searching for the hopi center of creation

arizonahighways.com APRIL 2003

SacredSacred Vistas Vistas Navajo ofof thethe going up Young Rock Climbers Face Their Fears

Verde ValleyRiver Paradise Paradise a bounty of birds Hassayampa A Peaceful Waterfront Retreat

Rattlesnake Grease and Cockroach Tea frontier medicine APRIL 2003

COVER/PORTFOLIO 20 Magnificent Navajoland page 50 The stories and glorious beauty of this vast terrain tell of a proud Indian heritage. 55 GENE PERRET’S WIT STOP Arizona’s state mammal — the ringtail, or cacomistle — was a favorite pet of lonely old miners. ADVENTURE 6 Rugged Hike to Sipapu 44 HUMOR It’s no easy trek to Blue Spring and the 2 LETTERS AND E-MAIL sacred Hopi site called Sipapu on the Little Colorado River. 46 DESTINATION Hassayampa River Preserve The beautiful variety of natural wonders might 36 HISTORY even have appealed to artist Claude Monet. Medicine on 3 TAKING THE OFF-RAMP Arizona’s Frontier Explore Arizona oddities, attractions and pleasures. Territorial physicians were mostly brave U.S. 54 EXPERIENCE ARIZONA Army surgeons doubling as naturalists, A birding and nature festival flies into Yuma; the bookkeepers, weathermen and gardeners. world’s largest outdoor Easter pageant unfolds in Mesa; Miami celebrates its mining history; and Arizona 40 TRAVEL commemorates its Asian pioneers in Phoenix. Finding Courage in the Rocks 49 ALONG THE WAY Young climbers triumph over their fears as they What’s really behind a place name? It’s not always challenge the cliffs of Queen Creek Canyon. what you’d think. 50 BACK ROAD ADVENTURE BIRDS Ruby Road to Buenos Aires 14 National Wildlife Refuge Flocking to Verde Valley Woodlands, small lakes, grasslands and a chance The birds know it’s all about ideal location in to see wildlife mark this 50-mile drive. this avian paradise where so many live or visit. 56 HIKE OF THE MONTH Sixshooter Trail Hikers will find many “mountain personalities” on this 6-mile hike Grand Canyon near Globe. National Park NAVAJOLAND Blue Spring Verde [this page] A Friends of Arizona Highways photography Valley workshop titled Portraits of the Southwest provided participant Carlas Hill with the winning subject in this year’s “Chance WICKENBURG of a Lifetime” competition. carlas hill Hassayampa PHOENIX GLOBE [front cover] Navajo photographer LeRoy DeJolie captured River Preserve Queen Creek Pinal this arresting image of the swirling sandstone patterns of Mountains Waterholes Canyon near his ancestral home on the Navajo Canyon TUCSON Indian Reservation near Page. See story and portfolio, page 20. Buenos Aires National leroy dejolie POINTS OF Wildlife Refuge INTEREST [back cover] The Little Colorado River Gorge slices through FEATURED IN ARIVACA the landscape of the Navajo Indian Reservation, 10 miles THIS ISSUE from its confluence with the main Colorado River. gary ladd and e-mail takingthe

APRIL 2003 VOL. 79, NO. 4 Arizona oddities, attractions and pleasures Publisher WIN HOLDEN

Editor ROBERT J. EARLY off-ramp

Senior Editor BETH DEVENY Managing Editor RANDY SUMMERLIN Research Editor MARY PRATT Save the Cover Photos 1998 come flooding (pun intended) back. My then Editorial Administrator CONNIE BOCH exhibits, visitors can view the THIS MONTH IN Administrative Assistant NIKKI KIMBEL 1 I’m sure the cover on the November 2002 issue is a 2 ⁄2-year-old son Zachary and I had awakened to a center’s prints through its Director of Photography PETER ENSENBERGER ARIZONA very beautiful fall scene. However, I couldn’t tell. storm that chased us all the way to the Chiricahuas, Photography Editor RICHARD MAACK PrintViewing program. Simply The picture is so cluttered with the magazine title finally overtaking us in the parking lot of the call to make an appointment. Art Director MARY WINKELMAN VELGOS and seven titles of articles. monument’s visitors center. Zachary and I cuddled Deputy Art Director BARBARA GLYNN DENNEY In addition to housing Adams’ Father Marcos Why destroy such beautiful pictures — especially together on the big back seat of our Buick and Deputy Art Director BILLIE JO BISHOP work, the center holds the 1539 Associate Art Director BETH ANDERSON de Niza, looking on the covers — with information that could easily waited out the deluge. Art Assistant PAULY HELLER works of other greats, for cities of be on the inside cover? The chill and the rhythm of the rain cheered me, Map Designer KEVIN KIBSEY gold, explores including photojournalist Lola Arizona and Look at the covers of the magazine during the and I decided to drive up the mountain in search of Arizona Highways Books Alvarez Bravo and famed claims it for WitWorks® Books Spain. 1940s and 1950s. The covers were beautiful. A snow. Soon the rain turned to sleet and then snow. Editor BOB ALBANO fashion and portrait small space on the corner was used to give the I was amazed to see a prickly pear covered with Associate Editor EVELYN HOWELL photographer Richard Avedon. JR. ELMS, DAVID WHITE HOUSE RUIN, CANYON DE CHELLY NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA, 1942 ARIZONA, MONUMENT, NATIONAL DE CHELLY WHITE HOUSE RUIN, CANYON ANSEL ADAMS, magazine title, month and year of issue. The snow. Cactus and snow? I never dreamed! Associate Editor PK PERKIN McMAHON The center’s print collection beautiful covers are what got me interested in your After about 10 minutes of frolic, I put the car in Production Director CINDY MACKEY contains a “who’s who” of 1850Yuma Indians Production Coordinator KIM ENSENBERGER See Grand massacre a magazine. The current covers are turning me off. low gear and coasted ever so gingerly back down. Promotions Art Director RONDA JOHNSON UA Center Houses 20th-century shutterbugs, group of ferry- Save the cover photos. I have been longing for a winter storm in the Webmaster VICKY SNOW including Diane Arbus, Canyon Caverns men at Yuma Photography’s Elite Crossing at the Don Allen, Sedona desert ever since. Marketing Director Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier- confluence of PATRICIA POWERS-ZERMEÑO by Flashlight Even this poor old editor has to admit times Chris Zervas, Newark, DE he most revered photographer Bresson, Imogen Cunningham, the Colorado Circulation Director LEE FRANKLIN and Gila rivers. change, like it or not. Cover lines since the early of the American landscape, Man Ray, Robert Mapplethorpe, .S. Route 66 kitsch lovers Fifteen die and 1990s have been so popular with our readers (more Wrong Flavor Finance Director ROBERT M. STEELE Ansel Adams, may have nothing to fear from three escape to T coastal cities. than 9 in 10 cherish them) that we once considered It was with regret that after more than 17 years Fulfillment Director VALERIE J. BECKETT have loved Yosemite U recent upgrades at the Grand putting them on the back cover as well. I wish we as a loyal subscriber, I chose not to continue. National Park best, but Canyon Caverns, about 60 miles FOR CUSTOMER INQUIRIES could please all the people all the time. You have taken away the old “flavor” of favorite OR TO ORDER BY PHONE: when he chose a home for east of Kingman.The scowling A mail rider is lost gold mine stories and past gunfighter tales Call toll-free: (800) 543-5432 his archive, he picked Tyrannosaurus rex and the authentic 1869 In the Phoenix area or outside the U.S., attacked by Great Cover and such other past fables. Call (602) 712-2000 Tucson. In fact, Adams Indian teepee are staying put. New Indians at Apache Pass. For I absolutely LOVE the photo (fall in the Chiricahua William Lundberg, Clemmons, NC Or visit us online at: cofounded the University owners John and Frank McEnulty arizonahighways.com the third time in Mountains) on the cover of the November 2002 of Arizona’s Center for and Mike Kadletz have preserved three months, For Corporate or Trade Sales issue. I have never been so taken by a photo. It is Young Fan Call (602) 712-2050 Creative Photography, the old-time charm of the landmark the mail is captured by absolutely breathtaking, and it captures all the I love your magazines. I’m 9 years old. Since I saw E-MAIL “LETTERS TO THE EDITOR”: which now houses Adams’ they’ve visited for 25 years, while the Indians. colors of the rainbow in what looks like “one your magazines I knew I wanted them. I find very [email protected] negatives, contact sheets renovating the caverns, the 48-room simple click of the camera.” interesting things in them. In school I’m doing a Regular Mail: and prints, including the 1964 WINOGRAND, DALLAS, GARRY motel and the restaurant/curio shop. Editor Erin Burling, Muskegon, MI report on Arizona using your magazines for 2039 W. Lewis Ave. iconic ones of Half Dome in Weegee and Garry Winogrand. The biggest change, along with 1870Separated from information. I will remain your Number 1 fan. Phoenix, AZ 85009 Yosemite and, arguably his most A small gallery on the first floor satellite TV and a modern telephone the Department of the Pacific, Travel Tips Melissa Menard, Whitman, MA Governor Janet Napolitano revered image, “Moonrise, holds free exhibits that range from system, are the cavern tours. Along the subdistrict Director, Department of Transportation Many ideas for my holidays in Arizona have come Hernandez, New Mexico.” retrospectives to artist-curated with the 45-minute narrated walk of Arizona Victor M. Mendez becomes its from Arizona Highways. Missing Home ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION BOARD Unlike most museums, where contemporary works. Information: through the dry limestone caverns, Chairman Katie Dusenberry, Tucson own depart- I had some special places to visit, places I I am a second lieutenant stationed at Tyndall Air Vice Chairman Ingo Radicke, Globe the public only has access to current (520) 621-7968. the new owners have added a ment, under found in Arizona Highways. Thank you for your tips Force Base in Panama City, Florida, and I miss Members Dallas “Rusty” Gant, Wickenburg flashlight tour that highlights the the terms of Richard “Dick” Hileman, Lake Havasu City President and for the pleasure to read every month this Arizona. I used to hike all along the trails of the Bill Jeffers, Holbrook caverns’ glittering selenite and mica Grant’s Peace grandiose magazine. Bradshaws, Madera Canyon, Sedona’s Red Rocks and Joe Lane, Phoenix crystals and mineral deposits. “It’s Policy. James W. Martin, Willcox Cactus Flower in a Bottle Walter Gaissmaier, Stegaurach, Germany anywhere else I could get with my Toyota Corolla. like going into a giant jewel box,” Now that I’m in a place that’s greener, wetter INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION o inspire romance this spring, forget Fragrances, insists there’s something McEnulty says. 2001, 2000, 1998, 1992, 1990 Magazine of the Year Electric lights Occasional Fiction and more humid, I greatly miss my home state. I WESTERN PUBLICATIONS ASSOCIATION roses and think cacti. So says Joann “intriguing and sexy” about this scent They also have a two-hour T 1913are installed in 2001 Best Travel & In-transit Magazine I can’t stand people who want to force their never realized the great colors, the topographic 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1992 Petz, who has launched a fragrance line called “Desert Queen.” Perhaps it’s the explorer’s tour for physically fit Prescott’s homes opinions on others. These people should have monuments and the wonders that our state holds. Best Regional & State Magazine that captures the scent of the desert night- fact that the queen-of-the-night cactus, adults. The explorers don headlamps and businesses SOCIETY OF AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITERS FOUNDATION for the first time. respect for the wonderful publication you produce. They say that Florida is the Sunshine State, but 2000, 1997 Gold Awards blooming cereus, also called the Arizona known in the botanical world as and nylon suits to visit the cave’s I hope you will continue to run Arizona Highways Arizona capitalizes on it in its beauty. I can’t wait Best Monthly Travel Magazine queen-of-the- Peniocereus greggii, unfolds its buds mystery room, crawl narrow the way you do and give us a little fiction spice to receive my Arizona Highways each month. My Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published night cactus. to reveal dramatic white blossoms passageways into an undeveloped, Mining monthly by the Arizona Department of Transportation. 1925 whenever you choose. apartment is furnished with various pictures of Subscription price: $24 a year in the U.S., $34 in Canada, While cozying up only once a year. adjoining cavern and climb the 60- entrepreneur $37 elsewhere outside the U.S. Single copy: $3.99 U.S. and former Charles H. Schwab, Midlothian, IL Arizona from books I had to order online because Send subscription correspon­ dence­ and change of address to a cactus For love at first whiff, the fragrance foot swinging bridge built by information to Arizona High­ways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Tubac magistrate they don’t have anything with Arizona in it in Phoenix, AZ 85009. Periodical postage paid at Phoenix, doesn’t sound can be sampled at the gift shop at Hoover Dam engineers in 1938. Charles Debrille AZ and at additional mailing office. POST­MASTER: send Poston is hon- Water on the Desert bookstores out here. address changes to Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis like a prelude to Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden, Other new offerings at the 800-acre Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. Copyright­ © 2003 by the Ari-­ ored as “Father The winter photographs of Chiricahua National Jennifer Voiland, Tyndall AFB, FL zona Department of Trans­por­tation. Repro­duc­tion in love, Petz, owner which receives a percentage of sales property include hiking trails, a of Arizona” with whole or in part with­­out permission is prohibited. The Monument (“Tumultuous Chiricahuas,” November The poor old editor may be prejudiced, but he magazine does not accept and is not responsible for un-­ and president of proceeds. Information: toll free (866) rodeo ring and horseback rides. a monument ’02) brought a pang of longing to my heart. thinks the Arizona Highways books are the most solicited ma­terials provided for editorial con­sideration. Once in a Bloom 663-2566, www.onceinabloom.com. Information: (928) 422-3223 or dedication near Florence.

Memories of my first trip to Arizona in late March beautiful he’s ever seen. Produced in the USA FRAGRANCES ONCE IN A BLOOM 422-3224.

2 APRIL 2003 ­ ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 3 off-ramptakingthe

Book of Answers says Arizona has Angeles for shooting her boyfriend, more seasons than most places — Kitchen Spill Leonard Topp. The killing and resulting not fewer. Five to be exact. Becomes a trial testimony captured such attention The chock-full-of-answers book that it knocked World War I off the front lists them as: Dining Thrill pages of California’s five daily newspapers. The jury acquitted Gabe, and LINDA LONGMIRE LINDA Spring: February through April ithin the pastel colored eventually she returned to Prescott and Fore-summer or dry summer: walls of Wisdoms’ Cafe in became well-off running her illicit On the Question May and June W Tumacacori, about 50 business out of a string of downtown of Seasons Summer monsoon: July to miles south of Tucson, people hotels. But she refused to live quietly. Nogales mid-September enjoy the result of an accident that Outraged that producers had stolen in Arizona . . . Fall: Mid-September through took place almost 60 years ago. her story, Gabe sued them for $50,000 in Ranch November Not only enjoy it, some actually damages. The unprecedented suit drew Humming ome folks say there aren’t Winter: December and January drool over it. wide notice, including coverage in The Along any. Tempting as it may be to Howard and Petra Wisdom New York Times. Never before had the LIN ALDER sum up Arizona seasons as Just goes to show, Arizona has founded the cafe in 1944 and burgeoning movie industry been called to Long before cheese-making pioneers arrived, Pipe Spring watered the crops of S ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indians. One bright morning, “presummer,” summer, “postsummer” more of an “endless spring” than showed that they knew how to answer for improperly using the facts of Jesse Hendrix and “postpostsummer,” the anything else — especially if you someone’s life in a production. walked outside his Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum’s count its balmy, wonderful winters. The case bounced through the Back in the Flow, home 6 miles HALL MUSEUM SHARLOT California courts for five years. Only when northeast of the California Supreme Court declined to but Hold Nogales in southern hear the matter did the producer, Dorothy LIFE IN ARIZONA 1920s –1940s Madam Sued the Cheese Arizona and beheld Davenport Reid, widow of silent film star Question a vividly colored Hollywood and Won Wallace Reid, agree to settle the suit for an id Arizona’s pioneers have of the hummingbird flitting Harry William Locke’s Dream n February 1928, the Elks Theatre in unknown amount. She lost everything, cheese in the 1870s? Those Month around his yard. rivers heading east on showing how the meteor had I Prescott featured a silent movie called including her West Hollywood mansion, D who lived near Pipe Spring, Hendrix hung up a D Interstate 40, about 15 struck the ground. Locke built a The Red Kimona, the story of a young believed to be the first in Southern 14 miles west of modern-day What is the few hummingbird miles west of Winslow, often tower with a telescope at the woman’s descent into prostitution. It California with its own swimming pool. Fredonia, certainly did. Q origin of the feeders, and now wonder about the ruins visible top for viewing the crater. He touched off a remarkable episode of But surely the most remarkable aspect In 1872, Mormon settlers built word Apache? he sees more than about a mile south of the gave lectures, sold meteorite Arizona history. of the case was the boldness of this Winsor Castle, a fortlike building PATRICK FISCHER PATRICK 15,000 (no kidding highway. But the stone pile had fragments and tried to market Those who saw Kimona in Prescott Prescott woman in waging a long legal that cordoned off Pipe Spring from One theory nothing to do with ancient meteorite jewelry. But make the best of any event. A included a local madam known as battle against Hollywood big shots — local Paiutes. With 2-foot-thick A?holds that Indians. It’s the remains of Harry Depression-era travelers had kitchen mishap sent a tortilla Gabe — real name, Gabriell Dollie Wiley. and winning. sandstone walls and a constant it might be from William Locke’s dreams. little money to spend, and Locke spread with jam into the hot When she sat down in the packed Gabe died in 1962 in Salome, 137 miles trickle of cold water, the castle’s the Yuman word The former was forced to close cooking oil. Pulled out, tasted and theater, Gabe had no inkling that west of Phoenix. She moved there in 1937 spring room stayed cool enough epatch, generally

Y diminutive Denver policeman the business. judged, the crispy concoction producers had taken the story of her life to run a roadside cafe. The archives at the for pioneers to make and store meaning “man.” E L L E K visitors and cartoonist The observatory earned a place on the menu to make their movie. Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott hold a cheese, a real luxury in this A more accepted

. C . G passing arrived in Arizona in then came under the and the title “World Famous They used facts made public 13 years copy of The Red Kimona for public isolated outpost. theory traces through the 1920s, direction of Harvey Fruit Burro.” earlier when she stood trial in Los viewing. Information: (928) 445-3122. In 1923, Pipe Spring was it to the Zuni his hummingbird fascinated by the Harlow Nininger, a Now made with apple, purchased and set aside as a word apachu, ranch each day giant hole in the Kansas biology blueberry, cherry or peach filling, national monument. But Pipe interpreted as during the peak ground, now called professor. By the late dessert comes to the table piping Wild Blue Yonder in Miniature Spring dried up in 1999, taking “enemy.” In their season at the end Meteor Crater. 1940s, Nininger had hot and smothered in vanilla ice with it cheese-friendly own language, the of August. Locke and his first turned the place — cream. A third generation of family magine the thrill of temperatures and the undesertlike Apaches called If you happen wife, Hope, opened renamed American owners, Cliff and Celeste Wisdom, flying a radio- sounds of burbling water. themselves tinneh, to stop by between a service station on Meteorite Museum — still do the cooking, the serving controlled model After carefully studying the diné, tinde or inde, OLD TRAILS MUSEUM I March and Old U.S. Route 66. into one of the and the smiling over the lip-licking airplane that weighs only problem, the National Park Service all of which mean September, you’ll But according to Thomas world’s most active meteorite compliments paid to what Howard 35 pounds. From dirt- rerouted water from a nearby “man” or “people.” most likely see all Arthur Repp, author of Route 66: research centers. and Petra created by mistake. packed runways and spring. With the flip of a water-

17 resident and The Romance of the West, the Coincidentally, that was also Information: (520) 398-2397. asphalt tarmacs built to pump switch last year, CONTRIBUTORS migratory species Lockes were eager to do more Locke’s dream, but he never saw scale, pilots gather to hone maintenance workers at Pipe LIN ALDER that flutter in than pump gas and regale it happen. He died in 1943 at their aerobatic skills. Spring National Monument LORI K. BAKER LEO W. BANKS southern Arizona. travelers with meteor stories. In age 54. The Old Trails Museum Fifteen different clubs restored the flow — and the NIKKI KIMBEL Information: (520) the late 1930s, after Hope’s in Winslow has copies of Drawn to Sunlight enjoy Arizona’s excellent S.E TURNER burbling sound — to the former KAREN E. KLEIN CARRIE M. MINER 287-8615. death, Locke opened Meteor Locke’s cartoons and samples WHAT DO THE WORDS Sphingidae, flying weather. prizes. Spectators see exciting creamery. Crater Observatory in the stone of the meteorite rings and Aerobatics tournaments may be demonstrations of freestyle aerobatics The Park Service is pleased MELISSA M. MORRISON Prodoxinae and Arctiidae have to do TERI NIESCHULZ structure, which he built himself. earrings he sold. Information: with Arizona? They represent just a few viewed at Tucson International choreographed to music, low-level with the results but has no plans MARY PRATT On one wall hung a relief map (928) 289-5861. of the moth families that reside in the Modelplex Park, where pilots flying, hovering and accelerating to store cheese here again. S.E. TURNER southeastern part of the state. compete for $25,000 in cash and straight up while torque rolling. Information: (928) 643-7105. KATHLEEN WALKER

4 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 5 for S ipapu

TEXT BY LARRY WINTER PHOTOGRAPHS BY GARY LADD SEARCHING It takes a hike, a swim and a risky canyon bushwhack to find the Hop i CENTER OF CREATION

t’s funny. Sometimes you limestone. Steady mineral accretion under salt. Or you can descend the walls of the start a hike but wind up the influence of gravity makes its rounded narrow gorge of the Little Colorado to Blue on a pilgrimage. In May, bulk look like a distended navel. But as we Spring, then blunder 15 miles downriver Lou Hock and I took off contemplated our journey into myth and until you nearly fall into it, as we did. for Blue Spring on the Lit- geology, it seemed most important that all No signs mark the way to Blue Spring, tle Colorado River below our packs felt way too heavy and Hock not even warning signs. All the same, you Gold Hills with four of our couldn’t get his loaded quite right. can’t miss it if you get anywhere near the friends. We planned to It’s never been easy to reach Sipapu. jumping-off point on the rim of the gorge swim and scramble about Emerging from it — as the first people did 15 miles downriver to the — trumps every other approach, but that’s [preceding panel, pages 6 and 7] The Little confluence with the Colorado and hike out not an option.You can hike 7 miles up from Colorado River’s turquoise water, heavily laden with the copper and other minerals that give it of Grand Canyon on the Tanner Trail. the confluence of the Little Colorado and color, flows gently over travertine dams We had heard the Hopi center of cre- the Colorado as boatmen and their clients deposited near the waterway’s confluence with ation, or place where humans emerged, lay sometimes do when they’re rafting the the Colorado River at the edge of Grand Canyon I National Park. somewhere along our route down the Little Grand Canyon. Or you can reverse part of [above] The nondescript-but-sacred mound Colorado. The Hopi’s traditional creation our trip and descend the Tanner Trail to the called Sipapu, described as a limestone-covered story tells how the first people crawled confluence, then follow the boaters’ trail. geyser, is known as the Hopi Indians’ center of through Sipapu, a tiny hole in the sky of That should take two days and a bit, creation. the underworld, sometimes called the navel excluding siestas. You could come down [right] Seen from Colorado River level, the sharp pinnacle of Comanche Point, near Tanner of the universe. Geologists define Sipapu as Salt Trail Canyon from the north, as a few Trail, juts skyward above the Palisades of the a geyser covered with a thick layer of pearly locals do when they’re on a ritual quest for Desert escarpment.

8 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com for Sipapu

of the Little Colorado. Because the gorge abyss left us breathless and thrilled at reach- slopes steeply, its bottom remains clearly ing the other side. visible 3,000 feet below the rim. And the blue Toward evening, the easy slopes of shale of Blue Spring glints unmistakably when the SEARCHING and mudstone petered out a few dozen feet river isn’t in flood. A heavy load of copper above the river. A last line of cliffs sepa- and other mineral salts (absorbed by the rated us from Blue Spring, shimmering in spring water as it percolates through the the twilight below. Anxious to finish our regional limestone aquifer) turns the spring’s descent before dark, we searched for a way outlet a gaudy shade of turquoise. to the bottom that did not involve diving You can get to Blue Spring from the rim into the darkening pool. At last we found a by repeating this formula a few hundred line of bare roots hanging over the steep- times: Start down a steep gully choked est part of the rock. We swung on them like with loose rock; thick brush proves a plus apes to easier sandstone slopes below, then because it slows you when you start sliding slid on our tails to the welcome ground — out of control; traverse a ledge to another and rest. gully; scoot down that to another ledge; Our voyage down the Little Colorado free your pack — it’s stuck on a branch or a began the next morning. The river filled all horn of rock, or it’s wedged in a chimney the space between the inner canyon walls — then dangle your body over a short cliff and drop onto a ledge; squeeze into a chim- ney; curse your pack; curse your partners; curse yourself, your luck and the bad judg- ment that led you to this sorry situation. You’ll roll out at the bottom eventually. Unless you’re cliffed out. In that case, you climb back up to start down another way. A few hundred feet below the rim, we reached our first such set of ledges leading nowhere. Cliffed out. In the waning after- noon, the narrow draw — bordered on all sides by towering ridges — had the look of a Chinese scroll painting which, by gro­ within a quarter mile [left] Emerging tesquely exaggerating the vertical, leaves of the beach where we from the Grand Canyon via Tanner the insignificant viewer suspended midway had camped, so there Trail, hikers catch down a cliff, stranded between an unseen was nothing to do but a glimpse of the top and an unfathomable bottom. The price swim. We inflated our distant Colorado of admission to Blue Spring seemed high rafts, piled our ruck- River, with Chuar Butte rising against as we peered into the gloomy void. The sacks onto them and a backdrop of price went up when Hock found the way. launched into the cur- clouds just above Hock had stopped about a hundred feet rent. You can spend a and left. above the rest of us to fix his pack once and lot of money on back- [above] A collared lizard seems smugly for all. Knowing we were stuck, he let his packers’ rafts, which at home near the eye run over the rocks between him and us. are specially made for mouth of the Little Hock rates as a fearless but sometimes this purpose, or you Colorado River. reckless route-finder, so we tried to ignore can use an inflatable him when he pointed to a narrow ledge we swimming pool raft. Backpackers’ rafts had passed earlier without a second glance. come in drab colors, are heavy and take a The ledge disappeared into a line of thin heck of a beating. Pool rafts are light, bright footholds before reappearing 20 feet away. and inexpensive, but dainty. They demand Nevertheless, Hock had a point. The foot­ care. We opted for three pool rafts because holds seemed to be matched by handholds, we’re cheap, not careful. and the ledge on the other side clearly led Yellow, blue and pink, our rafts made a to a draw, which itself promised to come cheerful fleet. You can come to the Little out at the bottom of the cliff that had us Colorado later in the year and find it nearly stopped. dry, or you can come earlier and run a Class Soon we were queued up at the edge of 5 kayak stream. But in the middle of May, the void to watch Hock tiptoe across. The we swam and drifted all that day. Between huge handholds combined with just enough the long pools we carried our packs and footholds to make the traverse feasible. Still rafts. We protected the rafts from spikes of the jolt of lugging a heavy pack across the travertine rock in the water and thorns on

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 11 for Sipapu land; we didn’t need many portages, and discouraged. In the morning the rocks were mostly submerged. our way downriver seemed Although you don’t cover much distance difficult at first. We crossed floating down a slow-moving stream — a SEARCHING travertine dikes to reach the downside with consequences we initially other bank, but it also was underestimated — at least it’s painless. For lined with quicksand and the first time recently in the vicinity of impenetrable brush. Grand Canyon, my feet weren’t killing me, Unexpectedly, we crossed and if I felt mildly sickened by the miner- the tracks of a deer, also going alized water even after filtering it, at least I downstream. We hadn’t seen wasn’t thirsty. sign of another large animal We came to reaches of the river on the since we’d left the paved road next day where it made more sense to walk four days before. We followed than to float. Increasingly, travertine water- the deer’s tracks as carefully falls blocked the river. Small at first, but as we had followed our lead- eventually as high as 15 feet, they rivaled ers’ yesterday, but the deer the more famous falls in Havasu Canyon proved much savvier. It led us far downriver. We wrestled our packs over around quicksand bogs onto the sides of the falls while waves, roaring rocks where we could safely through the main sections, fell in tumult to stand, then took us down the pools below. Soon we gave up the river game trails through thickets, entirely and tried to bushwhack, but thick then back to the beach past brush forced us onto sand flats concealing more quicksand. quicksand. We had almost given up The Little Colorado makes real quick- when the tracks disappeared sand in spring, the kind that swallows the at the river’s edge after a cou- large and the small, sucks down the inno- ple of miles. Lacking a better cent with the guilty and turns the whole lot alternative, we went across into undifferentiated peat over the course the stream but couldn’t find of millennia. tracks on that side either. The A simple step in the wrong direction agi- deer had vanished. We entered tated unstable quicksand into a calf-high the brush and then forged the quagmire. A bad hole sank its victim up to stream again when the brush the hips. The worst kind demanded an got too thick. awkward dog paddle to dry ground while No doubt, ours weren’t the dragging a muddy rucksack behind. Cov- only spirits in those canyons. ered with greasy mud, we looked like Many other spirits — animal, vegetable and the gorge turned into an oven, completely amphibious fish crawling onto dry land for mineral — haunt them. Boulders give way exposed to the sun, we took our siesta in the first time. under your feet, while roots hide by the the shade of Sipapu. Before drifting off, we On the third night we worried. The swim-­ smoothest parts of the trail to trip you up. thanked the spirits that are everywhere in ming had taken more time than we had A cactus wren flies down the correct fork these canyons for delivering us to Sipapu. expected, the travertine falls had held us in a faint trail when you couldn’t choose it The hike out took three more days (we up more and the quicksand had been wor- alone. A deer makes a pilgrimage to Sipapu. rested one day), but that part of the trail is thy of a bad jungle movie. We had made 9 We found the deer tracks within a hundred routine for the Grand Canyon. miles in three days when we’d hoped for yards of our second ford. For the rest of the The last night a storm forced us to hud- 15 miles or more. We had plenty of food morning we followed the unseen deer over dle in bivouac bags on a rocky ridge part- — for that matter, it wouldn’t have hurt an easy trail all the way to Sipapu. way up the Tanner Trail. From our airy any of us to fast — but food and time were It turns out the center of the world really perches we watched lightning flash through- not the worst of it all. We were whipped. is at the bottom of that canyon. Without ­out Grand Canyon. Somewhere among the Another couple of knowing what to expect, we instantly rec- cliffs of the Granite Gorge, boaters scram- [left] Blue Spring gushes water days like this and ognized Sipapu when we rounded the last bled to tighten their camp. And somewhere directly into the we would be lucky bend in the river above it. Its limestone else the spirit-deer danced to the rhythm Little Colorado if we were able to shell — rounded like a beehive, a smooth of thunder. River. crawl to the conflu- contrast to the sharp edges of surrounding [above right] After floodwaters from ence. And from there ridges and draws, unnaturally architectural Larry Winter is science adviser to the governor of spring rains have the South Rim rose in its roundness — gleamed in the nooning New Mexico. diminished, still more than a sun. It seemed a fitting memorial to the Gary Ladd of Page says he doesn’t recommend shrinking pools and dozen miles away. strange event of our ancestors’ emergence drinking the water from the Little Colorado, where muddy sandbars the first taste is not so bad, the second gulp is remain on the Little We went to bed from the boiling underworld. pretty bad — and by the third sip you’ll swear off Colorado. feeling tired and By then the afternoon had closed in. As it permanently. arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 13 BOUNTIFUL VALLEY

Avian Paradise An abundance of birds congregates along the Verde River

irst light, Friday morning, late April. during the annual Verde Valley Birding and Grace’s warbler and hepatic tanager, migrate Pine scent rouses our nostrils and Nature Festival in central Arizona. this far north and set up house; some birds Fbird sounds float on the breeze as “Grace’s warbler!” A woman points, and like the hermit and Townsend’s warblers our bird-watching group pauses at Elks 12 pairs of binoculars rise as one. High in a pause to refuel before continuing north; and Well, a little pond on 7,815-foot Mingus pine tree, the little bird forages, its topsides some birds like the mountain chickadee and Mountain above Jerome in central Arizona. a formal gray above a yellow face, bib and the Stellar’s jay live here all year.” “Hope we see an olive warbler,” a birder speckled white belly. “Good, it must “So Mingus Mountain is a truck stop, a from Wyoming murmurs to field trip leader have a nest nearby,” Romig says. summer cabin or a home, depending,” the Gary Romig, a member of the Northern “Now look below the Grace’s boy’s mother muses. Arizona Audubon Society. Tomorrow, about 2 feet toward the trunk. Romig grins. “Good analogy. And each I’ll lead a birding field trip, but That bird with the yellow species uses the habitat differently. That today, I’m tagging along head is the hermit warbler. on Romig’s trip, one of He’s migrating north, using these [above left to right] photo-illustrations: No many such events Black Hills, which form the west other Arizona bird has the red, black and white side of the Verde Valley, as his inter- pattern of the red-faced warbler. Olive warblers build nests of rootlets and white fibers of state highway.” silverleaf oak and decorate them with pine “You mean the Grace’s war- needle bracts and lichens. bler comes here and nests, [left] The bright red chest identifies this but the hermit warbler keeps vermilion flycatcher as male. [right] Red rocks and blue mesas frame the going?” a boy asks. green swath of Red Tank Draw in the Coconino Romig nods. “Some birds, like the National Forest.

Text by Suzanne Clemenz Photo-illustrations by Gary Romig Photographs by Marty Cordano WHAT MAKES THE VERDE VALLEY SUCH A TREASURE TROVE OF BIRDS? IN THE LANGUAGE OF BIRD REAL ESTATE, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

Grace’s warbler is probing the pine needles agrees that the olive warbler is a specialty Gila Woodpecker.” I’m leading a handful of for insects, and that red crossbill over there of central Arizona’s pine-clad mountains. festivalgoers along the Verde River in Cot- is prying open pine cones to eat their seeds.” By noon, we’ve scouted several Mingus tonwood’s Dead Horse Ranch State Park. Our group continues around the pond, trails and found 73 species, among them Several field trips took bird-watchers out and Romig answers the man from Wyoming: 10 warblers, including yellow-rumped, today — by canoe and by train, to Tavasci “About the olive warbler, they do breed here Townsend’s, black-throated gray and Vir- Marsh, around Sedona and Camp Verde, on Mingus Mountain, so we have a pretty ginia’s; gray, dusky and Hammond’s fly- even north to the Grand Canyon to see Cal- good chance . . .” Romig pauses when he catchers; a Western wood-peewee and a ifornia condors. My walk may sound less hears a “peeta-peeta-peeta” song from a few brown creeper; three nuthatch species; a glamorous, but I know from years past that yards down the trail. “Listen, there it is!” plumbeous vireo and a Brewer’s sparrow; we can expect to spot rarities of our own. We surge forward, the expert birders help- a Northern pygmy-owl and the vibrant The ecosystem here differs drastically ing the newbies to find the 5.25-inch-long Western tanager. from yesterday’s. Fremont cottonwoods and creature amid the arboreal tangle. “Look for elegant Arizona sycamores tower over our the coppery head,” someone suggests. Soon aturday morning, at a half-hour past path, while Goodding willows and other recognition lights up many faces. “That’s a dawn, we are 15 miles northeast of streamside vegetation crowd the riverbanks ‘life bird’ for me,” says the grinning Wyo­ming Syesterday’s warbler pond, at an eleva- on our right. Grasslands and a fishing man, referring to his lifetime list of the bird tion 4,000 feet lower. A riparian aroma tick- lagoon border our left, and we pass through species he’s seen. “That’s the bird I hoped for les our noses, and today’s natural sound mesquite thickets here and there. when I signed up for this festival.” Romig track could be titled “Duet for Oriole and “Look, a cardinal!” calls a ponytailed teen as a brilliant red bird alights nearby. I cau- [opposite page] Pecks Lake on the Verde River calls mix with the “witchity-witchity” of a tion her, “Look more closely — I’m not see- carries the name of Edmond George Peck newly arrived common yellowthroat. We ing a big crest.” The girl looks confused. who served as a scout and guide for troops never spot the yellowthroat; instead, an elec- at Fort Whipple near Prescott. “We do have Northern cardinals here [above left to right] photo-illustrations: tric yellow Wilson’s warbler rewards our year-round,” I assure her. “And just like The lazuli bunting is an uncommon summer efforts. them, the bird you’re seeing has reached the resident of the Verde Valley. Black and “Such an abundance of birds!” exclaims white wings and tail uniquely mark the male northern limit of its breeding range.” Still, black-headed grosbeak. At a distance, the a man from nearby Sedona. the identity stymies her. deep color of an adult male blue grosbeak A shadow passes over us, and we look An experienced birder from Texas has appears black. up to see an immense black bird, wings held held his silence, but finally he says, “Male [below] Common throughout the state, the in a V, tilting on the breeze. “I think I know great horned owl hunts small mammals summer tanager.” for survival. that one,” the man says. “Vulture, right?” “Right!” I confirm. “That yellow bird that I quickly see a critical difference — sev- just landed to the right of him is his mate.” eral white tail stripes — between this and The sun spotlights their contrasting breed- 1,000 feet to the Colorado Plateau. And we our common turkey vultures. “Well, if you ing plumage. stop to raise our family because I know we were a small bird, you might make the “What do you mean by ‘northern limit’?” won’t find our kind of room same assumption and end up as that bird’s a woman asks. and board on top of dinner,” I explain. “But that bird is one of “Let’s say I’m that tanager, and my wife that rim.” our Southwest specialties — the zone-tailed and I spent the winter in sunny Mexico. We Our birding group hawk. It often hangs out with our abundant live it up on fruits and insects until it starts continues along the turkey vultures, which eat only carrion. But to get hot down there, and then we start Verde River Green- the zone-tailed hawk captures live prey. The thinking about the spring insects hatch- way Trail, stopping to hawk looks so much like the vultures that ing in Arizona. We head north, following identify a cor­dil­leran its prey isn’t wary.” I point out the bird’s long Arizona rivers — the San Pedro, Gila, flycatcher, to watch tail and wide rectangular wings, for I expect Salt and Verde. We prefer riparian violet-green and north- my best treat to turn up soon. bed and breakfasts, so you won’t ern rough-winged swal- Sure enough, as we near the trail’s far- find us on those high chilly lows zoom by, to admire thest point 15 minutes later, another black mountain for­­ests that our hooded and Bullock’s ori- raptor circles overhead. Someone ventures, cousin, the hepatic tanager, oles and to scan a field of “It sort of looks like that zone-tailed hawk, travels to. chipping, lark, and white- but something’s different.” “When we get to the crowned sparrows that haven’t We’ve sighted a common black-hawk. Verde Valley, I see this yet left these wintering grounds. Though originating from the tropical for- lofty ribbon of red In one thicket, a great horned owl est as far south as Peru, I’ve seen them sandstone­ to the north, stares at us, and the river reeds cruising over every river canyon in this area. split by canyons. It’s the bend lightly beneath These clefts of the Mogollon Rim form one Mogol­lon Rim — the red-winged of the black-hawk’s few territories in the place where Arizona blackbirds, southwestern United States, and it breeds stairsteps up about whose buzzy here, feeding its young a gourmet menu of

arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 17 fish, frogs, crawfish, reptiles, small birds [opposite page] Migrating tree swallows arrive reported 177 species in three days, many of and rodents. dependably both spring and fall, but tales of them different from the 140 seen during I point out some important differences their arriving on the same day each year are December’s Christmas bird count. Those amiable myths. from the zone-tailed hawk. “Black-hawks [above left to right] photo-illustrations: abundant winter species do a reverse trek have a yellow face and beak and a short, Grace’s warbler prefers pines and seldom feeds from our April travelers, coming just as far very fanned-out tail with just one bright on anything else. Pine and oak woodlands south as needed to find open water and food. provide a summer home for hepatic tanagers. white tail stripe. Its 48-inch wingspan is a [below] The ferruginous hawk summers on the What makes the Verde Valley such a trea- few inches shorter than the zone-tailed, and open grassy plains of northern Arizona. sure trove of birds? In the language of bird its wings are extremely deep from front edge real estate, location, location, location. Camp to back. I think of it as all wings. Its nest is Verde and Cottonwood, with the warmer right there, in that cottonwood, so I was — the rare Lewis’s woodpecker gets added climate of a 3,200-foot elevation, offer grass- quite sure we’d see it.” to our life lists. Everyone hogs the spotting lands, farm fields and stream banks. Clark- My group grows excited. We’ve found 53 scope as the iridescent birds obligingly pose dale boasts varied habitats from Pecks Lake species in less than three hours, yet two atop a snag. and Tavasci Marsh to piñon-juniper forests minutes later we find a spectacular bonus At the festival’s evening banquet, birders and Verde and Sycamore canyons. At ele- — birds that surprised me at the same place compare notes: bald eagle nests sighted from vations of 4,000 to 5,500 feet, Sedona’s and last year. Perhaps they’re becoming sea- the Verde River Canyon Train; green herons, adjacent Oak Creek Canyon’s red-rock cliff sonal regulars, dropping down over the wood ducks and brown-crested flycatchers habitats welcome ravens, canyon wrens and Mogol­lon Rim to winter in the warmer breeding at Tavasci Marsh; ospreys and peregrine falcons, and the American dipper Verde Valley, as do juncos, Western blue- crissal thrashers at Pecks Lake in the Clark- seeks out the splashing rapids of Oak Creek. birds and others. Red face, gray neck, pink dale area. Page Springs Fish Hatchery yielded The Mogollon Rim and Black Hills encircle belly, green back — the most unlikely col- blue grosbeaks and the flashy vermilion fly- the area with 6,000- to 7,700-foot pine-clad ors of any woodpecker in the United States catchers, which breed there, as well as highlands. migrant lazuli buntings. Like the birds themselves, birders can

Location: The Verde Valley and its Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon served pause while passing through, come for a communities lie approximately 100 up many specialties: the red-faced warbler, longer visit or spend a lifetime exploring miles north of Phoenix. black-headed grosbeak, painted redstart, the bounty of this avian crossroads. Getting There: Going north from black-chinned sparrow, broad-tailed hum- Phoenix on Interstate 17, explore Known also for her scenic photography, the Verde Valley east and west from Exit 287 mer, indigo bunting, band-tailed pigeon, Suzanne Clemenz leaves the camera (Cottonwood/Camp Verde) through Exit 298 American dipper and peregrine falcon, to at home in Sedona when she goes (Sedona). Or take State Route 89A northeast from name a few. Camp Verde produced the birding. Prescott to reach Jerome, Clarkdale, Cottonwood Lifelong birder Gary Romig and Sedona. bridled titmouse, Scott’s oriole, verdin and creates his mixed-media artwork Weather: In Cottonwood, April’s average high, cactus wren, among others. using drawings, computer 74°; average low, 42°. Canada geese and a dozen duck species renderings and digital Event: This year’s Verde Valley Birding and Nature that winter in the Verde Valley have gone photography. He lives in Festival runs April 25 to 27, headquartered in Jerome. Cottonwood. Ranging throughout central and north already, but mallards and wood ducks For Bisbee-based Marty northern Arizona, festival field trips focus on birds remain. The rufous hummingbird won’t Cordano, the only thing and other local wildlife, plants, butterflies, wing through, southbound, until July, but harder than getting a rockhounding, geology and archaeology. Registration black-chinned and broad-tailed humming- clear view of a bird fee, plus additional activity fees for certain field in the wild is actually trips and Saturday banquet. Information, (928) birds have arrived to breed, and Anna’s live photographing it. 634-8437; birdyverde.org, or Arizona State Parks, here all year. After working long Northern Region Education Office, (928) 282-2202. Virginia Gilmore’s book, Birding Sedona & and hard on this Additional Information: Cottonwood Chamber the Verde Valley (Northern Arizona Audubon assignment, he says of Commerce, (928) 634-7593 or chamber. he would do it verdevalley.com; the Northern Arizona Audubon Society, 1999), lists 296 species. Last year’s again when pigs Society, nazas.org. Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival can fly. arizonahighways.com NAVAJOLAND Peace and beauty flow from stories enshrined in sacred vistas BY CARRIE M. MINER

BENEVOLENT DEITIES GRANTED THE NAVAJO told by the Navajos who cherish and live by them, Indians the sweeping vistas and remote canyons the following retelling contains the key elements, and mountains of their homeland as a place of peace which remain the same no matter who the teller. and beauty, but it was not always so. In their story In the beginning, the First People emerged into of creation, the Navajos had to purge their land of this land, leaving behind the evils they had encoun- evil caused by the misdeeds of their ancestors. tered in the previous worlds. The Navajo homeland, a dramatic stretch of land Or so they thought. First Man and First Woman shaped the new world into a vision of beauty. They created the moon and sun and stars so that the People would have night and day and seasons. Bounding the land were four sacred rivers and four sacred mountains formed from materials First Man had brought into this new land of hopes and dreams. The rivers — the Colorado, the Little Colorado, the San Juan and the Rio Grande — marked the boundaries of the land created for the People. In the east, First Man and First Woman created Horizontal Black Belt (known as Blanca Peak), made of white shell, fastened to the Earth with lightning and covered with a blanket of daylight. Then they located Blue Bead Mountain (Mount Taylor) in the south, filling the dome with turquoise, pinning it to the Earth with a stone knife and cov- that ranges out from Arizona into parts of Colorado, ering the newly formed mountain with blue sky. New Mexico and Utah, is larger in scope than mere Light Always Glitters On Top (the San Francisco sand and stone reaching out under turquoise skies. Peaks) in the west contained abalone shell, secured To the Navajos, each vista in this holy land has a with a sunbeam and covered in yellow twilight. story to tell along with a lesson to guide them in They completed the boundaries of the sacred the Navajo way of life. Like the worn pages of an lands by erecting The Place of Big Mountain Sheep ancient text, the land anchors them to their iden- (Hesperus Mountain) in the north. It was created tity and their cultural values. from jet, fastened to Earth with a rainbow and cov- The Diné, as the Navajo people refer to them- ered in darkness. Inside each of the four mountains, selves, still occupy the majority of their ancestral they placed protective holy beings called Those That homeland, created for them by First Man and First Stand Within Them. And the newly formed world Woman so long ago. Navajoland, called Diné bi was filled with beauty and promise and hope. Keyah by Navajos — occupies an area larger than Although the People believed they had forever Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecti­­ escaped the evils of the earlier worlds, they soon cut and Rhode Island combined. With its scenic discovered that the women had carried the seeds of canyons,­ mountains and valleys, Navajoland not human destruction with them into this world. only inspires awe, but, according to its people, also Because they could not live in harmony, the women chronicles the beginning of time in this world. gave birth to monsters that began killing the Peo- For all its beauty, this stark region of deeply cut ple. And beauty fled from the world. canyons and sparse desert plants shows no kind- When the Earth was still new, First Man and First ness in its life lessons. Navajo stories tell of an Woman found a baby by following her cry. She ancient battle from which reminders still stand. became known as Changing Woman. She grew to Every rock and bush of the land recalls the sacri- (Text continued on page 27) fices made by the Holy People to save the Diné from their own folly. [preceding panel, pages 20 and 21] An ephemeral pool, created by monsoon thunderstorms, reflects the visual rhythm of the Dancing Rocks on the Navajo Indian THE ORAL HISTORY HANDED DOWN Reservation near Round Rock. tom till from grand­parents to children, from generation to [above] Stubbornly resisting the elements, this 100-year- generation, becomes unique with each telling. A old Navajo hogan once belonged to a matriarch of the Navajo storyteller may emphasize one piece of the McKinley family north of Chinle. richard embery [right] In a scene repeated for more than 700 years, the larger story according to the life lesson that needs to warm light of sunset washes over the Ledge Ruin in be taught to the listeners. Though the stories are best Canyon de Chelly National Monument. leroy dejolie

22 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com

(Continued from page 22) womanhood in four days, and the Sun came to her as she slept near a spring. Nine days later she gave birth to the Hero Twins— Monster Slayer and Child Born for Water. The twins quickly grew into men and learned of their father from Spider Woman, one of the Holy People. With her help, the twins traveled to the house of the Sun and passed four hazardous tests, proving they were his sons. The Sun finally acknowl- edged them and granted them use of his powerful weapons — arrows of lightning, rainbows and

sunbeams, and a stone knife. And they descended back to Earth to rid the world of the monsters. Child Born for Water stayed at Huerfano Peak, working to restore the balance of beauty to the world as his twin brother Monster Slayer took off across the land to destroy the monsters. On the first day, Monster Slayer began his mis- sion near Navajo Springs, where he killed the first enemy of the People — his father’s son and his own half-brother, Yeitso, the One-Walking Giant. Monster Slayer cut off the giant’s head and flung it to the east, where it now stands as Cabezon Peak. Yeitso’s blood streamed down into the valley and was stopped by Monster Slayer’s stone knife— where it hard- ened into the great lava flows southwest of the San Mateo Mountains. On the second day, Monster Slayer set out to the Red Plains to slay the man-eating Giant Elk. Unable to approach the beast, Monster Slayer enlisted the help of the Gopher, who led him through her tun- nel so he could get close to the monster. He shot (Text continued on page 31)

[preceding panel, pages 24 and 25] Spider Rock rises above the floor of Canyon de Chelly and a traditional hogan. Many Navajos still follow a long-established agrarian lifestyle deep in the canyon’s recesses. randy prentice [left] Eroded layers of sandstone and shale form the colorful peaks and valleys of Coal Mine Canyon near Tuba City. [above] Pottery shards and corncobs left behind by ancient Puebloan inhabitants create an enduring mosaic at the Keet Seel cliff dwellings at Navajo National Monument. both by larry ulrich

26 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 27

(Continued from page 27) an arrow of lightning into Giant Elk’s heart, and his lifeblood stained the sands red. Gopher helped Monster Slayer gather the blood vessels into a hide bag, which he slung around his neck. As Gopher busied herself at her task, she wiped her bloodied hands across her brow, which is why gophers have dark faces today. On the third day, Monster Slayer made his way to A Tall Rock Standing to find the Giant Birds and their brood. He carried the hide bag of the Giant Elk’s blood around his neck and slung his lightning

arrows across his back. With him, he carried two sacred feathers and a black knife, and as he walked he sang: I wonder if the lone eyes are watching me? I am he who has killed the monsters. The lightning is before me. All is beautiful behind me. The Giant Birds killed many of the People, smash- ing their victims against the sharp spires at Shiprock for their two children to eat. But Monster Slayer was saved from this fate by the two sacred feathers, which helped him to land lightly in the Giant Birds’ nest. He then smashed the blood-filled bag against the ground to fool the Giant Bird. Monster Slayer hushed the two young monster birds, promising not to kill them if they would tell him when their parents would return, and they did. As the male Rain approached, so did the male Giant Bird, and Monster Slayer brought the bird down with one of his lightning arrows. On the following night, as the softer female Rain descended with the female Giant Bird, he slew her as well. Some stories say that the lava dike southwest of Shiprock

[preceding panel, pages 28 and 29] Swirling sand dunes, hardened over time, mark the boundaries of Waterholes Canyon on the Navajo Indian Reservation near Page. leroy dejolie [left] The sun rises over a tranquil Lake Powell as seen from Alstrom Point in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. ralph lee hopkins [above] Sacred datura blossoms offer a delicate counterpoint to the weathered sandstone of Antelope Wash. larry ulrich

30 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 31 is the blood of these two destructive Giant Birds. Upon seeing their parents felled from the sky, the young birds cried in fear. “If you had grown up you would have been evil,” said Monster Slayer. “But I will make you into some- thing that can be used for the good of the Diné.” Monster Slayer took the first nestling and swung it around him four times, saying that it would for- get its evil origins and would instead furnish plumes and bones for the Diné. He let go and an eagle soared toward the sky. He then did the same with the second nestling, saying that men would listen

to its voice to learn the future, and an owl departed in search of the night. Monster Slayer wandered around the nest high up in the rocks but could not find a way down until he saw Bat Woman walking on the ground below. “Grandmother,” he called. “Please help me down from here, and I will give you the feathers of the Giant Birds I killed.” Bat Woman agreed and transported him in her basket back down to Earth. Monster Slayer helped her fill her basket with the feathers from the fallen giants and warned her not to go through the sun- flowers with her bundle of precious feathers. But despite his warnings, she did just that, and hun- dreds of colorful birds flew out of her basket. In this manner, the feathers of the Giant Birds became a rainbow of color in the sky — the flickers, swallows, starlings, robins, sparrows, wrens, warblers, titmice, juncos and nuthatches. Now that the first four monsters had been destroyed, Monster Slayer continued across Diné bi Keyah. He killed the Rolling Rock, which crushed people into the ground, by chiseling pieces away with knives of black, yellow, blue and white. When

[above] Although 700 years have passed since the Puebloans mysteriously abandoned Betatakin, the ruins stand remarkably intact, inviting conjecture and wonder about their long-gone residents. larry ulrich [left] A seasonal waterfall charges over weatherworn sandstone in Tsegi Canyon near Navajo National Monument. tom till

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 33 only a small piece of his stony enemy remained, Monster Slayer told the remaining fragment that it would forget its time as the Rolling Rock and would become flint to create fire for the People. Then Monster Slayer headed to the plains and killed 11 of the tribe of 12 dangerous antelope. The remaining one he spared, saying that to repent for its evilness it would feed the People with its flesh. And still Monster Slayer continued. He destroyed He Who Kicks People Off Cliffs, the Slashing Reeds, the Rock that Crushes, the Evil Eyes, and the lesser enemies scouring Earth. But he could not dispose of

his enemies’ bodies and instead left them behind as stony testaments to his great battles. When he was through, Monster Slayer walked to the four corners of the land — to the mountains in the East, South, West, North— and returned, pro- claiming that the monsters had been destroyed and that all was well to the ends of the Earth. To return to the state of beauty, the divine twins performed the first Enemyway ceremony. Monster Slayer’s drumstick turned into stone, becoming Rainbow Bridge, as a reminder of his heroic deeds. And so the Navajos live in a land created for them, formed from a dream of the First People, cleansed by the Hero Twins and watched over by Changing Woman— Mother Earth herself. The Diné don’t need to bind their stories in books — they carry their sacred geography and all of its lessons with them, walking in beauty across prayers of stone.

Additional Information: For details about pho- tography workshops in the Navajoland area pre- sented by the Friends of Arizona Highways, call (602) 712-2004 or toll-free (888)790-7042.

Carrie M. Miner of Glendale first heard this story from James Peschlaki, a Navajo medicine man living in Cameron, and she’s been chasing Navajo stories ever since.

[left] Sunset lights a group of formations in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. From left, the Stagecoach, Bear and Rabbit, the Castle, and the King on His Throne. tom till [above] A small camera-lens aperture creates a natural starburst as the sun rises behind the West Mitten in Monument Valley. ralph lee hopkins

34 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 35 S T O [left] Sutures of horsehair closed the H I R Y wounds of pioneers fortunate enough to be treated by a doctor.

n September 1851, (after soldiers resorted to eating their pack mules), the Sitgreaves Expedition surveyed along colic, five arrow wounds and two head injuries FRONTIER Arizona’s 35th parallel to find a route from (one man clubbed by Indians, another hit by a New Mexico to California. Among other rock in a fracas among the expedition members). firsts, U.S. Army Capt. Lorenzo Sitgreaves’ Once more, the doctor was among the patients, MEDICINE report to the U.S. Congress included a struck by an arrow in the thigh while warming scientific description of a rattlesnake bite, himself by the campfire at dawn. witnessed by the expedition’s doctor, Woodhouse bled the men with headwounds, EARLY ARIZONA DOCTORS RESORTED TO Samuel Woodhouse, firsthand. His hand, actually. removed an arrowhead with tooth forceps and dis- I Like many doctors who accompanied frontier pensed the various powders and tinctures an Army PRIMITIVE TREATMENTS expeditions, Woodhouse doubled as a naturalist, doctor carried along with his scalpels and bone collecting new species. One “fine specimen” saws. During the 1850s and 1860s, the relation BUT LEFT AN IMPORTANT LEGACY objected, striking him on the finger. of germs to illness was still theoretical, not yet Woodhouse responded with an arsenal of cures: replacing the belief that miasma — unhealthy cutting and sucking, using a tourniquet and drink- air — caused disease. Aseptic surgery ing or applying a succession of ammonia, colo- was a thing of the future. Bleeding cynth (bitter apple), ipecac, opium, potassium and purging were standard treat- iodide, iodine, peppermint water, flaxseed poul- ments, and amputation the solu- tice, Seidlitz powder, magnesia calci and — the tion for shattered bones. frontier favorite — as much whiskey as he could Although many physicians drink. He recovered from the bite, and even from on the frontier were trained in the remedies, while dutifully recording every step. the sciences or in battlefield The drama’s supporting player — the rattlesnake treatments, practicing medicine — was destined for the 5-year-old Smithsonian in early Arizona often required Institution, one of several museums that studied improvisation and courage. Snake­ Western species the way our generation pored over bites, arrow and bullet wounds, hor- moon rocks. Men who were drawn to the Territory rific mining accidents and devastating to practice medicine had a thirst for adventure — epi­­­­demics challenged doctors like Elliot Coues, an or other reasons for wanting to leave Eastern soci- Army surgeon who once operated with his patient ety. Dr. Charles Winter Woods, for example, who literally over a barrel while flies buzzed around. was of mixed racial backround, found acceptance Like Woodhouse, Coues collected specimens in the copper camp of Jerome. Some doctors during his tenure in Arizona, but some never made hoped to find gold and hung out their shingles it to the East. While accompanying a supply col- while waiting for the big strike. Others, like umn bound from New Mexico to Prescott’s Fort Woodhouse, contracted with the military because Whipple in 1864, Coues preserved his amphib- they wanted to explore the new Territory in the ian and reptilian detainees in a 5-gallon keg of interest of science. alcohol. The soldiers loading the wagon where the Woodhouse’s medical report recounted instances keg was stored sniffed out its main ingredient and of influenza, fevers, cholera, dysentery, diarrhea slyly drained it into their canteens over the long

[below] Military doctors became adept with amputation saws during the Civil War, when limited knowledge and equipment made [above] Frontier doctors relied on the amputation of an injured arm or leg a routine treatment. curative powers of herbal medicines like [above left] Lung Salve was Cinchona bark extract, a source of [above] The duties of a 19th-century military surgeon included keeping careful records of used to treat lung trouble and quinine, used for treating malaria. illnesses and injuries, even “in the field.” appendicitis, as well as cuts and dog bites. [above] In 1876, Dr. Joseph H. Bill introduced the “Forceps for the Extraction of Arrowheads,” photography b y t e x t b y designed in response to his experiences while serving at CARLTONS’ PHOTOGRAPHIC i n c . KATHLEEN BRYANT Fort Defiance, Arizona’s first military post.

36 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 37 journey, blithely unaware of the snakes, liz­ surgeons were responsible for bookkeeping, company pursuing Geronimo’s band. (He ards, toads and other creepy-crawlies float- maintaining the post garden, recording the later ran for president, losing his 1920 bid ing inside. daily weather and making sanitary inspec- for the Republican nomination to Warren As quartermaster C.A. Curtis recalled, the tions. Coues added collecting and writing to Harding.) “chronic bibulants” looked “decidedly pale these duties. He labored over a 2,500-page The alternative to Army surgeons — often about the gills when the head of the empty manu­script on Arizona’s natural history, and the only doctors for hundreds of miles — keg was smashed in and the pickled con- then burned it after a colleague’s lukewarm was self-treatment with patent medicines tents exposed to view.” review. He went on to publish approximately (ranging from harmless sugar-water to To his dismay, Coues was twice stationed a thousand articles, books and papers in addictive concoctions containing alcohol, at Fort Whipple. He pleaded with a men- his life­time, including a treatise on arrow opium or heroin) or dubious “granny cures.” tor: “Don’t let me spend another fall or win- wounds, and became a nationally promi- Consider this one, recorded by Territorial FRONTIER MEDICINE ter here, if you can help it . . . ! The shiftless, nent ornithologist, scientist and historian. historian Sharlot Hall: “For asthma, take rat- [left] Doctors arriving loaferish life that an officer must spend on “Altogether too spicy for comfort,” said tlesnake grease, 5 drops for adults.” in Territorial Arizona the frontier is fast making me forget what Coues about collecting in Arizona. Colleague Other folk remedies included cockroach were fresh from service little of anything I ever did know.” and rival Dr. Edward Palmer (think of the tea for lockjaw, poultices of fresh manure in the Civil War and acquired from Army Though most medical colleges offered only lovely balloon flower, Penstemon palmeri) for pneumonia and frogs mashed in butter surplus the familiar a year or two of instruction before issuing a likely agreed. En route to Camp Lincoln for tonsillitis. With home remedies so grim, surgical kits that diploma, the Army held its medical officers to (later named Fort Verde) to begin his post as it’s no wonder people undertook desperate tucked into velvet-lined the highest standards. To become a member acting assistant surgeon, Palmer’s wagon rides over long distances to fetch the post field cases. of that elite corps, a candidate was required went up in smoke during a skirmish with doctor. to know not only medicine but also Latin, Apaches on Grief Hill. On another trip over Doctors recorded horrifying living con- Greek and other languages; algebra, trigo­ the accursed hill, Palmer broke his leg. Later, ditions in frontier Arizona, from flimsy man came to Dr. Corbusier’s door seeking was better off with surgery, no matter how boldness and flair. After a lynch mob nometry and calculus; mineralogy, conchol- he contracted malaria (treated by a local set- shacks and poor food to boredom relieved protection. The man’s friends intended to risky. He raced to Tucson by rail, taking the stormed a Tombstone jail and hanged John ogy (the study of shells), botany and physics. tler, since the doctor was indisposed). After by brawls. stone her to death. Corbusier asked to see engine’s throttle himself, but he arrived too Heith, the mastermind behind the Decem­ If he passed the Army’s weeklong exam, further­­ trials, Palmer left the Army, but he “Usually a boy was sent for the doctor the sick man and treated him for dysentery. late to save Handy. ber 1883 Bisbee Massacre, Dr. Goodfellow’s he could compete for a commission as an returned twice more to Arizona as a botanist; before the fight began because he would Both man and “witch” survived. Goodfellow stressed the importance of expert testimony led the jury to find that Heith officer. Congress doled these out in severely his 1876 collections weighed 10 tons, The inevitably be needed. Once he arrived too late In 1870, the care of Arizona Territory’s operating within the first hour after an “came to his death from emphysema of the limited numbers after the Civil War. When Arizona Citizen reported. and a double burial took place,” said William 10,000 citizens fell to 11 military surgeons abdominal gunshot wound, pointing out lungs — a disease common to high alti- Walter Reed faced the examining board in Army doctors were sometimes more sol- T. Corbusier, whose father was surgeon at and 22 civilian doctors, though only five of that “the toys with which our festive or tudes — which might have been caused by 1875, he was one of 500 candidates com- diers than scientists. Irish-born Bernard J. Camp Date Creek, near Prescott, and Fort the civilians practiced full time. Many of them obstreperous citizens delight themselves” strangulation.” peting for 30 positions. Reed’s posting to D. Irwin, an assistant surgeon, received the Grant in the southeastern corner of the state. combined medicine with mining, ranch­ing were deadlier than the smaller-caliber Below Heith’s body, swinging from a Tucson’s malaria-ridden Fort Lowell spurred Medal of Honor for leading a handpicked He was referring to a contest between two or other occupations, and they could be a guns favored in the East. His willingness telegraph pole on Tough Nut Street, the his interest in epidemics. At Fort Lowell he detachment to assist Lt. George Bascom’s ill- men tied together with only their knife hands contrary bunch. For example, Dr. Edward to forge new territory — and write about it lynch mob attached a sign that read argued for a later reveille to minimize expo- fated company at Apache Pass in 1861. free. The elder Corbusier, William Henry, also Phelps, a U.S. marshal, was recognized for — changed attitudes toward surgery. He “ADVANCE ARIZONA.” With the possi- sure to the miasmic morning air. His scientific Dr. Leonard Wood, another Medal of acted as doctor for the Rio Verde Indian his heroic efforts during an 1870 smallpox pioneered the perineal prostatectomy (a bility of statehood on the horizon, Territorial reasoning was also taxed by such mysteries Honor recipient, carried dispatches through Agency near Fort Verde in central Arizona. He epidemic in Tucson. He disappeared into technique for removing the prostate gland) citizens hoped to end Arizona’s reputation as the chronic diarrhea of one Private Kelly hostile territory during the Apache cam- studied native languages and often chose to Mex­ico months later with $12,000 in U.S. and spinal anesthesia. After observing of lawlessness. who, Reed finally deduced, was eating the paign of 1886, riding 70 miles in one night, work with the tribe’s medicine government­ funds. He never returned, which that silk kerchiefs often protected gun- Indeed, the close of the 19th century washroom soap to avoid active duty. then walking more than 30 miles the next men. A woman accused of prac­- prompted rumors that he was murdered fighters from harm, he penned “Notes on brought many changes to frontier medi­­ In addition to overseeing sick call, Army day. For weeks he commanded an infantry ticing witchcraft on a dying after flaunting his stolen bankroll. the Impenetrability of Silk to Bullets.” cine: stiffer certification requirements for Dr. John C. Handy, the first chancellor of Goodfellow also joined the war of words doctors, legislation banning fraudulent University of Arizona in 1886, was an over Arizona’s Gila monster. After experi- patent medicines and traveling quacks, [below] A typical doctor’s supplies might include a admired physician, despite his stormy per- menting with some very-short-lived chick- improved municipal sanitation, new hos- leather medicine case for traveling, which would be sonality. He challenged all doctors relocating ens, Tucson’s Dr. Handy pronounced the pitals, X-rays and vaccines. refilled from his shelves of handblown glass bottles containing an assortment of the latest powders and to Tucson to present a diploma before Gila monster’s bite deadly. Dr. Edgar Mearns, But Arizona’s frontier doctors didn’t tinctures. setting up practice. He unsuccessfully sued stationed at Fort Verde, believed it wasn’t, hang up their saddlebags without leaving the city when it stopped him from piping though he found the lizard’s breath nause- a legacy behind. Some, like Woodhouse sewage from his house to the street. And, ating. Henry Yarrow, of the Smithsonian, and his namesake toad (Bufo woodhousei), while serving at Fort Apache in 1879, he backed Mearns, insisting bite victims died and Coues, whose name identifies the reportedly shot and killed the post trader not from poison but from “the Arizona whis-­ small whitetail deer of the Southwest, are over a woman. In a karmic twist of fate 22 key used in treatment.” Goodfellow kept a immortalized in field guides. Others, like years later, Handy was fatally wounded in a dozen Gila monsters for scientific observa- Mearns and Corbusier, contributed to the gun duel with the lawyer handling his wife’s tion, and after surviving a bite on the hand understanding of Arizona’s native cultures. divorce. in 1892, he too concluded (wrongly, of And many are remembered best in sto- Tucson’s best doctors gathered at Handy’s course) that the lizard was nonpoisonous. ries — apocryphal, amusing, heroic — told deathbed, waiting for Tombstone’s “gun- This dashing surgeon and friend to the by grateful patients and communities, or shot surgeon,” George Goodfellow. Though famous Earp brothers inspired the fictional preserved forever on library shelves. operating on abdominal bullet wounds was Doc Peets in Alfred Henry Lewis’s Wolfville almost unheard of in the 1800s, Goodfellow tales. However, no character in a Western Sedona resident Kathleen Bryant enjoys studying and believed a patient destined to die slowly novel matched the real Dr. Goodfellow’s writing about Arizona’s Territorial days.

38 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 39 Youngsters Overcome in Queen Creek Canyon FEAR The rock juts about 25 feet into Reade, belays her at the other end of the rope. the air, though to 9-year-old He will take out the slack as she goes, so she Ashley Reade, it soars as high as can never fall more than a few inches. the Empire State Building. Fear and “OK,” she says faintly. “Climbing.” Her arm and leg muscles flex as she takes a few ten­ determination settle on her freckled tative ballet steps, as if dancing up some tiny, invisible CLIMBING ladder. She’s doing fine — until she looks down. Ashley 4 face. She toys with her climbing har- may be only 2 feet off the ground, but in her mind she’s already ness once more to make sure it holds securely. [above] Using skills learned in a gym, Ashley is top roping, which means the rope Amber Reade, 7, strains to scale the real thing as part of a family rock-climbing outing in Queen Creek Canyon. attached to her harness loops through a chain [opposite page, inset] The canyon contains a number of rocks suitable for for bolted to the top of the route. Her father, Brian beginning climbers. 4Text by LORI PFEIFFERPRIDE Photographs by PETER NOEBELS [far left]Amber, aided by her father Brian Reade, clambers up the rock face. on top of the world’s tallest building. She mechanism for reaching the underground me,” she protests, while her father helps her [left] On her way to the clings to the wall, shaking and silent. mining operations, rises like the Eiffel Tower don her harness. top, Amber pauses to smell the spring Her sisters and parents offer encourage- over the horizon. If you descended several With her dark hair peeking from beneath wildflowers. ment. “Come on, Ashley. You can do it! Trust thousand­ feet beneath the earth, as Stu her helmet like a wispy tail, Amber takes her [opposite page] Scarlet your feet!” Herkenhoff did once, you’d discover that first unsteady steps along the rock face, look- penstemon blooms She thinks about her climb for a few min- the ancient volcanic magma, which some- ing like a baby mountain goat learning to walk. during late spring and summer in Queen Creek utes, peering up at the rock and then back times still stirs, causes the subterranean rock A few feet off the ground, she lets go of the Canyon and throughout down to the ground. “I want to come down,” temperature to rise above 135 degrees in rock to test the rope. Reassured, she prac­ the Southwest. she announces. places. Herkenhoff, a mineral management tically bounds up the cliff, chanting a mantra: “That’s OK,” Brian says. “You can come specialist with the Forest Service, says that “Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh.” Her hands flit down.” He lets the rope out slightly, and down although BHP Copper closed its mine in over the rock face, seeking and sampling pos- she clambers, tears of frustration welling in 1998, a significant body of copper ore still sible handholds. Two-thirds of the way up, her eyes. she finds Alia’s foot in her path. ush your girl-power button’ “Hey, you did a good job for “Move it, get out of my way,” ‘P ❉ your first time out,” he says. she howls at Alia. “I need that She shakes her head. handhold.” Climbing is not so much She reaches the top, literally they had left, Matthias climbed up to res- flames, we told ghost stories around the yellow flowers growing halfway up the wall. about brute strength as it is hot on Alia’s heels. She looks cue me. campfire. The girls told classic gross yarns, This time, the route looms no higher than facing your fears. When you down and her mouth makes a I hope my confession makes Ashley feel such as “Ghost With the Bloody Fingers,” and the roof of a ranch-style home, which bolsters confront fear head-on, you’re startled “O” at how high she better. Pretty soon, she’ll climb better than I Brian made us jumpy with a ravenous mon- Ashley’s confidence. She again hesitates after on top of the world, or at least is. “Ohmygosh,” she crows. ever will. Kids have a greater muscle-to- ster he dubbed the “Hideybehind.” she has climbed 2 feet, crying the climber’s of your route. And when you “That was fun.” weight ratio and take to climbing readily. I wonder if real ghosts haunt Queen Creek common lament: “Where did you get up here? don’t, you want to crawl under Her little sister’s success Alia and Julia already proved this. During Canyon. In the 1870s, according to Indian I can’t find any handholds.” a rock. makes Ashley feel worse. She one of their first outings, two military guys oral tradition, soldiers garrisoned at nearby This time, she doesn’t look down, but con- We have gathered in the sits apart from the group, with had peppered them with unsolicited advice. Picketpost drove a band of Apache men over centrates on solving the climbing puzzle. She Queen Creek Canyon area 4 her head in hands. However, the critics themselves struggled on the cliffs above Superior. The dark, translu- inches closer to the flowers, while we hold miles east of Superior in Tonto I know how she feels. I was the challenging “Ride the Wild” route, just cent obsidian marbles found in caves west our breath and lean in to help her. What’s at National Forest, an hour’s drive the kid who would never outside the wash in an area known to rock of town are said to have formed from the stake today is her pride, but if she can clasp east of metro­ pol­ itan­ Phoenix, climb to the top of the hay- climbers as the Lower Looner Land group- tears of grieving Apache women and hence her newfound courage to her heart, then just for a weekend of climbing and mow. During a family vaca- ing, a 60-foot intermediate tour that requires are dubbed “Apache Tears.” A rocky trail to about anything will seem assailable. camping. Two of our group — tion, when I was 4, it took my climbers to negotiate a sharp vertical ridge the foot of Apache Leap apparently offers “Push your girl-power button,” her father my husband, Matthias, and family three hours to convince with several tricky bulges and passages with access to some nice climbs, but visiting the calls to her. photographer Peter Noebels me to go up in the St. Louis microscopic handholds. scene of a massacre, real or legendary, unset- The last part of the climb is always the — have climbed for more than Arch, and I screamed the One climber never even reached the top. tles me, so we have never climbed there. hardest because every inch seems like a mile, a decade. Brian and I have a whole way. The palms of my After my husband put the rope up the same The girls seemed more worried about and your destination teeters at the edge of the little experience under our hands still sweat every time I route, the girls had zipped through the climb. things that went bump in the night than their world. Ashley tentatively reaches out to touch climbing belts, but his 12-year- fly in an airplane. I feel uncom-­ The self-proclaimed “experts” looked suit- upcoming climbing challenge. the flowers, balancing her 69 pounds on rock old daughter, Alia, and her 13- fortable climbing near serious ably abashed. The girls joined me in the shade After having heard them giggle and talk ledges the width of Popsicle sticks. When her year-old friend, Julia, already rock climbers because I never and smirked. “We showed them, ­didn’t we?” into the night in their nearby tent, I wonder hand makes contact, we cheer. A look of dis- outclass us. The two youngest, know whether I’ll actually go Alia whispered. “We pushed our girl-power how they have so much energy today. belief crosses her face, followed quickly by a Ashley and Amber, 7, have up a route or simply babble in buttons.” The rocks broil as the sun rises higher in the grin. Ashley has overcome her fears and right- climbed only in the Phoenix terror. The girls love to compete. Yesterday, we sky, but we want to climb one more route fully earned her ice cream trophy. Rock Gym. Their mother, Kim, I sit beside Ashley and tell saw which one could hold her breath the long- before we break for lunch. Afterward, we adult Mesa-based Lori Pfeiffer occasionally takes to the came along to keep an eye on all of us. remains beneath our rocky playground. her about my first climb in Queen Creek. I ­est as we drove through the U.S. Route 60 climbers will tackle some routes in the upper rocks to challenge her fear of heights. We’ll be lucky to climb a half-dozen of This morning, we climb the short routes had accidentally swung from my route into tunnel that penetrates the stone fortress guard- Devils Canyon area, where the climbs are Tucson photographer Peter Noebels says, “The Queen Creek Canyon’s 650 come-hither in the old Magma Mine area that present another one, then clipped a too-long safety ing Queen Creek Canyon. Then a cutthroat taller and more intimidating, at least to me, more time I spend in Queen Creek, the more amazed I am with all the small canyons and rock formations. routes today because we have such a large perfect puzzles for beginning climbers. The strap into a bolt above an overhang to rest. game of hide-and-seek topped the evening’s but the towering walls themselves provide Every turn in the bend is a new adventure. I can’t group. The region’s approximately 20 acres volcanic dacite rocks, the color of caramel, When I tried to unclip to descend, I could not agenda, as the girls flitted like bats around ample shade. In the meantime, an intermittent wait to go back.” feature nine climbing areas, most on public offer subtle inclines and a usable mix of fis- reach the bolt. I had given myself a pep talk the rocks and cacti of Oak Flat Campground, breeze provides some relief. Location: 60 miles east of Phoenix. land, whose routes have been mapped and sures and nubs by which to secure toes and and pushed, but my spent legs quivered like bouncing sonar squeals off each other. We choose another beginner’s route, which Getting There: Take U.S. Route 60 bolted for safety. Their difficulty ratings, in fingers. The lunaresque rock domes, scat- gelatin and my fingers lost purchase on the A real bat, hunting for insects, looped the girls eye with interest. The promise of an east of Phoenix to Magma Mine climbing terminology, range from easy 5.5s tered over a half-mile spread, inspire our rock, inches short. briefly by. Perhaps it lived in one of Queen ice-cream treat motivates Julia and Alia, while Road, 4 miles east of Superior, which provides access to Oak Flat to daunting 5.13s suitable only for experts. imaginations. The giggling girls point out Ashley laughs. Creek’s 80 defunct mining structures that Amber seems to be well on her way to becom- Campground and most of the climbing areas. The area attracts visitors from around the two rocks, the size of Volkswagen Beetles, “It gets worse,” I tell her. When I had BHP Copper and Bat Conservation Inter­ ing an adrenaline junkie. Ashley changes her Weather: The best climbing is in April and world, including approximately 600 climbers that look like Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head scrabbled at the wall in overturned beetle national have people-proofed and made mind several times. October. April average high, 83°; average low, 48°. who converge here each spring to compete poised to kiss. The smoochers cradle a giant fashion, a couple with two young boys had wildlife friendly. The bat could have been “That’s OK,” her father assures her. “We’ll October average high, 87°; low, 54°. Fees: Camping at Oak Flat Campground is free. in the Phoenix Bouldering Contest, the largest stone baby between them. stopped to watch. Though 30-something, I one of four local species: a Western big-eared just go to the gym, and you can climb there. Travel Advisory: Climbing guides are available bouldering competition in the country. Our noisy group seems to be the only am small for my age, and they mistook my bat, a big brown bat, a Western pipistrelle or Nothing wrong with that.” in most outdoor recreation stores. Climbing is Most “rock jocks” probably don’t realize climbers. That suits Amber. She doesn’t want predicament for an opportunity to encour- a fringed myotis. None of us could tell the After Amber scampers up this climb, a potentially dangerous sport and should not be that the geology making our climbs possible to be crowded on her first climb, even by her age their sons to take up the sport. “See, difference. Ashley issues her final verdict. “OK,” she attempted without the proper equipment and training. was the basis for the region’s mining industry. oldest sister, who tackles an adjoining route. there’s a little girl climbing,” they told their After we set up our tents at Oak Flat says. “I want to try it.” But she sets her own Additional Information: Tonto National Forest, The superstructure of Shaft No. 9, the hoist “I’m not going to climb if you keep pinching boys. “If she can do it, you can too.” After Campground and cooked supper over open goal: She’ll climb until she reaches some Globe Ranger District, (928) 402-6200.

42 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 43 “Hospitals can work miracles. They can turn an ordinary Band-Aid into a $6.75 item on your bill.“ * Look to the Wild West to Learn

Arizona Highways draws from the Best of the Wild West to teach children shapes and colors, ABCs and 123s. In this series of books by Madeline and EARLY-DAY ARIZONA Gary Bennett a cast of lively animals and creative insects introduces children B y G a r y B e n n e t t Heat Strokes Tramp: “Yes, lady, there was a time when I had money to burn. ages 3–7 to reading fundamentals. The Accounting Cricket, And I burned it.” Lady: “And what did you burn it with?” his pal the LetterBug and goofy Arizona animals Tramp: “With an old flame of mine.” — Coconino Sun, January 23, 1925 play hide-and-seek games while they help children learn shapes and colors or letters string of mules on the asked the young wrangler the name of and numbers. South Kaibab Trail the horse she was about to ride. “Oh, hauling supplies to we call him ‘Dub’,” he said dryly. Phantom Ranch. After Then, after a perfectly timed pause, you unload the supplies, the cowboy added, “We used to call Each book is 32 pages. Hardcover. Full-color illustrations. we’ll give you a bag of him ‘Widow Maker,’ but that tended to Save $14.95 each or purchase all three for $35.88, marbles and send you spook the guests.” 20% a 20% savings #ABENT2 back up the trail. As you William Coolidge III when you buy all three cross the Kaibab Bridge, Altona, NY you toss a marble into the Colorado River. Then FRIENDLY QUESTION when you get to n elderly Eastern motorist and his If vultures could get law degrees Panorama Point, you toss A wife driving through Arizona on “See, technically we’re not forcing him to eat the poison carrot; out another marble over vacation saw a horseman riding therefore, we have not broken the law of our species.” the edge. When you get alongside the road and stopped to ask to The Tipoff, The Red if he were a real cowboy. The man and Whites, Skeleton answered, “Yes.” CRIMINAL SPEED Point, Mormon Flats, Cedar Ridge and “We recognize your hat, shirt, young cowboy from an Arizona The Chimney, you toss a marble out at leather vest and Levi’s as authentic A border town was arrested for each of those places, too. You’re Western wear,” the motorist said, “but bigamy. He had a wife in Phoenix, one qualified when you are back on the why are you wearing tennis shoes?” . . . and Shapes in Tucson and another in Mexico. A South Rim, and you’ve lost all of your “Because if I wore boots people judge asked him, “How could you do marbles.” would think I was a truck driver,” he & Colors, such a thing?” Flood Hefley replied. Unusual “Well,” replied the bigamist, “I do Menifee, CA Bert Heinold Perspective have a pretty fast horse.” Scottsdale, AZ too! By Linda Perret Gene Hooks DE-LIGHTFUL LANGUAGE Lampasas, TX ears ago a school teacher asked that TO SUBMIT HUMOR arly Arizona Yeveryone in English class make a Send your jokes and humorous Arizona anecdotes to golf courses WRANGLER TRAINING sentence with the words “defense,” Humor, Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ used oiled s we hiked into Indian Garden on “defeat” and “detail” in it. She read the 85009 or e-mail us at [email protected]. We’ll E pay $50 for each item used. Please include your name, completed sentences to the class. One sand instead of A the way out of the Grand Canyon, address and telephone number with each submission. grass. It made the a string of mules came in on the Bright student had written, “De cow jumped game a lot faster. Angel Trail. Most of our group sat and over de fence, de feet before de tail.” You’d tee off on rested before continuing out of the Alice Bartlett the first hole and Canyon. My 12-year-old daughter and Midland, TX Reader’s Corner the ball would I wandered over to chat with the A typical menu for a roadrunner is slide all the way t wrangler. After talking about the dusty TRUTH IN LABELING grasshoppers, scorpions, sowbugs, 4 EASY WAYS TO ORDER o the 18th. trail, my daughter asked, “What is y wife, Lynne, and I recently spent caterpillars, lizards, spiders, worms, required to become a wrangler?” Ma memorable week as guests at a moths, snakes, mice and Pepto-Bismol. “Well, Morgan,” he replied, “it’s like working ranch in southeast Arizona. Log on to arizonahighways.com this. You have to sit straight on your Shortly after sunrise one morning, just This month’s joke category is 1 Call toll-free at 1-800-543-5432 mule. Then we’ll send you and your as she was going to mount up, Lynne roadrunners. Send us your (in the Phoenix area or outside the U.S., call 602-712-2000) roadrunner jokes, and we’ll pay $50 2 * From the Witworks® humor book HMOs, Home Remedies & Other Medical Jokes by Linda for each one we use. 3 Fax your order to 602-254-4505 Perret. To order, call toll-free (800) 543-5432 or visit arizonahighways.com. 4 Complete and mail the attached order card 44 APRIL 2003 flows mostly underground for a hundred miles to the Gila River near Phoenix. It surfaces most prominently by DAVE ESKES / photographs by DAVID H. SMITH in the preserve. destination Despite easy access from the adjacent U.S. Route 60, the preserve attracts a relatively modest number of visitors, about 12,000 a year. Birdwatchers comprise nearly a third ON A COOL MORNING IN LATE MARCH, I SAT Giverny, Monet had only to move a few paces of them. “It’s kind of a secret place,” It’s a ‘Secret’ on a bench overlooking Palm Lake, a spring- to discover something new. program director Mike Rigney said. Easily Discovered: fed pond of 4 acres at the Hassayampa River The same can be said of the preserve, a 5-mile “The general public doesn’t know a lot Preserve near Wickenburg. Visitors had not yet strip of riparian habitat along the Hassayampa about it.” HASSAYAMPA begun to stroll down the dusty nature paths, River, owned by The Nature Conservancy. Secret or not, the preserve radiates and I had the place all to myself. Had I arrived Every vantage point offers unique possibilities. history. It began as a stagecoach way RIVER PRESERVE earlier — the preserve opens at 8 a.m. — I Perhaps a blue heron will glide down to the station in the early 1860s, then Protects might have spotted a raccoon, a javelina or, water, or a red-tailed hawk with a 4-foot evolved into the storied Brill Ranch, with uncommon luck, maybe even a bobcat. wingspan will alight in a cottonwood tree. You which produced not only beef but Diverse Beauty As I peered through pocket binoculars at an might even catch sight of a thirsty mule deer. also fruits, vegetables and fish for American coot darting in and out of marshy The preserve, after all, hosts some 230 species hungry miners and pioneer families in brown reeds, its jet-black neck pumping, it of birds and a teeming roster of desert animals, Wickenburg, Prescott and Phoenix. In occurred to me why the French Impressionist many of them as imperiled as the vanishing 1913, it briefly morphed into the [below] The calm surface of Palm Lake, a Claude Monet spent his declining years riparian sanctuaries that sustain them. Hollywood-sounding Garden of Allah 4-acre, spring-fed pond contentedly painting water lilies at his home in “Hassayampa” reputedly comes from the guest ranch before becoming the at the Hassayampa Giverny. Palm Lake’s tranquil surface reflected Yavapai Indian word hayesamo, which means winter home of a cereal company River Preserve near the towering cottonwoods and willows in “following the water as far as it goes.” The executive. From 1925 until 1986, Wickenburg in central Arizona, reflects blue liquid yellows, greens and blacks — nature’s Apaches refer to it more graphically as the when The Nature Conservancy sky and surrounding alter ego — much as Monet’s water garden must “upside down river.” The Hassayampa begins in purchased the property, it again cottonwood and have reflected his wisterias and azaleas. At the Bradshaw Mountains near Prescott and anchored guest ranches. Goodding willow trees. Vestiges of that illustrious history remain, starting with the Waddell Visitor Center, where weary stagecoach travelers once took their ease. Although modified, the basic adobe structure, with its dormers and wooden beamed ceiling, retains its frontier integrity. It now houses the Arthur L. Johnson Interpretive Center — interactive displays involving desert and riparian ecology, plus a bookstore and gift shop. [above] The half-mile- The preserve employs long, tree-shaded Palm one full-time and one Lake loop beckons visitors to stroll part-time staffer, assisted through Arizona’s by 45 volunteers. Down rare riparian forest. the path from the center [right] Built in the 1860s as a stagecoach stands a kiosk, where station and later used the preserve’s well- as a cattle ranch and maintained nature trails a guest-ranch house, converge. Visitors taking the core of the preserve’s Waddell the half-mile Palm Lake Visitor Center reflects loop, as I did, pass a its adobe origin. small picnic area flanked by a row of giant palm trees, planted from seed by stagecoach passengers a century ago. Farther on, a tangled forest of Fremont cottonwoods and Goodding willows covetously encircles the lake. Many of the untamed trees predate the Civil War. Errant willow branches arch over the trail

arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 47 along the

Hassayampa for more than a mile, offers visitors the opportunity to observe a river ecosystem at work. by LLOYD CLARK When I was there, the warm way weather of March had brought a rich green carpet of algae that nearly masked the slow, inexorable movement of the current. At one point, the river narrowed enough to step over, and at another, it PIONEERS AND MILITARY MEN HAVE LEFT military officer, William A. Glassford. The barren widened to the size of a canal. Birds Origins of their legacy — as well as their names — to 6,161-foot mountain rises west of Prescott Valley. took to the air as I passed, as PLACE NAMES today’s Arizona, but sometimes this heritage In April 1886, Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles abundant as the seep willow is not so obvious. commanded the Department of Arizona, with saplings clustered at water’s edge. Often Reveal For example, in the Bradshaw Mountains headquarters at Fort Whipple, Arizona Territory. On leaving the preserve, I west of Cordes, a prominence identified on Gen. Miles tested a communication device regretted personal scheduling had MISNOMERS numerous maps as “Towers Mountain” rises to called a heliograph that employed mirrors to not allowed me to arrive earlier and 7,629 feet. At its crest stand communications reflect flashes of sunlight from one mountain to [above] The wooden and ODDITIES beamed ceiling adds and fallen dead trunks like primeval serpents. stay late. According to Rigney, even the midday towers, including a Prescott National Forest another. The high ground east of the fort served frontier atmosphere to Visitors might conclude — quite correctly — heat offers rewards. “That’s when you get to see lookout tower. Seeing those structures, many as the site of Station No. 2, transmitting the Arthur L. Johnson that nothing is done to thin out dead and the butterflies,” he said. people conclude that the mountain derives its messages from headquarters. Interpretive Center inside the preserve’s dying vegetation. Nature goes its own way, name from these man-made additions. Miles’ signal officer, Lt. Glassford, activated visitor center. unrestrained, free from the human urge to tidy Long before any structures existed on the the heliograph stations that by August 1886 up. The junglelike thickets provide shelter, food Location: 50 miles northwest of Phoenix. mountain, George W. Tower mined there in included 14 in Arizona and 13 in New Mexico. Getting There: From Phoenix, take and nesting sites to scores of creatures, including Interstate 17 north to the Carefree 1873. The peak is properly identified as “Tower” The knoll east of Fort Whipple was named the lowland leopard frog (a river native) and the Highway (State Route 74) exit, and drive Mountain. Glassford Hill in honor of the lieutenant. endangered southwest willow flycatcher. west to U.S. Route 60. Take U.S. 60 north until you see Milepost 114 and the Along the trail, wooden plaques identify Hassayampa River Preserve sign on the A WATERWAY FLOWING NORTH OF NACO MANY ARIZONA GEOGRAPHIC NAMES HONOR plant life, highlighting the preserve’s botanical west side of the highway. Optional: Take in Cochise County is marked on some maps as 19th-century military men. The state’s highest diversity. I was surprised to find jimson weed, Grand Avenue (U.S. 60) northwest through metropolitan “Greenbush Draw” and on others as “Green mountain, 12,643-foot Humphreys Peak, the fabled bovine scourge, and mistletoe, the Phoenix to the preserve. Brush Draw.” Most persons assume that the serves as a Flagstaff backdrop. It commemorates Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., joyous Christmas plant so parasitic it can trails close at 4:30 p.m., October 2 through May 13; name comes from the desert shrubbery along Brig. Gen. Andrew Atkinson Humphreys, a strangle willows with a python’s efficiency. closed summers and major holidays. its banks, but it was named for Green C. Bush, captain with the Corps of Topographical Here and there, strings of it cling to trees in a Fees: $5 donation. a Cochise County pioneer. Engineers while surveying the area in 1851. deadly embrace. Travel Advisory: Free guided tours are available Mount Ord in Apache County — Arizona’s with advance reservation. In addition to the Palm Lake loop trail, the Additional Information: (928) 684-2772; McDOWELL ROAD, A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE­ third highest at 11,357 feet — was named for River Ramble trail, which meanders along the www.hassayampa.org. in Phoenix, courses east to west across the Salt Maj. Gen. V. Edward Otho Cresap Ord, whose River Valley. McDowell also identifies the name is also on a 7,155-foot mountain on the THINGS TO SEE AND DO NEAR WICKENBURG mountain range northeast of Scottsdale. line of Gila and Maricopa counties. Initially, the name McDowell was applied to the Kendrick Peak (10,418 feet), along with its Desert Caballeros Western Museum Wickenburg off Vulture Mine Road, military post established in 1865 beside the Kendrick Spring, and Sitgreaves Mountain See the “West as it was” through using the chamber of commerce Verde River north of its confluence with the (9,388 feet), both in Coconino County, exhibits of Western art, cowboy hiking guide. gear, Indian arts and Territorial Salt River. The installation, the mountain range recognize Maj. H. L. Kendrick, the military Joshua Forest Parkway Drive through history; (928) 684-2272. and the road were named for Maj. Gen. Irvin escort commander for Lt. Lorenzo Sitgreaves’ 18 miles of a Mohave Desert forest, Massacre Monument Established 25 miles northwest of Wickenburg McDowell, commander at that time of the U.S. expedition, which mapped a route across in remembrance of an attack by on U.S. Route 93 between Mileposts Army region that included Arizona. northern Arizona in 1851. Indians or bandits in 1871, a 180 and 162. McDowell led Union forces in the Battle of Carr Peak (9,214 feet) in Cochise County mile west of Wickenburg on U.S. Route 60. Wickenburg Memorial The Bull Run at Manassas, Virginia, July 21, 1861, remembers Col. Eugene Asa Carr. The New York

monument that stands in Stone Park ARCHIVES STATE OF ARIZONA COURTESY BOTH the first major engagement of the Civil War, Times erroneously published Col. Carr’s Vulture Mine Explore the most honors town founder and discoverer Barnes Butte in productive gold mine in Arizona of the Vulture Mine, Henry resulting in a rout of Union troops. Relieved of obituary after mistakenly reporting his Phoenix (top) was history, 12 miles southwest of Wickenburg. commanding combat units, McDowell command’s annihilation at the Battle of Cibecue named to honor Will Wickenburg off Vulture Mine Road; transferred to the Department of the Pacific, Creek on August 30, 1881. (602) 859-2743. Robson’s Mining World Step back Croft Barnes (above) in time to an 1800s gold- who came to Arizona headquartered at the Presidio of San Francisco. Fort Apache, about 35 miles southeast of Historic Downtown Wickenburg mining camp nestled in the in 1879 as a In addition to having his surname applied in Cibecue, came under seige the day after the Stroll through a self-guided walking [above] The Desert Harcuvar Mountains, 25 miles telegrapher and Arizona, McDowell left his handle on battle. Signal Corpsman Will C. Barnes tour using a chamber of commerce west of Wickenburg off U.S. Caballeros Western weather observer at brochure; (928) 684-0977, Route 60. (928) 685-2609. Museum displays art from Fort Apache and California, too; his name identifies a roadway at voluntarily dashed through hostile territory to www.wickenburgchamber.com. the early 1800s to the remained to the Presidio, the Fort Mason Officers’ Club is in send information on the attacking Indians and Rancho de los Caballeros present, including The Old 761 Steam Locomotive After homestead a ranch McDowell Hall, and now-abandoned Fort the approach of Carr’s column. He was A 20,000-acre historic guest Vaquero by Frederick opening the West with runs from near Holbrook. ranch offers guided hikes, Remington. McDowell on Angel Island in San Francisco awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery. Chicago, the old engine rests in bird-watching, horseback [left] Shops in downtown Stone Park at Apache and Valentine Bay memorializes the general. Barnes Butte on the Papago Park Military riding and hot air balloon Wickenburg exhibit streets. Reservation in Phoenix bears his name. Barnes rides, 7 miles southwest of Western cow-town flavor. Vulture Peak Climb the 3,658-foot Wickenburg off Vulture Mine ANOTHER LANDSCAPE FEATURE, SOMETIMES is best known for editing the first edition of summit, 10 miles southwest of Road; (928) 684-5484. called Bald Hill, also got its name from a Arizona Place Names, published in 1935.

48 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 49 adventure backroadby PETER ALESHIRE / photographs by GEORGE STOCKING

A 50-mile At the edge of the world It is growing light. Drive Through The trees stand shining I like it. Ruby and Arivaca It is growing light Skirts Two LAKES, At the edge of the world It is growing light. WOODS and Up rears the light. GRASSLANDS Just yonder the day dawns, Spreading over the night.

FROM THE TOHONO O’ODHAM “SONGS TO PULL DOWN THE CLOUDS” TRANSLATED BY RUTH UNDERHILL, SINGING FOR POWER

DEEP IN THE LAND OF DREAMERS, THE ROAD winds and wanders from the divided-highway edge of modern times out to the long shadow of the very place where I’itoi, the Creator, set all things in motion — when the Earth was still tethered to heaven, as the Tohono O’odham Indians can tell you. And if you are worthy, perhaps you will dream a song of power and understand the splendor laid out carefully along the 50-mile stretch of dirt road that starts just north of Nogales. The route skirts the ghost town of Ruby, passes the sleepy adobes of Arivaca and Baboquivari Peak’s sacred heights and arrives finally at a grasslands preserve, where the masked bobwhite quail have come home to where I’itoi first put them. Along the way, the road passes through some of the most underappreciated scenery in the state.

ABOUT 7 MILES NORTH OF NOGALES, running west from Interstate 19, the journey starts on the Ruby Road,

State Route 289. The road hums [above] Jagged along through a scattering of ranches with mercury, so most of the fishing is becomes graded dirt, Forest Service Road 39, have difficulty. After 13 miles on this dirt road, Baboquivari Peak and houses, a rural echo of the catch-and-release. The Bureau of Land and passes shaded campgrounds, which you come to the gated turnoff to Ruby, one stabs the sunset sky [above] Near Peña booming border town of Nogales. Management periodically stocks it with trout, thin out as the road meanders by twists of of Arizona’s best-preserved ghost towns. Maybe beyond the high desert of Buenos Blanca Lake in You’ll continue through a landscape perched on which are fine to catch, keep and cook for 15-million-year-old lava and ash, sporting that’s because the owners have hired a southern Arizona, Aires National Ruby Road snakes the ecological edge between high desert and dinner. Folded into a small canyon and names like Castle Rock and Thumb Butte. caretaker who charges $12 per person to look Wildlife Refuge. through hilly oak woodland. bordered with cottonwood trees, the man- With good clearance, you can take a passenger around the ramshackle homes and shops and desert grassland. Just shy of 10 miles along, you’ll pass Peña made lake is a destination for teen-agers, car if you drive slowly over the ruts and rocks to fish in the small tree-shaded lake attended Blanca Lake, a modest fishing hole and picnic families and fishermen. and around the narrow, winding switchbacks, by herons and egrets. Ruby is not normally spot. Years ago the lake became contaminated Beyond the turnoff to the lake, the road but wide-body vehicles like motor homes will open to the public, and the caretaker doesn’t

50 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 51 harsh to sustain anyone else. However, the miners soon had to contend with the far more warlike Apaches, plus frequent raids by Mexican marauders. In its day, Ruby saw its share of violent deaths — especially in the now-collapsed general store, supposedly built on the grave of a priest. Robbers shot Alex and John Fraiser to death while they tended the store in 1920, and the next year, seven bandits murdered the new owner and his wife. The road leads on west and north from Ruby, passing spur roads to rugged trails, forgotten mines and other scattered ruins and graves. Forest shade gives way to open ranchland before the road fetches up to pavement again at the Arivaca Lake turnoff, just 5 miles southeast of Arivaca, a tiny community 35.3 miles northwest from I-19. When you reach Arivaca, if

you’re done for the day, loop [above] Arivaca Creek, 23 miles northeast on the paved Arivaca Road a popular birding spot to Arivaca Junction and I-19, putting you in the Buenos Aires 34 miles south of Tucson. But if you’re still up National Wildlife Refuge, runs with for more backcountry scenery, continue west water from snowmelt from Arivaca on Arivaca Road through the and spring rains. grassland-dominated Buenos Aires National [left] Constructed as Wildlife Refuge. a store in the 1950s and used later as a Established in 1985 to restore a remnant of small museum, this [above] Named in 1912 southern Arizona’s once-vast sweep of building in Arivaca post hours, but if you find him there be sure to final spurt of lead, by pioneer resident grasslands, the refuge shelters several hundred now houses the Perez Julius F. Andrews in and Son Tire Shop. explore this treasure from the past. silver and zinc honor of his wife, reintroduced masked bobwhite quail, plus Townspeople built most of the surviving production drove up whose maiden name pronghorn antelope, Aplomado falcons and To Tucson buildings after 1926, when the Ruby mine’s the little town’s was Lillie Ruby, the many colorful bird species. population to ghost town of Ruby Arivaca Road connects to State Route 286 Baboquivari quietly decays in the Peak about 2,000. hills of the Coronado in the Altar Valley, 48 miles west of I-19. From Warning: Back road travel BUENOS AIRES NATIONAL To Tucson WILDLIFE REFUGE The Spanish first National Forest. there, you can go south 8 miles to the entrance can be hazardous if you are Arivaca started mining north of the refuge and the park headquarters. If not prepared for the Junction Arivaca of Nogales in the you turn north on SR 286, you’ll head 56 miles unexpected. Whether Road traveling in the desert or in 19 1700s, and then American prospectors started back to Tucson, skirting the edge of the Tohono the high country, be aware

Y coming in the 1850s, easily pushing aside the O’odham Nation. of weather and road 286 E S L a conditions, and make sure you and your L n peaceful Tohono O’odham Indians and their The snapped-off peak of the tribe’s sacred modern times — as the long, last light makes A t V Arivaca a dreams of rain and long journeys seeking an mountain, Baboquivari — I’itoi’s legendary the grass glow where the masked bobwhite vehicle are in top shape. Carry plenty of Arivaca C water. Don’t travel alone, and let someone R r A Lake u T L z aesthetic of thirst and exhaustion. home and the stub of the umbilical cord that quail has come back home. at home know where you’re going, the A Ruby CORONADO R route you’re taking and when you plan to Road i This desert people, once called the Papagos once tied heaven and Earth — dominates the v Sasabe NATIONAL FOREST e r before they reasserted the name they’ve always long line of mountains to the west. Here the The sun children return. Odometer readings in the story may vary by vehicle. called themselves, would undertake long quests Creator made humans, deer, fire, buzzards and Are running westward ARIZONA Thumb Travel Advisory: Carry a good map. Ruby Peña START HERE MEXICO Butte Blanca to prove worthy of dreams and to learn songs other wonderful and troublesome things. They Hand in hand, Beware of flash flooding during the F R Lake 289 like the “Songs to Pull Down the Clouds.” The say I’itoi still looks down and sees everything — Madly singing, monsoons. Many of the spur roads are 3 9 Tohono O’odham’s culture of scarcity and the children skipping stones across Peña Blanca Running. suitable only for a high-clearance vehicle. Castle Additional Information: Coronado Rock reverence left them nearly helpless before the Lake, the graves of the shopkeeper and his wife, NOGALES National Forest, Nogales Ranger District,

KEVIN KIBSEY invaders, so they retreated into a desert too and even you, skimming the asphalt back to FROM “SONGS TO PULL DOWN THE CLOUDS” (520) 281-2296; Ruby, (520) 744-4471.

52 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 53 experience

Festivals,arizona powwows and get-togethers / by CARRIE M. MINER

Winging It EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT ARIZONA’S STATE breath” couldn’t be too finicky, either. April 9-13; Yuma A TALL TAIL TALE flower is the saguaro cactus blossom, the state They were loyal and devoted pets. They The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge near About Arizona’s bird is the cactus wren, and the state tree is the would stay by their miner’s hut and fiercely Yuma protects 665,400 acres of pristine paloverde, but does anyone know what the protect it from rodent ravaging. To this day, desert habitat for desert bighorn sheep, STATE MAMMAL, state mammal is? Probably not. That’s because many ringtails are found near abandoned desert kit foxes, desert tortoises, cactus the state mammal keeps a low profile . . . and mining camps and prospector’s huts. There are

JOLIE the Ringtail, E wrens, orange-crowned warblers and for good reason, as we’ll see. many stories of miner’s cats that have been

ROY D northern flickers, plus the rare Kofa It is the ringtail, otherwise known as the taken miles away from their master’s property, E

L a CACOMISTLE Mountain barberry and the only native cacomistle and the miner’s cat. It also goes by often across state lines, even to foreign A Large Lake Calls palm trees found in the state. Cast members the scientific name of Bassariscus astutus. You can countries. Yet with perseverance and for a Large Camera To learn more about southern Arizona’s To the Tune of Miami Georgina Uribe and readily see why the creature keeps a low profile. extraordinary homing instincts, they found desert, check out the 3rd Annual Yuma April 25-27; Miami her daughter With three aliases, this critter is obviously on their way back to their “home.” Lake Powell, with its Scarlett model spectacular red rock towers Birding and Nature Festival. Lecture subjects Local storytellers say authentically the lam, wanted by someone for something. Well, there aren’t really a lot of stories like and brilliant blue-green range from sand dune to wetland ecology Miami, Arizona, got designed costumes Even though it’s called the miner’s cat, that, but I’ll bet there could have been. And I’ll water, offers a bountiful and desert bighorn sheep to venomous its name when “Black for the Mesa Arizona it’s actually a member of the raccoon family. bet that those domesticated ringtails do have a feast of photographic desert denizens. Photography workshops, Jack” Newman struck Easter Pageant. Another little trick to confuse whoever or strong desire and the intuitive skills to get them opportunities. The lake’s giant bays provide expansive views of water, sky guided adventures to Mexico, a wild burro a rich mining claim whatever is after it. back to the base camp. I don’t really know that and desert, while sandstone monoliths search and a bat watch also are scheduled. nearby in the 1890s and named it after his The cacomistle measures about 24 inches for a fact, but it’s a hunch that could pay off. tower skyward in warm shades of red, Information: (928) 783-3061 or toll-free, wife, Mima Tune. Some stories say he just from nose to tail tip and weighs about If you ever see a cacomistle roaming around, orange and brown. To capture this area's (800) 293-0071. couldn’t spell. Others say mining investors 2.5 pounds. Its ringed tail is about half of looking confused, acting as if it’s trying to find broad vistas, it helps to have a camera large enough to handle the job. That's arrived in 1907, laid out the townsite and the critter’s total length, so its natural enemy its way back to home sweet home, follow it. why we've designed this workshop Passion Play named it Miami, after their home in Ohio. is most likely the rocking chair. The animal Stick close on its heels and don’t let it out of ­especially for medium- and large-format April 10-12, 15-19; Mesa Miami celebrates its mining history at the has a raccoonlike mask around the eyes, your sight. It just might lead you to the Lost ­photography. Our pace will be a gentle one to accommodate­ in-depth, personal In 1928, a Mesa choir from The Church of 13th Annual Mining Country Boom Town which makes it look like a cross between Dutchman Gold Mine. ­attention at each site, where you'll Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performed Spree. The state mining championships, Morris the Cat and the Lone Ranger. If you That theory could be balderdash, but it’s learn how to translate this region of an Easter sunrise celebration using historic home tour, Boom Town Spree want to see a picture of the ringtail, you can worth a shot. great natural­ beauty into your best a cotton wagon as a stage. The performance parade, and bed races highlight the event. find it in an encyclopedia or probably among Mining has played an important role in photographic­ images. Arizona Highways photographer LeRoy continues today as the world’s largest annual Information: (928) 473-4403. the wanted posters on display at the local Arizona’s history, and prospectors are among DeJolie leads our group and is widely outdoor Easter pageant. More than 150,000 post office. the state’s most colorful and memorable regarded as a diligent teacher with a true people attend the 65th Annual Mesa Arizona An agile animal, the ringtail can climb characters. The ringtail apparently has been an love of the Lake Powell area. Come Easter Pageant. A volunteer cast of more Other Events trees easily and quickly. It’s also a prolific important part of that mining tradition and is immerse yourself in this awesome Desert Landscape Painting; April 2-5; Wickenburg; than 400 actors on a 9,600-square-foot stage BILLIE JO BISHOP and proficient “mouser.” thus revered by the state. environment August 28-September 1, 2003. (928) 684-2272. Plein air workshops, art exhibit and sale. For more information or a free workshop presents the pageant in Spanish during the Pioneer Days Festival; April 3-6; Kearny; (520) In fact, years ago, miners used to But exactly how did the ringtail become the brochure, contact Friends of Arizona first weekend. The remaining performances 363-7607. Parade, dancing, arts and crafts and carnival. domesticate these mammals to keep State Mammal of Arizona? We’re not at all sure, Highways at (602) 712-2004, toll-free are in English, with headset translations Arizona Book Festival; April 5; Phoenix; (602) their living quarters free from rodents and some suggest that there may be some at (888) 790-7042, or visit their Web site offered in Spanish and English each night. 257-0335. Author readings and signings, book sales and and similar pests. Hence the name controversy surrounding the selection. Perhaps at www.friendsofazhighways.com. live entertainment at the Margaret T. Hance Park. Information: (480) 964-7164. Heard Museum Guild Native American Student Arts “miner’s cat.” Presumably, the prospectors the ringtail resorted to its several pseudonyms OTHER PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS and Crafts Show; April 5-9; Phoenix; (602) 252-8840. would give them cute little pet names like as a result of some scandal connected with June 5-13 sian estival More than 1,200 artworks by Indian youths. “Fluffy” or “Tabby” or “Spot.” So now it had the voting. There’s little documentation and Join us for an extraordinary expedition A F April 18-20; Phoenix Juried Fine Arts Show; April 5-27; Glendale; (623) even another alias. no proof, but it remains a distinct possibility as Jeff Kida leads us on a rafting trip 939-5782. Artworks by Arizona artists. through the Grand Canyon Chinese immigrants traveled across the Wildflower Festival; April 6; Tucson; (520) 742-6455. The miners would offer their pet a place to to this day. June 25-29 ocean seeking their fortunes in America, Recipes, music and silent auction at Tohono Chul Park. sleep, an occasional pan of warm milk and all Furthermore, no one knows which creature An expert Nikon instructor teaches Maricopa County Fair; April 9-13; Phoenix; (602) us about digital photography in the which they called Gold Mountain, as early “I used to carry a the mice it could eat. Of course, they also was chosen as the runner-up State Mammal of 252-0717. Educational exhibits, 4-H competitions, horse lot of weight magnificent Grand Teton National Park as 1840. And by the late 1860s, tales of shows, games and rides at the state fairgrounds. offered it a place to hide out if any lawmen Arizona. Was it the javelina? Perhaps the July 19-24 rich strikes led to a migration to Arizona. around the office, came looking for a cacomistle, a ringtail, a cactus mouse? Might it have been the desert Herb Festival; April 12; Superior; (520) 689-2811. Herbal but that’s all Longtime Colorado resident Jim Celebrate the heritage of the state’s Asian cooking demonstrations, lectures and children’s games. miner’s cat, a Bassariscus astutus or a “Fluffy,” cottontail? No one knows. This is a particularly Steinberg shows us the best spots to behind pioneers at the 9th Annual Arizona Asian Rose Festival; April 12-13; Tombstone; (520) 457-3929. me now,” says Gene “Tabby” or “Spot.” important oversight, because as we all know, find wildflowers in the area around A rose parade, cake contest and picnic lunch raffle. Ouray Festival at Patriots Park. The event Perret in his book Prospecting is a lonely occupation, so the should the ringtail, for any reason, be unable Arizona Highways Photography Exhibit: David Muench Retirement: Twice September 20-25 includes entertainment, cuisine and and Jack Dykinga; March 21-April 25; Window Rock; state mammal also served as a companion. to fulfill the official duties, then the runner-up Jim Steinberg is again our guide as we the Time, Half hands-on activities related to India, China, (928) 871-6675 the Money. To Acting as a pal, a buddy and a cuddly friend would assume the title of State Mammal of seek out fall color in the foothills of Pima County Fair; April 17-27; Tucson; (520) 762-9100. the Colorado Rocky Mountains Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, order this book to the reclusive miner may have been the Arizona. Anything could happen to the 4-H exhibits, art displays, petting zoo, games and rides. ($6.95 plus shipping and handling) Vietnam and Japan. Information: Arizona Outback Spring Fiddlefest; April 18-20; Salome; ringtail’s toughest duty. It’s not easy being ringtail. It might become endangered, extinct (602) 788-8899. or other Perret humor books, call close, warm and snuggly with a scraggly, or even, despite the many phony names, (928) 859-3466. Country-Western and bluegrass music. toll-free (800) 543-5432. In Phoenix, call (602) 712-2000. Or unkempt, unshaven, unclean old coot. But finally cornered and captured by whoever Note: Dates and activities could change. Before planning to attend events, phone for fees and to confirm days and times. use arizonahighways.com. then, I suppose a critter with constant “mouse seems to be on its tail.

54 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 55 GLOBE of the month 60 Miami

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PIN TONTO NATIONAL 2 60 AL 1 To Phoenix FOREST 1 by CHRISTINE MAXA / photographs by STEVE BRUNO M n O o R U y F N n T a A C I CCC Campground hike N S e n s o ou y eh n Ic Ca er ot TRAILHEAD ho xs Si Ferndell 77 IT’S NOT OFTEN YOU COME Spring To Tucson

Six Miles on across a trail with an identity Pinal Peak KEVIN KIBSEY SIXSHOOTER crisis, but you’re more likely to if you hike in the sky-island ranges — high agaves and cacti plus piñon pine and juniper TRAIL Near Globe mountains that rise sharply from the desert trees sprouting from rocky outcroppings, into a floor, creating cooler, more moist climate cool climb through conifers and more Gambel Gives Hikers zones. Pine-forest, riparian, high-desert and oaks. The path dips in and out of moist crooks a Taste of mixed-conifer communities cross each other at creek crossings. capriciously on these peaks, tangling in an Still climbing after about 4 miles, the trail MULTIPLE eclectic blend. pulls away from the canyon’s crevice and The Sixshooter Trail, just south of Globe in stabilizes its personality as it enters pine-oak MOUNTAIN the Pinal Mountains, takes on a manic forest. Granite boulders loll around the forest PERSONALITIES personality. Within its 6-mile length, the floor, decorated with pine needles and oak trail obsessively and steeply climbs almost leaves. Sometimes black bears grubbing along 3,000 feet to transport you from scrubby the path leave a trail of overturned boulders. chaparral mix Bobcats, white-tailed deer, mountain lions and along raspy coatimundis also roam the mountain. mountain slopes About a half-mile farther up, the trail joins to quaking aspen an old mining road surrounded by a forest trees at its end of bigtooth maple, velvet ash and Gambel oaks. near Ferndell During the fall, this section lights up with autumn color. [left] Brightening The road drops abruptly several hundred the shade among feet and levels off until it reaches a mine shaft Gambel oak and on the left side of the path. In the 1880s, a piñon pine trees, bigtooth maple sawmill and cabin sat opposite the mine. The leaves tinged with sawmill workers reportedly packed six-shooters, fall color delight a propensity that gave the canyon its name. hikers on the In the past, the forest was overharvested, and Sixshooter Trail south of Globe. the mine flooded and was shut down. Now, a [opposite page] An line of grass follows the water trickling out of oak-and-maple-leaf the mine across the road toward the mill’s parasol filters skeletal remains and a broken-down cabin. sunlight along the upper portion of The route climbs again and struggles another Location: About 95 miles Spring. In between, the the trail. mile toward Ferndell Spring. Just a half-mile east of Phoenix. landscape veers from from the end, the trail veers off the road to the Getting There: Drive to high-desert scrub to high-country pines to right and enters a forest of mixed conifers and the east edge of Globe on U.S. Route 60, and turn New England-style hardwood forests. aspen trees. The trail ends about a quarter-mile right (south) at Hill Street The trail starts exposed, without cover, beyond Ferndell Spring at its junction with the just past Milepost 251. among the chaparral mix of manzanita and Middle Trail, just short of the top of Pinal Peak Follow the brown and white signs 1.2 miles to the Pinal Mountain Recreation Area and scrub-oak bushes. When it drops into the in a crown of aspen trees. turn right onto Icehouse Canyon Road, Sixshooter Creek drainage, at about mile 1, Hikers get a reprieve on the return hike — which is Forest Service Road 112; drive the creek’s riparian forest cools the path down. it’s an easy downhill trek all the way back to the 1.8 miles to a stop sign and continue But the trail quickly climbs out of the oasis trailhead. The hardest part is keeping track of straight 2 miles to the end of the pavement. Drive 0.5 mile to the CCC Camp picnic area and heads back into the chaparral to steadily the trail’s many different personalities. and the Sixshooter Canyon Trailhead. ascend the mountain. Along the way, Additional Information: Tonto panoramic views of Globe and Miami spread For families, novices and experts, Arizona Hiking: Urban Trails, Easy Paths & Overnight National Forest, Globe Ranger District, to the north. (928) 402-6200. Treks features a trail mix ranging from By mile 2, the trail continues its nonstop urban-area preserves to the Grand Canyon. climb under canopies of Gambel oak trees. The book brims with how-to and where- In another mile, depending on which side of to-go information on more than 70 hikes, plus 120 color photos. To order ($16.95 the canyon it follows, the trail changes from plus shipping and handling), call toll-free a rugged trek through high desert, a mix of (800) 543-5432. Or use arizonahighways.com.

56 APRIL 2003 arizonahighways.com