property in the back seat, hammer- see what else the state has to offer. Year. After year. After year. Later, in the cool comfort of Rancho de los Caballeros, the participants gathered for drinks, dinner, an awards ceremony But, just before we laid eyes on that famous land, it happened. and a slideshow. They traded jokes and stories, made promises LEFT: The ’72 Blazer cuts through a forest of juniper on its way to Bagdad, Arizona, on We weren’t too far from camp when Mike Christodolou asked to stay in touch and to “see you next time.” Day Four of the Overland. me if he should gun his ’73 Scout through a water-filled wash. Once again, the stars knitted their glow against the now- OPPOSITE PAGE: “Spirit of the Overland” People kept telling me that “a little dirt never hurt.” Mike’s suburban sky and I knew that my bones would rattle for a award winner Chris Andrews and his wife and co-driver, Kathleen, agreed in her sweet, slow drawl. good, long time. co-driver and awesome wife, Erin Andrews, wave from their ’69 Bronco on the approach She’s the type of co-driver who knows how to navigate. She For more information about the Copperstate Overland, to the O RO Ranch on Day Three. sees the turns before the map does, knows when to hand over visit www.mensartscouncil.com/csol.

44 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 45 The Arizona Trail runs the length of the state, from north We to south, for 800 miles. Most of the route is remote, which means hikers must either carry in all of their Tyler Knorr (fore­ supplies, cache them along the trail or depend on friends. ground) and his wife, author Chels Knorr, Last fall, our writer volunteered to be one of those friends descend to the Arizona — a Sherpa on wheels loaded with camp chairs, cast-iron Trail’s Two Bar Ridge Trailhead after a night DeliverBY CHELS KNORR PHOTOGRAPHS BY EIRINI PAJAK pans, a maxed-out ice chest and 30 gallons of water. spent in the pines.

46 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 47 BELOW: Sarah signs in at a trailhead register. RIGHT: The hikers navigate a landscape of blooming agaves and tall grasses on a mountainous section of the Arizona Trail.

ufty and Co. That’s the trail name for Sarah; her husband, Derek; and their dog. They do not take hiking lightly. If Sarah says it’s a moderate hike, it’s difficult. If she says it’s less than 10 miles, it’s at least 12, if you count the distance from the end of the trail Tto the car (and why wouldn’t you?). If she says it’s dog-friendly, I’m fully prepared to carry the dog while scaling a mountain. We are bleary-eyed and hazy on directions when we approach Picketpost Trailhead, just west of Superior, on a Thursday morning. Picketpost is the beginning of Passage 18, one of 43 passages that make up the roughly 800-mile Arizona Trail, which wobbles through the middle of the state, north to south. Some people day-hike it in sections. Others “thru-hike,” completing the trail all at once. According to the Arizona Trail Association, just more than 100 hikers finished the whole length in 2017. Some of them did it in a month or two. One spread it over 21 years. Tufty and Co. have a grand plan to complete the Arizona Trail in its entirety over their lifetimes. Sarah likes the self- sufficiency of hiking, the sense of accomplishing something hard and setting goals. Derek likes the gadgets — and Sarah. We’d been planning this trip for months, maps sprawled across a restaurant table in the beginning stages, when we

determined the bones of the route — passages 18 and 19. A Our car, a Jeep I’ve borrowed from my brother, is packed to up the mess. month later, the maps migrated to our coffee table, where we the brim with all the weighty luxuries of car camping — chairs, As the sun lowers in the sky and the air begins to bite, we hammered out logistics such as which cars could handle the cast-iron pans, a stove that won’t fit in a pocket, a maxed-out build up the campfire. Suddenly there is nowhere else to be. roads and what days to take off work. Finally, the week before ice chest. And 30 gallons of water. It’s too dark to explore. We are out of cell service range, and leaving, we sorted out who had what gear, how much water At Picketpost, Derek and Sarah park their car, heave their even reading by flashlight attracts too many bugs to be pleas- to take, and where and how we’d find each other at the end of daypacks onto their backs, suit up the pup — who has her own ant. We listen to the fire crack and pop and spark. We argue each day. pack — and start their slog. We see them off and drive back about what makes a good s’more and watch our marshmallows My husband, Tyler, and I are neither day-hikers nor thru- onto U.S. Route 60 to find the exit for Reavis Trailhead, where melt around themselves. hikers. This time, we are shuttle drivers. It’s not that I dislike we will meet them that evening. hiking. I just prefer my hikes to resemble nature walks — flat, We find a pull-off close to the trailhead, set up everyone’s DEREK AND SARAH PACK UP their backpacks, top them about 3 miles and, if I’m given the choice, on a loop that leads us tents and start food — vegetables in tinfoil, mashed potatoes with sandwiches and head out early. We won’t see them until back to the car. Because we know Sarah’s inclination to under- and, for dessert, warm granola with apples. Derek and Sarah the following evening, because there’s no way to access them estimate the difficulty and the distance (and overestimate the roll in about 2 p.m., and we spend the rest of the afternoon with a car at Reavis Ranch, so they pack accordingly. enjoyment), Tyler and I have signed up to be Sherpas on wheels. waiting for our food to cook over the flames, and then cleaning After the highway turnoff, Tyler and I drive just less than

48 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 49 ABOVE: At the Reavis Trailhead, Chels Knorr cooks a meal of granola and apples, then uses maps to plan the next meeting place, with 3 miles up a manageable dirt road to a ranch where steep and photographer Eirini Pajak’s dog, Argos, serving as a paperweight. pitted Forest Road 83 begins. RIGHT: The hikers enjoy a night amid prickly pears and pines near the Two Bar Ridge Trailhead. Two cowboys, who I presume live or work at the ranch, approach us in an ATV. “Where are you headed?” one asks. Mutton chops dominate his face, and he’s holding a can of beer in a koozie. place to turn around. We are committed, in low four-wheel- “Two Bar Ridge Trailhead. This will make it, right?” I point drive and crawling up the steep, narrow clay road. to the Jeep and then toward the turn-off. We have seat belts on, but our stuff is bouncing all over the The man looks at me the way my dad looked at me when I back seat. When we arrive at the top, our abdominals are first told him I’m a Democrat. “Oh, it’ll make it,” he says. “But exhausted from trying to stay upright. Our brains are scram- it’ll beat the hell outta you.” bled, our stomachs nauseated. But it is gorgeous up here — a panoramic view of the Superstitions at sunset. We gather what FOREST ROAD 83 IS: Stop. Get out. Open gate. Pull through. little wood we can find before dark and set up our tent. It’s a thousand feet of elevation drop in the span of a mile, then a Mountains. Blue mist lines the ridges of the Superstitions at Get out again. Close gate. Repeat. We brake every 100 feet or windy enough that we struggle to keep the fire going, so we thousand feet of elevation gain the next mile, all while trying our backs as we climb. so — sometimes for gates, and other times to reread the route turn in early. to avoid twisted ankles and slipping on the shale slabs. They’d When we reach the Jeep, Derek and Sarah dump their stuff, description to ensure we’re going the right way. There is no also planned to refill their water in this valley but found none, except water and a first-aid kit. They leave the dog, sore and WE HAVE NO CONCEPT of time except the light — a pro- despite the source’s credibility. limping, with us, too, and keep walking. We pack and slowly gression I seem to notice only when I don’t have other distrac- Their necks are sunburned, and their legs are covered in drive down the mule path we worked so hard to summit. A tions or an alarm clock. The gradient bounces and catches and angry scratches. The dog’s paws are torn and gummed with few hours later, we can see them walking across the bridge at changes so subtly. Darkness at false dawn blurs into the gauzy stickers and sap. On his feet, Derek sports blisters the size of Theodore Roosevelt Lake — the end of Passage 19. Next time, The man looks at me the forgiveness of morning light. It is impossible to sleep in. But we golf balls, which he doctors with a Purell-doused pocketknife, ready to start at 20. still make it a slow morning. Neosporin and moleskin. The road, as the cowboy had told us, Tyler and I didn’t get out of this trip completely hike-free. certainly beat the hell out of us, and it seems the hike was no WE LIVE IN PHOENIX, and there, we can see almost no stars. way my dad looked at me We agreed to hike in 3 miles from the Two Bar Ridge Trailhead different. Light pollution shields us from the bigness and busyness of the to meet Tufty and Co. for the night. We carry in dinner and I’ve learned that, whether hiking or sitting around in sweat- sky, from how much of the universe we don’t pay attention to when I first told him I’m a enough water for all of us. The trail descends into a piñon for- pants with coffee and a good book, being outdoors like this on normal days. Our daily routines blind us to our most basic est with a few camping spots. We dump our stuff and I hike in also beats something into you: perspective. It’s pretty cool you requisites: water, food, shelter, friendship, wildness, stillness. Democrat. “Oh, it’ll make another mile — to see if there’s a better spot to camp, and also can survive out here with so few supplies. But there are parts Out here, where there is a wallpaper of astronomy, our to pin a “You’re almost there” note under a rock where they’ll of this trail — these passages in particular — that are difficult perspectives shift and these requisites are so clear. Unknown it,” he says. “But it’ll beat come across it on the trail. to do alone and difficult to plan for. Hikers must either carry in twists splinter our plans; quiet, instead of cellphones, inter- Derek and Sarah stumble into camp, exhausted, about 4 p.m. all their water, cache it along the trail or depend on friends. rupts; and the most important conversations happen without the hell outta you.” We expected them closer to 2, based on the distance, but this the distractions and encroachments of civilization, usually sit- was by far their most difficult day. The day before was long IT’S EARLY AS WE START our ascent from the junipers and ting around a dying campfire. and strenuous, but at least they’d had Reavis Ranch to look for- pines. Agave forests round out the trail’s curves, and there ward to. This day was like trekking on a slippery seismogram: are parts of this hike where I feel like I’m in the Great Smoky To learn more about the Arizona Trail, visit www.aztrail.org.

50 SEPTEMBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 51 scenic DRIVE

HOUSE ROCK VALLEY ROAD Although this route gets rugged in places, the payoffs are many, including a national monument, a remote wilderness and a wrinkle in the Earth’s crust known as the Cockscomb. BY NOAH AUSTIN / PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHANE McDERMOTT

the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wil- later, you’ll reach the state line and crust, created by plate tectonics between derness, and access to its wonders, cross into Utah. Until recently, this area 40 million and 80 million years ago. You including the swirling layers of Navajo was part of Grand Staircase-Escalante can travel through the Cockscomb by sandstone known as “The Wave,” requires National Monument, but the monument’s turning right onto U.S. 89 and heading a permit from the BLM. But there’s no boundary was moved farther north in 2017. toward Page and Lake Powell. Or you can permit needed to enjoy the view from the North of the state line, the road winds turn around and head back the way you road, which reaches an unmarked “Y” between sandstone buttes that loom came. As usual, when you see the house, intersection at Mile 9.3. Bear left to stay on over the roadway. The Buckskin Gulch you’ll know you’re almost there. House Rock Valley Road. Trailhead, at Mile 25, is ideal for stretch- The trees get bigger and closer to the ing your legs and viewing the nearby SCENIC road as you continue north. And the rock formations. From here, it’s less than DRIVES ADDITIONAL READING: of Arizona’s Best Back road gets rougher, so take it easy on the 5 miles to the road’s end at U.S. Route 89. 40 Roads For more adventure, pick up a copy of our book Arizona accelerator and enjoy the multicolored Near the highway, an interpretive sign Highways Scenic Drives, which sandstone formations at the base of the explains the nearby East Kaibab Mono- features 40 of the state’s most beautiful back roads. To order, Coyote Buttes — there’s a good view of cline, a formation known locally as the visit www.shoparizonahighways Edited by Robert Stieve them at Mile 17 or so. About 2.5 miles Cockscomb. It’s a wrinkle in the Earth’s and Kelly Vaughn Kramer .com/books.

TOUR GUIDE Note: Mileages are approximate.

LENGTH: 29.5 miles one way (from U.S. Route 89A) DIRECTIONS: From Navajo Bridge, go west on U.S. Route f you’ve driven to the Grand Canyon’s sweeping vistas and a chance of spotting endangered California condors, which 89A for 27.5 miles to House Rock Valley Road (Bureau of North Rim, you’ve seen the house. Just one of Arizona’s rarest birds. And even are released from atop the Vermilion Land Management Road 1065). Turn right (north) onto before you climb onto the Kaibab Pla- though the 29.5-mile route is rugged in Cliffs every September. This year’s BLM 1065 and continue 29.5 miles to U.S. Route 89 in I Utah. teau and head for Jacob Lake, there it is — spots, you can drive it and be back on release is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: A high-clearance, four-wheel- a turquoise and white rock house on the blacktop in 90 minutes or so. September 29. drive vehicle is required. Don’t attempt the drive after north side of U.S. Route 89A. It’s isolated From the house, head north on House Five miles past the observation site, recent rain or if rain is in the forecast. and unexpected, and it’s also a signal Rock Valley Road (Bureau of Land Man- you’ll crest a hill and get your first view, WARNING: Back-road travel can be hazardous, so be aware of weather and road conditions. Carry plenty of that, after a long drive, you’re almost agement Road 1065). To the east are the to the north, of the jagged Coyote Buttes. water. Don’t travel alone, and let someone know where there. But have you ever wondered where namesakes of Vermilion Cliffs National This section of the monument is part of you are going and when you plan to return. the dirt road that starts at the house Monument, and the cliffs’ deep red INFORMATION: Arizona Strip Field Office, 435-688-3200 or www.blm.gov/arizona might take you? contrasts with the green of piñon pines ABOVE AND OPPOSITE PAGE: The setting sun illum­ Travelers in Arizona can visit www.az511.gov or dial 511 You should. Because House Rock Valley and junipers on the valley’s floor. After inates the jagged rock formations of Vermilion Cliffs to get infor­ma­tion on road closures, construc­tion, delays, Road features a national monument, 2.7 miles, you’ll reach a site for observing National Monument along House Rock Valley Road. weather and more.

52 SEPTEMBER 2018 MAP BY KEVIN KIBSEY www.arizonahighways.com 53 HIKE of the month

INNER BASIN TRAIL There are many hikes in Arizona that feature fall The common denomi- pump houses in the area. This one goes nator is that every one down 485 feet. color, but this scenic route in the San Francisco Peaks might be the best. of those knife-wielding Beyond the well, the trail merges with BY ROBERT STIEVE / PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHANE McDERMOTT miscreants committed an old jeep road that takes you to an a crime. That includes intersection with the Weatherford Trail. you, “JC (8/16/09).” Although the route is just under 2 miles cenery, solitude, degree of dif- lar in the spring and summer, too, but fall through a group of picnickers without so Don’t make the same from the campground to the turnaround, ficulty ... there are many variables is the best time of year for exploring what much as a glance at their picnic baskets. mistake. Also, don’t the trail climbs nearly a thousand feet in Sto consider when rating a trail. was once the inside of an ancient volcano. From the campground, the trail climbs become so preoccupied that span, and at an elevation of almost There’s no formula, though, for adding The hike begins at Lockett Meadow, gradually through a forest of ponderosa with reading the graf- 10,000 feet, you might be feeling the them up and determining “the best.” which is also home to one of the best pines and aspens. Although John Han- fiti that you miss the effects. Whatever your heart rate, you Like movies and steakhouses and NFL campgrounds in the state — the 17 sites cock never hiked this trail or left his bigger picture. Instead, should plan on sticking around for a MVPs, there’s no way to objectively pro- are offered on a first-come, first-served mark, many others have, including “Paco see the forest and the while. To enjoy the views. claim a superlative. Value is subjective. basis, and if you’re lucky enough to stake Lalastra Santaner,” who carved his name trees. The surrounding San Francisco Peaks That said, the Inner Basin Trail ranks a claim, you’ll be the envy of everyone in an innocent aspen in November 1934. Among the most used to be one great volcano, until it was right up there, despite its obvious demer- who owns a tent. Everything about this The trees are covered with carvings, impressive are the shattered by an explosion a few million its: It’s crowded and it’s not especially area is picturesque and peaceful. It’s some old, some new, some hard to tell. seven aspens you’ll years ago. Today, the mountain is subdi- difficult. What makes it great is the grassy and green, and if you happen to see clumped together vided and the caldera is quiet. scenery. The Inner Basin is Arizona’s own be in the right place at the right time, about 30 minutes “Payoff” is another variable when rat- little version of the Alps, and the hike you might even see one of the resident BELOW: Aspens guard a hillside in the San Francisco into the hike. They’re ing a trail. With the exception of Keet Peaks, the setting for the Inner Basin Trail. that takes you there is as good as it gets porcupines, elk or black bears, the latter OPPOSITE PAGE: The views of fall color along off to the right, just Seel, or maybe a few routes in the Grand when autumn rolls around. It’s spectacu- of which have been known to stroll right the trail are spectacular. past the gate through Canyon, the denouement of the Inner which you’ll pass. A Basin Trail is hard to beat. It might even few minutes later, you’ll start to feel the Service sign that reads: “Snow-Survey be enough to make you think: This is the forest open up a little, and you’ll come Shelter, Do Not Molest.” The shed is used best trail in Arizona. to a major intersection. To the left is the by rangers who measure snowfall in the route to Schultz Pass Road. To the right winter. ADDITIONAL READING: is an access road to the Bear Jaw and From this point, the Inner Basin is less For more hikes, pick up a copy Abineau trails, which, when combined, than a half-mile away. But before you get of Arizona Highways Hiking Guide, which features 52 of the add up to what’s arguably the best route there, you’ll pass a log pump house that state’s best trails — one for each on the north slope of the San Francisco shields a well that was drilled in 1971. weekend of the year, sorted by seasons. To order a copy, visit Peaks. There’s also an old green shed at Because the Inner Basin provides water www.shoparizonahighways the junction, and on it is a yellow Forest for the city of Flagstaff, there are several .com/books.

TRAIL GUIDE LENGTH: 3.9 miles round-trip DIFFICULTY: Moderate ELEVATION: 8,567 to 9,403 feet TRAILHEAD GPS: N 35˚21.464', W 111˚37.118' DIRECTIONS: From Flagstaff, go north on U.S. Route 89 for 12 miles to Forest Road 552, which is across from the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument entrance. Turn left onto FR 552 and follow the signs to Lockett Meadow Campground. The trailhead is well marked. VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: A high-clearance vehicle is recommended. DOGS ALLOWED: Yes (on a leash), but only below the watershed cabin. HORSES ALLOWED: No USGS MAPS: Humphreys Peak, Sunset Crater West INFORMATION: Flagstaff Ranger District, 928-526-0866 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino LEAVE-NO-TRACE PRINCIPLES: • Plan ahead and be out all of your trash. prepared. • Leave what you find. • Travel and camp on • Respect wildlife. durable surfaces. • Minimize campfire impact. • Dispose of waste • Be considerate of properly and pack others.

54 SEPTEMBER 2018 MAP BY KEVIN KIBSEY www.arizonahighways.com 55 WHERE IS THIS?

Cross Your Fingers Formerly a mission for Native Americans, this Arizona building now celebrates its town’s history, which includes a massive copper mine that can be viewed from a nearby overlook. Among the other nearby attractions are a Spanish Colonial plaza and an emerging community of artists.

July 2018 Answer & Winner OPEN 7A-10P EVERYDAY Picket Post Mansion, Win a collection of our can also be sent to 2039 W. fied entries. Entries must be most popular books! Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, AZ postmarked by September 15, Boyce Thompson 8749 S. RURAL ROAD To enter, correctly identify 85009 (write “Where Is 2018. Only the winner will be Arboretum. Con- the location pictured above This?” on the envelope). notified. The correct answer gratulations to our and email your answer to Please include your name, will be posted in our Nov­ IN SOUTH TEMPE winner, Constance editor @arizonahighways address and phone number. ember issue and online at Clark of Trempea- .com — type “Where Is This?” One winner will be chosen in ­www.­arizonahighways.com leau, Wisconsin. in the subject line. Entries a random drawing of quali­ beginning October 15. TEMPEPUBLICMARKET.COM

56 SEPTEMBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP A.O. TUCKER ABOVE, LEFT BRUCE BOYCE