“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” — ARISTOTLE JANUARY 2014 EXCLUSIVE WEEKEND GETAWAYSEXCLUSIVE WEEKEND ESCAPE • EXPLORE •EXPERIENCE •EXPLORE ESCAPE 10 RARE OPPORTUNITIES and more! WAVE”“THE KEET SEEL PEAK KITT NWR AIRES BUENOS PHANTOM RANCH at places like: PLUS: BOBCATS •SOMETHING FROM NOTHING •SNOWBOWL • WINTER IN THE CANYON

A STORM IN THE DESERT •THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS •MARTINEZ LAKE

“The Wave,”“The Vermilion Cliffs BEST ARIZONA’S BURRITOS page 46 page

Vermilion Cliffs Navajo National Monument

Grand Canyon National Park Aubrey Valley CONTENTS 01.14 Flagstaff Wikieup 2 EDITOR’S LETTER > 3 CONTRIBUTORS > 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR > 56 WHERE IS THIS?

PHOENIX 5 40 50 Yuma THE JOURNAL A WINTER’S WALK OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD Kitt Peak Dragoon Mountains People, places and things from around the state, including the history Not many people hike the Grand Canyon in January, but When it comes to credentials, Bayard Brattstrom has plenty. Buenos Aires Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona Snowbowl; a meteorite hunter who’s traveled the globe in Craig Childs isn’t like most people. One January day, not The distinguished herpetologist, professor, photographer, National Wildlife Bisbee Refuge Douglas search of space rocks; and Douglas, our hometown of the month. too long ago, he hiked from the South Rim to the Colorado consultant, author and artist spent more than 40 years • POINTS OF INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE River, a route that’s biologically equivalent to walking from teaching at Cal State Fullerton. When he left, he moved his 16 RARE OPPORTUNITIES the Canadian Rockies to the state of Sonora, Mexico, in less giant lizards and his passion for anything reptilian to Nothing, Arizona is recognized around the world for its scenic beauty and than 10 miles. Arizona, where, even at age 84, he still has plenty to do. unique adventure opportunities. The Grand Canyon, Sedona, Saguaro AN ESSAY BY CRAIG CHILDS BY KATHY MONTGOMERY National Park … those are among the places people go. But they’re also PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN BURCHAM GET MORE ONLINE crowded, which is why we went in search of some places that only a 46 NEAT LITTLE PACKAGES www.arizonahighways.com 52 SCENIC DRIVE lucky few get to visit every year. In Spanish, burrito means “little donkey” — it’s the diminu- Visit our website for details on weekend getaways, BY NOAH AUSTIN, KAYLA FROST, KATHY MONTGOMERY, tive of burro. In Arizona, it means breakfast, lunch or dinner. Red Cloud Mine Road: This 16-mile drive begins at Marti- hiking, lodging, dining, photography workshops, KATHY RITCHIE AND ROBERT STIEVE There are a lot of great burrito places in our state. We’ve nez Lake, near Yuma, and continues through the Imperial slideshows and more. National Wildlife Refuge. Along the way, the landscape goes lined up 12 of the best. www.arizonahighways.wordpress.com 32 A STORM IN THE DESERT from lush to lunar. EDITED BY KATHY RITCHIE Check out our blog for regular posts on just It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while, the Sonoran Desert PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL MARKOW about anything having to do with travel in gets hit with a winter storm. About a year ago, on February 20, 2013, it 54 HIKE OF THE MONTH Arizona, including Q&A’s with writers and pho- happened again. The temperature dropped, the winds kicked up, and Cochise Trail: In addition to granite boulders, mesic vegitation tographers, special events, bonus photos, sneak peeks at upcoming issues and more. snow fell on the saguaros. and all-around scenic beauty, this trail offers hikers a chance A PORTFOLIO EDITED BY JEFF KIDA to walk in the footsteps of the great Apache warrior for whom www.facebook.com/azhighways it’s named. Join our Facebook community to share your photographs, chat with other fans, enter trivia contests and receive up-to-the-minute informa- tion about what’s going on behind the scenes at Arizona Highways.

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◗ A rising full moon shines over Kendrick Park in the Coconino National Forest. | LAURENCE PARENT CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D MARK II; SHUTTER: 1/2 SEC; APERTURE: F/16; ISO: 200; FOCAL LENGTH: 93 MM FRONT COVER “The Wave,” a unique rock formation at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, is open to only 20 visitors per day. | GEORGE STOCKING CAMERA: CANON EOS-1DS MARK II; SHUTTER: 1/20 SEC; APERTURE: F/22; ISO: 100; FOCAL LENGTH: 19 MM BACK COVER A rare snowstorm blankets saguaros in the Rincon Mountains, east of Tucson. | TIMM CHAPMAN CAMERA: NIKON D3X; SHUTTER: 1/200 SEC; APERTURE: F/9; ISO: 400; FOCAL LENGTH: 70 MM

PHOTOGRAPHIC2 JANUARY 2013PRINTS AVAILABLE Prints of some photographs in this issue are available for purchase. To view options, visit www.arizona highwaysprints.com. For more information, call 866-962-1191. www.arizonahighways.com 1 editor’s letter contributors

PAUL MARKOW “Every assignment I receive, Best-Laid Plans especially from Arizona JANUARY 2014 VOL. 90, NO. 1 Highways, is a chance to go 800-543-5432 www.arizonahighways.com t was supposed to be the trip of a life- visitation to only 20 Even in good on a new field trip,” says Paul PUBLISHER Win Holden Markow, who photographed time. For the first time in our adult people per day. That’s weather, the South EDITOR Robert Stieve I lives — 25 years and counting — my it. Twenty. There- Kaibab is an adventure. MANAGING EDITOR Kelly Vaughn Kramer Neat Little Packages (see three brothers and I were going on a fore, getting in takes Throw in a driving SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kathy Ritchie page 46), our roundup of ASSOCIATE EDITOR Noah Austin some of Arizona’s best burrito multi-day expedition. No parents. No patience, determina- winter storm, pouring EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR Nikki Kimbel kids. No family obligations. Just the boys. tion and a little bit of rain and a mysterious, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jeff Kida joints. Markow does a lot of We could have gone just about anywhere, luck. The payoff, how- hunched-over hiker CREATIVE DIRECTOR Barbara Glynn Denney food-related photography ART DIRECTOR Keith Whitney JEFF KIDA but since one of the world’s Seven Natural ever, is an opportu- covered in plastic for Highways, and he says his DESIGN PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Diana Benzel-Rice Wonders is in my backyard, we planned a nity to do something garbage bags, and you MAP DESIGNER Kevin Kibsey constant challenge is to make food look as good as it tastes. “Most chefs work fast, and rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon. spectacular without have the beginnings PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Michael Bianchi their focus is on taste,” he says. “But the camera can’t taste, so that upside-down leaf of The plan started about a year ago. the gridlock typically of a great story line. WEBMASTER Victoria J. Snow lettuce must be turned over, and the melted cheese on that burrito must be shot before DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Kelly Mero That’s what it takes to get the best cabins associated with the Not that Craig Childs CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Nicole Bowman it starts to look waxy. I always strive to make food look visually tasty.” Markow’s work at the Canyon, especially on the North best places on Earth. needs one. He could FINANCE DIRECTOR Bob Allen has also been featured in Forbes and other magazines, and in his opinion, Cottonwood’s Rim. It took some doing, but, eventu- That’s the nature of write about the root INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Cindy Bormanis Verde Lea Market is the best burrito spot in our roundup. PAUL MARKOW PAUL ally, everything was set: We’d lined up all the rare opportuni- structure of a syca- CORPORATE OR TRADE SALES 602-712-2019 Western cabins on the North Rim, Bright ties in this issue, including the 17-mile more and make it read like Ralph Waldo SPONSORSHIP SALES REPRESENTATION Kathleen Hennen KAYL A FROST Angel cabins on the south side and sev- trek to Keet Seel, the black-footed- Emerson. Hennen Publishing & eral shuttles in between. We even had ferret research west of Flagstaff and In this essay, his writing is as good as Marketing Group Kayla Frost, who interned at Arizona Highways in the spring of 480-664-0541 dinner reservations at El Tovar with park the women-only backpack adventure ever. And, like everything he writes, it 2013, did a lot of the initial research for Rare Opportunities (see LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [email protected] superintendent Dave Uberuaga. It was to Phantom Ranch. Just eight women a will tempt you to follow in his footsteps. 2039 W. Lewis Avenue page 16). She also wrote three of the entries. She says she initially going to be the trip of a lifetime. And year get to do that trip, which is led by And you should, but not necessarily in Phoenix, AZ 85009 racked her brain for interesting Arizona adventures that only a few people get to experience. “Then, I started scouring the Inter- then the federal government shut down, Marjorie “Slim” Woodruff of the Grand January — April or May would be bet- GOVERNOR Janice K. Brewer forcing the closure of Grand Canyon Canyon Field Institute. As rare opportu- ter. No matter when you go, check the DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT net,” she says, “and asking everyone I knew for other exclusive OF TRANSPORTATION John S. Halikowski opportunities that were diverse in content and location.” Frost National Park. Just like that, a rare oppor- nities go, that’s among the rarest. It’s like forecast first, book some cabins and keep ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION tunity turned into a missed opportunity. a snowstorm in the Sonoran Desert. your fingers crossed that the federal BOARD CHAIRMAN Victor M. Flores knows a little bit about exclusive opportunities: After graduating In the big picture, a lot of people suf- Although it’s not unusual to see snow government doesn’t shut down. Believe VICE CHAIRMAN Stephen W. Christy from Arizona State University’s Cronkite School with a journalism fered a lot worse. Still, we felt robbed. in the mountains that surround Phoe- me: That kind of thing can ruin a rare MEMBERS Kelly O. Anderson degree in May 2013, she spent the summer in Alaska, working

Hank Rogers AARON LAVINSKY with “fascinating people with adventurous spirits” at a resort Fortunately, the Grand Canyon isn’t nix and Tucson, it is rare to see it on opportunity. Joseph E. La Rue going anywhere, and Jeff, Matt, Adam saguaros, chollas and ocotillos. That said, William Cuthbertson just outside Denali National Park and Preserve. After that, she went to Cambodia for two and I are already planning another rim- that’s what happened on February 20, Deanna Beaver months to teach English. “I’ve been surrounded by natural beauty that could pierce the to-rim. It’s one of the great adventures in 2013, when the temperature dropped, the coldest hearts,” she says, “which is inspiring, to say the least.” Arizona, but there are others. Some are wind kicked up and the snow fell. It was Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published monthly by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Subscription price: $24 a year in the U.S., $44 available to the masses, like hiking the a scene straight out of a John Denver song. outside the U.S. Single copy: $4.99 U.S. Call 800-543-5432. Subscription cor­respon­dence and change of address information: Arizona Highways, P.O. KATHY MONTGOMERY Canyon, and others are more exclusive, In A Storm in the Desert, you’ll get a glimpse Box 8521, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Periodical postage paid at Phoenix, AZ, like exploring “the Wave.” of what it looked like. A few pages later, and at additional mailing office. CANADA POST INTERNATIONAL PUBLICA- A friend told writer Kathy Montgomery about retired herpetologist Bayard Brattstrom (see TIONS MAIL PRODUCT (CANA­DIAN DISTRIBUTION) SALES AGREEMENT NO. The Wave, if you’re not familiar, is you’ll get even more snow. 41220511. SEND RETURNS TO QUAD/GRAPHICS, P.O. BOX 875, WINDSOR, ON Outstanding in His Field, page 50). Once Montgomery started her research, she realized her N9A 6P2. POST­MASTER: Send address changes to Arizona Highways, P.O. located in Vermilion Cliffs National Mon- Not many people hike the Canyon in Box 8521, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Copy­right © 2014 by the Ari­zona Depart- real challenge would be cramming everything interesting about the Renaissance man of ument, at the far-north end of the state. As January, but Craig Childs is different. ment of Trans­­por­­tation. Repro­duc­tion in whole or in part with­­out permission Horned Lizard Ranch into a 900-word story. “I could have used more than 900 words just to is prohibited. The magazine does not accept and is not responsible for Kayla Frost writes in this month’s cover One day in January, not too long ago, he unsolicited­ mater­ ials.­ describe his collections,” she says. “They were varied and extraordinary, and they included story: “The Wave’s orange, red and yel- hiked from the South Rim to the Colo- PRODUCED IN THE USA aboriginal art, antique wagons low walls dive, careen and swirl like sea rado River. “I am coming off the rim on and other odd implements. He swells. Wind and water have whipped the South Kaibab Trail,” he writes in had fun making me guess what this Navajo sandstone for 180 million to A Winter’s Walk. “It may be sunrise, but JEFF KIDA those were.” Brattstrom has 190 million years, since the Early Jurassic little light is getting through the storm. COMING IN FEBRUARY ... done a lot in his life, but, “for all epoch. Dinosaur tracks pepper ancient Fifteen feet of visibility. Winds burst out Our annual look at some of Arizona’s If you like what you see in this he’s accomplished, he’s a really dunes surrounding the formation.” of the Canyon, assailing the rim, where most historic places, including Yuma magazine every month, check out nice, down-to-earth guy with It’s an impressive place — one that I am setting the first tracks of morning. Territorial Prison, Hubbell Trading Post Arizona Highways Television, an a slightly quirky personality draws enthusiasts from around the Snowdrift cornices sweep upward, com- and Faraway Ranch (pictured), which is Emmy Award-winning program and a great sense of humor,” hosted by former news anchor Robin world — but without regulation, the ing to mid-calf. ... This is one of those located in Chiricahua National Monument. Montgomery says. “I feel grateful Sewell. For broadcast times, visit to have met him.” Montgomery is sandstone landscape would be destroyed demanding storms. It drives snow into our website, www.arizonahighways. by a deluge of visitors. To help protect it, my ears and switches its winds from side ROBERT STIEVE, EDITOR com, and click the Arizona Highways a frequent contributor to Arizona GERALD MONTGOMERY GERALD the Bureau of Land Management limits to side as if scrambling for a foothold.” Follow me on Twitter: @azhighways BARNES ELLEN Television link on our home page. Highways. — NOAH AUSTIN

2 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 3 letters to the editor [email protected] THE JOURNAL 01.14

hometowns > local favorites > history > photography > odd jobs dining > nature > lodging > things to do WHO, WHAT, WEAR This will date me, for sure, but I just received my copy of the November 2013 issue and got a kick out of the cover photo, circa 1947 — I was 10 that year. Tourists are boarding a bus on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Their attire caught my attention: ladies in hats, gloves and skirts, and one man in a three- piece suit, topcoat and hat. By comparison, today’s tour group would be dressed “borderline bummy.” My, how times have changed. Bill Jenkins, Hamilton, Ohio

November 2013

PEEPLES PERSON with six other members of the Calvary November 2013]. Thank you. Outside of The Journal is a great section. Personally, Chapel North Phoenix church group. my family, saguaros are my favorite living I like quick reads like that. Peeples Valley Pete LaSacco, Phoenix thing. The beauty of this amazing cactus (November 2013) was extra special often brings tears to my eyes on my fre- Stick Figure because of the devastation in neighbor- POOL REPORTERS quent trips to visit them. Your article cel- A weathered branch rests ing Yarnell. I ride my motorcycle up I so enjoyed your article about Grand ebrating their grandeur did the same. on cinders near Sunset that way frequently. The sign as you Canyon Inn [Is That a Swimming Pool on the Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, Tustin, California Crater, north of Flagstaff. leave Wickenburg stands as a constant South Rim?] in the October 2013 issue. As The cinder-cone volcano reminder of the 19 firefighters who died children growing up in Grand Canyon TREE WHIZ last erupted about a thou- on June 30, 2013. Also, the Peeples Valley Village during the ’50s, we were very Joyce Kilmer wrote: “I think that I shall sand years ago. Today, it’s School House is one of my favorite photo- remote. There was no TV, ballet les- never see / A poem lovely as a tree.” a national monument. graphs. Since the fire, I’ve been to Yarnell sons, instrument lessons or the like. But Admittedly, I’ve never been known as Information: 928-526- several times to help some of the residents there was a pool and the opportunity an outdoorsy person, but I’ve always 0502 or www.nps.gov/sucr with the cleanup. Most recently, I was to learn to swim. I spent many pleasant been fascinated by exceptionally large summer mornings in that pool and am trees and their history, when provided. still impressed at the generosity of the Rachel Stieve’s article [Branching Out] in U.S. Postal Service STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION Grand Canyon Inn’s owners for allowing the October 2013 issue about the Fremont Title of Publication: Arizona Highways Publisher: Win Holden Publication No.: ISSN 0004-1521 Editor: Robert Stieve the local children access and provid- cottonwoods was very interesting. Date of Filing: August 27, 2013 Managing Editor: Kelly Kramer; address below ing lessons. When not in the pool, good Diane Slotty, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin Frequency of issues: Monthly Complete mailing address Number of issues of known office of publication: fun could be had trying to catch the published annually: Twelve 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, Annual subscription price: (Maricopa) AZ 85009-2893 $24.00 U.S. one year tiny hummingbirds that frequented the BRINGING UP THE REAR Owner: State of Arizona 206 S. 17th Ave. thistles growing on the rim. Fortunately, Thanks for the creative twist on an Phoenix, AZ 85007 Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding they were always quicker than we were. iconic genre in the photo essay Cowboys 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt Carol Rodriguez, Riverside, Illinois & Indians [September 2013]. I would’ve status for federal income tax purposes has not changed during preceding 12 months. ISSUE DATE FOR CIRCULATION DATA BELOW: loved being a fly on a horse’s rump when Nov. ’12-Oct. ’13 Oct. ’13 Average no. Actual no. Yes, there was a swimming pool and the Casey Murph (cowboy) and Jones Benally copies each copies of issue during single issue trappings of a mine close by the South (Indian) went for a ride on the HRY preceding published nearest 12 months to filing date Rim. I was there in 1962 and jumped into Ranch. Maybe then I would've gotten an EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION A. Total number copies printed 142,367 141,169 the pool. No one else was in it. I thought earful on their perspectives of the Old B. Paid circulation 1. Outside-county, mail subscriptions 113,785 113,163 2. In-county subscriptions -- -- my body would be cut into two, as it was West. Long live this aspect of America’s 3. Sales through dealers, carriers, street vendors, counter sales and so cold. The sun shone, and the view ... . unique heritage. other non-USPS­ paid distribution 13,872 11,385 4. Other classes mailed through the USPS 2,850 2,582 Joan Miller, Normal, Illinois Sharon Wysocki, Safford, Arizona C. Total paid circulation 130,507 127,130 D. Free distribution by mail 1. Outside-county 163 165 2. In-county -- -- MOVED TO TEARS If you have thoughts or com- 3. Other classes mailed through the USPS -- -- contact us 4. Free distribution outside the mail 2,449 2,489 ments about anything in Arizona Highways, we’d E. Total free distribution 2,611 2,654 I just received my new issue of Arizona F. Total distribution 133,119 129,784 love to hear from you. We can be reached at editor@ G. Copies not distributed 9,248 11,385 Highways, and there, lo and behold, is H. Total 142,367 141,169 arizonahighways.com, or by mail at 2039 W. Lewis I. Percent paid circulation 98% 98% a beautiful article on the magnificent Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009. For more information, I certify that the statements made by me are correct and complete.

Win Holden, Publisher saguaro [Something to Call Our Own, visit www.arizonahighways.com. BARTH STEVE

4 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 5 hometowns � �

ESTABLISHED IN 1907, the Gadsden Hotel is one of the most iconic buildings in the DOUGLAS historic mining town of Douglas, and it’s rumored that Pancho Villa once rode up the hotel’s famed marble stairs atop his horse. Although no one is able to confirm that local favorites FOUNDED: 1905 bit of historical gossip, it is certain that the legendary Mexican revolucionario vowed to attack the town — he believed that Americans were responsible for his defeat at POPULATION: 17,270 Agua Prieta. Douglas’ smelters have long been shuttered and its revolutionaries are CHATITA’S AREA: 7.7 square miles a distant memory, but the town (and the Gadsden Hotel) is still popular among Douglas ELEVATION: 4,006 feet visitors looking to explore its historic district. — KELLY VAUGHN KRAMER Francisco and Angelina Durazo and their COUNTY: Cochise www.visitdouglas.com; www.thegadsdenhotel.com daughter, Betty Durazo, opened Chatita’s Mexican Restaurant in March 2007. Chatita's draws rave reviews for its authentic south-of-the-border menu items, but its extra-large burger also is popular among Internet commenters — one of whom called it “one of the best burgers I have ever had.” In addition to being a favorite among Douglas residents, the restaurant also draws regular business from nearby towns such as Bisbee and Sierra Vista. We spoke with Betty Durazo about the family business: How did Chatita’s come to be? We previously owned Border Taco, a smaller restaurant in Douglas, and the idea was to expand to a larger restaurant and have more space. Chatita’s was going to replace Border Taco, but we ended up keeping both restaurants, and each has its own menu. Chatita’s is more of a sit-down, family- oriented place. Besides the burgers, what are some THE JOURNAL other popular menu items? People love the enchiladas — we make our own chile — and the fried chicken, which is another family recipe. And for large groups, we have a family platter, which has chicken, shrimp, steak, rice, beans, salad … a little bit of everything. Do you host any special events at the restaurant? We have a large room in the back of the restaurant, and people use that room for birthday parties and meetings. People like it because it’s private. "Chatita's" is a unique name for a res- taurant. Where did it come from? “Chatita” means “pug-nosed.” It’s a nickname that’s commonly used in Mexico. When my mom was young, that’s what they used to call her. — NOAH AUSTIN

Chatita’s Mexican Restaurant is located at 301 E. 10th Street in Douglas. For more information, call 520-364-1144 or visit www.chatitasmexican restaurant.com. MARK LIPCZYNSKI

6 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 7 history photography � � � � Bowl Record Despite a sometimes stormy history, Arizona Snowbowl, near Flagstaff, has been attracting skiers, snowboarders and other winter enthusiasts for 76 years.

hroughout its 76-year history, Arizona’s most acces- sible ski resort has weathered many storms — and not just blizzards. Arizona Snowbowl has repeat- T edly been the center of controversy, primarily because of its battle with Native American tribes. Neverthe- less, it has persevered as one of the oldest continually run ski resorts in the country. When Snowbowl opened in 1938 on national-forest land, it was little more than a two-person rope tow powered by a car engine and accessible only via a dirt road cleared by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Although its setup was primi- tive, its location on the flanks of Agassiz Peak, a 12,300-foot mountain 15 miles from Flagstaff, was dazzling. Alpine festivities, such as the 20-30 Club’s Snow and Ice Fiesta, helped Snowbowl quickly grow in popularity. But the resort’s history is full of ups and downs. In 1941, the CCC built a beloved lodge, but it burned down 11 years later. In 1944, Snowbowl didn’t open at all because of World War II gasoline-rationing. But it survived — unlike other ski resorts — and over the years, owners played hot potato with the resort, often discouraged by low-snow seasons. Plus, Snow- JAMES KERRICK A double rainbow frames the Mittens of Monument Valley during a monsoon storm. bowl struggled to compete with larger, higher-budget ski CAMERA: PENTAX LX; FILM: KODACHROME 64; SHUTTER: 1/125 SEC; APERTURE: F/11; ISO: 64; FOCAL LENGTH: 15 MM THE JOURNAL resorts in other states. Opposition from Native Americans, particularly Navajos and Hopis, has been the biggest obstacle to Snowbowl’s assignment shooting the sand dunes utes, and it lives on in my memory — and,

ARIZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL ARIZONA Double expansion over the years. The tribes believe that the moun- at Sand Springs, near the Totem Pole, thankfully, on film. A skier prepares to tackle one of Arizona Snowbowl’s runs in this photo for a travel ad. I saw a huge monsoon tain is holy, so harming it in any way is sacrilegious. Never­ from the resort’s early years. Today, Snowbowl has 40 runs and six lifts. Exposure storm lurking and got caught in it at an What advice would you give photog- theless, in 2009, Snowbowl won a long legal battle against Photo Editor Jeff Kida discusses JK: tribal members and environmentalists to use treated waste­ old campground there. I waited out a raphers who find themselves in a similar water for artificial snow, which was sprayed on Agassiz’s slopes sand dunes and rainbows with monstrous lightning storm with sideways situation? For more information about Arizona Snowbowl, call 928-779-1951 for the first time during the 2012-13 ski season. — KAYLA FROST or visit www.arizonasnowbowl.com. photographer Kerrick James. rain, but I knew the storm would move KJ: Always give the light a chance to work. northeast. When the sun broke through, With the rain in front and the sun over your JK: Describe the scene when you pho- this double rainbow resulted. I used my shoulder, you’ve got a chance to make tographed this striking double rainbow widest lens to capture all of it, then shot in some magic. Sometimes, experience ARIZONA HIGHWAYS this ■ Governor Anson ■ On January 11, most hardy tourists Lake Powell, over Monument Valley. 6x7 format with every lens I had and used leads you to the right place and moment P.K. Safford, the third 1902, The Coco­ from visiting it,” the “America’s newest KJ: In late afternoon in August, I was on a polarizer. That rainbow lived for 45 min- in time. governor of Arizona, nino Sun prints an article reads. 50 Years Ago playground,” was month speaks with the Ter- article about the ■ Flagstaff experi- the focus of the ritorial Legislature in Four Corners, the ences its record-low January 1964 issue in history January 1871 about place where Arizona, temperature of -30 of Arizona Highways. photographs. Most the default meter- a readout based on creating a free public- Utah, Colorado and degrees Fahrenheit The mag­azine METERING ADDITIONAL PHOTO of today’s cameras ing mode of most those calculations. READING school system for all New Mexico meet. on January 22, 1937. also described the MODES come equipped with DSLRs. It samples This mode works Look for our book children. “Its distance from ■ Charles Jesse “Buf- construction of Glen Being able to accu- built-in light meters, light from a number well in evenly lit Arizona Highways ■ Arizona’s ban on al- the railroad and the falo” Jones is born in Canyon Dam and rately measure light which can be used of “zones” within scenes that don’t Photography cohol goes into effect difficulties attendant Illinois on January 31, the birth of Page, TIP for a given scene is in a number of the frame, then have a lot of con- Guide, available at bookstores on January 1, 1915, five upon a trip there 1844. In the 1900s, the city that sprang critical to making different modes. analyzes each zone trast, and it’s a great and www.shop years before national are enough to deter Jones introduces up to host the dam’s correct exposures Evaluative, or for highlights and place for beginners arizonahighways. Prohibition. all but a few of the buffalo to Arizona. workers. and successful matrix, metering is shadows, giving you to start. com/books.

8 JANUARY 2014 To learn more about photography, visit www.arizonahighways.com. www.arizonahighways.com 9 odd jobs � �

METEORITE HUNTER Michael Farmer, Tucson

IF YOU’RE AN OPTIMIST, don’t ask Tucson- based Michael Farmer the odds of deflecting a Titanic-sized Earth-bound asteroid. Turns out, Hollywood lied. “Movies ... they’re exciting, but, sadly, unrealistic,” he says. “[Most] meteors THE JOURNAL travel between 30,000 mph and 50,000 mph. It would be like trying to fire a bullet to Paris, then having it go through a window and hit a fish in the eyeball.” The thing is, smaller meteors are constantly bombarding the planet, and perhaps the most memorable (besides the one that wiped out the dinosaurs) exploded above Chelyabinsk, Russia, last March. Farmer, a professional meteorite hunter, flew there three times to study and collect the remaining fragments. Before it entered Earth’s atmo- sphere, Farmer says, the asteroid was the size of a six-story building and weighed 10,000 to 11,000 tons. Farmer started collecting and hunting meteorites in 1995, and since then, he’s traveled the globe, hunting specimens to donate to universities and museums, or to sell. “I call it ‘feast or famine,’” he says. “Either I’m doing really well and making good money, or I’m struggling. It’s like treasure-hunting — there are a lot more failures than successes.” — KATHY RITCHIE

For more information about Michael Farmer and his

work, visit www.meteoritehunter.com. JOHN WAGNER

10 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 11 dining nature � � � � What’s Up Downtown Phoenix Public Market Café, with its mix of locally sourced food, a full-service bar and rustic-hipster ambience, is turning the downtown intersection

of Central Avenue and Pierce Street into one of the best scenes in the city. The bobcat is named for its tail, which appears AARON CHAMBERLIN IS JUST A MODERN-DAY “This is just a very basic place for peo- bacon, mayo and gooey cheddar. It’s served cut, or “bobbed.” Boy Scout. Or so he says. ple to go to eat,” he says. “And then, on the same fluffy buns that contain the He grows 12 varieties of heirloom mel- 90 percent of the things we feature in the green-chile-layered AZ Burger. ons in his backyard garden market come from local farmers. That’s And although Chamberlin believes a phoenix and picks berries along the what people are looking for. I wanted a more health-conscious, veggie-based diet Mogollon Rim. He cooks culi- place that had good, affordable food and is the wave of the future — he also serves nary masterpieces over an open fire when appealed to multiple types of people.” a slew of salads and encourages people to he’s camping, renovated a cabin in Pine- Since it opened in May 2013, the café “eat the rainbow” of vegetables from the Bobcats have dale and harvests prickly pear fruit from has picked up steam, thanks in large part market — the AZ Burger is the café’s most yellow the Four Peaks for juice. to the community farmers market that popular offering. eyes with Although most Boy Scouts wouldn’t takes place in its parking lot each Wed­ Whether it’s the availability of break- black turn the juice into a limited-edition cock- nesday evening and Saturday morning. fast for lunch (it’s served from 7 a.m. to pupils. tail, Chamberlin did, and that’s part of But even when the market’s food trucks, 3 p.m. daily), the easy allure of its bar the reason his duo of Phoenix restaurants farmers and free samples are off-property, menu or the rustic-hipster touches that is such a success. Chamberlin says, the café sees an average appear all over the space — a grouping of Chamberlin’s most recent venture, of 450 customers a day. eight vintage Phoenix photographs, an old Phoenix Public Market Café, plays Earth mamas come for menu items such wooden cart chock-full of flowers from younger sibling to the already well-estab- as the chickpea pancake, which is served Maya’s Farm, brick walls and wood beams lished St. Francis. Its mix of “food you’d with olive oil, bananas, Arizona pecans — the café begs to be revisited. Much to An adult is roughly eat at home — but at the next level,” cof- and agave syrup. Businessmen and stu- the delight of the modern-day Scout. twice as large as the fee bar, full-service bar and market is dents from nearby Arizona State University — KELLY VAUGHN KRAMER average house cat. turning the intersection of Central Avenue

clamor for the house-baked pork-chile- BRUCE (2) D. TAUBERT and Pierce Street into the downtown- verde pot pie, and early risers embrace the

THE JOURNAL Phoenix Public Market Café is located at 14 E. Pierce Phoenix neighborhood hangout Chamber- Flanched Flarney Garney, a hefty scram- Street in Phoenix. For more information, call 602-253- lin always envisioned. bled-egg sandwich topped with avocado, 2700 or visit www.phxpublicmarket.com. Bobcats nature factoid here’s one very famous mate, and when kittens — usually bobcat in Arizona: D. Baxter, two, three or four of them — are the mascot for the Arizona born, their mother raises them TDiamondbacks baseball alone, without the male. team. But the state is home to Bobcats are nocturnal, so many other bobcats, and they’re humans rarely see them, and their particularly attracted to the spots make them even better at outskirts of urban areas, where hiding. According to one Shawnee they sometimes attack house cats legend, the bobcat got its spots and other backyard animals. They when it chased a rabbit up a tree also hunt rabbits, birds, mice and and built a fire to smoke the rabbit other small game, but they’ve been out. When the rabbit jumped into known to bring down sheep and the fire, the legend goes, it scat- deer, too. Their weapon of choice is tered hot coals all over the bobcat’s a leaping pounce that can cover as coat. A more recent legend YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS much as 10 feet. describes how D. Baxter willed the The Lower Colorado River Valley, along Arizona’s western The bobcat is in the same genus Diamondbacks to victory in Game 7 border, is one of only two places where the yellow-headed as the lynx, but it’s smaller. Adults of the 2001 World Series. Actually, blackbird makes a year-round home (the other is California’s typically measure 28 to 39 inches that might have been Tony Wom- San Joaquin Valley). It nests in cattails and reeds directly over the water, and its call has been compared to the sound of a long. They’re mostly solitary, but ack and Luis Gonzalez. But the rusty farm gate. It mainly eats seeds and insects. And, as you males and females come together bobcat may have had something to can see, it’s appropriately named. — NOAH AUSTIN

JACQUES BARBEY during winter and early spring to do with it. — NOAH AUSTIN

12 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 13 lodging � � Elemental Arizona things� to do in arizona � Polar Bear Plunge January 1, Kingman Test your mettle with a jump into the ice-cold water of Centennial Pool. This event, which begins at noon, is free and open to the public, and prizes await brave swimmers Forever Houseboat Vacations who venture to the bottom of the pool. Information: 928- 757-7919 or www.cityof kingman.gov Glitter & Glow Block Party January 11, Glendale Celebrate the official end of the holiday-lighting season with live entertainment, vendors and colorful light displays on the streets of historic downtown Glendale. Information: 623-930-2000 or www.glendaleaz.com Film Festival Forever Lodging January 16-25, Tucson The Tucson Jewish Com- munity Center presents dramas, comedies and THE JOURNAL documentaries, screened at the center and other venues, in the interest of encouraging cultural awareness. Informa- tion: 520-615-5432 or www. tucsonjewishfilmfestival.org German Fest January 18, Yuma STEVEN MECKLER STEVEN This Oktoberfest-style street festival, hosted by local Eldorado Suites Hotel restaurant Das Bratwurst Haus, features live music, Forever Rafting and Adventures German food, German beer SUITE 12 AT THE ELDORADO SUITES HOTEL MAY BE AS CLOSE TO A PENTHOUSE as you’ll find in Bis- and other vendors, along bee. Located on the third floor and overlooking Brewery Gulch, the corner suite sits above the rooftops with children’s activities, on MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW: of its neighbors, providing unobstructed light and views from every window — and making Madison Avenue. Information: Antelope Point Marina on Lake Powell 800.255.5561 928-210-8518 bisbee it among the hotel’s most-requested suites. Which isn’t to say the other suites don’t have Temple Bar Marina on Lake Mead 800.255.5561 their boosters. The interior suites are quieter. Those on the first floor have comfortably Photo Workshop Black Canyon River Adventures at Hoover Dam 800.455.3490 furnished, shaded rear patios. They all share a resemblance, but each has its charms — like siblings in February 8-13, Grand Canyon Lodge – North Rim 877.386.4383 a large, attractive family. Constructed in 1914, the hotel first served as a boarding house, and later, as Monument Valley apartments. Today’s suites combine the best of old and new, pairing original claw-foot tubs and vintage Participants can test-drive Mormon Lake Lodge in Northern Arizona 928.354.2227 hardware with modern appliances and contemporary furnishings. Whichever suite you choose, you’re the new Leica S medium- format DSLR camera at this sure to come out on top. — KATHY MONTGOMERY workshop, led by Arizona Travel-Forever.com/14azha Highways Photo Editor Jeff Eldorado Suites Hotel is located at 55 OK Street in Bisbee. Kida. Information: 888-790- /TravelForeverResorts For more information, call 520-432-6679 or visit www.eldoradosuitesbisbee.com. 7042 or www.ahpw.org

Forever Resorts is an Authorized Concessioner of state and public agencies and operators under special use permits with the USDA Forest Service, the National Park Service and the 14 JANUARY 2014 Department of Interior to serve the public in the Lake Mead National Recreation area, Bridger - Teton National Forest, Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Park. Forever Resorts is a committed Equal Opportunity Service Provider. WEEKEND GETAWAYS

RARE OPPORTUNITIES Arizona is recognized around the world for its scenic beauty and unique adventure opportunities. The Grand Canyon, Sedona, Saguaro National Park ... those are among the places people go. And for good reason. They’re spectacular. But they’re also crowded, which is why we went in search of some places that only a lucky few get to visit every year. BY NOAH AUSTIN, KAYLA FROST, KATHY MONTGOMERY, KATHY RITCHIE AND ROBERT STIEVE Dawn lights the Cottonwood Teepees, part of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Northern Arizona. GEORGE STOCKING

16 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 17 WEEKEND GETAWAYS

Caldwell Cabin features basic SLEEP amenities, but the real draw is IN THE the surrounding greenery of the WOODS White Mountains. RICK GIASE Caldwell Cabin, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests Available Slots: One group per day, EXPLORE “THE WAVE” late April through late October Vermilion Cliffs Ten permits are issued four months in advance There was a time when “getting away from through an online lottery. The rest are distributed the it all” was a little easier. You’d pack up the Available Slots: 20 people per day day before, at Grand Staircase-Escalante National family, hop in your station wagon and drive Colorful geologic formations splash Arizona’s northern Monument’s visitors center in Kanab, Utah. As many until you were surrounded by silence. These deserts. Especially alluring to visitors is "the Wave." as 150 people a day, from around the world, vie for days, finding a quiet place can be a challenge. Aptly named, the Wave’s orange, red and yellow walk-in permits during spring and fall, says monument But, in fact, it’s closer than you think, and it’s walls dive, careen and swirl like sea swells. Wind and manager Kevin Wright. surrounded by fragrant ponderosa-pine trees water have whipped this Navajo sandstone for To reach the Wave, visitors drive a primitive road — away from everything and everyone. 180 million to 190 million years, since the Early Jurassic and trek 6 miles, round-trip, through trail-less desert Caldwell Cabin, located in the verdant epoch. Dinosaur tracks pepper ancient dunes sur- terrain. It’s dangerous and difficult, especially during White Mountains, is about as remote as it rounding the formation. rain and snow, and recently, the Wave claimed the comes, and take note: This rustic, one-bed- A long-gone “river system rivaling the Amazon” lives of two hikers. Preparedness, fitness and a clear room retreat books up quickly. is believed to have carried most of the area’s sand understanding of your physical abilities are required Built in the 1920s, the cabin was acquired from the Appalachian Mountains, says Gerald Bryant, before attempting the hike. Guides are recommended by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1960s and director of the Geological Field Institute at Dixie State for people without backcountry experience. operated as a guard station until the 1990s. University, in nearby St. George, Utah. That’s a lot of work to see a blip on the map. The With its knotty-pine walls and stone fireplace Without regulation, this sandstone playground Wave is barely an acre — not even 1 percent of Coyote encrusted with Luna agate (a stone native would erode not only from natural forces, but also Buttes North. Still, it’s one of those splendors that to the area), Caldwell Cabin offers guests a from droves of visitors. That’s why the Bureau of Land pictures can’t do justice. chance to unplug — literally. Forget about Management allows only 20 people per day into Information: Bureau of Land Management, 435-688- cellphone service and Internet access. Coyote Buttes North, where the Wave is located. 3246 or www.blm.gov/az/paria — Kayla Frost They’re not available. But who wants con- nectivity when you can watch elk and mule deer while relaxing on the porch, or get lost in your thoughts while enjoying a long hike or bike ride? The cabin, which comes stocked with basic amenities such as kitchen utensils, pots and enough beds to sleep six, sits just above the West Fork of the Black River, and it lacks a shower or a tub. “That was done by design, because we do haul our water,” says Rick Davalos, a ranger for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. “But we’ve had no complaints about it.” Talk about good, old-fashioned roughin’ it. Still, there are creature comforts such as running water, a flushable toilet, a stove and a refrigerator. If you decide to stay at Caldwell Cabin, make sure you do one thing before you If you’re lucky hit the sack: Look up. enough to visit “the “There are no other lights in the area,” Wave,” be prepared Davalos says. “It’s one of the best stargazing for a 6-mile, round- areas — you’ve never seen so many stars.” trip hike. Information: Caldwell Cabin, 928-339-5000 SHANE McDERMOTT or 928-333-4301 — Kathy Ritchie

18 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 19 WEEKEND GETAWAYS

Dinner and stargazing are on the menu for a select few each year at Kitt Peak National Observatory. RANDY PRENTICE

STA RGAZE WITH RENOWNED ASTRONOMERS Kitt Peak National Observatory, near Tucson Available Slots: 120 people per year

Six nights a year, 20 people stargaze through a telescope normally reserved for astronomers at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Par- ticipants take turns observing celestial bodies — nebulae, planets and galaxies — light-years away. “[The telescope is] not used for just the solar system,” says Richard Fedele, the director of Kitt Peak’s visitors center. “Dis- tances are so great. The farther you look, the more you go back in time.” Some of the cosmic objects don’t exist anymore, but their light still reaches Earth. Kitt Peak is 56 miles southwest of Tucson, on the Tohono O’odham Nation. Hundreds of scientists use Kitt Peak’s extensive collection of telescopes — the world’s largest — every year. The WIYN Consortium Research Telescope, built in 1962, is used for this public viewing program. Advertised at 0.9 meters, the telescope might not sound big, but that’s only the diameter of the mirror. The entire instrument is the size of a Toyota Corolla. For $139, attendees receive a buffet-style, home-cooked dinner in the astronomers’ dining hall, followed by a short lecture about the history of the WIYN and Kitt Peak. Then, it’s time to admire the sunset and head to the telescope for three hours of universal exploration. Sitting at the base of the telescope, participants view each object for about two minutes. Tickets for this opportunity sell out quickly. Dates vary from year to year. Check Kitt Peak’s website for updates. Information: Kitt Peak National Observatory, 520-318-8726 or www.noao.edu — Kayla Frost

20 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 21 WEEKEND GETAWAYS

BACKPACK TO VOLUNTEER PHANTOM RANCH ON THE [WOMEN ONLY] SAN PEDRO Phantom Ranch, several buildings on the South Rim in the first half of the 20th century. San Pedro River Grand Canyon As the official architect for the Fred Harvey Available Slots: Eight women per year Available Slots: 120 people per year Co. and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (approximate) Phantom Ranch is a popular rest stop for Railway, Colter was a pioneer in a mostly male hikers, rafters and mule riders at the bottom field. Beyond that, she familiarized tourists with Every third Saturday in June, The Nature Conservancy, of the Grand Canyon. But it’s more than just a Native Americans by infusing her structures along with volunteers of all ages and from all walks place to refuel or slumber. As participants of with cultural motifs. She also inspired the of life, wet- and dry-maps the flow of the San Pedro a Grand Canyon Field Institute trip learn, the architectural style “National Park Service River, in Southern Arizona. facility has an intriguing history. Rustic,” notable for the way her buildings blend “This is participatory science at its best,” says Holly Eight women can join this four-day into the environment. Richter, the Conservancy’s Arizona director of conser- expedition, which only happens once a year, Marjorie “Slim” Woodruff leads the GCFI vation. “It connects people to this river in a real way.” in early spring — the Canyon’s quiet season. voyage. Her knowledge of Colter and the Grand Last year, volunteers mapped more than 270 Starting at what could be a snowy South Rim, Canyon’s natural and cultural history is vast. miles of the river basin to determine where water was participants descend the South Kaibab Trail Jack Pennington, GCFI’s program manager, present. This invaluable information, obtained on the to a warmer Canyon floor, spend two nights at describes her as “the classic Arizona woman,” same weekend each year, helps The Nature Conser- the 1922 Colter Cabin at Phantom Ranch, and with a nice, dry wit to match the weather. vancy and its partners understand and determine ascend via the Bright Angel Trail. Information: Grand Canyon Field Institute, where restoration and conservation projects need to The trip’s theme is “Mary Colter,” who 928-638-2481 or www.grandcanyon.org happen. designed and decorated Phantom Ranch and — Kayla Frost Volunteers such as Ted Mouras wade waist-deep in water or trek through the rich riparian area with their handheld GPS devices. “What more could you ask for on a summer’s day?” he asks. But this kind of surveying is more than just “citizen science.” It’s a chance to com- mune with Mother Nature. Yes, the work is time-con- suming and exhausting, but there’s a reason Mouras and other volunteers come back year after year. “Walking along its banks during the hottest and driest time of year,” Mouras says, “one sees just how close we are to losing this desert river.” Information: The Nature Conservancy, www.nature. org/arizona — Kathy Ritchie

Volunteers help wet- and Phantom Ranch is the destination for an annual women-only trip that honors the ranch’s designer, dry-map the San Pedro River, the last major Mary Colter. MICHAEL QUINN, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE free-flowing river in the Southwest, every June. ADRIEL HEISEY

22 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 23 WEEKEND GETAWAYS TRACK BLACK- FOOTED FERRETS Aubrey Valley HIKE Available Slots: 400 people per year (approximate) INTO BROWN The deck is stacked against the black-footed ferret, a member of the weasel family, whose range once covered much of the western United States. The species eats prairie CANYON dogs, and it uses prairie-dog burrows for shelter and raising its young. Thus, as prairie dogs have increasingly been viewed as pests and exterminated, ferret populations have Buenos Aires National dwindled. The black-footed ferret’s low reproductive rate (one kit per year) and short Wildlife Refuge lifespan (a year or so in the wild, according to some estimates) haven’t helped, either. Available Slots: 144 people per year (public hikes) Declared extinct in the wild in the 1980s, the species has been reintroduced in several small, tightly controlled locations around the country. One of those is Aubrey Valley, along Brown Canyon is about as far from the Grand Canyon as Historic Route 66 in Northwestern Arizona. The Arizona Game and Fish Department any canyon can get. Not only are they on opposite ends brought black-footed ferrets to the area in 1996 and monitors them throughout the year. of the state, but their turnstiles also register very differ- And you can lend a hand. ent numbers: The world-famous landmark up north gets At four annual, three-night events — two in the spring and two in the fall — Game and about 4.5 million visitors a year, while Brown Canyon, the Fish tracks the ferrets by “spotlighting” them. Volunteers point high-powered lights at the mostly unheard-of canyon down south, gets only a few ferrets’ burrows, causing the animals’ emerald-green eyes to shine. Once a ferret is spotted, hundred. That, of course, is by design. One is a national the department sets a trap outside that burrow, captures the animal to determine whether park intended for people; the other is located within the it’s wild-born or captive-bred, vaccinates it, and puts it back. In doing so, Game and Fish can Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, a remote, 117,464- determine how fast the ferrets are reproducing and how many have survived the winter. acre wonderland that protects several distinct groups of Becoming a spotlighter isn’t for the decaffeinated: Game and Fish asks that you be plants and animals, including the masked bobwhite — a able to stay alert and attentive from sunset to sunrise. You’ll also need to learn to use a rare quail that was extirpated from the United States handheld GPS unit, but the department goes over that and other details of the experi- and is now being reintroduced in the refuge. ence in a training class for volunteers. If you’re up to the challenge, this could be your only The quail and the semi-desert grasslands where they chance to see one of Arizona’s most elusive creatures outside a zoo. The next spotlighting live are reason enough to visit the refuge, but the real events are March 13-15 and April 10-12. draw is Brown Canyon, a beautiful riparian corridor that’s Information: Arizona Game and Fish Department, 928-422-0155 open to the public, but on a very limited first-come, first- — Noah Austin served basis. Guided hikes are held on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month from November through Visit Aubrey Valley April. The cost is $5 per person, with a maximum of 12 to help monitor the people per weekend. black-footed ferret, The hike, which begins at an elevation of 4,137 feet an endangered near the refuge’s education center, follows a sycamore- species. lined creek that’s surrounded by oaks, junipers, walnuts, BRUCE D. TAUBERT piñon pines and the foothills of the Baboquivari Moun- tains — the westernmost “sky island” in Arizona. The lush riparian area along the creek makes an ideal habitat for Montezuma quail, as well as acorn quail, scaled quail and bobwhites — the preserve is the only place in North America with all four species of quail. Although the hike is relatively short (3.8 miles round- trip), the scenery along the way is spectacular, and it’s punctuated at its apex by an impressive natural bridge — one of the highest in Arizona. If that’s not enough enticement, here’s a little secret: A short scramble under Brown Canyon, the bridge and over some boulders leads to a lush, mossy within Buenos Aires area where you might find columbines growing in April. National Wildlife They’re rare and especially beautiful, like the hike that Refuge, is limited leads up to them. to fewer than 150 Information: Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, people on public 520-823-4251 or www.fws.gov/refuge/buenos_aires hikes every year. — Robert Stieve RANDY PRENTICE

24 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 25 WEEKEND GETAWAYS

SEARCH FOR RARE BIRDS Chiricahua Mountains Available Slots: 30 people per year (three events)

Every April, birders flock to the Chiricahua Mountains, in Southeastern Arizona, clutch- ing life lists and hoping for a glimpse of tropical migrants and the 17 or so signature species of Arizona’s “sky islands.” But only a lucky handful score a spot on one of two spring birding tours offered by the South- western Research Station, in Portal. Timed to ensure the arrival of the elegant trogon, these popular six-night tours are limited to 10 people and fill up quickly. Participants have spotted as many as 165 species on a tour, says birding guide P.D. Hulce. And in recent years, migrants rarely seen in the U.S. have been spotted in the area, including the first U.S. sighting of a grey-collared becard. Spots on the earliest tour are most coveted, because it’s the last chance to see the Mexican species that winter in the U.S. But if you don’t snag a spot on a spring tour, don’t despair. September’s naturalist tour doesn’t fill up as quickly and offers its own rewards. It’s the best chance to see white- eared and Berylline hummingbirds, three or four species of butterflies that take flight only in fall, and as many as 100 species of flowering plants. “To me, September is one of the best months to come here,” says Dawn Wilson, the station’s director. “It’s still birds, and great birds, but it’s got all sorts of other things going for it.” Information: Southwestern Research Station, 520-558-2396 or http://research. amnh.org/swrs — Kathy Montgomery

The elegant trogon is one of the birds that visit the Southwestern Research Station in the spring. BRUCE D. TAUBERT

26 JANUARY 2014 WEEKEND GETAWAYS Touring Keet Seel is relatively easy. The 17-mile, round-trip hike to reach it is the hard part. GEORGE H.H. HUEY

HIKE TO KEET SEEL Navajo National Monument Available Slots: 20 people per day, late May through early September

Reaching Keet Seel, one of the best-preserved Anasazi cliff dwellings in the Southwest, will push you to your limits. And then some. The easy part of this hike involves securing your reservation and obtaining a backcountry permit — it’s free — at Navajo National Monument, which is located in Northeastern Arizona at an elevation of 7,300 feet. The park allows only 20 people per day to attempt the grueling 17-mile, round-trip hike, which drops 1,000 feet into Tsegi Canyon. As you descend, temperatures can climb as much as 15 degrees, making it a demand- ing haul, especially for novice hikers. Fortunately, there’s some relief when you cross the ankle-deep Keet Seel Creek. As you make your way through this ancient land, stay sharp. Like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie, you’ll need to watch out for quicksand. And snakes. According to Reg Saner, author of the book Reaching Keet Seel, “Four miles along and you stop noticing snake tracks on the sand of side gullies.” Once you reach Keet Seel, contact the ranger sta- tion to schedule your tour of this archaeological won- der. Though this might sound like an inconvenience, there is a reason. It’s a culturally sensitive area and a place that’s worthy of our respect. Almost everything at Keet Seel, which means “broken potsherds every- where,” has remained intact — including the pottery shards, which are, literally, everywhere. So, what’s it like to glimpse a site like this? Saner describes it like this: “It makes your pulse quicken with the excitement of a Spaniard laying eyes on the golden city of Cibola.” Information: Keet Seel, Navajo National Monument, 928-672-2700 or www.nps.gov/nava — Kathy Ritchie

28 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 29 WEEKEND GETAWAYS Private rafters such as Kate de Klerk must enter a lottery to win a coveted spot on the Colorado River. DAWN KISH

RAFT THE COLORADO [PRIVATE PERMITS] Colorado River, Grand Canyon Available Slots: 503 launches per year

Even if you’re going on a professionally guided trip, rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon isn’t easy. While there are more than a dozen companies taking people down the river, those trips often must be reserved years in advance. But what if you’re a seasoned river runner and you want to tackle the Colorado on your own? In that case, your road to the rapids gets even more challenging. The National Park Service previously used a wait- ing list to award noncommercial, or “private,” rafting spots, but in 2006, it switched to a weighted lottery to assign the spots. It costs $25 to enter the main lottery, which is in February of the preceding year (in other words, this February’s lottery will be for 2015 rafting trips). Follow-up lotteries occur later to fill any remaining open spots. The “weighted” aspect of the process boils down to this: The more years you enter the lottery but don’t win a spot, the more chances you’ll have the next year you enter. The intent is to give priority to those who haven’t yet been lucky enough to experi- ence a run through the Canyon. The Park Service allows about 500 private launches per year, and in 2012, more than 3,600 people entered the lottery. Given those odds, you can increase your chances by entering every year and aiming for the winter months, which tend to have the lowest demand (and the coldest water). You can’t win if you don’t play. And this prize is a real jackpot. Information: Grand Canyon National Park River Permits Office, 800-959-9164 or www.nps.gov/grca — Noah Austin

For more adventures, exclusive and otherwise, across Arizona, visit www.arizonahighways.com.

30 JANUARY 2014 A STORM IN THE DESERT It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while, the Sonoran Desert gets hit with a winter storm. About a year ago, on Feb­ruary 20, 2013, it happened again. The temperature­ dropped, the winds kicked up, and snow fell on the saguaros. It was a scene straight out of a John Denver song. A PORTFOLIO EDITED BY JEFF KIDA

32 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 33 PRECEDING PANEL: Snow blankets saguaros and other desert plants at Lost Dutchman State Park, east of Phoenix. While snow fell in desert areas just outside the city, Phoenix itself hasn’t seen measurable snow since 0.1 inches fell there in 1985. PAUL GILL CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark III; SHUTTER: 1/10 sec; APERTURE: f/22; ISO: 100; FOCAL LENGTH: 105 mm

With the Santa Catalina Mountains in the background, winter adorns the saguaros of Catalina State Park, north of Tucson. The storm dumped more than a foot of snow at high elevations in the Tucson area. JACK DYKINGA CAMERA: Nikon D800E; SHUTTER: 1/10 sec; APERTURE: f/20; ISO: 100; FOCAL LENGTH: 85 mm

34 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 35 Snow sticks to the needles of chollas at Lost Dutchman State Park. PAUL GILL CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark III; SHUTTER: 1/4 sec; APERTURE: f/22; ISO: 100; FOCAL LENGTH: 18 mm

Snow begins to melt from the arm bud of a saguaro at Honey Bee Canyon Park, near Tucson. JACK DYKINGA CAMERA: Nikon D800E; SHUTTER: 1/13 sec; APERTURE: f/22; ISO: 100; FOCAL LENGTH: 185 mm

36 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 37 First light warms saguaros and other desert plants in the Tucson Mountains, west of the city. RANDY PRENTICE CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark ll; SHUTTER: 1.5 sec; APERTURE: f/19; ISO: 100; FOCAL LENGTH: 47 mm

38 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 39 HE SEASON CHANGE came the second week in October. Summer ended as if a cord had been pulled. I had walked to a smooth deck of Esplanade sandstone, near the South Bass Trail, and set a camp near the edge. Sitting there barefoot, I looked up, and summer was over. Damnedest thing. This is how it happens every year. In a matter of days, the sun drops and its light turns low and angular, yawning over the canyons. Shade has a vivid autumnal coolness. TThere is a different way of sleeping when fall arrives. It is described in my journal, October 12: “For the last month my world has consisted of naked sleeping, and days of cautiously stepping through narrow canyons. Now the air is sharp. I feel good. My belongings are on the rock to my left. The chill is delicate, the first I’ve felt since last winter.” This change of season — it’s like being handed a new life.

HAT I AM WITNESSING now is the full weight of W winter. It is the second week of January. The passage from autumn to winter rarely has as sharp an edge as summer into autumn. The cold just sets in week after week, the same A way summer heat gathers over the weeks until you are carry- ing it on your back. Rocks down in the desert no longer hold the heat of sunlight. Snow buries the rims. Winter’s I am coming off the South Rim on the South Kaibab Trail. It may be sunrise, but little light is getting through the storm. Fifteen feet of visibility. Winds burst out of the Canyon, assail- ing the rim, where I am setting the first tracks of morning. Walk Snowdrift cornices sweep upward, coming to mid-calf, crawl- Not many people hike the Grand Canyon in January, ing up the walls of Kaibab limestone, where the wind scoops on itself. but Craig Childs isn’t like most people. One January I figured it best to use one of the large, maintained trails in day, not too long ago, he hiked from the South Rim this kind of weather. At its narrowest, the trail is several feet to the Colorado River, a route that’s biologically wide and hardened by millions of travelers and pack mules. equivalent to walking from the Canadian Rockies The park officially documents 500 miles of trails. Trail crews to the state of Sonora, Mexico, in less than 10 miles. maintain only 33 miles of that. But these groomed trails cannot overcome the topography of the Grand Canyon. The switch- Along the way, he encountered a driving winter backs aim down, like a spiral staircase. storm, pouring rain and a mysterious, hunched-over This is one of those demanding storms. It drives snow into hiker covered in plastic garbage bags. my ears and switches its winds from side to side as if scram- bling for a foothold. The heaviest part probably is over the North Rim right now. There, without snowshoes, I’d be up to my armpits in snowdrifts. It is a different kind of forest on that rim — a different world. Stands of ponderosa pine, spruce and fir dominate the North Rim, which slopes upward to more than 9,000 feet in places. In these thickets, the heavily branched trees may clutter the view. The 7,000-foot-high South Rim supports mostly well-spaced ponderosa pines, the ground usually dry to the touch and carpeted with pine needles and oak leaves. On the North Rim, the earth has a bit of mulch, where summer’s Amanita mushrooms poke up through fallen aspen leaves. The elevation difference is enough to matter: The South Rim gets 16 inches of precipitation a year, while the North Rim gets 27 inches. The Canyon floor gets about 8 inches a year. Even considering the great differences in elevation and precipitation, the mean low temperatures on both rims may differ by only 3 degrees. It tends to be about 18 degrees here. The North Rim acts like a south-facing window, bringing in sunlight. Coming down from the North Rim forests and onto the exposed Canyon walls, you will notice sunlight’s direct impact. There is less shade on the north side. Snow melts quickly under clear skies as the heat draws moisture from the soil. Vegeta- Low clouds obscure the tion becomes sparse, compared to that in the sheltered canyons under the South Rim. view of a wintry Grand Look at some of the spires and temples inside the Grand Canyon. The South Rim’s north-facing Canyon from Grandview slopes grow thick with junipers and piñons, while the North Rim has mostly rock and some scrubby Point, on the South Rim. purple sage. The northern slopes, in steady sunlight, tend to be about 20 degrees warmer than those DEREK VON BRIESEN on the south side of the Canyon.

40 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 41 Heavy snow covers the buttes and vegetation of Navajo Point, near Desert View Watchtower on the Canyon’s East Rim. DEREK VON BRIESEN

Walking down from the dry South Rim, you will come across window-box habitats, niches of coolness where lush gardens grow. TURN BACK down the trail. Within a couple The top of the South Rim itself lacks the Douglas-fir stands com- I of minutes, I see someone coming up. He moves mon to the North Rim. But in these enclaves below the South slowly, working his boots through the snow. Head Rim, Douglas firs crouch against each other like children playing down. Shoulders humped forward. He must have hide-and-seek, protected from the sun. I’ve seen healthy ponder- started walking from the desert during the night, or osa pines as low as 3,500 feet, which is a flat-out desert elevation. slept in the snow, which is not too uncomfortable if They’re tucked under ledges of Tapeats sandstone on the south a person has the right gear and the proper mind-set. side. Stand in one of these window boxes and look across. The As he approaches, I can see he looks like he’s just been other side of the Grand Canyon will appear mostly bare. rolled from a Dumpster. Plastic garbage bags cover his body. He’s torn a hole in the bottom of one in order IGHT NOW, I can’t see much. The trail looks as if it hangs to breathe and see ahead. The clothes underneath are Rfrom wires over a gray and endless space. Walking down insufficient. Maybe he’s got a sweater and coat. In through Coconino sandstone, I am looking to my left, off the edge, both hands are walking sticks, their tops splintered which drops abruptly into nothing. I have to turn my boots side- as if they were hastily broken for this purpose. ways on the ice, under the snow, so I can find purchase with the He doesn’t notice me until I am about 4 feet away. edge of my soles. It is a cold snow, fine and dusty, lacking the When he sees my legs in the snow, he inches his head doily snowflake edges you would get if it were just 5 or 10 degrees up a notch. His face looks like a result of a trying warmer. It whips around easily on the wind. night. Dull, vacant eyes. He can’t hold eye contact. On December 12, 1931, Edwin McKee, who was living at the Late 20s, maybe 30s. “Be careful down there,” he says, South Rim, recorded 18 inches of snow for the day. “Early this with more of a groan than an actual voice. fall,” he wrote, “the Havasupai Indians were very busy gathering Down there. As if he had just climbed out of a mon- piñon nuts. They said there was a long, cold winter ahead. When ster’s stomach — the empty space that gave birth to I asked how they knew, I was told that the abundance of the nut the ravens. I ask whether he needs help. In the same crop gave certain evidence. Even though the weather forecasting ponderous tone, with a touch of anger, he says, “That of the Havasupais is not based on modern scientific methods, it Canyon almost killed me.” seems to have been accurate at least on this occasion. The winter As he passes, I turn and ask again, offering food has definitely started out as a long, cold one.” or water. He does not stop, does not ask how far to This year, the first substantial snowfall arrived at the South Rim the rim. In fact, his pace has not altered at all. “I’ll the fourth week of October: 3 inches overnight. The next day, it was make it,” he says. I look for a limp or some sign of melted by noon. It has turned out to be a common winter: sun- injury. There seems to be nothing but fatigue. He’s light ravaging the snow, then storms socking into canyons, spurs summer evenings, when threads of air trace the bottoms where at one of the long points of land under the Coconino. I’ve seen close enough to the top that he’ll be out within an hour. Like the of clouds roaming around the inner gorges — lost for days after the water might run. You breathed this same air in the morning before ravens here in better weather. I’ve sat on this point in the fall and ravens, he is taken in by the storm above me. Is he delirious? Has storms have gone — warm afternoons on the Tonto Platform, shad- it blew to the rim and came back. watched them play the rising air, banking and swimming around he fallen? I imagine him sledding down, arms flailing, and catch- ows long, and rainstorms lumbering into the desert. In the mid-1930s, an assistant chief ranger named George Col- one another. Now, I stop and look into the bottomless Canyon, ing a piñon trunk just at the edge of a chasm, snow spraying all Regardless of what larger air masses pass over the Grand Can- lins penned his observations of Canyon winds, which he called wondering where ravens go. This peninsula of Hermit formation around him. His comment about the Canyon made it sound as if yon, interior canyons harbor mostly deviant local winds. Because “wind rivers of the Grand Canyon.” He noticed that the airplanes just hangs here. I feel as if I’m being held out for sacrifice and that it were malevolent down there, as if he had narrowly escaped and the North and South Rims are heating at vastly different rates, day- were lifted when they crossed over the Canyon during the heat the Grand Canyon is this gulping infinity beneath my feet. No sign the Canyon still had his hair in its teeth. time winds drop off the south and rise up the north. In the eve- of the day. of solid ground anywhere. Occasionally, I will see something, some ning, both rims radiate warmth, sending breezes toward the river. He wrote: “Apparently, the air rolls and twists in a continuous tip of land suspended out there. Then it is gone. O I FOLLOW HIS TRACKS. They keep to the trail down to Between day and night, north and south, and the various individ- side play, attendant on the general trend. But in all the mysteri- Now I see the ravens. They rise out of the abyss, taking form SCedar Ridge, a clearing of hitching posts for mules and three ual canyons, a sloshing effect is created inside the Grand Canyon. ous tumult of convection currents, which one would see if the air where there should be nothing. Two of them look like black shreds outhouses. The outhouses are sturdy structures with a deck and Imagine a tub of water being rocked back and forth, only this is a were visible, the great updraft would no doubt be the most impos- of fabric hurled against the storm. They spin up, pausing over my solid wooden doors. His tracks begin here. I open the middle door tub of air, rocked by differential heating. A test station set on the ing feature. Just as a symphony is built around a central theme, so head to take account of this figure standing in the clouds. This and am confronted with a nest. My first thought is that some large south side found that more than half of the Grand Canyon winds does our fountain ‘carry the air’ in the magnificent symphony of close, I can see the curve of their armored toes, tucked under as if animal burrowed here. It looks like a mouse nest on a huge scale. are either rising straight out of the canyons or falling into them. inner-Canyon winds.” holding a marble or a stone. (Damn ravens, coming here without Wood chips, used for the composting toilets, are a foot deep all Even with all of this swishing around, winds rarely transport parkas or backpacks or extra food. Swirling through this storm as over the floor. Food wrappers lie unfolded. A bag of bread. A candy air over the rims and out of the Canyon. The air that is down there HE WINDS THIS MORNING are of a different nature. They if it were a playground.) I have to protect my eyes with a hand. The bar. A flashlight is propped on the toilet-paper dispenser. He slept stays there. It is visible when pollution drops into the interior. The Tare winter-storm winds, built of turbulence from a large sys- wind takes snow down my neck, against my skin. Once the ravens here, using the chips as insulation. A locked storage closet joins the haze stirs evenly between canyons but cannot escape. These ver- tem dragging itself over the Canyon. Vortices are set up behind get a good look at me, they continue up and are absorbed. And I’m back of one of the toilets. Its door hangs off its hinges, ripped from tical winds can be felt from low in the canyons, especially early on cliff faces, great swirling eddies inscribed in the clouds. I stop standing here alone. the wall. He had found the plastic bags and wood chips in there,

42 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 43 The rocks do not bear ill will, nor will they offer to save you. The personalities of storms deal with updrafts, moisture content and temperature, not with grudges or malice. A person must learn how to move inside of this place.

as well as the broom handle he’d busted for walking sticks. A box is a current of cold air. It is a coolness that will last well into the of screws and various small tools he had examined and rejected. spring. The river in April is a checkerboard of temperatures and I would later discover that he had hiked to Phantom Ranch, light breezes. Pockets of warm and cool air drift over the water dur- down at the river, with the intention of returning to the rim that ing the change of seasons. Warm air will float off the sunlit rocks. night. It was a day hike. Backpackers had tried to talk him into Cold air is from the river. By July, all of the air will turn hot. But, for staying. He had refused, mentioning that he needed to catch a now, air over the river feels like the breath of an icebox. plane. He accepted their offerings of a flashlight, bread and candy, setting off for the South Rim in the late afternoon. When he reached INCE I GOT OUT OF THE HARD COLD, and especially down the only emergency phone on the trail — at some outhouses 2,000 Sat the Redwall where the snow ceased, scents have been rising feet below here — he was desperate. Night had come. A storm out of the Canyon: wet plants — blackbrush, brittlebush, broom had set in, bringing rain and wind. He had no idea that it would snakeweed and catclaw acacia. The pungent smell of wet poreleaf turn to snow above him. He made a call to the ranger at Phantom bush is strongest near the Vishnu schist. And within 500 feet of the Ranch, and he sounded panicked. He wasn’t asking for anything, river, the slightly sweet scent of arrowweed comes up. just wanted to hear a human voice, said he had to catch a plane. The From rim to river are five biotic communities in the Grand Can- ranger patched him through to someone closer, but in the transfer, yon — Hudsonian, Canadian, Transition, Upper Sonoran and he dropped the phone and continued up the Canyon. The phone Lower Sonoran — and each has a different scent in wet weather. dangled off the hook, draining its solar battery. Walking through these communities (starting up in the snow and He arrived at Cedar Ridge in a blizzard. Ice had formed on his reaching the river by mid-morning) is like walking from the Cana- clothing, and he probably was suffering from hypothermia. When dian Rockies to the state of Sonora, Mexico, in less than 10 miles. he found these outhouses, he found plastic bags and wood chips, This explains why the garbage-bag man chose to walk out. He was enough to keep him alive. If he had not reached Cedar Ridge, I prob- in the desert when he decided to turn back. How could he have ably would have come across his body below O’Neill Butte, curled in known he was walking into a Canadian blizzard? the mud in one of the sheltered alcoves. No one at the Canyon knew During the summer, at least between monsoon storms, the his name or ever saw him again. There are only a few trails with out- smells are more robust up top and meager in the lower zones — houses and emergency phones. He was lucky. marking a time of dormancy in the desert and a time of activity in The Grand Canyon was not the thing that almost killed him, as the forest. The opposite is true this time of year. Plants are frozen he had said. The Canyon is here, with its winds and sunshine at ran- in place on the rim, while an entirely different set of species thrives dom intervals. There is no pretense. The rocks do not bear ill will, in the mild temperatures at the bottom. nor will they offer to save you. The personalities of storms deal with Between these extremes, more than 1,700 separate species of updrafts, moisture content and temperature, not with grudges or plants have been documented inside the Grand Canyon, which is malice. A person must learn how to move inside of this place. Like comparable to the species diversity of the more lush, mountainous the ravens. I close the door and continue into the Canyon. parks such as Sequoia or Yosemite. Yet, looking into the Grand Can- yon, you will see mostly rock. The plant life appears like nothing ENEATH O’NEILL BUTTE, at the rim of the Redwall lime- but an afterthought, sprinkled conservatively across the few places Bstone, snow turns to rain. The Supai mud on top of the Red- horizontal enough to support any life at all. The Canyon’s miscel- wall is a sloppy red, spattering on my pants legs. Clothes start lany of climates allows for such a flourish of species. Considering coming off, layer by layer. It no longer is freezing. In fact, it is above the sheer volume of land within the Grand Canyon and the diffi- 35 degrees. This is where the clouds end. They look like a smooth culties of surveying each of these canyons, there probably is a fair underbelly, one solid mass hovering midway down the Canyon. number of species yet to be documented. The Grand Canyon was Below here, everything is visible, all the surrounding canyons and not even botanically surveyed until 1938, when botanists Elzada towers poking into the cloud ceiling. But there is no direct sun- Clover and Lois Jotter journeyed down the river. What they found light. The green of Bright Angel shale stands out in this rich, wet was a multi-storied treehouse of environments. They cataloged the light. It looks like the color of Army fatigues before they’ve been plants they had seen or discovered, then mentioned that the Can- washed. yon walls furnished opportunities for careful study into minia- Piñon-pine saplings The trail takes me to the river, where it must be 50 degrees, and ture, isolated climates. spring from fallen snow the rain has stopped. Water has simply evaporated into the greater This morning I have walked through half a globe of climates as a storm continues in atmosphere. Looking up, I see that the entire world is under the and ecosystems to reach this river. These are places where a disori- the Canyon. weight of this storm. I can hold my hands up flat to its underside. ented hiker can easily become trapped in heavy snows and places JACK DYKINGA I am now in a cotton shirt, sleeves rolled. I cross the Colorado where each day of July exceeds 105 degrees. It is an elaborate land- River at a black footbridge and stop in the middle. Water sweeps scape, even when looking beyond the shapes of canyons that first below, greenish but mostly clear this season. Following the water catch the eye.

44 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 45 Neat Little Packages In Spanish, burrito means “little donkey” — it’s the diminutive of burro. In Arizona, it means breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are a lot of great burrito places in our state. We’ve lined up 12 of the best. EDITED BY KATHY RITCHIE PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL MARKOW

The extensive menu at Wickenburg's El Ranchero includes this mouthwatering burrito, but try the bean-and-cheese option if you're looking for delicious simplicity.

46 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 47 Anita Street Market | Tucson Asadero Toro is located at 1715 W. McDowell over it. Because once you try the riquisimo Los Alteños | Flagstaff ence Boulevard in Casa Road in Phoenix. For more information, call bean-and-cheese burrito, you’ll always Grande. For more informa- Barrio Anita is tucked between Inter- For a truly south-of-the-border experi- 602-340-9310 or visit www.asaderotoro.com. stop in Tacna. (Arizona Highways contrib- tion, call 520-836-5864. state 10 and Speedway Boulevard. You ence, Los Alteños is a must. Inside, you’ll — NOAH AUSTIN — KATHY RITCHIE utor Bruce D. Taubert says the beans are won’t happen upon this little neighbor- find walls covered in art, photographs “out of this world.”) Gonzo’s also serves hood, but you’ll want to make it a desti- and a TV playing the latest Spanish soap up flavorful green-chile and nation, especially if you appreciate great Chile Pepper | Yuma opera. If you’re craving breakfast food, red-chile burritos, giving tortillas (the best in Tucson, according to Talk to almost anyone who’s eaten at try the (aptly named) breakfast bur- Rito’s market other burrito joints a run for just about everyone you ask). Everything Chile Pepper, and they’ll talk about the rito, which is packed with eggs, & Mexican Take Out their money. Gonzo’s Tacna about Anita’s epitomizes “home cook- bean-and-cheese burrito. This simple-yet- cheese, potatoes and your choice Market is located at the intersec- | Phoenix ing,” and the place itself looks more like satisfying meal is wrapped in a home- of meat. This burrito really tion of Old Highway 80 and Second There’s no parking Nana’s house than a market/restaurant. made flour tortilla, and it’s the stuff that should be called the break- Avenue in Tacna. For more infor- lot and no sign, but Alfonso’s | Payson In fact, you’ll think you’re at the wrong cravings are made of — days, weeks, even fast-lunch-and-dinner bur- mation, call 928-785-4709. you’ll know you’ve If you’ve ever driven north on the Bee- place when you pull up, but find a place months after you’ve devoured it. Some rito, because it’s that — KATHY RITCHIE arrived at Rito’s when you see the line Highway, you’ve blown past this to park, go through the front door and loyal patrons will walk in with a cooler big. Your first instinct line of people streaming out the door. place, in beeline fashion, without any in hand, ready to order a favorite bur- might be to save half for If this is your first trip to Rito’s, take notice. It’s across the street from the rito in bulk. If you plan on purchasing, later. Forget it. After a cash and an appetite — you’ll need Dairy Queen, which you probably didn’t say, 300 burritos (don’t laugh — one cus- Juanhijos | Seligman few bites, you’ll have sec- both. The beauty of this place is that miss. Although DQ is great for Buster tomer made such a purchase), stop by on You might not expect much from a Mex- ond thoughts. Los Alteños is you can order your burrito almost any Bars, Alfonso’s is where you’ll want to go a Wednesday, when prices are marked ican restaurant housed inside a gas located at 1481 S. Milton Road way you like: plain, deep-fried, enchi- for a main course. Despite its outward down from $2.39 to $1.59. And don’t for- station, but Juanhijos proves in Flagstaff. For more informa- lada-style or chimichanga. If you’re appearance, this little dive (under- get your cooler. Chile Pepper is located at that you shouldn’t judge a tion, call 928-226-7552. keeping it simple, go the bean-and- statement) serves some of the best 1030 W. 24th Street in Yuma. For more infor- book by its cover. Or, in this — KATHY RITCHIE cheese route, but it’s the savory green- burritos in Rim Country. The ado- mation, call 928-783-4213 or visit www. case, a comida by its casa. The chile burrito that’ll keep you coming bada burrito comes laced with bgfamilyltdpartnership.com. tiny, build-your-own burrito joint back for more. Rito’s Market & Mexi- pico and guacamole, and the bean- — KATHY RITCHIE is home to a 1-pound burrito. That’s a lot Nico’s | Casa Grande can Take Out is located at 907 N. 14th Street and-cheese is good. Very, very good. of chow, but it’s also great fuel for, say, a It can take a while to get your burrito at in Phoenix. For more information, call In 10 words or fewer: Don’t ever drive trek to Havasu Creek. Just be careful: One Nico’s, but Casa Grande resident Carmen 602-262-9842 or visit www.ritosmexican past this place again. Alfonso’s is located at of the optional ingredients is the infa- El Ranchero | Wickenburg Garcia-Mena says the wait is worthwhile. food14st.com. 510 S. Beeline Highway in Payson. For more mous “ghost pepper.” Ask for too much This brightly colored surprise of a res- “Everything is authentic and cooked — KATHY RITCHIE information, call 928-468-6178. order anything on the menu. The burri- of it, and you’ll be sweating before you taurant serves up some of the best Mexi- fresh,” Garcia-Mena says. “When you do — ROBERT STIEVE tos, which are called burros (same thing), even hit the trail. Juanhijos is located inside can food this side — or either side, really get your order, you know it’s going to be are cheap, filling and delicious. Add some the Chevron station at 21355 W. Interstate 40 — of the Hassayampa, including a bean- good.” The most famous menu item is fresh and spicy salsa, and you’ll be glad in Seligman. For more information, call 928- Verde Lea MARKET | and-cheese burrito that gives new mean- the breakfast burrito, stuffed full of pota- you went out of your way. Anita Street Mar- 422-3540. ing to simple deliciousness. Creamy, toes, eggs, bacon and plenty of cheese. It Cottonwood ket is located at 849 N. Anita Avenue in Tucson. — KELLY VAUGHN KRAMER slow-cooked refried beans are wrapped often tips the scales at 1 pound or heavier. Hands down, firefighters know where For more information, call 520-882-5280. in a homemade flour tortilla to create the Breakfast is the most important meal, to find good food. And the firefighters — ROBERT STIEVE heavenly tube, and it’s served modestly, after all. Nico’s is located at 1226 E. Flor- in Cottonwood are eating at the Verde with just a garnish of lettuce, tomato and La Casita Café | Globe Lea. This market-cum-burrito shop car- Asadero Toro | Phoenix black olive. Plus, it’s just one of several Globe is home to several burrito joints, ries pretty much everything you need in It doesn’t look like much from the out- burrito options on El Ranchero’s exten- including La Casita Café. La Casita has life: wine, beer, fishing tackle, dog food side, but burrito purists swear by Asa- sive menu. El Ranchero is located at 683 W. been in business since 1947, and the place and, of course, burritos. Good burritos. dero Toro. This hidden gem, located Wickenburg Way in Wickenburg. For more is still dishing up its homemade burros. Owner Bill Murray says the Burro de across the street from the state fair- information, call 928-684-5121. The green-chile burro and the chicken Carne Asada is a must. That’s because grounds, is about as authentic as it gets. — KELLY VAUGHN KRAMER burro, enchilada-style, are among cus- he prepares his carne asada to order. And no matter what you order, you can’t tomer favorites here. Founders Pedro and It’s fantastic. So is the salsa bar, which go wrong. That said, if it’s your first time, Salustia Reynoso probably never imag- features his signature jalapeños tore- try the carne-asada burrito. No cheese. Gonzo’s Tacna Market | Tacna ined that, almost 70 years later, their food ados — deep-fried jalapeños topped No beans. Just meat. This huge burrito is You won’t find this place on Urbanspoon, would still be a hit with locals and visi- with sea salt. Verde Lea Market is located a carnivore’s delight. The meat is tender Facebook or Foursquare, but it’s there, tors alike. La Casita is located at 470 N. Broad at 516 N. Main Street in Cottonwood. For and flavorful — by itself, it’s a winner, in the tiny town of Tacna, just outside of Street in Globe. For more information, call 928- more information, call 928-634-8731 or visit but add some fresh salsa from the salsa Yuma. Although there are signs promis- 425-5029. www.verdelea.com. bar, and it’s another experience entirely. ing food, you might hesitate at first. Get — KATHY RITCHIE — KATHY RITCHIE

48 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 49 Outstanding in His Field When it comes to credentials, Bayard Brattstrom has plenty. The distinguished herpetologist, professor, photographer, consultant, author and artist spent more than 40 years teaching at Cal State Fullerton. When he left, he moved his giant lizards and his passion for anything reptilian to Nothing, Arizona, where, even at age 84, he says he still has plenty to do.

BY KATHY MONTGOMERY PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN BURCHAM

AYARD BRATTSTROM’S HORNED LIZARD RANCH is miles north of Nothing, Arizona, and it takes as long to travel the half-mile approach to Brattstrom’s house as it does to cross the dozen miles of washboard road that precede it. There’s so much to see. Plasma-cut horned lizards point the way past the entrance, flanked by two towering metal rattle- snakes, past herds of turtles and crocodiles, elephants and giraffes, a giant Gila monster, a camel and Ban 11-foot-long horned lizard that Brattstrom says is the world’s largest. Mario de la Cruz created the monumental sculptures. Interspersed are dozens of “vignettes” Brattstrom cre- ated: cattle skulls hung from a paloverde tree marked “Skull Valley,” a garden of wooden tulips behind a sign with two lips, and a “champion golf course” with a square of plastic turf and a teapot indicating the “tee.” Brattstrom is proof that a serious person doesn’t have to take himself seriously. A renowned herpetologist, Bratt­strom retired after a distinguished teaching career spent mostly at California State University, Fullerton. A pioneer in the fields of herpetological fossils and temperature regulation, Brattstrom has a list of publications that runs 14 pages. One, on amphibians and reptiles of the La Brea Tar Pits, is considered a classic. Another may be the most-cited single paper in the field of reptilian thermoregulation. But, as his bio points out, Brattstrom has also written about “art, fish, birds, mammals, cactuses and warm- blooded plants.” He has published a book of poetry and a dictionary of Australian slang, consulted on films, and testified in an attempted-murder trial involving a rattlesnake. And his photographs have appeared in books and magazines. Brattstrom first saw Arizona in 1942, when he crossed the state on the Super Chief. He collected Arizona amphibians and reptiles in the 1950s, and he took his classes to a spot near Ehren- are the horned-lizard fetishes. They’re made out of everything. Then, at his mother’s insistence, he built a shed for them outside. tion,” and Cowles got him involved in that field. berg for more than 20 years. As he neared retirement, Brattstrom and There’s one out of pipestone from Minnesota, where there are no Brattstrom’s first career ambition was to work for a circus. Then, A few years after earning his Ph.D., Brattstrom landed at the his late wife began exploring Arizona, looking for a place to retire. horned lizards, but that’s all right. Here’s a roadkill horned liz- later, for a zoo. He read a half-dozen books per week from the newly opened Cal State Fullerton, staying for nearly 40 years. They wanted space, quiet and the freedom to build a solar, ard and a horned lizard with a motorcycle track over the mid- public library, learning science from Agatha Christie and Sherlock When he retired, Brattstrom relocated his entire office. He repli- straw-bale house. “She wanted saguaros; I wanted saguaros,” Bratt­ dle. I have horned-lizard puppets. I even have Navajo rugs with Holmes, but found very little about reptiles and lizards. The field cated it exactly, down to his Royal typewriter. His desks are clut- strom says. “And if we had junipers, I would love that, too.” horned lizards. seemed wide open. tered with manuscripts for three books and a handful of articles. After three years, they found 640 acres in Western Arizona, with “I have fun,” he says. “All this is for fun.” Brattstrom published his first paper as an undergraduate at San Former students and colleagues visit, sometimes to conduct plants and animals representing three deserts: Mohave, Sonoran Diego State University. Working at the San Diego Natural History research. Brattstrom tries not to, but he can’t help himself. and Great Basin. It had everything they wanted: saguaros, junipers ORN IN CHICAGO, Brattstrom lived near the Museum of Sci- Museum, Brattstrom became interested in teaching. “I was a shy, “I watch these antelope ground squirrels and go, ‘Bayard, don’t and a diversity of amphibians and reptiles. Bence and Industry and visited almost weekly. He also spent low-self-esteem kid,” he recalls. “When I started doing nature draw them.’ But I can’t not draw them. Now, I have a complete etho- They named it Horned Lizard Ranch, built a house and moved time at the Field Museum of Natural History, Shedd Aquarium and walks, I realized I had something between my ears. It was fun tell- gram for antelope ground squirrels. By the way,” he says, pulling in during the winter of 2000. the Art Institute of Chicago. ing people things about the world. That’s why I wanted to teach.” out an index card, “where did you say you saw that gopher snake?” Collections cover every horizontal and vertical space of Bratt- During junior high and high school, Brattstrom lived in Holly- He got interested in fossils while working toward his master’s Brattstrom also builds sculptures of rusted metal and records strom’s home. wood. He collected snakes and lizards in the hills, and sometimes degree at UCLA. Beginning with the tar pits, Brattstrom collected his stories, typing out each one Jack Kerouac-style, in a single burst. “Being a herpetologist, I like collecting frogs and lizards,” he he caddied at the Bel-Air Country Club. Every now and then, he’d small boxes of unidentified bones no one else was interested in “I just started about a year or so ago,” he says. “I’m up to 161.” says, leading a tour. “There are lizards on pots, lizards on bowls. hide a snake in his school chalk box or the golf bag of an unsus- and published dozens of papers. His major professor, Raymond At 84, there’s still much to do. Brattstrom shrugs, saying philo- And then I have fetishes: frogs over here, lizards over there. These pecting golfer. He kept the snakes in his room until one escaped. B. Cowles, was “the super-granddaddy of all temperature regula- sophically, “What happens will happen.”

50 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 51 scenic drive

This 16-mile drive begins at Martinez Lake, near Yuma, and Red Cloud continues through the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge. Along the way, the landscape goes from lush to lunar. Mine Road BY NOAH AUSTIN | PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDY PRENTICE Fourteen miles in, you’ll come upon perhaps the best views of the drive. Colorful buttes are everywhere as you epending on which poll you something here that someone doesn’t trouble. At Mile 5, you’ll pass the trail- descend into a small valley — you’re believe, 5 to 10 percent of want you to see. head for the Painted Desert Trail, one likely to see a hawk or two circling D Americans think the Apollo Or, if you’re among the other 90 to 95 of two designated hiking trails in the above. Just beyond there, you’ll see a moon landings were a hoax. That obser- percent of the country, you could just refuge. small mining facility on your left. It’s vation might seem like an odd lede enjoy this 16-mile drive, which starts at Shortly after that, the colors that give the only significant sign of civilization for a Scenic Drive, but as you head up Martinez Lake, a popular destination for that trail its name — red, pink, yellow, on this route, and because Red Cloud Red Cloud Mine Road in the Imperial birders, photographers and anglers. The black and several shades of brown — Mine Road isn’t maintained beyond this National Wildlife Refuge, north of lake was formed in 1935, when Imperial will begin to show themselves on the point, it’s a good place to stop awhile Yuma, the reference makes more sense. Dam, on the Colorado River, was com- surrounding buttes. Once you enter the before retracing your route back to Mar- The views along this rugged, isolated pleted. About a mile in, you’ll get a good Army’s Yuma Proving Ground at Mile 7, tinez Lake. back road are a different kind of sce- view of the lake — the greenery sur- you’ll start seeing signs warning you to The alternative is to take along an nic: There’s almost no vegetation, and rounding it is a striking contrast with avoid “unexploded ordnance.” It’s per- all-terrain vehicle and continue north. If the rocky buttes could easily pass for a the surrounding desert. fectly safe to pull over and make a few you do that, you’ll eventually end up in moonscape with a little 1960s-era color After that, the road narrows and pictures, but don’t stray off the roadway. Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, which correction. It’s enough to get the gears gets rougher, so take your time around straddles the Arizona-California border. turning in any conspiracy theorist’s corners and over medium-sized rocks. OPPOSITE PAGE: Red Cloud Mine Road cuts You could probably get there in a lunar head, and the fact that the route passes You’ll be hard-pressed to find cellphone through a tamarisk forest near the Trigo Mountains rover, too. And who knows? There might Wilderness. through a U.S. Army proving ground service out here, and even in January, BELOW: Mounds of multicolored sediment highlight be one from the Apollo missions stashed might make you wonder whether there’s this isn’t a place you want to have car the second half of the route. somewhere along the road.

ADDITIONAL READING: For more scenic drives, pick up a copy of our book The Back Roads. Now in its fifth edition, the book features 40 of the state’s most scenic drives. To order a copy, visit www.shoparizonahighways.com/ books.

Red Cloud C A Mine YUMA A R L I PROVING GROUND I Z F O O N R A Painted Desert N Trailhead I A Red Cloud 95 Mine Road IMPERIAL NATIONAL tour guide WILDLIFE REFUGE Martinez Lake Note: Mileages are approximate. Martinez LENGTH: 16 miles one way Lake Road DIRECTIONS: From Yuma, go north on U.S. Route 95 for 24 miles to Martinez Lake Road. Turn left onto Martinez Lake Road and continue 10 miles to Red Cloud Imperial Dam Mine Road. Turn right onto Red Cloud Mine Road and continue 16 miles before retracing your route back to Yuma.

er iv VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: A high-clearance, four- FORT YUMA- R o wheel-drive vehicle is required. QUECHAN TRIBE d ra lo WARNING: Back-road travel can be hazardous, so be o G C ila aware of weather and road conditions. Carry plenty of 8 Ri To San Diego ve water. Don’t travel alone, and let someone know where r you are going and when you plan to return. CALIFORNIA INFORMATION: Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, 928- MEXICO 783-3371 or www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges 95 . .

X Yuma Travelers in Arizona can visit www.az511.gov or dial Z E I 8 To Phoenix 511 to get infor­ma­tion on road closures, construc­tion, M R A delays, weather and more. KEVIN KIBSEY

52 JANUARY 2014 www.arizonahighways.com 53 hike of the month

In addition to granite boulders, mesic vegetation and all-around ern Arizona, as well as parts of South- a Ralph Lauren magazine ad, appear out stop, turn around and look to the east, western New Mexico. of nowhere. where the Chiricahua Mountains dom- scenic beauty, this trail offers hikers a chance to walk in the footsteps Where the nature trail ends, the Just beyond the sycamores, the trail inate the horizon. From there, it’s about Cochis e Trail of the great Apache warrior for whom it’s named. Cochise Trail officially begins. It climbs arrives at a gate, and shortly thereafter, 10 minutes to the Stronghold Divide, BY ROBERT STIEVE | PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM DANIELSEN gradually at the outset, then levels off it intersects the Middlemarch Canyon which separates the east and west sec- a little where it enters a field of granite Trail, which veers left. Keep going on tions of the Dragoons. Although the ochise is buried in the Dragoon the United States Army. From the wooded parking lot, the boulders, some of which are as big as a Cochise and pay attention as you make Cochise Trail continues for another 1.75 Mountains. That’s the conven- The trail begins at Cochise Strong- first half-mile of the hike parallels an Dutch Bros. Coffee drive-through. A few your way to the top of a large, flat-topped miles to a lesser-used west trailhead, C tional wisdom, but no one knows hold Campground. That’s where the established nature trail that offers a minutes later, Arizona sycamores enter boulder. The trail disappears briefly on the divide makes an obvious turnaround for sure where he was laid to rest. He primary trailhead is located. However, great introduction to the area. Among the picture. Although the creek bed they the bare rock, but if you keep heading point. Looking around, you can’t help was interred secretly by his followers, there’s an alternate trailhead about a other things, you’ll learn about the mesic line is normally dry, in January, there south, you’ll quickly regain the route. but wonder where the remains of Coch- and only one white man, Thomas J. Jef- mile to the east — you’ll see a sign for it vegetation that thrives on the cooler, could be water, so be aware of flash In the shadow of the big rock, about ise might be buried. They’re out there fords, knew the exact location. Knowing as you’re driving in. The first trailhead moister north-facing slopes of what’s floods. Also, keep your eyes peeled for 200 yards south, you’ll come to Cochise somewhere, but it doesn’t matter where. or not knowing the whereabouts of the was established to accommodate horse known as Cochise Stronghold, includ- equestrians. It’s been said that comely Spring, which is surrounded by grass It’s enough to know that you’re walking chief’s remains won’t affect your ability trailers, but if you’d like to add 2 miles ing silverleaf oaks and red-trunked lone riders, looking like something from and shaded by a canopy of sycamores. in the footsteps of the greatest Apache to enjoy this hike, but the mystery does (round-trip) to the overall hike, park madrone trees. Another tree you’ll see a From that unexpected Eden, the warrior of them all. add intrigue to an already-alluring place with the horses and hit the trail there. lot of is the border piñon. It’s a beautiful trail begins another gradual climb to Granite formations jut from hillsides along the that served as a refuge for the Apache Otherwise, continue into the camp- pine that grows primarily in the grassy Cochise Trail. The Willcox Basin is visible in the Halfmoon Tank. The watering hole was ground. piñon-juniper woodlands of Southeast- distance. built by the Green brothers on June 15, ADDITIONAL READING: warrior during his 12-year battle with For more hikes, pick up a copy 1952, and it, too, is unexpected. of Arizona Highways Hiking After a slight detour around the Guide, which features 52 of the state’s best trails — one for each water, the trail climbs to the summit of weekend of the year, sorted a small ridge that offers excellent views by seasons. To order a copy, visit www.shoparizonahighways. in all directions. This is a good place to com/books.

Willcox

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A Benson 10 G To Tucson O CORONADO O NATIONAL FOREST N Ironwood Rd.

trailhead

80 d Pearce St. David e l his ho M Coc g 191 ron T St N 90 S . KEVIN KIBSEY

trail guide DOGS ALLOWED: Yes (on a leash) LENGTH: 6 miles round-trip HORSES ALLOWED: Yes DIFFICULTY: Moderate USGS MAP: Cochise Stronghold ELEVATION: 4,784 to 5,968 feet INFORMATION: Douglas Ranger District, 520-364-3468 TRAILHEAD GPS: N 31˚56.087’, W 109˚57.541’ or www.fs.usda.gov/coronado DIRECTIONS: From Tucson, go east on Interstate 10 for LEAVE-NO-TRACE PRINCIPLES: 72.5 miles to U.S. Route 191. Turn right onto U.S. 191 and • Plan ahead and be out all of your trash. continue south for 17.3 miles to Ironwood Road. Turn right prepared. • Leave what you find. onto Ironwood Road and continue 9.1 miles to Cochise • Travel and camp on • Respect wildlife and Stronghold Campground. durable surfaces. minimize impact. SPECIAL CONSIDERATION: A $5 day pass is required. • Dispose of waste • Be considerate of VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: None properly and pack others.

54 JULY 2013 www.arizonahighways.com 55 where is this?

October 2013 Answer & Winner Ehrenberg Cemetery. Congratulations to our winner, Raymond Stackon of Trinity, Florida. KERRICK JAMES KERRICK November 2013 Answer & Winner Stairs in Bisbee. Congratulations to our winner, Deborah Brooks Butler of Phoenix. JILL RICHARDS

Win a collection of our most popular books! To enter, correctly iden- tify the location pictured at left and email your answer to editor@ arizonahighways.com — type “Where Is This?” in the subject line. Entries can also be sent to 2039 W. Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009 (write “Where Is This?” on the envelope). Please include your name, address and phone number. One winner will be chosen in a random drawing of qualified entries. Entries must be

KIM HOSHAL postmarked by January 15, 2014. Only the winner will be notified. The Here’s the Church ... correct answer will be posted in our March is- sue and online at www. Today, it’s a private residence, but this Central Arizona building used to be a church. arizonahighways.com It was built in the late 1930s and early ’40s, and it got its name from one of the beginning February 15. key components of its construction. — NOAH AUSTIN

56 JANUARY 2014