UNSOLVED DIAMOND MYSTERIES TALES FROM METEOR CRATER

arizonahighways.com NOVEMBER 2003

autumn’s vivid colors inin aa HideawayHideaway CanyonCanyon

The Dangerous Ride to peace with cochise State Borders hooooo? the lines Owls ofof thethe DesertDesert that define us NOVEMBER 2003

COVER PORTFOLIO 6 24 Arizona’s Borders A Paradise of Trees page 50 The map contours that evolved out of historical events Ash Creek in the Galiuro Mountains bursts forth with a helped to shape the state’s culture, politics and identity. show of leafy fall color. 55 GENE PERRET’S WIT STOP If we humans had to identify ourselves the way javelinas 34 BIRDS 14 ADVENTURE do — by smell — our social lives would, well, stink. Night Stalkers, Diamond Mysteries 44 HUMOR

Night Talkers From Meteor Crater 2 LETTERS AND E-MAIL Owls of the Sonoran Desert are masters of the darkness, A lonely, taciturn prospector’s hardscrabble hunt for communicating in their unique bird language and gems in the late 1800s led to his death — leaving some 46 DESTINATION teaching humans about nature. of his caches probably still hidden. Flandrau Science Center Lovers of stargazing and earth sciences can’t avoid having fun and learning while visiting the center on TRAVEL 18 the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. Perilous Journey to Peace 3 TAKING THE OFF-RAMP Modern-day riders retrace the route of two soldiers who Explore Arizona oddities, attractions and pleasures. risked death when they ventured into the Dragoon Mountains to parley with Cochise. 54 EXPERIENCE ARIZONA Enjoy the unusual music of bagpipes at a Celtic festival ARCHAEOLOGY in Tucson; discover the many uses of gourds at Phoenix’s 40 Desert Botanical Garden; tour fine old homes in Warren, Perry Mesa Indian Ruins adjacent to Bisbee; and view the age-old Mexican images of El Nacimiento in Tucson. Now national treasures, the isolated sites north of Phoenix reveal the tough, warlike existence of ancient 49 ALONG THE WAY native people. In the hot urban climate of Phoenix, wild lovebirds are becoming a regular sight.

50 BACK ROAD ADVENTURE Patagonia to Sonoita A 60-mile roundabout trip through the San Rafael Valley and Canelo Hills has a variety of historical surprises and scenic rewards.

56 HIKE OF THE MONTH [this page] An isolated juniper South Fork— stands in relief before a vivid sunset in Hurricane Valley Little Colorado on the Shivwits Plateau in the River state’s extreme northwestern Grand Canyon Hikers get to choose the National Park corner. easy or hard route on [front cover] The Colorado River Canyon Diablo Meteor courses through the rugged this White Mountain Crater landscape of the Imperial trek near Mexican Agua Fria National South Fork of the National Wildlife Refuge along Monument Perry Little Colorado River Hay Lake. Mesa S Arizona’s western border with O N California. See story, page 6. O Galiuro R PHOENIX [back cover] In the Chiricahua AN Mountains D Ash Creek Mountains, fallen maple leaves ES ERT TUCSON Dragoon brighten a moss- and lichen- POINTS OF Mountains covered boulder. INTEREST Patagonia Middlemarch all by michael collier FEATURED IN Mountains THIS ISSUE San Rafael Pass Valley and e-mail takingthe

NOVEMBER 2003 VOL. 79, NO. 11

Publisher WIN HOLDEN Arizona oddities, attractions and pleasures Editor ROBERT J. EARLY Senior Editor BETH DEVENY off-ramp Managing Editor RANDY SUMMERLIN Research Editor MARY PRATT Editorial Administrator CONNIE BOCH Administrative Assistant NIKKI KIMBEL River Adventure also see his left ear and his well-defined nose. the canyon, located THIS MONTH IN Director of Photography PETER ENSENBERGER It’s Chile Season Peter Aleshire’s story, “Colorado River Assault,” My husband also noticed the formation. I Photography Editor RICHARD MAACK northeast of Tucson, ARIZONA (June ’03) was one of the most touching articles I wonder how many other readers did likewise. Art Director MARY WINKELMAN VELGOS Porter’s Wednesday s the winter months have read. He not only lets you become part of his Pat Wallis, Cave Creek Deputy Art Director BARBARA GLYNN DENNEY morning Nature Walks approach, things heat up for Deputy Art Director BILLIE JO BISHOP adventure, but also part of his family. The love for I am amazed, as I have said before, by the things Art Assistant PAULY HELLER run October through chile lovers everywhere, The land 1873patent for the Map Designer KEVIN KIBSEY A his sons is so clear and strong. readers see in our landscape photos. We have the April. For two hours, and for those connoisseurs of spicy city of Phoenix I have been fighting a heart condition for the most observant — and the best — readers in the Arizona Highways Books those following him get cuisine, there’s no better time of is filed at the last five years, and Peter has stirred my courage to world, and this poor old editor is grateful. WitWorks® Books a broad view of the year. In the Southwest especially, Florence Land Editor BOB ALBANO Office. Cost of stay strong so I can show my own 2-year-old son Associate Editor EVELYN HOWELL canyon, from desert to the scent of roasting chiles is one the 320-acre this soul-touching place one day. Humor or Not Associate Editor PK PERKIN McMAHON tree-shaded paths, to of winter’s great aromas. For townsite is $550. Lisa Pasqualino, Verona, PA I was very disappointed in the June 2003 jokes. Production Director CINDY MACKEY single-file climbs along humans only, apparently. Production Coordinator KIM ENSENBERGER There was no humor at all. Promotions Art Director RONDA JOHNSON high rock walls. Porter Scientists Joshua Tewksbury, “Colorado River Assault” brought back wonderful Carol H. Kennedy, Allyn, WA Webmaster VICKY SNOW brings with him a from the University of Washington, The first brick memories. In April 1970, my geologist husband, Marketing Director diverse wealth of and Gary Nabhan, from Northern 1878 building in PATRICIA POWERS-ZERMEÑO Earl, and I (along with numerous other geologists) I enjoy the articles such as “Gene Perret’s Wit information on the Arizona University’s Center for Phoenix nears completion. rafted the river from Lee’s Ferry to Temple Bar for Stop,” “Humor,” “Off-ramp,” and of course, all the Circulation Director HOLLY CARNAHAN plant life Sustainable Finance Director ROBERT M. STEELE 10 days. I have traveled many places since then, photographic work. PETER NOEBELS and the Environments, but that trip was absolutely the high point of all. Gladys Nichols, Gilles Plains Fulfillment Director VALERIE J. BECKETT A visitor jumps across rocks in the cool waters of wildlife, discovered that Sabino Creek near Tucson. In Arizona, there I loved every minute of it. South Australia, Australia Information Technology Manager with some chiles rely on birds 1885 are 87 public Marguerite Lovejoy, El Paso, TX As Dorothy Parker once observed, the lives of humor CINDY BORMANIS history, botany and to germinate and school buildings, 150 writers are fraught with peril, for no matter what they FOR CUSTOMER INQUIRIES Tucson recollections disperse their OR TO ORDER BY PHONE: Following the schools and Here We Go Again write, someone can always say, “That ain’t funny.” Call toll-free: (800) 543-5432 thrown in for good seeds. Nabhan and an attendance I wanted to call your attention to the centerfold In the Phoenix area or outside the U.S., Leader measure. Tewksbury’s of 3,226. The Call (602) 712-2000 number of picture in the June 2003 issue. If you look closely Cowboy Poet and Philosopher Or visit us online at: ob Porter would have to A former professor research further children not at the rock formation in the center of page 29, it Thank you for the article on our favorite arizonahighways.com look over his shoulder of Latin, Porter taught showed that birds attending school exceeds For Corporate or Trade Sales: appears to be a dog lying down. His eye is defined storyteller, Baxter Black (June ’03). Anyone who to see 80 again, but he at Princeton and Yale, exclusively 4,000. Sales Manager HELEN THOMPSON CONNER B by some of the growth on the rock, and you can has been exposed to Baxter is captivated, Call (602) 712-2050 has the surefootedness of an counting among his NATIVE SEEDS consumed wild entranced — and addicted. He doesn’t just write experienced trail horse. For 15 students one George W. Bush. chiles, while mammals avoided E-MAIL “LETTERS TO THE EDITOR”: U.S. Postal Service and recite, he dramatizes. He may be talking with [email protected] years, his well-placed steps have Today, those who join him can them — a fact that the scientific Phoenix kicks STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION 1887 his head between his knees while he personifies a Regular Mail: led visitors down, up and over reach their own lofty heights team concluded was due to the off its first Title of Publication: Arizona Highways Publisher: Win Holden horse-drawn Publication No.: ISSN 0004-1521 Editor: Robert J. Early calf being born — from the calf’s point of view. Or Editor the pathways of Sabino Canyon within the rugged beauty of an effect of the capsaicin, the Date of Filing: July 28, 2003 Managing Editor: Randy Summerlin; 2039 W. Lewis Ave. streetcar line address below rocking on his back on the floor as he relates the Phoenix, AZ 85009 in the Coronado National Forest. Arizona canyon. substance that gives peppers their along a 2-mile Frequency of issues: Monthly stretch of Number of issues published annually: Twelve Complete mailing address hilarious tale of a lady neighbor who raises and Among the free guided tours of Information: (520) 749-8700. heat. of known office of publication: Governor Janet Napolitano Washington 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, adores her rabbits. Director, Department of Transportation Street. (Maricopa) AZ 85009-2893 Victor M. Mendez Annual subscription price: $24.00 U.S. one year What a unique, warm individual he is. ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION BOARD Gail and Donna Andress, Nelson, NV Owner: State of Arizona Chairman Ingo Radicke, Globe 206 S. 17th Ave. Lotsa Pots Phoenix Phoenix, AZ 85007 Vice Chairman Bill Jeffers, Holbrook 1888 Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding Members Dallas “Rusty” Gant, Wickenburg Chamber of 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None Know Your Bear Richard “Dick” Hileman, Lake Havasu City alk into, around and through an 8-by-10-foot Commerce is The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt sta- The bear pictured on the “Hike of the Month” map James W. Martin, Willcox ceramic pot replica as you answer the questions: organized. tus for federal income tax purposes has not changed during preceding 12 months. W Joe Lane, Phoenix ISSUE DATE FOR CIRCULATION DATA BELOW: (June ’03) is a grizzly bear. A black-bear illustration Who made it? How long ago? How was it made? How July ’02-June ’03 July ’03 S.L. Schorr, Tucson Average no. Actual no. would have better represented the article. was it used? So what? The Pottery Detectives Exhibit copies each copies of INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION issue during single issue John Barber, Loveland, CO 2001, 2000, 1998, 1992, 1990 Magazine of the Year at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson helps Two brothers preceding published nearest 1900 are legally EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION 12 months to filing date You are correct. The last grizzly bear in Arizona was WESTERN PUBLICATIONS ASSOCIATION visitors understand why archaeologists examine hanged in A. Total number copies printed ...... 347,257 329,583 2002 Best Overall Consumer Publication B. Paid circulation killed in the 1930s. 2002, 2001 Best Travel & In-transit Magazine the past and why it is important today. Films, Tombstone for 1. Outside-county, mail subscriptions . . . . 303,866 292,770 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1992 the murder of 2. In-county subscriptions ...... 0 0 activities, booths, experts, hands-on experiences Best Regional & State Magazine two peace 3. Sales through dealers, carriers, Failing Eyesight and pottery makers all help shed light on the officers street vendors, counter sales and SOCIETY OF AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITERS FOUNDATION . other non-USPS paid distribution . . . . . 16,145 28,139 2000, 1997 Gold Awards 4. Other classes mailed through the USPS . 0 0 Arizona Highways and I have grown old together. mysteries of early Indian pottery. Archaeologists C. Total paid circulation ...... 320,011 320,909 Best Monthly Travel Magazine D. Free distribution by mail However, I fear for the relationship as I can no can sometimes tell what was cooked in the pot, if 1. Outside-county ...... 593 944 longer see the print. Is it possible to purchase Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published the piece had been traded, the world views of Arizona votes 2. In-county ...... 0 0 monthly by the Arizona Department of Transportation. 1906 on joint 3. Other classes mailed through the USPS . 0 0 Arizona Highways in large print? Subscription price: $24 a year in the U.S., $34 in Canada, the group, where the sand used to make the pot E. Free distribution outside the mail ...... 3,019 930 $37 elsewhere outside the U.S. Single copy: $3.99 U.S. statehood with F. Total free distribution ...... 3,612 1,874 June Pietrykowski, Warren, MI Send subscription correspon­ dence­ and change of address came from and even if they had farms or were New Mexico G. Total distribution ...... 323,622 322,783 information to Arizona High­ways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., and H. Copies not distributed ...... 23,635 6,800 We do not have a large-print edition, but beginning Phoenix, AZ 85009. Periodical postage paid at Phoenix, hunter-gatherers. The exhibit runs through I. Total ...... 347,257 329,583 AZ and at additional mailing office. POST­MASTER: send overwhelmingly J. Percent paid circulation ...... 98.88% 99.42% in January, we are making our body type bolder and address changes to Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis September 2004. Information: (520) 621-6302 or overrides the I certify that the statements made by me are correct and complete. Win Holden, increasing the spacing between lines. That will make Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. Copy­right © 2003 by the Ari­ www.statemuseum.arizona.edu. idea. Publisher zona Department of Trans­por­tation. Repro­duc­tion in whole or in part with­­out permission is prohibited. The

the magazine easier to read. magazine does not accept and is not responsible for un-­ MUSEUM STATE ARIZONA OF ARIZONA, UNIVERSITY solicited ma­terials provided for editorial con­sideration.

2 NOVEMBER 2003 Produced in the USA arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 3 off-ramptakingthe

Western Music at 475 N. Granada Ave. Christmas at This year’s lineup includes Shindig educational programs for schools Winsor Castle n November 6 through 9, in the community followed by a insor Castle, the official 2003, give a big howdy to barbecue and dance. Open jam name of the old rock fort the Tucson Cowboy Music sessions will end the evening. On at Pipe Spring National O MARTY CORDANO W Roundup, to be presented at the November 6 through 8, live music David Eppele surrounds his cactus garden with a Santa Fe-style wall built from recycled Monument, goes all out for Inn Suites Resort and Hotel will waft from three stages during materials, left, coated with mortar and painted to look like adobe construction, right. Christmas. Victorian lamps softly the day, and night concerts will top light the pioneer rooms while off the fun. On How Does His Garden Grow? women in long flowing dresses November 8, the move from room to room like Western fashion wall of “garbage” surrounds who has spent the last 18 years ghosts from the past. The PETER NOEBELS show and the Arizona Cactus working with his botanical garden Harmonium, an old reed organ, luncheon will A Botanical Gardens, located at Arizona Cactus and Succulent fills the two-story rock enclosure LONGMIRE LINDA Snaking entertain 6 miles south of Bisbee in Bisbee Research, figuring out what plants with Christmas carols. Called visitors, and the Junction. Director David Eppele is will thrive in the inhospitable “Winsor Castle by Question Through Town championship proud of that fact, since the wall climate of southeastern Night,” this magic of the f you’re tooling along a bike chili cook-off will looks like classic adobe when, in Arizona. Month path approaching Broadway heat things up a truth, it’s constructed of recycled Eppele offers free IBoulevard just east of bit. November 9 pallets, steel mesh, plywood and a daily tours at the Are there downtown Tucson, and you brings a special mortar coating. gardens — complete Qearthquakes suddenly hear a warning rattle, cowboy church and In a way, the wall serves as a with free plant in Arizona? don’t be alarmed. You may have gospel concert. credo for the 2-acre garden. Just as clippings and just tripped a sensor in the “tail” of Information: the wall is constructed of things samples of prickly In 1910, 52 Diamondback Bridge, the creation (520) 743-9328 or found lying around, all of the more pear juice — to ?A earthquakes of artist Simon Donovan. Part of a homeranchhands.org. than 800 plant specimens in the help spread the rocked and long-range project to connect gardens make do with what’s lying word about drought- rolled through several of Tucson’s bike and around the area. That is, in a resistant landscaping. And northern Arizona walking paths, the 280-foot metal location that receives a scant 16 the array of 15-foot-tall in just 13 days. snake bridge stretching across Tracking Time inches of rain a year, an entire yuccas, 20-foot-wide prickly A construction Broadway represents the city’s trip to the Arizona Diego, San Jose and Sacramento. botanical garden thrives without pears and various South crew working in

LINDA LONGMIRE LINDA growing collection of public art. Street Railway Museum, Entering from Culver just off supplemental water, fertilizer or American columnar cacti proves the forest quickly The project took five years to A home of the historic Central Avenue in the Margaret pesticide. that even without water, an left their posts A Town complete, but Donovan didn’t Phoenix Trolley, is not only a step Hance Deck Park, visitors can “If they can’t do it on 16 inches, Arizona garden can shine. event happens after boulders They mind. “It was great that it took that back in time but also a peek experience a nostalgic Phoenix they don’t make it,” says Eppele, Information: arizonacactus.com. only one night a shook loose and Called long,” he says, mainly because he into the future. Lawmakers and Trolley ride or walking tour. The year. On an evening LONGMIRE LINDA rolled into their Their had time to solve problems unique voters are considering a experience reminds visitors that early in December, the camp. When the to the project. What kind of cage rebirth of the Phoenix trolley although conditions were hot in LIFE IN ARIZONA 1873 fort comes alive with last of the 1910 Own material for the enclosure would system, which may bring Central the summer, cold during the period Christmas quakes hit on In 1901, the provide airflow yet reflect its colors Avenue up to mass-transit winter and noisy year-round, the decorations, stories, September 23, its residents of when viewed from below? speed with some other highly motto of the old Phoenix Street No Horses on the Sidewalk tours and refreshments. intensity was so Chloride worked to (Answer: Painted industrial floor populated U.S. cities such as San Railway System was “Ride a Mile ny person who shall cause injury to life or property, Stand around a campfire and powerful, the raise funds to grating.) How can I make giant and Smile the While,” providing “ A willfully and maliciously shall, upon conviction before socialize much like travelers from local Indians acquire title to the stencils to paint the snake’s trolley transportation every 10 ride or drive any horse, mule or the Recorder, be fined in any the past, but be sure to dress decided to lands occupied as diamondback pattern? (Answer: minutes for only 5 cents a hitch. other riding animal, upon any sum not exceeding $100, in the warmly and bring a flashlight. evacuate the area. the townsite. The 10-by-20-foot sheets of koi The railway system was the porch, or sidewalk, or under any discretion of the Court.” Pipe Spring cost? $600. pond liner.) What material main source of transportation in awning in front of any private —Ordinance National would work for the Phoenix from 1887 until 1948. dwelling or place of business, Number 2 Monument is rattler’s ribs? Call first before making or into any dwelling, store, passed in near the Utah

PHOENIX TROLLEY MUSEUM

(Answer: the trip, as the trolley is saloon, or other business the LONGMIRE LINDA border on the Plastic-covered occasionally out of service for house, thereby terrifying the Common Arizona Strip, 14 CONTRIBUTORS foam electrical upgrades. When occupants thereof, and Council of miles southwest of WYNNE BROWN padding.) running, trolley rides cost endangering life and property, the village Fredonia. JANET WEBB FARNSWORTH Since its $4.50 for adults, $2.50 for or who shall drive or ride of Prescott Information: MATT FERRENCE opening children and $4 for seniors through the plazas, streets, on May 12, (928) 643-7105 or PAULY HELLER last May, and organized groups. lanes, or alleys within the 1873. www.nps.gov/pisp. NIKKI KIMBEL pedestrians and Information: (602) village limits in a careless and TARA MOGAN MARTIN CARRIE M. MINER art lovers have been 254-0307 or www. reckless manner liable to KATHLEEN WALKER pleased with their new “pet.” phoenixtrolley.com.

4 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 5 rizona’s rambling A borders Historical events shaped the state and gave an outline for its identity

TEXT BY ROSE HOUK

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL COLLIER

[left] Shiprock, near the Arizona-New Mexico border, is the throat of an extinct volcano, with stony ribs radiating out onto the surrounding plains. Arizona shares borders with five states, mile and a half east of Darling’s point. counting the corner with Colorado, and ­Robbins’ monument was accepted as the another country. Therein lies the tale of “true” Four Corners point. The monument how the state took shape — it was what grew more elaborate — a large paved block remained after everything surround- with the state seals in bronze, their names ing it was claimed and charted. in tile — but over the years it had been Arizona now rests between the cracked and worn smooth by the touch of 109th meridian on the east and the so many visitors. The U.S. Bureau of Land lower Colorado River on the west, Management in Colorado decided to replace and between the 31st parallel on it, and surveyor Darryl Wilson was given the south and the 37th parallel the assignment. The new monument was a on the north. Roughly, these are 5,000-pound piece of granite, inset with an the state’s technical borders, the aluminum bronze disk for the actual cor- black lines on maps approx­ ner itself, the state lines radiating from it, imating a rectangle taller than and inscribed with the words of Colorado’s it is wide. You’d wear out a poet laureate Milford Shields: “Four States lot of shoe leather walking Here Meet in Freedom Under God.” those borders — 392 miles On September 1, 1992, the day the new north to south and about Four Corners Monument was made official, 330 miles east to west. Wilson set out to find Darling’s original for- Then, you’d have to get gotten monument. “It was just like kids on an in a boat to complete Easter egg hunt,” Wilson said. He described the tour. how he and a few others walked west a mile and half, where they relocated Darling’s THE STATE’S most famous boundary is the crumbling piece of sandstone. Four Corners, the perfect right-angle inter- The four states will soon upgrade the site, section where Arizona joins New Mexico, but the monument will stay where it is. Colorado and Utah — the only place in America where four states meet. For dec­ Southern Border ades, kids have piled out of the family sta- ARIZONA SHARES its southern border with tion wagon, run up to the monument there, Mexico. That boundary, according to range Athen splayed out arms and legs to touch all management scientist Dr. Robert Humphrey, four states at once. Snapshots documenting “was not the result of an amicable afternoon the event are mounted in family albums spent over a cup of tea or even a few bot- across the land. tles of Mexican beer.” Today you pay the guy in the little booth At the end of the war between the United two bucks to enter “Four Corners U.S.A.” States and Mexico in 1848, the Treaty of Gua­- The U.S. flag and the four state flags snap d­alupe Hidalgo was finalized. Arizona was smartly in the wind. An armada of snow north of the Gila River, home to the Apache, cone and Navajo Indian taco stands encir- O’odham, Pai, Navajo and Hopi people. cles the big granite slab that is now the mon- Tucson and Tubac were still part of Mexico. A ument. Taking in the 360-degree sweep of protracted controversy arose over the inter- scenery, you would be justified in thinking national boundary, due partly to an inaccu- someone conspired to select this spot just rate map and partly to the appointment of for the view. The San Juan River drifts into John Russell Bartlett as U.S. boundary com- Utah, Sleeping Ute Mountain gracefully missioner. Bartlett was quite the bibliophile reposes in Colorado, the Carrizo Mountains but not much of a surveyor. Mired in disagree-­ loom behind in Arizona and the solitary ments and inaction, the survey foundered spire of Shiprock floats out in the high on political shoals. Funds were cut off and desert of New Mexico. Over everything, an the survey was disbanded. infinite sky brims with crazy weather. Relations between Instead, as the bronze plaque tells it, Four the two nations dete- [right] Hundreds of Corners was “Established and perpetuated riorated, and by 1853 years ago, Spanish land grants in the by U.S. Government surveyors and Astron­ another war became San Rafael Valley, omers beginning in 1868.” In that year sur- immi­nent. Enter South east of Nogales, veyor Ehud Darling worked east to west Carolina railroad pro- claimed this prime along the line between New Mexico Territory moter James ­Gadsden, grazing country. These grasses at the and Colorado — 37 degrees north latitude. who as minister to base of the When he reached the end, he placed a hefty Mexico offered five Patagonia Mountains chunk of sandstone to mark the corner. proposals by which still nourish a ranching way of life In 1875 surveyor Chandler Robbins came the United States along Arizona’s in from another direction and ended up a would buy land from border with Mexico.

8 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 9 While the controversy over the southern boundary was playing out, WCongress was also drawing what would become Arizona’s northern boundary.

Mexico. The main goal was to secure enough in summer. The border angles obliquely to slave, state. Rather arbitrarily, it set the 37th land to ensure a southern transcontinental the northwest across the sere desert lands parallel as the southern boundary of Utah rail route to California. Had an agreement of the Tohono O’odham. The climate is and the northern boundary of New Mexico been reached on Gadsden’s most ambitious warm enough here to support organ pipe and left the question of slave vs. free to the proposal, Arizona also would have gained a and senita cacti. The line ends at the Colo­ local populace to determine. When Arizona seaport on the Gulf of California. rado River at Baja California. became a Territory, the 37th parallel ulti- After weeks of negotiation, the Gadsden mately marked its boundary with Utah. Treaty was finished, but the U.S. Senate Northern Border In the two dimensions of a map, the 37th refused to ratify it. Instead, the United States WHILE THE controversy over the southern parallel is an arrow-straight east-west line. modified it, and settled on paying $10 mil- boundary was playing out, Congress was But the land tells a different story. This lion for nearly 30,000 square miles of land, also drawing what would become Arizona’s boundary crosses through the midst of the nearly all of it in what would become Ari- northern boundary. That line— the 37th chiseled mesas of Monument Valley, bush- zona. The southern rail route was secured, parallel — was settled only after heated whacks tortuous canyons at the base of Utah’s but the coveted seaport was lost. Maj. political debate. The decision, called the Navajo Mountain and swims beneath the William Emory, an experienced topograph- Compromise of 1850, had little to do with sapphire waters of Lake Powell. It claws up ical engineer, ably picked up where Bartlett the qualities of the land newly won in the and over the swell of the Kaibab monocline, left off, completing the international bound- Mexican War. Ostensibly, it had to do more sails across the dusty-gray sagebrush empti- ary survey in 1855. with separating the Mormons in Utah from ness of the Arizona Strip and splits the town Down beside the border, the towns of Hispanics in New Mexico. of Colorado City in Douglas, Palominos and Nogales carry a But more was at stake. Arizona State Uni- two. It then bears due [above] A determined strong flavor of Mexico. The languid San versity geographer Malcolm Comeaux says west into the stark- piñon pine tree finds Pedro River sidles in from the south without that “selection of a northern boundary . . . ness of the Mohave purchase in the regard for fences or checkpoints. In 1540 was of national significance. The problem Desert and the terra Kaibab limestone at Francisco Vasquez de Coronado likely fol- was one of slavery” and its extension into cotta-colored Virgin Crazy Jug Point on the Arizona strip. lowed the San Pedro, then known as the Rio the Southwest. Northerners, of course, Mountains. [right] A tumbleweed Nexpa, the first documented European expe- wanted as much slave-free land as possible, At Pipe Spring on is a passing visitor to ­dition to enter the United States. Tall “sky- while Southerners argued for the opposite. the Arizona Strip, Fall Canyon on Navajo Mountain near island” mountains rise grandiosely from the The Compromise of 1850 admitted Cal- the boundary line Arizona’s northern rolling grasslands, golden in winter, green ifornia to the Union as a free, rather than a remained in doubt border.

10 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com An 1881 move to join most of Arizona with southern California to form a new state Awas scuttled. And Utah’s repeated attempts to annex the Arizona Strip were denied, keeping the Grand Canyon forever within Arizona.

for a time. The Deseret Telegraph Co. had a surveyor Jim Simpson, was called “The Lake Mead, jumps Hoover Dam, then fol- after watering laser-straight rows of lettuce shade of windmills and weavers craft beau- Canyon forever within Arizona’s borders. room on the second floor of the Mormon Bull,” because when in flood it was just like lows the center of Lake Mohave, bounded and citrus. tiful rugs at their looms. The line edges the For nearly half a century, Arizona would fort there. On December 15, 1871, at 12:31 a raging bull. This wasn’t a big problem in on each side by desert mountains. At Bull- pine-forested Defiance Plateau, bypasses the remain a Territory, too unpeopled and unre- p.m., Amos Milton Musser tapped out the areas where the Colorado was confined to head City, river taxis shuttle itchy gamblers Eastern Border Navajo capital of Window Rock, crosses fined to be counted worthy of statehood. first message datelined Winsor Castle, Utah. canyons, but where the channel was wider, from Arizona to the casinos in Laughlin, ON FEBRUARY 24, 1863, President Abraham­ Interstate 40 and the muddy Puerco River Finally on Valentine’s Day 1912, Arizona A year later, Pipe Spring was found to be in the river “would move a mile a year,” Nevada. From Lake Havasu City, party barges Lincoln signed the organic act that created east of Sanders, ignores the White Mountains’­ was admitted to the union, the last of the Arizona, and thus became the state’s first ­Simpson notes. Disputes over real estate — anchor in the bays on the California side. Arizona Territory. The 109th meridian, a pastoral meadows and boggy lakes, then lower 48, a state of 72,688,000 acres. telegraph station. like Lost Island near Yuma — arose between Past Parker, the river straightforward continuation of the Col- charges south past the Peloncillo and Chiri­ Borders. They define, describe and delin- Arizona and California. There, the flooding slips quietly down [above] The orado-Utah borderline, was chosen to sep- ca­hua mountains to the international border. eate. They are political, cultural, geograph- Western Border Colorado broke through a new channel and through the Cibola Hualapai Mountains arate Arizona from New Mexico. There had ical, historical and possessory. They frame look west to the THE COMPROMISE of 1850 also set part of left behind an orphaned oxbow of good and Imperial wildlife Colorado River as it been moves to divide the two along an east- NO SOONER were Arizona’s boundaries fixed the identity of this place called Arizona. California’s eastern boundary at the middle farmland claimed by both states. To tame refuges, where geese, flows through west line, which would have made two nar- than contentions arose. Las Vegas might have of the channel of the lower Colorado River. the raging bull and end the riparian bound- ducks and pelicans Topock Gorge. row, horizontally shaped territories, one on been the glitter spot of Arizona had not Rose Houk lives in Flagstaff on the 35th parallel, Rivers, however, create boundary trou- ary disputes, the U.S. Bureau of Reclama- con­gregate on both [above right] A top of the other. But persuasive mining Congress transferred the triangle of Pah-Ute happily within the boundaries of Arizona. She wrote the tunnel of color recently published Arizona Highways book The Mountains ble. Sometimes they mosey along slow and tion began channelizing the lower Colorado the eastern and west- leads hikers up interests saw more possibilities west of the County to Nevada in 1866. An 1881 move Know Arizona: Images of the Land and Stories of Its easy, and other times they cut new courses in the late 1950s. ern shores. South of Toolbox Draw to the 109th, and sectional rivalries of the time to join most of Arizona with southern Cali- People, with photographs by Michael Collier. with scalpel-sure quickness. Along the way, Drifting downstream in a rowboat, one oar Yuma, the Colorado top of Escudilla considered it a more neutral division. fornia to form a new state was scuttled. And Michael Collier is a photographer, family physician, Mountain near pilot and geologist. He lives in Flagstaff near Northern they add and subtract land from one bank is in California and the other is in Arizona. dwindles down into Springerville in The meridian bisects the Chuska Moun- Utah’s repeated attempts to annex the Ari- Arizona University, where he received one of his to the other. The Colorado, says retired BLM The state line saunters down the middle of the sands, drained dry eastern Arizona. tains, where Navajo sheepherders sit in the zona Strip were denied, keeping the Grand geology degrees.for a time.

12 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 13 Mystery DIAMONDS from outer space

Bits of Treasure Spawned murder , Intrigue and Frantic Greed by Bob Thomas

Dolph Cannon wasn’t your usual Arizona for diamonds — diamonds from the sky — almost perfectly round cavity 22 miles west [above] A saguaro cactus in the Superstition pressure generated by the meteor’s impact. the Earth’s atmosphere rained down on the prospector. For one thing, he had lots of and finding them. of the town of Winslow and 6 miles south of Mountains seems to point toward a Leonid The collision killed everything in a 2-mile surrounding area. meteor as it cleaves the night sky. money, which campfire gossip said he got Fifty thousand years ago, a meteor 100 to Interstate 40, sits in the center of an immense [above left] A Geminid meteor streaks past the radius, created pressure estimated at 20 mil- The very small, almost microscopic dia- from selling his finds. He was also a loner 150 feet in diameter smacked into the debris field. It was in this debris field that bright star Procyon above southern Arizona. lion pounds per square inch and generated monds were first discovered inside fragments who never went on a spree in the saloons plains of northern Arizona, blowing out a Cannon found diamonds. both by frank zullo heat so great that parts of the meteor were of meteorite iron. They were determined to and gambling joints when he returned to huge crater almost a mile wide and 700 feet Diamonds are nearly pure carbon, formed vaporized and melted. be of industrial grade. Since they were embed- town. And he never told anyone what he was deep. Limestone rocks as big as trucks deep in the Earth under intense heat and minerals — more than 50 kinds have been About half of the meteor, composed of ded in the iron and could only be found by looking for. In fact, he never talked to any- were ejected as far as 2 or 3 miles. Chunks pressure. But interstellar visitors, like mete- identified so far — including graphite, a iron, nickel and stone, was ejected from the chance — most were struck by the metal saws one unless he absolutely had to. of meteorites and smaller rocks were thrown ors that impact the Earth at 30,000 to 40,000 form of carbon. crater in the form of large and small fragments. of artisans engaged in cutting slabs from the But then old man Cannon wasn’t search- over a 7-mile radius. mph, can also create diamonds through heat Scientists believe the graphite was trans- Other fragments that had separated from the fragments for later polishing and sale as ing just for gold or silver. He was looking Known today as Meteor Crater, the giant, and pressure. Meteors contain many different formed into diamonds by the great heat and main body of the meteor in its plunge through curios — the diamonds were generally

14 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 15 them onto the tethered burros. Cannon would of the river, was silent as always. Richardson Jewelry Store in Winslow for appraisal and reward him with a nickel’s worth of red left for school in another state, and when were told they were flawless diamonds. Not striped candy. he returned in 1921 he asked his uncle if waiting to testify before the coroner’s jury, The prospector’s supplies were the usual he had seen Cannon. The uncle said no, that the delighted cowboys hopped a train to Los for those days — flour, lard, coffee, chewing Cannon hadn’t been in the store for two Angeles and never returned to Winslow. tobacco, dried beans, sugar and salt. Some- years or more. What the diamonds eventually sold for is a times he’d buy 30-30 rifle cartridges because, With Cannon’s disappearance, the stories mystery. as nearly everyone did, he got his fresh meat of diamond caches grew; a number of trea- In 1929 a man loading gravel from the shooting deer and pronghorn antelope. sure seekers searched for his caves in Can­ ­yon bed of the Little Colorado found scattered Cannon always paid in cash, taking bills Diablo. Then, in August 1928, two cowboys­ human bones, some rotted clothing and a from a thick wad of currency he carried. who worked for the Pitchfork Ranch came skull with two bullet holes in it. Deputies Richardson’s uncle guessed that Cannon into Winslow with an electrifying tale. While found an empty wallet nearby containing was carrying about $3,000 in cash, and Cannon’s photograph. Cannon, it is believed, he warned the old man that some out- was shot after failing to reveal where he had law might kill him for his money. hidden his diamonds. No one was ever Cannon, he said, merely grunted, arrested for the murder. never answering a word. Richardson In 1958 Richardson took over the oper- claimed the most that Cannon ever said ation of the Two Guns Trading Post at was when he left with his burros: “Wal, gotta Canyon Diablo and U.S. Route 66, hit the grit.” which his father had purchased in Cannon liked to camp in the many small 1951 from Harry “Indian” Miller. The caves found in Canyon Diablo, a long, deep, trading post, under Miller’s management, sheer-walled chasm that runs south from catered to curious tourists and even had a the Little Colorado River. He changed caves zoo. One day a former employee of Miller often and made an effort to hide his tracks happened by and told Richardson that Miller coming and going. Because no one knew had found one of Cannon’s diamond caches where Cannon was selling his diamonds, and had sold the gems for an unknown word got around that he was hiding them amount. According to the employee’s story, in secret cave caches. a Navajo Indian showed Miller a handful of Several people spied on the old man’s “quartz crystals” he had found in a cave in camps out of curiosity, others out of greed. Canyon Diablo. Miller bought them for 10 One man, George McCormick, tried to start cents each, asking the Indian where he had up a conversation with Cannon, only to have found them. the prospector pull a six-gun and wordlessly The next day Miller and the employee believed not worth the effort to extract them. and the wandering cowboys and hunters seize something from the crushed rocks, warn him away. McCormick, not to be went to the site and found two small caves. Ironically, the iron was worth more than who ran into him. It was generally believed hold it up between thumb and forefinger intimidated, searched and found the cave Miller chose the larger cave to explore, while the diamonds. In the 1890s, Fred W. Volz that he was looking for diamonds, because against the sun and squint at it. Then he where Cannon was living. When Cannon [above] This metallic chunk of the 100-foot- the employee crawled into the smaller cave, wide meteor that slammed into northern ran a trading post and store, near where the folks watching him from a distance saw him would take a small leather bag from his left to do more prospecting, McCormick Arizona 50,000 years ago was found 7 miles finding nothing. He then entered Miller’s Santa Fe Railroad tracks cross Canyon Diablo. pick up the meteor fragments. He was very pocket and slip his find into it. Piles of climbed down to the camp and found a from the original point of impact. cave and saw him hastily pocketing some Volz hired men and wagons to scour the area particular about which pieces he kept. After crushed rock littered Cannon’s campsites, small bag of rough diamonds hidden under courtesy of mama’s minerals white stones. Asked what they were, Miller around Meteor Crater for iron meteorites. a careful examination, he threw most of indicating that the real work of diamond- Cannon’s bedroll. No thief, he replaced the [opposite page] Meteor Crater, the result of that said they were just more quartz crystals. The collision, measures almost 600 feet deep and The trading post, whose ruins can still be them back down. Those he kept went into finding was done there. gems, which he said were very small with nearly a mile across. adriel heisey employee found several white stones the seen beside the tracks, made almost $13,000 the panniers on his burros, which always Gladwell Richardson, whose extended the largest no bigger than a grain of rice. size of a matchhead sticking to a piece of selling the iron to curio buyers. followed at his heels, grazing contentedly family operated various trading posts on the A short time later, McCormick saw two camped near Jacks Canyon about 10 miles rotted leather that Miller had overlooked. Unfortunately, in his eagerness to corner as he worked haphazardly over the range. Navajo Indian Reservation for several gen- men tailing Cannon. He recognized both as south of Winslow, a man who had been shot Not believing Miller’s story, he stuck them the market on the meteorite iron, Volz shipped He avoided the heavier iron fragments, erations, remembered Cannon coming into former convicts who had served prison time three times staggered into the light of their in his pocket and, when he returned to his more than 5 tons of the rusty-looking,­ dark- instead collecting the stony iron chunks — the Richardson’s wholesale house on the for robbery. Feeling protective of Cannon, campfire. As the unidentified man lay dying, home in Cincinnati, he took them to a jew- red metal to both the East and West coasts light-colored rocks laced with impact- west side of Winslow many times prior to even though he was markedly unfriendly, he told the cowboys that he and his part- eler who identified them as industrial-grade and so saturated the market that the prices melded lines of iron and nickel. Presumably World War I. Richardson, a young school- McCormick waited until the two camped ner had found one of Cannon’s diamond diamonds worth about $10 a piece. collapsed, making further iron collecting he saw diamonds in the rocks he kept. boy at the time, described Cannon as a small for the night and then sneaked up close and caches and that his traitor partner then shot Whether Cannon’s diamonds were “flaw- worthless. Pounding them with a heavy hammer could man about 5 feet 5 inches tall and slightly fired four rifle shots over their beds. The him. Wounded, he crawled to his bedroll, less” or industrial grade remains uncon- It was during this time that Cannon, smash these rocks. Parts too saturated with bent, maybe about 70 years old with a shaggy men fled in the dark, leaving all their camp grabbed his gun and killed his assailant. After firmed. It is almost certain that not all the undoubtedly hearing about the diamonds in metal to be broken were discarded. head of gray hair, a tobacco-stained beard gear. McCormick then sought out Cannon the unidentified man died, the cowboys caches Cannon made during three genera- the meteorite fragments, began his solitary After pulverizing the rocks with his and very pale blue eyes. and told him what he had done, warning the searched his body and found a buck­skin tions of prospecting have been found. Until prowling of the rolling plains west of Winslow. hammer, Cannon sifted through the rock Cannon hardly spoke at all during these old pros­pector to be careful. Cannon ignored bag half filled with rough diamonds. more are found and an honest appraisal is Like others, Cannon believed that if there were dust and picked out the diamonds by hand. visits, producing a list of supplies on a piece him and never spoke so much as a word. The next morning they rode into Wins­ made of their quality, the mystery of the tiny diamonds in the meteorites, there surely Diamonds, the hardest natural substance of brown wrapping paper. Richardson, who Richardson said the last time he saw low and reported the shooting to the sheriff, “diamonds from space” will remain. could be other, bigger diamonds to be found known, were not damaged by the pounding. later became a prolific Western novelist and ­Cannon was in the fall of 1917, when who left to retrieve the body of the shooting in the widely scattered impact debris. A number of persons reported seeing author of the acclaimed biography of his Richardson and another boy were hunting victim. Searchers looked for the corpse of Bob Thomas of Phoenix says he is always looking for diamonds in the rough. However, with the prices of Cannon was the object of much curiosity Cannon hammering away at his finds. family, Navajo Trader, would carry the sup- rabbits along the Little Colorado River just the partner, but failed to find it. Meanwhile meteorites soaring, he’d settle today for a hunk of space and speculation among Winslow residents Sometimes the distant observers saw him plies out of the store and help Cannon load east of Winslow. Cannon, on the other side the two cowboys took the stones to Black’s iron, with or without diamonds.

16 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 17 Two modern-day horsemen retrace the treaty ride of Lieutenant Sladen and General Howard MAKING PEACE

WITHtext by Peter Aleshire photographs byCOCHISE Randy Prentice Bruce Bilbrey reined in his quarter horse Bubba at the edge of the scrub forest of bloodthirsty cat- claw acacia and scanned the rocky hillside. Snip, my surefooted pony, halted just behind, waiting for us to make up our minds. We were not exactly lost on our pilgrim- age to where two courageous a secure fortress from which Cochise’s senti- soldiers had made peace with ­nels could see the telltale dust of their enemy’s the Chiricahua Apache chief approach from one or two days away. We Cochise, but “lost” wasn’t far had then followed the soldiers’ trail into the from where we sat. Stiff, sore, Dragoons through Middlemarch Pass, trying and thirsty after a daylong ride, to keep an authentic feel by avoiding the we were following clues from good gravel road now there. the journal of Lt. Joseph Alton Bilbrey, an accomplished hunter and Sladen. In 1872, Sladen jour- rider, surveyed the daunting hillside ahead neyed with Gen. Otis Howard with perfect poise, then kicked Bubba in the into the Dragoon Mountains ribs. They surged up the hill in an alarming to meet with Cochise. Such a series of lunges. Snip sprang after him, with trek had meant almost certain hooves ringing against rock. Clinging to the death for most non-Apaches saddle horn, I split my focus between not in the decade that Cochise’s rolling off backward and keeping thorny warriors had all but depopu- ocotillo branches from scraping my face. We lated southeastern Arizona. gained the ridgeline a harrowing few minutes Yet Howard and Sladen gam- later and surveyed a wild, lonely landscape. bled their lives on this quest “There,” Bilbrey said. “A windmill. Must for peace. be water.” Over two days, Bilbrey and I squinted down into the scrub-oak-choked I were retracing the final 30 canyon, but could not see the windmill. I miles of the two-month jour- recalled that Sladen’s journal described how ney of Sladen and Howard, he had stood on a peak as Cochise tried to from Fort Apache in central point out a wagon road on the far side of the Arizona Territory through valley 40 miles away. Earlier, I had driven New Mexico and back into that road into Apache Pass and hiked the 1.5- Arizona through the Chiri­ mile trail to the adobe and stone ruins of Fort cahua and Dragoon moun- Bowie, built to guard the precious and stra­ tains. Sladen and Howard cov-­ tegic spring. Bilbrey turned Bubba toward ered hundreds of miles, often the purported windmill, and I followed. Sure [previous panel, pages 18 and 19] Viewed from making 30 or 40 miles a day, shadowed by enough, the windmill marked a stock tank, above Bonita Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains, the constant threat of ambush and sudden and we compared a modern map to Sladen’s home of Apache Chief Cochise and his people, the violent death. journal. Dos Cabezas range rises on the distant horizon at the edge of Sulphur Springs Valley. Now, after a single day in the saddle, I Sladen’s account was edited by Edwin R. [above] Late-afternoon light warms a Dragoon could scarcely imagine how they’d man- Sweeney and published in 1997 by the Uni- Mountains’ boulder field in the rugged Council aged. We had spent the morning toiling for versity of Oklahoma Press as the book Mak- Rock area, where General Howard and Cochise are about 8 miles across the Sulphur Springs ing Peace with Cochise. Provoked by an attack believed to have held their formal parley for peace. [above right] Author Peter Aleshire and Bruce Valley, starting near the Sulphur Springs on his family by a blundering Army officer, Bilbrey ride through grassland on the west face of east of the Dragoons, where Howard and Cochise in 1861 turned his continuous war the Dragoon Mountains. Sladen stopped before entering the range, with the Mexicans to include all Americans [opposite page] The vista from Middle March Pass an oak- and pine-studded jumble of boul- as well. In the mid-1860s, after the Army in the Dragoons, looking east toward the Chircahuas, remains unchanged from the days ders rising 3,000 feet from the flat, water- withdrew most of its troops to fight the Civil when vigilant Apache sentries kept watch. less plain. The Dragoons’ peaks had formed War, the constant attacks drove out almost

20 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com [left] In an area known as Cochise Stronghold you, and would fight us, would you fight rocks turned pink, red and yellow in the last boulder, hands long ago had painted a series West, rainwater fills holes made by generations against us?” light, a dark, shambling shape moved through of stick figures in red ocher, including one of Apache women grinding corn against granite. [below right] Sunshine and shadow paint the “No,” Sladen replied. “In that case I would the oak trees below — probably an acorn-lov- ­multi­armed human figure that suggested a granite, and mesquite trees shade the grass fight with you against them for they are not ing black bear. The Apaches revered these ani- cornstalk. A farming people occupied these above Granite Spring in the Dragoons. my people.” mals and believed that they sometimes held canyons for thousands of years before the Cochise smiled, appreciating Sladen’s the spirits of vanished warriors. I imagined, Apaches arrived. logic and honesty. for a moment, that this passing bear might We dismounted, and I climbed to the top guide, leaving Jeffords and Sladen camped In the end, Cochise and Howard made somehow still carry the lingering spirit of a of a boulder for a sweeping view of the val- with Cochise. peace. Howard established a reservation for Chiri­cahua sentinel with no one left to warn. ley. Someone was driving along a dirt road, After spending a few weeks with Cochise’s the Chiricahua Apaches that included the We got up early the next day for the ride’s raising a cloud of dust that once would have people, Sladen found them nothing like his Dragoon and Chiricahua mountains and final stretch along the front slope of the Dra- sent the sentinels racing back to Cochise with fearful expectations. “The popular idea of the appointed Jeffords as the agent. Cochise goons. Hollis Cook, park manager for the their warning. But now I merely watched the Indian is that he is phlegmatic in tempera- kept the peace, but after his death in 1874, Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, smudge of dust, touched by an aching sense ment, cold and reserved in disposition, lack- the government tried to move the Chirica­ came to guide us to Council Rock, where most of loss, like a sentinel left behind. ing vivacity, and entirely without a sense of hua bands to the San Carlos reservation. This historians believe the conference took place. Peter Aleshire of Phoenix has written four books of humor. These Indians were . . . always cheer- triggered renewed warfare and cost hun- We crossed a broad meadow, walked history about the Indian Wars and insists that there are ful, demonstratively happy, and talkative; dreds of lives. through a grove of oaks and scrambled up more ghosts — and history — in Apache Pass than any inquisitive beyond endurance; brim full of Bilbrey and I camped for the night at the a daunting pile of rocks. We came at last to other single place in Arizona. fun and joking, and ready to laugh heartily mouth of a canyon where Howard and Sladen a small space in front of a huge, sloping Randy Prentice of Tucson wonders what the Apaches thought about the ancient grinding holes and pictographs­ at the most trivial thing. They were especially had waited for Chie. At sunset, I climbed stiffly boulder that formed the airy entrance to a in the Dragoon Mountains that were created hundreds of fond of playing practical jokes of a harmless to the top of a spectacular outcropping. As the cave. On the underside of the house-sized years earlier by a civilization much older than their own. nature upon each other, and the objects of one of these jokes would anyone trying to live in or cross southeast- to the Dragoons included Howard’s facing laugh as heartily at his own dis- ern Arizona. down heavily armed settlers who wanted to comfiture as would the bystanders.” Prodded by hundreds of civilian deaths, execute his two Apache guides. Sladen also recorded fascinating President Ulysses S. Grant sought to settle Once in the Dragoons, Chie went to find encounters with Cochise, recalling the Apaches on reservations. He sent a peace Cochise. He returned later with two Apache one conversation, which was trans- commissioner, who moved many regional boys and word that Cochise had been noti- lated through Jeffords, that started Apache bands away from their homelands fied of their mission. They then rode along with Cochise’s trying to cheer him onto newly created reservations. However, the rugged flank of the mountains to a spring out of his apprehensive loneliness. the wary Chiricahua Apaches refused to relo- walled by giant rocks where part of Cochise’s “What would you do,” asked the cate to a reservation in New Mexico. band was camped. Sladen and Howard spent chief, “if soldiers came to us now President Grant then dispatched Howard, an uneasy night, comforted by the appear- to fight us?” who had lost his arm in the Civil War battle ance of several children who spent the night “I would go out to meet them and of Fair Oaks and distinguished himself at Bull curled up under the blankets by them. tell them that we had made peace Run, Antietam and Gettysburg. The fervently Cochise rode into camp the next morn- with you and they would listen to religious general, who had the disconcerting ing. “He was a remarkably fine looking man, me and would not fight.” habit of falling to his knees in public prayer, fully six feet tall, as straight as an arrow, and “But perhaps they would not lis- threw himself into the task of fashioning peace well proportioned, the typical Indian face, ten to you. Would you fight them, or with the Apaches. Sladen accompanied him, rather long, high cheekbones, clear keen eye, would you join them and fight us?” having been Howard’s chief aide throughout and a Roman nose. His cheeks were slightly “But they would not fight,” Sladen the Civil War. Holding both a Medal of Honor painted with vermilion. A yellow silk hand- responded, “when I told them my and a medical degree, Sladen proved an insight- kerchief bound his hair, which was straight message.” ful observer. and black with just a touch of silver,” Sladen “But,” Cochise persisted, “if they Three men guided Howard and Sladen. wrote. “He carried himself at all times with would not hear you, would you Lanky, red-haired Thomas Jeffords, a fron- great dignity, and was always treated by those fight against them?” tiersman, trader, mail rider and scout, was about him with the utmost respect and, at “No. I would not fight against my Cochise’s friend and the only white man who times, fear.” own people, but I’m sure they would could ride safely into the Dragoon Mountains. Jeffords, Ponce and Chie praised General not dare to fight after I had given The second guide, named Chie, was the son Howard to the wary chief, opening the door them General Howard’s orders.” of Cochise’s brother. Sladen wrote that Chie to negotiations. Howard at first tried to con- Cochise laughed quietly to was a good-natured, good-looking “stalwart vince Cochise to move to New Mexico, but himself, and then said. “What young fellow” who had acquired from the sol- then conceded to an Arizona reservation that would you do if some Mexican diers an extensive vocabulary of profanity would include their home range. Cochise soldiers came to fight us?” that he used cheerfully “without the slightest explained that he could not make the deci- “I would go and meet them and idea of the meaning.” Their third guide was sion alone, but would have to call together tell them that I was an officer in Ponce, a relative by marriage to Cochise, who the 12 headmen of the scattered Chiricahua the United States Army, and that “had a lazy, devil-may-care, good-natured bands. Howard agreed to go to Fort Bowie the Indians and our people were look, and a longer acquaintance proved that to suspend the military campaign so that the making peace, and that they must his looks did not belie his character.” Their Apaches could safely gather to discuss the go back to Mexico.” assorted adventures on the arduous journey treaty. Howard departed with Chie as his “But if they would not listen to

22 NOVEMBER 2003 Galiuro Mountains’ Trees Flaunt Their Grandeur

A PORTFOLIO BY TOM DANIELSEN

THE COLOR OF [preceding panel, pages 24 and 25] Bigtooth A PORTFOLIO BY TOM DANIELSEN maple trees in Ash Creek Canyon lay down a red carpet, giving autumn a ASH CREEK FORMS A CANYON on the the ground beneath some of the maples. royal welcome to the eastern face of the Galiuro Mountains Muted colors comprised a few, while others Galiuro Mountains in southeastern Arizona. northwest of Willcox, spawning significant formed a brilliant red forest floor that cast a [above] Dry most of the stands of maple trees in a mostly sere land. tint on everything nearby. year, Ash Creek’s rocky As one traverses to the upper reaches of The last of the accessible maple trees to bottom provides moisture the streambed, a spectacular tree-filled photograph grow here in the canyon, and for a stand of bigtooth maple trees bright with sight awaits at Upper Ash Spring. some of the tallest aspens I’ve ever seen fall color. Black-bear droppings laden with par- emerge from the maple grove. The contrast [right] Bedecked with tially digested manzanita berries abun- is striking between the canopies of the tow- bigtooth maple leaves, a dantly dotted the trail I followed when ering golden aspens with the carmine red Parry’s agave holds center stage before a hunt­ing autumn-tinged trees to photograph. of the maples below. The memories of that multicolored curtain Colorful maple leaves wedged incongru- scene will stay with me for a long time. of foliage. ously among the fleshy leaves of the Parry’s agaves led the way. Each twist in the canyon revealed a spectrum of trees wearing hues of yellow to crimson. I found a variety of leaf patterns covering

26 NOVEMBER 2003 autumnarizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 27

A PORTFOLIO BY TOM DANIELSEN

[previous panel, pages 28 and 29] A bigtooth maple tree stretches a long limb over Ash Creek’s leaf- covered streambed. [right] This tree will soon drop its brilliant scarlet cloak and stand bare in Ash Creek through the winter.

30 NOVEMBER 2003 A PORTFOLIO BY TOM DANIELSEN

[left] A mottled assortment of leaves and rocks blanket Ash Creek, while streamside trees display a range of yellows and reds from saffron to burgundy. [above] Rocky outcroppings above a crescent of aspen and bigtooth maple trees bespeak the Galiuro Mountains’ volcanic origin.

32 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com autumnARIZONA HIGHWAYS 33 A s t h e c h i l l o f a N o v e m b e r s u n s e t s e t t l e s o n t h r t , e S o n o r a n D e s e

the sentinels of the night emerge from daytime hideaways, and with silent flight swoop to saguaros and limbs of paloverde trees. Owls come in a variety of sizes, some but a single handful of fluffy feathers, others with wings spanning 4 feet. Their sound, not their form, reveals their presence. More than any other birds, owls’ voices demand immediate and total attention. Noises in the dark have that effect. Without visual clues, sound ­matters, which might explain why so much mythology swirls around these creatures and why owls, with a language all their own, remain distinct from all other birds. Like most birds, each owl species has many calls used in different­ circumstances. Those calls most familiar to humans are ones that signal territory or ­aggressive intent to chase away an adversary. The call of each owl species has a singular tone, cadence

In distinctive ­languages,­ they teach about natural­ diversity

T e xt by Ri ch Gli nski Pho t o gra phs by To m Vezo

34 NOVEMBER 2003 and intensity, and, as in all birds, the owl has its own unique ­vocabulary. When blended with other owls’ calls, it com- prises a language­ that permeates the desert night. In spring- time the calls mix with the clamor of crickets and insects, but in winter the owls’ songs are chilling and alone. Through December and January, the great horned owl, Arizona’s largest species, starts broadcasting its familiar ho- ho hooo hoo call into the southern Arizona darkness. With these mournful notes, the bird lays claim to a prospective nesting territory. In the months to follow, other owl species will join in the chorus of declarations. The Western screech owl has the most distinctive utter- ance, sounding much like a bouncing ball. A golf ball that’s dropped into a wooden barrel from a height of 2 feet makes a similar sound. The initial “hit of the ball” sounds the loud- est, and repetitive “bounces” are more frequent and subdued, trailing off into silence. Hardly the “screech” that this owl’s name suggests. Screeching, however, does identify the barn owl. A throaty, raspy, scratchy shriek emitted over urban or agricultural areas in the Sonoran Desert probably comes from a barn owl. In similar places, especially around agricultural areas, a sound akin to a rattlesnake’s rattle may indicate a burrowing owl. This is not a territorial signal, but rather a very effective defense used by young owls to ward off anything that sticks its nose down their burrow. The ferruginous pygmy-owl gives a single-note [previous panel, pages 34 and 35] One call that is repeated monotonously for several min- of seven species of owls that have nesting territories in the Sonoran utes. The song of the male elf owl consists of a Desert, the Western screech owl can series of puppylike yips. Finally, the long-eared often be approached as close as 15 feet owl offers the most eerie resonance, a low-pitched by careful observers. hooo series that frequently leaves humans who [above] Feathered tufts that sprout near the center of the head are the hear the sound asking the same “question.” most conspicuous features of the long- Thirteen species of owls find homes in Arizona’s eared owl, although the tufts are not varied habitats, and though some may seasonally actually ears. occur in the Sonoran Desert, only seven species [left] The elf owl, which stands only 5.5 inches tall, nests in the cavities of establish­ nesting territories there. The great horned trees along creeks or in the holes owl and long-eared owl have the most widespread excavated in saguaros by Gila distributions, occurring from the deserts up to the woodpeckers. coniferous forests. The barn owl, Western screech [below] The ghostly white face and salt-and-pepper mottled plumage of the owl and elf owl live in desert areas all year, but barn owl make it easy to identify in also range into woodland and forest habitats of the flight at night. state, and the burrowing owl lives in burrows in [opposite page] The great horned owl does not build its own nest; it uses a agricultural areas and grasslands. Within Arizona, stick nest vacated by hawks or ravens. the endangered ferruginous pygmy-owl occurs only in the Sonoran Desert, where it remains year-round. In general, owls are not shy around humans, and they often take up residency in areas of human habitation if food is available. In southern Ari- zona cities, the barn owl sometimes nests in palm trees, preying on small mammals that occupy sub- urban open space and on nestling pigeons that also commonly inhabit palm trees. An individual long-eared owl takes up recurring residency in an ornamental pine tree at Tucson’s Tohono Chul Park from about October through February, the most regular winter occurrence of that species in the Tucson vicinity. The burrowing owl also has close association with human endeavors, making it readily visible. This long-legged hunter frequently resides around

36 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com the fringe of agricultural areas and other open country, where insects, small rodents and lizards are plentiful. One burrowing owl near Yuma had the habit of perching near a con- venience store parking lot at night and grab- [opposite page] Young barn bing insects that fell to the ground beneath a owls are able to fly at about streetlight. 60 days of age. [left] The endangered The diets of different owl species have much ferruginous pygmy-owl flies in common. Owls dine on insects, rodents, short distances from one mammals and sometimes even other birds, tree or bush to another all of which are abundant in the Sonoran and prefers the hours of dusk and dawn, unlike Desert. Owl species avoid competition with most other owls. each other by establishing territory within a [below] Sidewalk drains, habitat and hunting different-sized prey. culverts and dens left by The tiny elf owl, the smallest owl of North other animals make fine places for the burrowing owl America at 5.5 inches in length, leaves the to build a nest. Sonoran Desert during winter when much of [bottom] Flying low over the its food source, anthropods like scorpions and ground or down from its centipedes, lies dormant and protected in the perch, the elf owl usually grabs prey with its beak, but ground or under rocks. This insect specialist can also use its talons to retreats to warmer climes of Mexico, where its capture insects in flight. prey still meanders about after sunset. The great horned owl captures larger prey such as skunks, ringtailed cats and cottontail rabbits. The barn owl and long-eared owl are specialists on medium-sized rodents like kangaroo rats, and the Western screech owl and bur- rowing owl grab smaller mice and insects. The ferruginous pygmy-owl has ferocious predatory skills. Slightly larger than the elf owl, it will grab nearly all forms of prey, includ- ing insects, small mammals and birds that are even larger than itself, but half of its diet may consist of lizards. The pygmy-owl becomes active during the day, espe- cially adults with young to feed. Since they are excellent predators, other local birds neighboring their territory will ceaselessly chase pygmy-owls that leave their secretive perches to pursue quarry. Owls are especially equipped to hunt at night by their superb sense of hearing. A ring, or disk, of feathers on their faces directs sound waves toward the ears. This facial disk is especially evident in the barn owl; the developing feathers of young barn owls reveal this facial pattern very early. The ears, one angled upward and the other downward, enable the owl to locate prey even on moonless nights. Since owls frequently swallow prey whole and digest bone and fur incompletely, they cast up undigested material like the scales, feathers and skulls of their prey in a mass called a pellet. Beneath its favorite daytime roosting perch, an owl will regurgitate these pellets, each one being a detailed assessment of the previous evening’s meal. The pellets contain information documenting the incredible diversity of Sonoran Desert wildlife — a story told in yet another language, by the winged masters of the desert night.

Rich Glinski of Wickenburg retired from the Arizona Game and Fish Department and currently supervises Maricopa County’s Desert Outdoor Center at Lake Pleasant. He has edited and written several works on birds, including Birds of Prey in the American West, with photographs by Tom Vezo. Tom Vezo of Green Valley admits he’s not a night person, but says the change to the dark shift while capturing owls on film was challenging and enjoyable. arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 39 Driving down a dirt road rough enough to rip the bottom from a sedan, photographer Charles Lawsen steered the pickup truck over ruts and volcanic boulders as I held on tightly against the jostling motion. We were headed for Pueblo Las Mujeres, a 1,500-year-old native ruin on Perry Mesa, 55 miles north of Phoenix, and getting there wasn’t easy. DLawsen and I exchanged a meaningful look and burst into laughter. With mean roads like this, we figured ma and pa and the kids wouldn’t show up out here in the family car any time soon. For us to get this far involved Ancient Ruins in theStark

rocking and rolling across Outback a high desert savannah on a road cobbled by lava bombs hurled from Joes Hill, an Perry Mesa sites tell stories extinct volcano. of a tough existence Stunted junipers and wild grass bleached nearly plati-­ TEXT BY TOM KUHN PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHARLES LAWSEN num by sun and continuous drought lends a primitive beauty to this weary land. Most people would not want to live here, and we were left to wonder how ancient [ ] people managed with only sticks and stones. When we finally stopped, like a sailor testing his sea legs, I felt grateful for firm footing again as I faced a defensive perimeter of dry-laid boulders. Beyond the redoubt, arranged along the crest of precipitous Squaw Creek canyon, we could see the rubble of 200 rooms occupied for perhaps 300 years, before the residents dis- appeared around a.d. 1400, leaving little record of them- selves except petroglyphs chiseled into a basalt ridge. During the following weeks, Lawsen and I visited five of the mesa’s seven major archaeological sites — one of the largest concentrations of ancient sites in Ari- zona. Visitors can drive to four of them — Las Mujeres, Brooklyn and Rosalie Mine groups, all in the Tonto National Forest, and to Pueblo La Plata Ruin in the 71,000-acre Agua Fria National Monument. But to see the remaining three — Pueblo Pato, the Baby Canyon and Lousy Canyon groups — expect to

[right] Ancient Indian ruins offer clues about communities that once thrived on the inhospitable high-desert plateaus of Perry Mesa and Black Mesa in the Tonto National Forest and the Agua Fria National Monument in central Arizona. This view takes in Perry Tank Canyon near Pueblo Pato ruin.

40 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 41 separate the rubble mound from its cam- probably more, smaller sites to be discovered.” ouflage of desert shrubs and grass. And only In early May, with Stone once again our when I stood next to the ruin did outlines of guide, Lawsen, Susan Bernhardt of Seattle and rooms take form. I hiked to the Baby Canyon ruin, flushing Pueblo Pato is no place to wander about pronghorn antelope whose rumps flared in recklessly at night. The Indians built Pueblo fright. After a mile of climbing into and out Pato as a 150-room fortress against the brink of a canyon, we spotted the ruin on a bluff of a sheer cliff of Perry Tank Canyon — the overlooking Baby Canyon, where a large boul- largest site within the national monument. der backed up a deep pool on Bishop Creek, Careful not to misstep, I picked my way on its way to the Agua Fria River. From the across a narrow path to a wide ledge over pool, I followed the only logical path up the canyon, where defenders could mass for and, sure enough, broken shards from defense, and ponder whether combat went ancient water jugs blazed the way to the top. unrecorded here centuries ago. “This is another defensive position,” Stone Artists of the day climbed over the cliff explained. Cliffs, steep approaches and a crest to chisel elaborate stick men and clan fortified redoubt constructed of very large symbols into the canyon wall. At a point boulders protected the ruin on all sides. southeast of the ruin, we scrambled over The petroglyph field nearly encircled the ruin. I spotted dandy petroglyphs of three big- ­horn sheep and a magnificent stag. We spec- walk long distances across some grassy flats [above] In a south-facing ulated about the purpose of the drawings. spiked with ankle-nipping prickly pear and aerial view, the Aqua “They could have been ceremonial or catclaw acacia. Knowing just where to look Fria River gorge cuts magi­cal; some may be clan signs,” Stone between Perry Mesa on for the sites is the real trick because they don’t the left and Black Mesa explained. “Some could appear on any area maps. But that hasn’t pre- on the right. be just pure art. Some vented grave robbers and pot hunters from [right] The stone walls could tell stories. Others of a building constructed finding them. Scars from illegal digs pock believe they are astro­nom- [left] Among the rich Gerald Robertson Jr. of Sedona, a decorated about 1910 at the each of the sites. ­­ical measuring devices archaeological resources on war veteran and former president of the Brooklyn Mine on the Perry Mesa are the Archaeologists hope thieves missed a few east end of Perry Mesa for keeping track of the petroglyphs at Brooklyn Verde Valley chapter of the Arizona Archae- things, enough perhaps to reveal more about add to the area’s history. seasons.” ruins. ological Society. the people they call the Perry Mesa Tradi- Which leads to another [above] When under siege, “They seemed very much in some kind tional, who were neither the valley-dwelling there were so many Indian mystery. dwellers of nearby Pueblo of agricultural mode,” but probably raided La Plata may have sought Hohokam nor Hopis, but of a culture some- ruins out there.” Another stop, Pueblo refuge behind fortified other Indians, Wood said of the Perry Mesa where in between. They were farmers with Bloody Basin Road, For- La Plata, is easiest to stone walls built around people. “If you go raiding, you might expect an organized society. There’s evidence that est Service Road 269, from reach — and the one a.d. 1400, now worn down to be chased back or meet with retaliation. they maintained an outpost atop the locally Interstate 17 north of Black most likely to be devel- to foundation rock. On the mesa was a good place to protect named Horseshoe Mountain that could Can­yon City, provides the oped as a representative yourself,” especially with signals that would warn the pueblos of approaching danger. most direct route to the four accessible the side for a look. The gallery proved magni-­ site for tourists. Per­haps along its flanks extend alert them when an enemy approached. The Perry Mesa people may not have ruins. Not surprisingly, they have suffered ficent. Depictions of huge stags and big­horn because it’s acces­sible, 15 feet high. “Las Mujeres, at Squaw Creek, as far as been the best neighbors. They’re suspected from litter and severe vandalism, including sheep, centipedes, tortoises and people grace La Plata has been sys­ Archaeologist Scott we can tell, is the linchpin in the whole of being raiders who preyed on the ancient fire rings constructed of rocks thoughtlessly the ledges. “The longer you stay,” remarked tematically­ pilfered. Potsherds­ in the dump Wood of Phoenix, who works for the Tonto thing [the complex],” he said. “It sits in the trade route between the Hohokam villages removed from the tumbledown ruin. But Gibson, “the more petroglyphs you see.” beyond the ruin include bits of black-on- National Forest, studied the ruins left by the most strategic position, and it’s the only one in what is now metropolitan Phoenix and we were able to find well-preserved petro- When Jim F. Winsche of Peoria heard yellow Jeddito Hopi pottery acquired through Perry Mesa people for 25 years. “They used that’s got a big defensive wall around it. Just the Hopi pueblos of northern Arizona. Why glyphs of art and tribal symbols pecked into about the Pueblo Pato tour, he quickly signed trade or banditry. [the mesa] as a base for a whole complex about everything points to that place being else would they require such elaborate lava rimrocks. up. “I thought it would be a good opportu- What’s missing are petroglyphs, and that lifestyle,”­ he said. the center.” defenses, scientists theorize, if not to defend Having explored some easy ruins, we now nity to see the place before they have black- puzzles scientists. “Most of the biggest ruins In a 1999 article published in the scien- Eventually, more people will want to see against retaliation? faced a dilemma. We didn’t know where to top walks around it,” he said with a laugh. have petroglyphs associated with them,” tific Plateau Journal, Wood collaborated with the monument’s ruins, and roads may be The ruins are now considered national find the ruins in the national monument, That’s not likely to happen soon, but the Stone said, “but if they’re here we haven’t two other researchers on the theory that improved to accommodate them. BLM treasures, but getting to them either by foot so we appealed to Connie L. Stone, a Bureau BLM does plan improvements. For starters, found them.” Perry Mesa communities kept in touch by spokesperson Kathryn Pedrick said that or by truck involves rough traveling. The of Land Management archaeologist, for help Bloody Basin Road may be graded, the pub- La Plata tops a mound within a quick run using some sort of signals. The other when money permits, the agency will make mesa has almost no water, but travel becomes in exchange for not revealing their exact lic directed to an easy site, signs posted and from a defensive position built across a nar- researchers were David R. Wilcox, senior things easier for visitors, but the monument even more treacherous when rain transforms locations. more rangers put on patrol. row point at the mouth of Silver Canyon. A research archaeologist at the Museum of is a long way from being ready for heavy the roads into tire-swallowing gumbo. In late March, on another trip to the area, The BLM acquired the property in 1990 colossal piece of engineering, rockworks Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, and the late visitation. It wasn’t until President­ Bill Clinton cre- we set off across the savannah on foot for through a land exchange with the state of Meantime, Wood advised that, for now, ated the Agua Fria National Monument, in the Pueblo Pato ruin with a dozen volun- Arizona. “The hope is that the monument Location: The ruins in the Tonto National Forest that can be reached by forest roads are driving on Perry Mesa “is not for the faint- January 2000, that the ruins at Perry Mesa teer site stewards and with Stone and BLM will have its own staff to manage visitors and approximately 65 miles north of Phoenix and east of Interstate 17. hearted or low-clearanced.” Getting There: On Interstate 17, at Exit 259, turn east onto Bloody Basin Road, Forest received publicity. A slight increase in visi- archaeologist Bill Gibson as guides. protect the natural resources,” Stone said.“ Service Road 269. After fording the Agua Fria River, turn south onto Forest Service Road 14 tation occurred but soon petered out after Pueblo Pato was named for a petroglyph Discovering the full extent of ancient for approximately 2 miles, then turn west on Forest Service Road 610. After a few miles, Tom Kuhn of Phoenix enjoys working closely with people discovered how bad the roads were. resembling a duck at the site, where only a occupation on Perry Mesa will be one of the watch for the ruin south of the road. There are no signs past FR 14, and the ruin is not marked. archaeologists while researching articles about Arizona’s Vasil Evenoff of Phoenix, who hikes Ari- few walls stand. Time and vandalism have first goals, she said. “Staff will survey the Travel Advisory: These rough roads require a high-clearance vehicle. Carry plenty of water and a backcountry, like the ruins on Perry Mesa. spare tire. Chuck Lawsen of Glendale tried to imagine how zona, expressed a common sentiment: “I’d pulled down the others. mesa to find out what’s up here and how best Additional Information: Tonto National Forest, Cave Creek Ranger District, (480) 595-3300; ancient people managed to survive in such a desolate been to the area before, but I didn’t know Not until I was within 70 yards could I to manage and protect the sites. There are Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix Field Office, (623) 580-5500, azwww.az.blm.gov/pmesa. environment almost a thousand years ago.

42 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 43 “Second Opinion: That’s the medical way of saying, ‘Hey don’t blame me.’ ”*

by JIM WILLOUGHBY EARLY DAY ARIZONA young man at a party was reciting a poem. He had A ground out 47 stanzas, and the end wasn’t in sight. “What’s going on?” whispered the late guest. “Rhymer is letting out his latest poem,” said the early guest. “What’s the subject? What’s the motive?” “I’ve forgotten the subject,” said the old-timer. “But I suspect the motive is revenge.” Jerome Mining News, March 23, 1912

battling to keep ourselves in states of asked my uncle, “Does that dog bite?” arrested decay. Max replied, “Only hamburgers, and Guy Belleranti, Oro Valley they have to be cooked just right.” Angela Baurley, Tucson t the ghost town T-shirt shop, all A they had was mediums. NOW YOU SEE IT . . . s I drove out of a small town in hat ghost town used to have a A Arizona, I noticed six gas stations. T slaughterhouse. Now it’s haunted A sign in front of the first spelled out by ghosts saying, “Moooooo.” this warning: “Last chance to buy gas. The next five stations are mirages.” e’s not too bright. He tried to Herm Albright, Indianapolis, IN Hpanhandle in a ghost town. All by Gregg Siegel, Gaithersburg, MD EGGS IN WAITING y wife and I were preparing a VOTING IRREGULARITIES Mbreakfast of bacon and eggs for uring a general election some years four of our grandchildren who had spent “Going down should be a lot easier.” Dback, the signs set up at the Sedona the night with us. I was taking orders, South Precinct had their messages both and my wife was preparing each child’s in English and Spanish. This included a eggs-to-order­ breakfast. Some had GHOST TOWNS sign that said, “Vote Here/Vote Aqui.” already received their eggs and were We asked for ghost town jokes. Here As I was signing in to cast my ballot, busily eating. Four-year-old Becky was Unusual are some reader responses: an elderly man came in somewhat sitting at the table patiently waiting for Perspective upset. He exclaimed, “I thought they hers when I asked, “Becky, how do you hy are they called ghost towns? didn’t allow campaigning at a polling like your eggs?” By Linda Perret Why struggle through crowded malls and department stores looking 56 WSome say it’s because they’re place. That ‘Aqui’ guy has campaign She replied, “I don’t know. I haven’t % ondon deserted. Others say it’s because their signs right at the front door.” gotten any yet.” for the perfect holiday gift? Relax and enjoy the holidays this year. Bridge was former residents died and their ghosts R. John Conway Jr., Sedona Richard A. Oppman, Porter, IN off Newsstand moved from linger there. Still others say since we Give your family and friends subscriptions to Arizona Highways and L TO SUBMIT HUMOR Price! England to Lake already have Tombstone and Skull BITING DOG Send your jokes and humorous Arizona anecdotes to Humor, share the extraordinary beauty of Arizona. Plus, each recipient will be Havasu City. A Valley, we may as well have some other ecently, I flew to Indiana for Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009 developer bought morbid places to spice things up. my grandmother’s estate auction. or e-mail us at [email protected]. We’ll pay $50 sent a beautiful card announcing your thoughtful gift. R for each item used. Please include your name, address and the bridge, took it Mary Helen Labadie, Phoenix My Uncle Max and Aunt Kate were at telephone number with each submission. apart, shipped its the auction with their dog, Shadow, a Your first one-year gift subscription is $24 and each additional gift is just $21.50 10,200 granite visited a ghost town recently, and big black lab mix with a huge head, (That’s 56% off the newsstand cover price — a fabulous deal!) blocks to Arizona Ithe people were so shallow you sad eyes and arthritic legs. He followed Reader’s Corner and then put it could see right through them. Max around slowly and plopped down The holidays are just around the corner, so don’t wait — order your gifts today! The elf owl nests in cavities of back together John Kriwiel, Oak Lawn, IL to rest whenever Max stopped. saguaros. Shoot, if the housing again. That makes Noticing this large and imposing market gets any tighter, I may start 4 EASY WAYS TO ORDER London Bridge very year ghost towns and I companion, a nervous woman, nesting in saguaros, too. the world’s largest E become more alike. We’re always who was standing near the dog, 1 Complete and mail the attached order card Tinkertoy. Send us your owl jokes, and we’ll Call toll-free 1-800-543-5432 (in the Phoenix area or outside the U.S., call 602-712-2000) * From the Witworks® humor book HMOs, Home Remedies & Other Medical Jokes pay $50 for each one we publish. 2 by Linda Perret. To order, call toll-free (800) 543-5432, or visit arizonahighways.com. 3 Fax your order to 602-254-4505 Log on to arizonahighways.com 44 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com4 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 45 demonstrates “conservation of angular momentum.” Ever notice how ice-skaters spin in ever-faster circles when they tuck their arms by LEO W. BANKS / photographs by EDWARD MCCAIN against their bodies? Try it: Grip the platform’s destination handlebars, lean all the way back and push yourself into a gentle spin. Now pull yourself tight to the center and notice how the platform begins spinning wildly. For kids the effect is greatly diminished. The lesson, if you’re not too PEOPLE DON’T EQUATE SCIENCE WITH FUN. formation of planetary craters get powerful dizzy: More size means more body mass, and FLANDRAU Well, forget that. The Flandrau Science Center visual re-creation through simple means — therefore more angular momentum. SCIENCE CENTER on the University of Arizona in Tucson campus such as dropping a steel ball into a drum filled From the Galaxy Room, descend the stairs to is a blast. with sand. The impact makes a hole and the the basement, which houses the University of Makes It Fun Where else can you inspect the moon’s sand scatters, showing the effects of mass and Arizona Mineral Museum. Here Flandrau craters through a powerful telescope; browse a velocity when a meteorite slams into a planet. displays some 3,000 gems and minerals from to Learn About collection of rare gems and minerals, including See that beach ball floating between floor around the world, roughly 10 percent of a the EARTH, the some that could be extraterrestrial; twirl and ceiling, in seeming defiance of gravity? On collection that experts say ranks among the top yourself silly on a momentum machine; or closer inspection, you’ll discover a column of four in the country. MOON and the attend a planetarium show that explains, say, air holding the ball in place, an example of the If the idea of strange rocks doesn’t grab you, the cataclysmic explosion of stars? scientific principle known as the Bernoulli Effect: think of it as a gallery of Mother Nature’s STARS “People seem to like hearing about things Air moving around an object causes drag on its artwork, a representation of her ideas about that explode,” says Michael Magee, Flandrau’s trailing side, suspending the object in midair. magic and beauty. The colors often seem planetarium director. One wag dubbed these exhibits “fun physics otherworldly, such as copper samples in blue- [below] In this Warning: Some learning might take place. furniture.” They appeal primarily to kids, who green, sunset orange and coal black. Another composited Bring a notebook, wear thick glasses and if also enjoy digging through the Old West mine specimen consists of two gleaming “feathers” of photograph created anyone mentions the Crab Nebula, grin like replica, hunting for copper minerals and fool’s silver growing out of a white quartz rock. And from two separate images, visitors to the you understand. gold. Everybody gets to take one sample home. there’s wulfenitelike caramel candy and thin Flandrau Science Start on the main floor’s Galaxy Room, where Parents, especially, love taking wild rides filaments of pyrite — fool’s gold— layering Center in Tucson hands-on exhibits help explain why things on “Dorothy’s Dilemma,” a rotating platform perfectly over a rock like Elvis’ hairdo. enjoy a projected night-sky show in the happen the way they do. Concepts such as the named for Olympic skater Dorothy Hamill that Miners took many of these samples from 135-seat planetarium. Arizona’s mines in the late 1800s, often against company rules. “They’d hide them in lunch boxes and smuggle them out,” says curatorial specialist Shirley Wetmore. “Some went into [above] Arizona’s only free public telescope family collections and were donated to the located on the roof university.” of the center offers The museum also displays meteorites and visitors a rare chance even tektites — black and green molten glass to view planetary objects. that some believe came to Earth by way of [left] The Galaxy volcanic eruptions on other planets. Wetmore Room’s vortex exhibit tends to disagree, but she’s accustomed to fascinates children wrestling with issues of origin. At least once a with its “tornado” in a jar of water. week someone strolls into Flandrau with a rock and a question: Is this a meteorite? If it is, and if it came from Mars, it could be worth millions on the collector market. Even though Wetmore hasn’t seen a real meteorite in a year, weekend rockhounders keep knocking on her door. One wheeled in a big rock on a dolly. Wetmore checked it out. Drumroll. Her decision? Sir, what you have here is a boulder. The Science Center takes you from beauty underground to beauty in the sky, by way of the only free public telescope in Arizona. On clear nights this November and December — as long as there’s no full moon, which creates visibility problems — viewers can peek at the moon’s craters and inspect the bright central core of the Andromeda Galaxy, 2.6 million light-years away. Even with a full moon, viewers can see the reddish-orange dot

arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 47 along the

in diameter — houses the 135-seat planetarium theater, home to evening and weekend shows for kids and adults on a variety of topics. They by TERRY GREENE STERLING range from a discussion of the catastrophic way explosions of stars to basic introductions to the night sky, and holiday shows examining things like the Star of Bethlehem — which might not have been a star at all, some say. It could’ve been a bright comet, as no one today can be certain what early chroniclers meant by stars. ONE MORNING LAST FALL, AFTER THE bills. And they don’t stop at the caressing Using computer projections, the show LOVEBIRDS ­monsoon storms had washed the Salt River stage, if you catch my drift. Judging from what discusses what comets were visible then, what Have Joined Valley clean and the desert was warm and happened in Phoenix, they breed stars became novas or supernovas — huge sweet, I sat in my garden procrastinating. I enthusiastically. explosions that occur when a star can no longer the Bird List knew I should get out of the lawn chair, enter No one knows when, exactly, domesticated sustain its energy, blowing itself apart— and it the house and write. But I couldn’t budge. The lovebirds escaped and turned wild and began explains the impact astrologers had on how in PHOENIX air was perfumed with creosote. Mockingbirds breeding in the Phoenix area. We do know that writers in Biblical times interpreted celestial sang in mesquite trees. A whiptail lizard by the mid-1990s, the Game and Fish events. sunned itself near a pot of purple petunias. Department began recording increased Other holiday shows broaden the approach, Quail scavenged for leftovers beneath the bird sightings of feral lovebirds in Phoenix, [above] Young and telling how Hanukkah, the ancient Roman feeder hanging from my grapefruit tree. Scottsdale, Tempe, Apache Junction and old alike are of Mars and possibly its Saturnalia and the traditions of the Vikings, Suddenly, a squawking flash of green Carefree. The birds have been sighted in flocks encouraged to bedrock surface. among others, contributed to the mystique of streaked across the sky. The whiptail perked of six and 12. We don’t know precisely how experience “Dorothy’s Dilemma,” which Observatory Manager the season. up, the mockingbirds many feral lovebirds have made this valley demonstrates Demos Galanos excites But whatever the topic, fun happens. When were silent and the their home. But it’s safe to say a lot. “conservation of and challenges guests by kids attend daytime shows, the presenter quail stood still. The reason: Lovebirds can take the heat. angular momentum,” the motion of a explaining that the 16- introduces them to the massive projector Slackjawed, I Lovebirds are native to dry, hot climes of spinning Olympic inch-diameter mirror sticking out of a circular pit in the center of the watched two small southwestern Africa, so Phoenix summers are a ice-skater. telescope actually takes theater. He has them shout in unison, “Hello, parrots dart around the snap. Figuring out where to nest might have [left] This beach ball them back in time. Hector Vector Star Projector!” After that, the sky and land on my been more challenging. illustrates the Bernoulli Effect by “Light from the moon lights dim and the projector throws its beams bird feeder. Lovebirds are smart creatures, and they remaining suspended takes 1.3 seconds to onto the dome ceiling, creating a virtual copy Wild parrots in discovered that the spaces beneath roof tiles in a column of air. reach the Earth,” says of the night sky. At least one child, thinking he Phoenix? make agreeable nesting areas. Some lovebirds Galanos. “So when you really was looking at the sky, later asks, “Hey, Impossible. But I set up housekeeping in the cavities of saguaro look at the moon, you’re how’d you open that dome?” wasn’t hallucinating. cacti, right alongside Gila woodpeckers. seeing that object as it was, through a modest When he’s the presenter, Magee explains that The noisy little Fortunately, lovebirds and woodpeckers seem time distortion.” the dome, in fact, remains closed throughout gourmands were about to have different ideas of what makes a good Visitors can find Flandrau at the east end of the show, and adds, “Now don’t forget, it’s 5 inches long, with saguaro habitat. Lovebirds like small dwellings. the University of Arizona Mall by watching for daytime.” curved bills, pinkish- Woodpeckers prefer larger, more expansive its trademark white domes. But before stepping Mouths pop open. Faces blush. Especially orange faces, dark homes. All of this tells the Game and Fish [above] Natives inside and browsing the gift shop, check out among adults, who sometimes ask the same of Namibia and green wings with black tips, breasts the color of Department scientists that lovebirds are not the heliochronometer on the sidewalk outside. thing. In that case, in his most diplomatic tone, Angola, Africa, a Mexican lime and patches of turquoise on displacing saguaro-dwelling woodpeckers. Helio . . . what? Here’s a clue: You might see Magee says, “Remember, the stars are still there, increasing numbers their rumps that reminded me of Navajo For a while, state scientists worried that people standing around it checking their but the sun makes the sky too bright to see of peachfaced­ Indian jewelry. lovebirds would venture out into the wild lovebirds are calling watches. It’s a sundial, probably the most them.” Phoenix “home.” The next day, my visitors brought pals. Six Sonoran Desert and raise ecological havoc with accurate one the average layman will ever see. At that their eyes light up. Which is, if you parrots descended on the feeder. They did native species. But so far, the birds have Flandrau’s larger dome — measuring 50 feet think about it, what Flandrau does best. parrot things, like hanging upside down and preferred to remain city dwellers. Phoenix waddling. And squawking and screeching and offers them everything they need — nesting chattering. areas, good climate, plenty of seeds and fruits Location: 1601 E. University Blvd., Tucson. THINGS TO DO NEAR FLANDRAU SCIENCE CENTER I am no ornithologist, but I knew parrots to eat, as well as backyard feeders replenished Hours: Monday through weren’t native to Arizona. I wondered how the daily by procrastinating writers. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 5 Area codes are 520. art form. It hosts shows and Tucson, the society preserves and birds could survive in the Phoenix heat. And if Since the first day I noticed them in early p.m.; Thursday through exhibits honoring great shares state history from ancient Arizona State Museum The museum by chance such creatures could survive, would fall, the lovebirds have sated themselves at my Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ­photographers like Ansel Adams, Indian villages to early statehood; bills itself as “the oldest and they displace any native species? feeder every day. After waddling around the and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; and exploring themes such as 628-5774. largest anthropology museum in Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Public telescope Latino life in the United States; One phone call to the Arizona Game and potted petunias for a bit of post-repast the Southwest.” Founded in 1893, hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 7 621-7968. Gentle Ben’s Brewing Co. A fixture Fish Department, which keeps track of “feral exercise, they fly off somewhere. I think they exhibits explore the cultures of p.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting. for decades just west of the ­prehistoric, historic and University of Arizona Museum of exotics” in the state, answered everything. live nearby. I’ve grown accustomed to their Fees: Exhibit-only admission: $3, University of Arizona’s main gate, ­contemporary Indian tribes of rt adults; $2, children. Planetarium show A Housing a collection of more this restaurant serves hamburgers, Here’s what I learned: My visitors were chatter in the mesquite trees and to the sight of Arizona; 621-6302. and exhibit: $5.50, adults; $4, children than 4,500 paintings, sculptures, salads, pasta and a French dip peachfaced lovebirds, hardy small parrots that them darting across the blue sky like a green prints and drawings, the museum ages 3 to 13; $4.50, seniors and military; University of Arizona Center for sandwich made from roasted presents art from around the make good pets and have long been sold in ribbon in the wind. children under 3 not admitted to the Creative Photography The center is ­sirloin. Start with the spinach world; 621-7567. Phoenix pet stores for living-room bird cages. Like so many of us who came to this desert planetarium. a nationally recognized archive, ­artichoke dip appetizer, the soup Additional Information: research center and museum Arizona Historical Society du jour and a tasty ­raspberry ale; Lovebirds are appropriately named because from somewhere else, they have become part of (520) 621-STAR or www.flandrau.org. dedicated to photography­ as an Organized by the pioneers of 624-4177. as couples they caress each other with their the landscape.

48 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 49 adventure backroadby LEO W. BANKS / photographs by RANDY PRENTICE

Meandering FOR SUCH A SMALL RANGE, THE PATAGONIA which leads to the old Harshaw Mountains hold many surprises. They’re rich townsite, named for David PATAGONIA-to- in mining history and ghost towns, and the Tecumseh Harshaw. He opened characters who put down roots there are as the Hermosa Mine in 1877, and SONOITA colorful as they come. With the Canelo Hills to the settlement that grew around it Drive Offers the east, the mountain range also shelters the eventually numbered 2,000 San Rafael Valley, a prairielike paradise of people. Diverse History, astonishing beauty. Known for its vistas, the The townsite’s most interesting valley has served as a filming location for a remnant is the old Mexican Movie Sites, number of Hollywood movies, including the cemetery at the right side of the Wine Country 1955 classic, Oklahoma. road, complete with stone crypts, And if that isn’t surprise enough, prepare for statues of the Virgin Mary and the unlikely sight of a Louisiana-style mansion simple rock mounds marked by in the heart of southeast Arizona’s ranch weathered wooden crosses. country. Some plots include printed Begin this 60-mile drive information sheets, laminated in the little town of and set into picture frames, Patagonia, 70 miles describing the lives of those southeast of Tucson if you buried there. take Interstate 19, the most Angel Soto met a violent death direct route. From the door on December 23, 1899, when he of the Stage Stop Inn, drive went to the nearby Morning Glory south past the post office Mine to sell a cow. Angry that his onto Harshaw Road, also animal was already being Forest Service Road 58. It butchered, an argument flared follows a lazy path into the and Soto was killed. The mountains, intersecting with unnamed killers fled to Mexico, Forest Service Road 49 but it is not known whether they about 5 miles along. were ever arrested. Turn right onto FR 49, Three months later, when Soto was found, his body was covered in snow, which preserved the [above] A colorful tribute adorns a crypt corpse and allowed the family to in the Harshaw give him a Christian burial. Cemetery south of The Soto plot, like the others in Patagonia in southern the Harshaw Cemetery, has Arizona. [right] Forest Service beautifully tended flowers, a sign Road 799 winds of the reverence local descendants through late-afternoon have for their pioneer history. shadows near Lookout Continuing south, 49 heads Knoll in the Canelo Hills east of Patagonia. toward the U.S.-Mexico border, [opposite page] Between passing oak trees still decorated the Patagonia with the reds and oranges of late Mountains foothills and fall, as well as the old townsites of the Canelo Hills lie the San Rafael Valley and Mowry, Washington Camp and the tiny community Duquesne. of Lochiel. The name Sylvester Mowry still echoes in these mountains. An 1852 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he ran the Patagonia Mine, employing 300 men, at least 50 of whom were on constant guard

50 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 51 private property, but visitors can see and photograph them from the road. The area also draws quartz crystal-hunting rockhounds from around the world. The rarest and most sought-after are Japanese Twin Crystals, so named because they consist of two crystals joined at a 90-degree angle and because abundant and spectacular specimens have come from several places in Japan. Aficionados assign all sorts of magical powers to Japanese Twins, from stabilizing emotions to dispelling anger. At Washington Camp, FR 49 links with Forest Service Road 61. The latter rolls south to the village of Lochiel, home to about 30 residents, a one-room schoolhouse no longer in use and a 25-foot-tall roadside cross. The monument stands in honor of

[above] The former Fray Marcos de Niza, an explorer who home of George entered the San Rafael Valley on April Westinghouse stands 12, 1539, making him the first vacant and decaying in European to travel west of the the ghost town of Duquesne. Rockies. [right] Moisture- Just beyond the cross, turn left loving cottonwood onto FR 58 and head into the heart trees line the banks of of the valley, once a crossing point the Santa Cruz River through the San Rafael for Apache raiders and gold rushers [above] Sunset Valley. headed west to California in 1849 from the U.S.-Mexico border, did not appear in passes Arizona’s wine country and picturesque bathes the San [below] The 30-room and later. the movie, but its exterior played a prominent horse ranches lining the highway. Rafael Valley in French-colonial house soft pastel light. and 20,000 Here, 22 miles from the starting role in the 1963 John Wayne western, End a day of beautiful surprises in southeast surrounding acres of point in Patagonia, the mountains and McClintock! Arizona with dinner at the Sonoita Steakout, San Rafael Ranch once trees give way to grassland topped by Wayne’s character, George Washington where you might find yourself sitting beside a headquartered the San the thoroughly incongruous sight of a McClintock, liked to toss his hat onto a real-life cowboy, hat on the table as he works Rafael Cattle Co. The house will eventually Southern plantation mansion. weather­vane on the roof of the house, then a on a 32-ounce porterhouse. be open to the public. Built in 1900 by Scotsman Colin Mexican boy would climb the trellis and Warning: Back road travel can be Cameron, the 10,000-square-foot, retrieve it for him. hazardous if you are not prepared for the 30-room home also served for almost Other movies filmed in the valley include unexpected. Whether traveling in the desert duty to protect against 100 years as headquarters of the San Rafael Tom Horn, with Steve McQueen, and Wild or in the high country, be aware of weather roving bands of Apaches. Cattle Co. Rovers, with William Holden and Ryan O’Neal. and road conditions, and make sure you and your vehicle are in top shape. Carry plenty In 1862, after U.S. troops Today, the three-story building and 3,500 The San Rafael mansion is not yet open to of water. Don’t travel alone, and let recaptured Arizona from acres around it are owned by Arizona State the public, but visitors with binoculars can get someone at home know where you’re going and when you the Confederates, Mowry Parks, which plans to open it as a park, with a good look at it from the bottom of the ranch plan to return. Odometer readings in the story may vary by vehicle. 83 was arrested as a Rebel rental rooms, when renovations are finished. driveway. 82 Additional Information: Coronado National Sonoita sympathizer and his However, a completion date has not been Views elsewhere across the valley are Forest, Nogales Ranger District, (520) 281-2296; property confiscated. The announced. exquisite. One of the best spots is at a T in the Patagonia Visitor Center, (520) 394-0060. resulting controversy made “This is one of the most beautiful spots in road, 2 miles past the San Rafael ranch. A his silver mine famous Arizona,” said Park Manager Lee Eseman, south-facing dirt pullout offers a panorama throughout the United who lives there working on numerous projects. that takes in the Patagonia Mountains, the 83 States. “When my husband and I drove into this valley Canelo Hills, Huachuca Mountains and down CORONADO NATIONAL FOREST Nothing of the old for the first time, it brought tears to our eyes.” into Mexico. START HERE Patagonia S F N CAN Mowry townsite exists Hollywood producer Arthur Hornblow had a At the same spot, FR 58 turns north and R I E 83 A LO To Tucson 5 T today, and the remaining structures of similar reaction when he was introduced to the shortly intersects Forest Service Road 799. 8 N H U IL Harshaw O L Washington Camp, 4 miles down the road, San Rafael Valley by a color photograph in Turn right to take that road through Canelo Road M S A 9 ss NI 9 a have become homes. Arizona Highways magazine. At the time, he was Pass, elevation 5,246 feet. It affords an awe- GO 7 P TA R o A F l P e But ghost-town browsers can take a short jog looking for a place to shoot his next picture. inspiring look back at the gentle suede-colored n S a a Harshaw C

n S 8 off the main road to Duquesne, and if the spirit After doing further research, Hornblow hills, the cottonwoods along the meandering an t F 5 a 82 R R 4 a R moves, write a check to buy the place. It’s for decided the valley would be a perfect location, Santa Cruz River, the grass waving in the C F 9 f ru Washington a 19 z e Camp l sale. Five structures, 40 acres, $132,000. and in July 1953, the producer and a large breeze and red-tailed hawks soaring across a R i V ve a Among the structures stands a three- crew arrived to shoot the exteriors for the sky of magical blue. r F ll R ey Duquesne 61 bedroom, two-fireplace home built in 1889 by film version of the smash Richard Rodgers The pavement starts again 4 miles beyond San Rafael George Westinghouse, of the famous electric and Oscar Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma. the pass at State Route 83. Follow it 16 NOGALES ARIZONA Ranch MEXICO Lochiel company family. It and the other buildings are The San Rafael mansion, a mile and a quarter miles into Sonoita. This last part of the drive KEVIN KIBSEY

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

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

Pipe Up THE JAVELINA IS NOT A PIG, ALTHOUGH THEY but we’re definitely with the groom.” TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC BLOCK TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORIC November 1; Tucson JAVELINAS’ are distant cousins. It’s a peccary. If you call a “I could have sworn you’d be with the bride.” Traditional Mexican The droning sound of bagpipes is associated the Warren-Bisbee javelina a pig, I’m not sure if you’re insulting “Sniff again, pal, and just put us on the nacimientos display Aromatic with kilted Highlanders of Scotland, but Railway. a colorful approach it or raising it to a status it doesn’t truly groom’s side, will you?” research suggests that this odd-looking Since those early to Christmas and Identification deserve. I remember a school chum of mine Awkward, isn’t it? But it would be worse at instrument can be traced back as far as days, Warren has the nativity. telling me that he stood up for me one day. sporting events. Take football games, for example. a.d. 100 in Rome. By the sixth century, been incorporated System Makes He told me that another classmate of mine Football fanatics show their allegiance by these unusual pipes were used by the into Bisbee, even though the district is 2 PERFECT said I wasn’t fit to eat with pigs. displaying school colors. People paint one side Roman Infantry. Speculation surrounds the miles east of historic downtown Bisbee. I said, “How did you defend me?” of their face green and the other side yellow (or bagpipe’s introduction to Scotland, but there Walk though some of the finest private­ SCENTS He said, “I told him you were.” whatever the particular school colors are). True is no disputing that this ancient instrument homes in Warren and enjoy some of the Compliment? I’m not sure. Nevertheless, supporters will strip to the waist and paint — consisting of a bag, a chanter and drones most stunning architecture in the Southwest whether it’s praise or put-­ their entire upper bodies with the team’s colors. — was developed fully by the Highland at the 21st Annual Historic Home Tour. down, the javelina is a Imagine if odors instead of pigments were clans as the national instrument. Information: (520) 432-5421 or toll-free, peccary rather than a utilized — attendance would plummet. Listen to the haunting harmonies of 866-2BISBEE. pig. What’s the The scent gland system works well for modern bagpipes at the Tucson Celtic difference, you ask. javelinas, though, because they have that laid- Festival and Scottish Highland Games Traditional Mexican Christmas Well, it’s considerable. back peccary personality. They’re friendly, DICK GEORGE DICK held at Rillito Park. Other activities include November 23, 2003-March 28, 2004; Tucson Peccaries are smaller sociable, noncompetitive. We humans are more Take a Weekend live Celtic entertainment, athletic Nativity scenes often represent the birth of than pigs. The adult thin-skinned and confrontational. For example, Photo Workshop ­demonstrations and military re-creations. Christ, but the traditional Mexican nativity javelina weighs 40 or 50 imagine what would happen if you met and Information: (520) 743-9291. expands the portrayal of Biblical scripture to pounds, while many species conversed with a stranger. Friends of Arizona include elements of Mexican culture. Called of pigs can reach 600 “You’re not from around here, are you?” Highways offers a variety of weekend photography Gourds Galore the nacimiento, the intricate arrangements of pounds. Javelinas, for the you’d say. workshops designed for November 8-9; Phoenix painted miniature figures combine the most part, eat only plant “No, I’m not,” he’d say. those who cannot take Take a fruit that isn’t known for its sweetness,­ ­symbolism of the Spanish Colonial Catholic food. Pigs are more You’d say, “Let me see, I’ll bet you’re from longer trips. The shorter workshops but for its utility as a container, and you’ll Church with snapshots of everyday life in omnivorous. There are (name any state or region you like here).” include “Photo Publishing Fundamentals” and “Making Money With Your Camera.” discover hard-shelled gourds. The gourd rural Mexico. A scene depicting a stable and anatomical differences, also. He’d say, “Yes, I am. Could you tell from the “Photography Made Simple” offers help family, Cucurbitaceae, also includes melons, the Holy Family may be displayed beside All peccaries have a small accent?” with basic camera operation, and the squash, pumpkins and cucumbers. Gourds another depicting a bullfight arena. scent gland on the rear You’d say, “No, you just smell like you’re “Arizona Highways School of Photography” W of all kinds are believed to have been one of The Tucson Museum of Art hosts the I portion of the back. from (name any state or region you like here).” L addresses the art and aesthetics of L

T E the first intentionally cultivated crops. Hard- seasonal El Nacimiento in historic Casa R Pigs don’t. Bam. Right away, you’re into a fight. photography in the magazine’s style. R Y Many workshops occur monthly, while shelled gourds are dried and transformed Cordova, showcasing 300 painted figurines This scent gland is intriguing There could be a benefit for humans, though. others are held only once a year. into bowls, dippers, drinking cups, cooking created and displayed by Maria Luisa Tena. because it largely controls the It might get rid of those pesky nametags at Workshops fill quickly, but alternate dates may be available. More information can be pots, floats for fishing­ nets, storage containers Information: (520) 624-2333. social life of javelinas, which travel parties. You know — you write your name in found on the Friends Web site. and musical instruments. around the desert in closely knit herds. marker, peel off the back of the tag and stick it For more information or a free The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix Other Events They’re very devoted to their own community, to your shirt. I hate those things. As far as I’m workshop brochure, contact Friends of celebrates this New World harvest at Gourds Arboretum Folk Festival; November 8; Superior; (520) and they show no tendency toward internal concerned, if a person throws a party, he or she Arizona Highways at (602) 712-2004, Galore. Festivities include demonstrations 689-2811. Live folk music and fall foliage at the Boyce competition. Different herds do not should only invite people who already know toll-free at (888) 790-7042 or visit Thompson Arboretum State Park. www.friendsofazhighways.com. by gourd artists, hands-on activities, cooking Sahuaro Ranch Days; November 8-9; Glendale; (623) intermingle. one another. When javelinas have parties they demonstrations, crafts and a farmers’ market. 930-4200. Antique tractor show and home tours. The distinctive odor given off by the scent don’t invite javelinas from other herds. OTHER PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS Information: (480) 941-1225. Bluegrass Festival and Fiddle Championship; gland is how the individual javelina recognizes Consequently, you’ll hardly ever see a peccary November 15 November 14-16; Wickenburg; (928) 684-5479. Live its own herd. in the wild wearing a nametag. “Field Techniques,” in Tucson entertainment, music competitions and arts and crafts. November 21-22 Home Sweet Home Red Rock Fantasy of Lights; November 21, 2003- In the book I learned all this on a tour I took through the I don’t like nametags because I can never get “The Phoenix Zoo” November 29-30; Bisbee/Warren January 4, 2004; Sedona; (928) 282-1777 or toll-free, Growing Older is desert surrounding Tucson. As the tour guide them on straight. They’re always crooked, and During the copper boom in old Bisbee, (800) 521-3131. Themed holiday light displays and So Much Fun spoke, one thought crossed my mind — I’m I’m compulsive about things being straight. If EVERYBODY’S Doing the population surged, and in 1907 seasonal music. glad that humans don’t follow the same I’m at your house, and there’s a picture tilting Christmas Parade; November 22; Winslow; (928) 289- It, author Gene the Calumet and Arizona Mining Co. 2434. Arizona’s largest annual Christmas parade. Perret says, “If it protocol. on your wall, I’ll straighten it. So, I hate having founded the company­ town of Warren. Old Pearce Holiday Festival; November 28-29; Pearce; weren’t for us Can you imagine going to a wedding and a crooked nametag. You can’t take them off and This master-planned community offered (520) 826-3588. Storytellers, live music and antiques. older people, Boy being greeted at the entrance by the realign them. They never stick very well again. Florence Junior Parada; November 29-30; Florence; Scouts would have a place for elite citizens to build mansions (520) 868-9433. The world’s oldest continuous junior to help each other tuxedoed usher? However, I suppose it’s preferred to the of grandeur away from the mining rodeo and parade. cross the street.” “Are you with the bride or the groom?” “scratch and sniff” form of identification. activities. Many mineworkers lived in To order this book ($6.95 plus shipping “We’re with the groom.” Mother Nature had it right all along. Let Note: Dates and activities could change. Before planning to and handling) or other Perret humor the district and commuted­ each day on attend events, phone for fees and to confirm dates and times. “Are you sure?” he says. “You smell like peccaries be peccaries and let pigs be pigs. We books call toll-free (800) 543-5432. In Phoenix call (602) 712-2000. Or use you’d be with the bride.” can all remain our lovable human selves. For an expanded list of major events in Arizona, visit our Web site at arizonahighways.com. arizonahighways.com. I say, “Maybe it’s this new aftershave lotion, That idea smells pretty good to me.

54 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com arizonahighways.com ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 55 of the month SPRINGERVILLE 60 260 EAGAR er 191 260 FR 560 Riv o rad by TOM DOLLAR / photographs by JAY W. SMITH Colo South Fork Little 261 Campground TRAILHEAD hike To Show Low INS TA UN O South Fork Little M Colorado River E T I H W TRAILHEAD Mexican INGREDIENTS IN A GREAT ­ APACHE-SITGREAVES Hay Lake NATIONAL FORESTS Choose Between fall hike recipe: yellow- KEVIN KIBSEY an EASY or gold-red aspens at their late autumn peak; a trail that presents an easy or ­300-year-old ponderosa pine trees. One DIFFICULT Trek hard option; four adults, slightly aged, of splintered giant lies shattered by a powerful reasonably matched outdoor abilities and blast of lightning. A few others show a “cat’s Along an inclinations. Assemble the ingredients at face” scar, a remnant of ancient forest fires, ALPINE STREAM dawn at the Mexican Hay Lake trailhead near near the base of their trunks. Eagar, combine them with an incomparably The sky is clear and bright, and the openness clear, crisp Arizona-fall morning and you’re of the plateau affords close-up and distant vistas on your way. of hillsides and peaks where myriad spears of The Mexican Hay flaming aspen trees thrust skyward amid the trailhead marks the darker evergreens. By midmorning the sun has downhill, or easy, melted the frost and warmed our bodies, so we option of the 7-mile peel off layers of outerwear. South Fork Trail 97, Leaving the plateau, the trail drops sharply which travels for toward the river. A sign warns of the short, much of its length steep patch with loose footing. Today, it’s along the South only a bit dicey, but in foul weather we might Fork of the Little have questioned the safety of traversing this Colorado River up section. A couple of us scoot down on the in the alpine zone seats of our pants. of Arizona’s White Soon we skip on stepping-stones across the Mountains. The lovely South Fork of the Little Colorado to hike more difficult 3 miles at streamside toward trail’s end at the reverse route starts South Fork Campground. The South Fork, one at the primary of the high country’s truly great trout streams, is trailhead in the overgrown with thickets of red-osier South Fork dogwood — quite a tangle for anglers to plow

[above] Ponderosa Campground, some through, we think. pine trees bristle atop 7 miles and­ 1,500 feet down trail. But it’s hiking we’re after, not fishing, and as a plateau near The trail begins on a plateau adjacent to we approach the campground we all marvel at Mexican Hay Lake in Mexican Hay Lake, so named because pioneer how quickly we’ve reached our destination. It’s eastern Arizona. [opposite page] Stating settlers in the region annually drained the lake agreed: This has been one of the fastest, prettiest, the obvious, a sign to harvest and bale the tall grasses growing easiest 7-mile hikes we’d all taken. warns hikers of there. There are lots of “hay” lakes in the difficult terrain White Mountains. But only this one bears the Location: Approximately 220 miles between the plateau name “Mexican Hay.” None of the locals we northeast of Phoenix. and the South Getting There: To reach the upper Fork of the Little asked seemed to know why. trailhead at Mexican Hay Lake, travel Colorado River. When the lake, a glacial basin, fills with 3 miles west from Eagar on State Route water following spring runoff or periods of 260; turn south on State Route 261. It’s approximately 8 miles to Mexican Hay hard rain, it attracts an assortment of ducks, Lake. A dirt road, which should be avoided in wet coots and Canada geese. Occasionally, even weather, leads to the trailhead on the north side of bald eagles are spotted there. the lake. To reach the lower trailhead at the South It’s chilly when we set out, and frost crystals Fork Campground, travel 5.5 miles west on Route 260; turn south on Forest Service Road 560 and drive 2.8 crunch underfoot with every step. Elk and deer miles to the campground and trailhead on the west droppings randomly litter the trail, and we catch side of the stream. a fleeting glimpse of a northern goshawk flying Travel Advisory: This hike is best done in late spring, amid the trees. summer or autumn. Be prepared for any weather in Arizona’s high country. For the first half of the hike, the trail goes Additional Information: Apache-Sitgreaves National nearly 4 miles across a parklike forest of Forests, Springerville Ranger District, (928) 333-4372.

Before you go on this hike, visit our Web site at arizonahighways.com for other things to do and places to see in the area.

56 NOVEMBER 2003 arizonahighways.com