SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S ISSUE JANUARY 2017

ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE exploreGrand Canyon Grand Canyon 40 SO FAR. SO GOOD. National Park About five years ago, Rob Krar gave up Supai Flagstaff his day job as a pharmacist and started 2017 competing in some of the country’s most Cottonwood January prestigious “ultras” — races that cover 50 miles or more. Today, he’s considered PHOENIX 2 EDITOR’S LETTER 16 THE BIG PICTURES: one of the world’s elite endurance ath- 52 SCENIC DRIVE letes, and the numbers speak for them- Oracle Ironwood Forest: This scenic drive Ironwood Forest GRAND CANYON selves: In 2013, he ran 41.2 miles, from National Monument 3 CONTRIBUTORS through Ironwood Forest National Monu- A Portfolio Edited by Jeff Kida rim to rim to rim at the Grand Canyon, in Tucson ment offers a look at some of the hardest 4 LETTERS 6 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds. Bisbee trees in the world, along with an up-close By Kelly Vaughn 28 THE CALL OF THE CANYON view of one of Southern Arizona’s most POINTS OF INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE Photographs by Dawn Kish 5 THE JOURNAL An Essay by Kelly Vaughn distinctive peaks. People, places and things from around the Photographs by Kerrick James By Noah Austin state, including the tornado that touched 44 GROWING, GROWING, GONE Photographs by Jeff Maltzman down near Tucson; a dude ranch in Oracle 32 FRINGE BENEFITS Four or five years ago, a tree died in that promotes laziness, in a good way; and the Inner Gorge of the Grand Canyon. GET MORE ONLINE Toroweap is one of the most isolated out- 54 HIKE OF THE MONTH a flashback to our July 1946 issue. That’s not unusual — trees die all the www.arizonahighways.com posts in the National Park Service. It’s off Packard Mesa Trail: If you have excellent time — but this tree, a 150-year-old the grid, literally, and the nearest grocery route-finding skills and you’re up for ponderosa pine, should never have been store is a four-hour round-trip away. Yet, a challenge, this hike in the Prescott /azhighways living there in the first place. It was a for the rangers who live and work there, National Forest is a good one. However, @azhighways freak of nature. the distant wonderland on the North Rim if you can’t read a compass, you might By Tyler Williams @arizonahighways of the Grand Canyon is a home from which want to think twice. Photographs by Bill Hatcher they never want to leave. And some don’t. By Robert Stieve By Matt Jaffe Photographs by Guy Schmickle Photographs by John Burcham 48 THE LION KING Brandon Holton is a wildlife biologist at 56 WHERE IS THIS? ◗ Grand Canyon National Park. Recently, he Low clouds and a dusting of snow cloak the iconic red rocks of Sedona. Mark Frank wrapped up a 10-year study on mountain CANON EOS 5D MARK II, 1/2 SEC, F/22, ISO 100, lions, also known as pumas, cougars and 70 MM LENS catamounts. On a rare day in the office, he FRONT COVER: Grand Canyon illustration by Chris talked to us about blow darts, Marlin Per- Gall kins and the many misconceptions about BACK COVER: A snow-covered hoodoo at the South mountain lions. Rim’s Yaki Point punctuates a wintry view of the Interviewed by Brianna Cossavella Grand Canyon. Claire Curran CANON EOS 5D MARK III, 1/40 SEC, F/18, ISO 100, 45 MM LENS

2 OCTOBER 2015 PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS AVAILABLE Prints of some photographs in this issue are available for purchase. To view options, visit www.arizona highwaysprints.com. For more information, call 866-962-1191. www.arizonahighways.com 1 editor’s LETTER CONTRIBUTORS

major publication in the country, including Time, Newsweek, People, Fortune, The New York Times and BRIANNA COSSAVELLA JANUARY 2017 VOL. 93, NO. 1 the Washington Post. In addition, in 2015, Dream- Brianna Cossavella came to Arizona Highways via Works Animation launched a new original series 800-543-5432 Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School (via Netflix) titled Dinotrux, which is based on www.arizonahighways.com of Journalism and Mass Communication, where Chris’ award-winning book series about hybrid she took a magazine writing class taught by our dinosaur/construction characters. He’s even cre- managing editor, Kelly Vaughn. “The first time PUBLISHER Win Holden ated subway art for the MTA in New York City. I saw Kelly, I could tell she was going to be an EDITOR Robert Stieve Turns out, Mrs. Johnson was right. amazing instructor,” Cossavella says. The class ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, Mrs. Johnson was Chris’ second-grade teacher. DIRECTOR OF also led to Cossavella becoming our editorial Chris Gall. If you’re wondering who One day, she caught him doodling on his desk. SALES & MARKETING Kelly Mero intern for the spring 2016 semester, and we liked created this month’s cover, that’s the answer. She could see that he had talent. “Someday, you MANAGING EDITOR Kelly Vaughn her so much, we brought her back for the fall Chris Gall. You might recognize his name. might become an artist,” she said. “Neverthe- ASSOCIATE EDITOR Noah Austin before she graduated. She’s contributed several

He’s been a member of the family for a long less, you shouldn’t be doodling on your desk. So, EDITORIAL pieces to the magazine and our blog; for this time. This, however, is his first cover. And it you’re going to have to scrub it clean, along with ADMINISTRATOR Nikki Kimbel issue, she conducted a Q&A interview with moun- won’t be his last. In fact, this is the first of 12 illustrated covers that Chris is all of the other desks in the room.” PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jeff Kida tain lion expert Brandon Holton (see The Lion creating for a yearlong collection we’re calling the Explore Arizona! series. I suspect Mrs. Johnson would be impressed CREATIVE DIRECTOR Barbara Glynn Denney King, page 48). “He gave me a new perspective The idea goes back about two years. Back to our 90th anniversary issue. by her student’s first-ever cover for Arizona ART DIRECTOR Keith Whitney on mountain lions and their relationship with people,” she says. “I could tell he’s gotten

You might remember that one. It was a retrospective of the magazine’s first Highways. We certainly are. We’re excited about MAP DESIGNER Kevin Kibsey into some arguments with people about them, and I felt like it was my duty to let people

nine decades. I don’t know how many months we spent digging through what’s inside, too. There are some amazing pho- PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Michael Bianchi know the truth about these animals.” Cossavella is keeping her post-college options open but says she hopes to continue contributing to Arizona Highways and other publications. the archive, but I do know that we looked at every page of every issue, and tographs of the Grand Canyon, along with a lot of WEBMASTER Victoria J. Snow ended up with a varied collection of old maps, illustrations, fonts, logos, sto- great writing, including Matt Jaffe’s piece about “The magazine has such an awesome reputation,” she says. “Having the chance to work CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Nicole Bowman ries and photographs. What we didn’t find was an entire year dedicated to Toroweap, one of the most remote outposts in the with Arizona Highways and the people here has been a blessing.” FINANCE DIRECTOR Bob Allen a single theme — a collection, in the words of Aristotle, where the whole is National Park Service. OPERATIONS/ greater than the sum of its parts. “I unroll my pad below the cabin and orient it IT MANAGER Cindy Bormanis Thus, the Explore Arizona! series. for the best view of the sky over Toroweap Val-

The cover concept came about separately, but around the same time. The ley,” he writes in Fringe Benefits. “Doze. Wake up. CORPORATE OR team had just brainstormed the 12-part series. I think it was a Monday. A day Repeat. Finally, I open my eyes to the Milky Way TRADE SALES 602-712-2018 or two later, Chris showed up at our world headquarters. He was in the smeared across the moonless sky. Shooting stars SPONSORSHIP SALES REPRESENTATION On Media Publications neighborhood and wanted to grab some lunch. So, we all headed to Pane break the stillness, and twinkling red-eyes out Todd Bresnahan Bianco, a sandwich mecca down the street. of Las Vegas move like spacecraft across the uni- 602-445-7169 If you haven’t been, the food there is very good. It’s so good it can render verse, silent, until sound catches up to light.”

you speechless. But not us. We talked. A lot. About airplanes and publish- Even if you’re a Grand Canyon aficionado, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [email protected] TYLER WILLIAMS ing and hiking the Santa Rita Mountains. Then, from his seat at the end of I think you’ll learn something in Matt’s story. 2039 W. Lewis Avenue Ponderosa pines are rarely found Phoenix, AZ 85009 a long wooden table, Chris said, “You know, my dream project has always And the writing doesn’t end there. Kelly Vaughn below the rim of the Grand Canyon, been to create a series of vintage travel posters for Arizona Highways.” It was has authored two excellent stories: a profile of for several reasons. So, when writer GOVERNOR Douglas A. Ducey a non sequitur, of sorts, but between bites, we talked about his vision. Later, Rob Krar, one of the world’s elite endurance Tyler Williams spotted one in the DIRECTOR, I made a note in the “Book of Big Ideas.” It would be another week, however, athletes, and an essay about Havasu Canyon. The DEPARTMENT Inner Gorge during a boating trip before we’d connect the dots: Chris’ “dream project” is perfect for the Explore latter recounts her father’s and grandfather’s visit OF TRANSPORTATION John S. Halikowski a decade ago, he was intrigued. In Arizona! series. to that otherworldly place in the 1960s, and her Growing, Growing, Gone (see page Chris agreed, and we got to work. own adventures down there in the decades that Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published month- 44), Williams and photographer The first subject in the series is the Grand Canyon — we thought we’d start followed. It’s a beautifully written piece about ly by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Subscrip- Bill Hatcher make their way to the tion price: $24 a year in the U.S., $44 outside the U.S. off big. Next month, it’s Petrified Forest National Park. And then Saguaro life, life’s experiences and lasting memories. Single copy: $4.99 U.S. Call 800-543-5432. Subscription out-of-place ponderosa. “The hike National Park. Later, we’ll get to the White Mountains, Sedona, Monument Words, photographs, Chris Gall’s covers ... cor­respon­dence and change of address information: Ari- wasn’t hard to get there,” Williams zona Highways, P.O. Box 8521, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Valley and some of the other most scenic places in the state. As you’ll see over that’s what you’ll be getting in our Explore Ari- Periodical postage paid at Phoenix, AZ, and at additional says. “We went down the Bright the course of the year, the content will be typical of what we do every month. zona! series. If Aristotle was right, and we think mailing office.CANADA POST INTERNATIONAL PUBLI- Angel Trail, then did a little off-trail hiking. We did have to follow a bighorn sheep trail for There will be stories about history and culture and interesting people, along he was, we have an exciting year ahead of us. CATIONS MAIL PRODUCT (CANA­DIAN DISTRIBUTION) the last quarter-mile.” This month’s story is Williams’ second collaboration with Hatcher SALES AGREE­MENT NO. 40732015. SEND RETURNS TO with the usual dose of landscape photography. The only difference is that One down. Eleven to go. QUAD/GRAPHICS, P.O. BOX 456, NIAGARA FALLS ON L2E for Arizona Highways, and Williams says the two make a good pair: “It’s always exciting each issue will have a theme. And an illustrated cover by one of the most tal- 6V2. POSTMASTER­ : Send address changes to Arizona going on projects with Bill. He’s such a solid partner, not flaky at all, and so experienced.” Highways, P.O. Box 8521, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Copy­ Exploring the Canyon is one of Williams’ passions, and he’s always looking for a new ented artists in America. ROBERT STIEVE, EDITOR right © 2017 by the Ari­zona Department of Trans­­por­­tation. Although he lives in Tucson, Chris’ work has been featured in nearly every Follow me on Instagram: @arizonahighways Repro­duc­tion in whole or in part with­­out permission is pro- adventure; soon, he hopes to explore a route off the remote Powell Plateau. “I’ve seen hibited. The magazine does not accept and is not respon- a place in the cliffs with my binoculars that looks like a possible route,” he says, “but sible for un­solicited ma­ter­ials. I won’t know until I go.” Williams is the author of several hiking, canyoneering and boat- ing guidebooks, and his recent work includes an American Forests story on the Klamath PRODUCED IN THE USA Mountains, which cradle one of America’s most diverse conifer forests.

2 JANUARY 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL MARKOW PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP, RIGHT JEFF KIDA ABOVE, RIGHT BILL HATCHER www.arizonahighways.com 3 LETTERS [email protected] THE JOURNAL I RECENTLY PICKED UP A COPY OF YOUR November 2016 issue, The Black & White Issue, at a library and loved what I saw. I grabbed the subscription card from inside, but left the magazine itself at the library for others to enjoy. I just purchased my subscription. Paul Hurschmann, Montrose, Colorado

November 2016

hat a disappointment. An all-gray H. Smalley. His den always was full imagined back then that he would issue [November 2016] with the only of friends, often visitors whose names become so famous. Thanks for trigger- W color being the ads. How depressing. I now recognize as being a part of ing some great memories. I subscribed to the magazine because the fabric of young Arizona — Ralph Ed Suska, Onarga, Illinois I love all the colors of Arizona, and you Cameron, Fred Bragonier, Walt Coburn, give me this? I’m trapped in the gray and the Ormes and the Lewises — respin- enjoyed seeing the photographs gloomy fall and winter of the Midwest. ning and reliving their tales of that rich, of George Alexander Grant in the If I want to see gray, all I have to do is colorful time. Your Ross Santee piece I September 2016 issue. I first saw one look out the window. [The West I Remember, October 2016] of his photographs in a book my wife Barbara Young, Independence, Missouri reminded me of so many of those lovely purchased at a national park in the people and of how greatly Georgie — 1990s. I have been photographing the he three-generation household I grew everybody called my grandfather that Southwest for over 40 years, and had up in was headed by my grandfather, — admired Santee and his work. Thanks never heard of him, nor had I seen T pioneer Arizona journalist George for keeping him alive. any of his work. I spent time finding Dianne M. Bret Harte, Tucson out who he was and found a book by Mark Sawyer about him at the Center U.S. Postal Service n the October 2016 issue, in the for Creative Photography in Tucson. STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION Title of Publication: Arizona Highways Publisher: Win Holden Editor’s Letter about Ross Santee, The book was out of print at that time; Publication No.: ISSN 0004-1521 Editor: Robert Stieve Date of Filing: August 18, 2016 Managing Editor: Kelly Vaughn; you mention the 12 apostles of the however, I found one in a used book address below I Frequency of issues: Monthly Complete mailing address Number of issuesof known office of publication: magazine, which would include Ted store. A photograph in the book taken in published annually: Twelve 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, Annual subscription price: (Maricopa) AZ 85009-2893 DeGrazia. Seeing DeGrazia’s name 1935 is the same image I took in 1989. It $24.00 U.S. one year Owner: State of Arizona triggered some memories. Back in appears we were standing in the same 206 S. 17th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85007 1955, I left the Bar T Bar Ranch up on spot. My research led me to the National Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding In the 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt the Mogollon Rim to spend time with Park Service Historic Photograph status for federal income tax purposes has not changed during preceding 12 months. friends who had settled in Tucson, in Collection. I now have a collection of Frame ISSUE DATE FOR CIRCULATION DATA BELOW: Nov. ‘15-Oct. ’16 Oct. ’16 the Catalina Foothills. They were ex- about 20 of his photographs, none of Average no. Actual no. A snowdrift frames Monument copies each copies of issue during single issue ranch managers who had left the Santa which were in Arizona Highways. Valley’s West Mitten Butte preceding published nearest 12 months to filing date Rita Ranch near Sonoita to work for David Dirlam, Prescott, Arizona after a winter storm in 2015. EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION A. Total number copies printed 129,949 129,070 the Arizona Game & Fish Department. The valley, which is on the B. Paid circulation 1. Outside-county, mail subscriptions 107,448 106,338 Their home was a very old rock house Navajo Nation and straddles 2. In-county subscriptions -- -- 3. Sales through dealers, carriers, In our December 2016 issue, we the Arizona-Utah border, often street vendors, counter sales and way up in the foothills on a long, rough, CORRECTION: other ­non-USPS paid distribution 11,453 9,071 sees light snowfall in winter, 4. Other classes mailed through the USPS 2,025 1,977 washed-out road. About a third of the forgot to mention that the cover photograph was C. Total paid circulation 120,925 117,386 but unusually heavy snow in D. Free distribution by mail way up the road, there was a little made by Mark Frank, and the back cover photo- 1. Outside-county 132 133 2015 led to road and school 2. In-county -- -- mission chapel of sorts. It was Ted and graph was made by Bruce D. Taubert. Sorry, guys. 3. Other classes mailed through the USPS -- -- closures in the area. For more 4. Free distribution outside the mail 2,467 2,480 Muriel DeGrazia’s. In the year I spent E. Total free distribution 2,599 2,613 information, call Monument F. Total distribution 123,524 119,999 G. Copies not distributed 6,425 9,071 working in the area and living in the contact us If you have thoughts or com- Valley Navajo Tribal Park at H. Total 129,949 129,070 ments about anything in Arizona Highways, we’d I. Percent paid circulation 97.9% 97.8% old rock house, I drove past Ted’s mis- 435-727-5874 or visit www. J. Paid Electronic copies 1,638 1,641 love to hear from you. We can be reached at editor@ K. Total paid print copies + paid electronic copies 122,563 119,027 sion almost daily. They really were our navajonationparks.org. L. Total print distribution + paid electronic copies 125,162 121,640 arizonahighways.com, or by mail at 2039 W. Lewis M. Percent paid circulation (print & electronic copies) 97.9% 97.9% only close neighbors on the road. It was CANON EOS-1DS MARK III, 1/60 SEC, I certify that the statements made by me are correct and complete. Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009. For more information, Win Holden, Publisher obvious that Ted had talent, but I never visit www.arizonahighways.com. F/22, ISO 400, 16-35 MM LENS

4 JANUARY 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY DEREK VON BRIESEN around arizona J

Flagstaff Train Station

NOAH AUSTIN

Trains have been rumbling through Flagstaff for more than a century, and the westward expansion of railroads helped turn the city into a Northern Arizona hub of commerce and transportation. In Visitors explore the 1926, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe monument near Railway built Flagstaff’s Tudor Revival- Faraway Ranch in style station, and today, 80 to 100 BNSF the 1920s. Railway trains pass by every day — even in the snow. The station also serves as a twice-daily stop for Amtrak’s Southwest Chief passenger line, which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles. Much of the route parallels Historic Route 66, which also goes through Flagstaff. Those looking to get their nostalgia fix without buying a train ticket can simply stop at the Flag- staff Visitor Center, which features FLAGSTAFF Lichen-stained rhyolite spires mark Flagstaff Visitor Route 66 memora- the view along Chiricahua National Center, 1 E. Historic Monument’s Echo Canyon Loop. bilia and informa- Route 66, 928-213- tion about the area. 2951, www.flagstaff arizona.org It’s located right in the train station.

6 JANUARY 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY CAMERON CLARK www.arizonahighways.com 7 J history photography J

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

■ The new Tucson City Council holds its first ses- sion on January 3, 1917. The council quickly decides to raise water taxes by 30 percent after discover- ing it lacks the funds to pay its bills. ■ An earthquake hits the Grand Canyon area on January 10, 1935. Rock- slides and cracked house walls are reported, but there are no injuries. ■ On January 17, 1877, Governor Anson P.K. Saf- ford signs a bill moving

A tornado touches down near Tucson in August 1964. Jay Taylor snapped this photo on the sixth floor Arizona’s Territorial capital of the Phoenix Title Building (known today as the Transamerica Building) in downtown Tucson. from Tucson to Prescott. Phoenix has been the The Tucson Tornado capital since 1889. In the world of natural disasters, fire is the biggest threat in Arizona. However, the state experiences tornadoes, too, including the deadly twister that hit the Tohono O’odham Nation on August 27, 1964. 50 YEARS AGO IN ARIZONA HIGHWAYS NOAH AUSTIN The snow-covered Four Peaks glow at sunrise, as seen from Saguaro Lake. he last thing Manuel Norris remem- downtown Tucson snapped the photo seen here bered saying to his wife, Lucy, was: as the tornado dipped out of a storm cloud. It “Look out — something is coming.” turned its fury on the Norris house, located Q&A: Russ Glindmeier It was August 27, 1964, around about 200 yards from Mission San Xavier del T PHOTO EDITOR JEFF KIDA PHOTO 11:15 a.m., and the Norrises were in their adobe Bac. Witnesses said the house exploded as if WORKSHOP home on the Tohono O’odham Nation near Tuc- it had been rigged with dynamite. Nearby, the son. Lucy, Manuel told the Tucson Daily Citizen, twister damaged a Franciscan convent and JK: How did you get started in made from three images, each vious afternoon in my boat, and we was closing the kitchen window. other structures before it dissipated. photography? two f-stops apart. I’ve compared decided to return at sunrise. I slept Then, the walls came down — and Lucy Newspaper accounts said 11 members of RG: I became interested when the single capture I made with the on the boat that evening and was and the couple’s infant son, Marcian, became the Norris family were in the house when the I was in high school. I used a Miran- HDR image, but I prefer the look awakened by my friends banging the first people in Arizona’s recorded history storm hit. Lucy and Marcian were pronounced The January 1967 issue da SLR film camera, but I became and feel of this merged image. on the cabin door before dawn. Slot Canyons: Nature’s Sculpted to be killed by a tornado. dead at a hospital, while Manuel, his parents of Arizona Highways paid more interested around 2000, We motored for about 5 miles and Sandstone Our state is known for dust devils, not and six of the couple’s eight other children tribute to spring wildflow- during the onset of digital photog- JK: What really caught my eye were met by a pastel sunrise that March 19-23, Page full-blown twisters. But they do happen in were injured. ers in the Sonoran Desert raphy. The ability to work on my here was the location and created the mood for this image. The photogenic and Arizona — about four times a year, on average. “It was all over too quick to know” what and featured stories about own photos using a computer was perspective. I see a lot of photos The lake adds the water element, captivating canyons of That’s a far cry from Kansas, Oklahoma and was happening, a dazed and grief-stricken Desert Botanical Garden in a game-changer for me. of the Four Peaks, but not many one we don’t always see in the the Colorado Plateau are the focus of this other Plains states, where tornado warnings Manuel told the Daily Citizen. “I had just Phoenix and the Arizona- shot from this perspective, with Southwest. workshop led by Ari- are facts of life. looked out the kitchen window and saw it Sonora Desert Museum in JK: You received an honorable Saguaro Lake in the foreground. zona Highways contribu- Arizona’s twisters also don’t typically last coming. It looked something like a dust devil. Tucson. The issue opened mention in our 2016 photo con- RG: One of my favorite subjects JK: What do you like best about tor Suzanne Mathia. Locations include as long or grow as fierce as those in Tornado I thought that’s what it was, and then I saw with this quote: “Cactus test for this photo (above) of the is the relationship between water photography? Horseshoe Bend and Alley. And with so much open space here, things flying.” flowers are sunshine, Four Peaks. How did digital tools and the desert. This photo was RG: For me, the best part is getting Lower Antelope the few tornadoes that touch down usually Since the 1964 tragedy, Arizona tornadoes blue sky, white cloud, help you make this shot? made very early on a cold Decem- out and exploring. It’s all about Canyon. Information: 888-790-7042 or the alchemy of rain and RG: The final image is a high ber morning. A couple of friends being in a spectacular place — don’t cause property damage or injuries. The have claimed only one other life — in 1974, www.ahpw.org Norris family just had very bad luck that when a twister killed a 78-year-old man at soil, the touch of the soft dynamic range, or HDR, photo and I had scouted the area the pre- with or without my camera. August day. a mobile-home park just northwest of where breeze in spring, the caress An employee of an advertising company in the 1964 tornado struck. of moonlight.” To learn more about photography, visit www.arizonahighways.com/photography.

8 JANUARY 2017 PHOTOGRAPH: UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LIBRARY PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP RUSS GLINDMEIER ABOVE, RIGHT JOHN HALBUR www.arizonahighways.com 9 J from our archives [July 1946]

The July 1946 issue of Arizona Highways paid tribute to Arizona’s National Park Service units. That issue’s centerpiece was Ansel Adams’ photograph of Grand Canyon National Park. The accompanying text was written by Editor Raymond Carlson.

10 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 11 J dining nature J

on her own family’s table. People might Table 10 not need a new couch, she reasoned, but Table 10 isn’t a restaurant. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. they would always need food — good, It’s more of a dining room table that happens to be in a hotel. nourishing food. It’s wonderful, but it’s hard to explain. You’ll see. Encouraged by friends who enjoyed leisurely evenings around her table, KATHY MONTGOMERY Hunter opened Table 10, ultimately land- ing at the Copper Queen. The iconic YOU DON’T HAVE TO DIG to find a bibb lettuce salad with mango, papaya hotel seemed ideal, Hunter says, partly good food in Bisbee. Even so, Table 10 is and a warm tamarind dressing; carrot- because of its landmark status, but also a rare gem set in Bisbee’s historic Copper ginger soup made from fresh-squeezed because it gives guests the option to Queen Hotel. carrot juice; and ground lamb with coco- retire to rooms upstairs, rather than Hazel Hunter is behind the unusual nut, paprika and ginger gravy, served drive home. dining concept, which centers on a single with a yucca-root mash. Evenings at Table 10 begin with cock- communal table. With a background in While Hunter accommodates dietary tails. Guests choose from Hunter’s col- interior design, Hunter transformed the needs, everyone at Table 10 generally lection of vintage glassware, then mix hotel’s banquet room into a rich tapestry enjoys the same menu on any given eve- and mingle as though at a dinner party. of reds and golds, creating the perfect ning. Hunter gives the first guests to make Wearing a black dress, pearls and red setting for an elegant five-course dining a reservation the choice of pork, Cornish high-top sneakers, Hunter serves as host- experience. game hen or lamb. She tells subsequent ess and chef — entering the room with A native of Nicaragua, Hunter callers the selection for that day. Sides the energy of a summer monsoon storm, describes her food as equatorial fusion. depend on what’s fresh and seasonal. ringing a gold bell to introduce each Her Central American background Hunter suffers from food allergies and course, and explaining the ingredients informs her palate, and she incorporates uses no nuts, onions, garlic or gluten, and and preparation. foods such as tamarind, kohlrabi and very little salt. Everything is prepared For Hunter, Table 10 is as much about daikon, all used in surprising ways with simply, using two or three ingredients, nurturing relationships as it is about the delicious results. and flavored with spices such as ginger, food she serves. A recent dinner began with chayote turmeric and cardamom. “Friendships start right here,” she says. squash stuffed with cuajada cheese and Ironically, Table 10 grew out of the “They meet at my table and they come bathed in a light tarragon-coconut sauce; recession, as Hunter tried to keep food back together. It’s really a gathering.”

Black-Tailed Rattlesnakes They’re considered more docile than some rattlesnake species, but black-tailed rattlesnakes (Crotalus molossus) are still plenty dangerous, capable of delivering a life-threatening dose of venom in a single bite. Rather than biting humans, though, they prefer to use their venom on birds, lizards and small mammals. In addition to its namesake dark tail, the species is identified by the dark blotches on its back. Black-tailed rattlesnakes are found in a wide variety of habitats in Western, Central BISBEE Table 10, 11 Howell Avenue (Wednesdays and Saturdays, by reservation only), 520-366-1921 and Southern Arizona. — Noah Austin

12 JANUARY 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL MARKOW PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN SHERMAN www.arizonahighways.com 13 J lodging Collect them all. Please.

El Rancho Robles General Manager Zach Nichols, who has Built in the 1920s, in the heyday of dude ranches, this historic property in managed the ranch’s business side over Oracle has been restored to its original splendor and now features 27 guest the past several years. On a recent after- rooms, seven of which are casitas with full kitchens. noon, it seems the only person on the property who isn’t relaxed is Nichols: He ANNETTE McGIVNEY zips around in a golf cart, checking on gardeners tending the landscaping and THERE’S SOMETHING about El Rancho dude ranches. The design resembles an a caterer preparing for a wedding recep- Robles that promotes laziness. Maybe 18th century Mexican villa, with a large tion in the main hacienda building. it’s the location — on the edge of sleepy arched entrance and a central plaza. The 18-acre property includes 27 guest Oracle, where the 4,500-foot eleva- Thick-walled stucco guesthouses with rooms, seven of which are casitas with tion keeps temperatures comfortable Saltillo tile floors and red tile roofs sur- full kitchens. All of the rooms are year-round. Or maybe it’s the guest round the plaza. Although the ranch appointed with Southwestern furnish- ranch’s Spanish Colonial architecture offered trail rides and chuck wagon ings and open onto shaded stone patios. and hacienda-style design, which exude breakfasts, the main draw was relax- In addition to the natural springs on the the relaxed aura of old Mexico. And then ation. Guests lounged on the manicured property, the pastoral grounds include there are the 200-year-old oak trees, grounds, played horseshoes and cooled a fire pit, stone walking paths, a swim- which invite a siesta beneath their shady off in a spring-fed wading pool. ming pool and a hot tub. Single mugs are $9.99 each. canopies. But after the popularity of dude There’s also plenty to do nearby, with Monument Valley #AMMV6 While life has become exponentially ranches faded, El Rancho Robles was Biosphere 2 just 8 miles away and the Tombstone #AMTS6 more maddening since the ranch was parceled into condos and managed as Acadia Ranch Museum in Oracle. A scenic Kaibab Forest #AMKF6 built, El Rancho Robles has survived as long-term rentals from 1962 to 2012. It drive up rugged Forest Road 38 will take Collect the set of three for $23.97. #AMSET6 a timeless escape from the rat race — then got a second life when New York you to the top of Mount Lemmon, with Order online at www.shoparizonahighways.com except that today’s guests have access to businessman R. Blake Campbell bought access to countless hiking trails. But, on or call 800-543-5432. free Wi-Fi. the historic property and restored it to its second thought, maybe an afternoon nap Charles and Helen Gilliland built the original splendor. under the giant oaks is in order. It’s the El ranch in the 1920s, during the heyday of “It looks like a movie set now,” says Rancho Robles tradition, after all.

ORACLE El Rancho Robles, 1170 N. Rancho Robles Road, 520-896-7651, www.elranchorobles.com

14 JANUARY 2017 PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MECKLER The Big Pictures: GRAND CANYON

Sunlight peeks through winter storm clouds to illuminate the Grand Canyon’s O’Neill Butte (foreground), as seen from Yaki Point on the South Rim. The butte is named for William “Buckey” O’Neill, a prominent figure in Arizona’s early history. Tom Danielsen

A PORTFOLIO EDITED BY JEFF KIDA

Sunlight peeks through winter storm clouds to illuminate the Grand Canyon’s O’Neill Butte (foreground), as seen from Yaki Point on the South Rim. The butte is named for William “Buckey” O’Neill, a prominent figure in Arizona’s early history. Tom Danielsen

16 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 17 What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness. — JOHN STEINBECK

With the North Rim in the background, snow covers the rocks and trees of the South Rim’s Moran Point, located east of the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. Both rims of the Canyon typically receive several feet of snowfall each winter. Tom Danielsen

18 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 19 The world seems to be made up of a never-ending series of overlapping forms. There always seems to be something in back of something else. — DONALD GRAHAM

Sunlight peeks through winter storm clouds to illuminate the Grand Canyon’s O’Neill Butte (foreground), as seen from Yaki Point on the South Rim. The butte is named for William “Buckey” O’Neill, a prominent figure in Arizona’s early history. Tom Danielsen

LEFT: As a major winter storm passes, clouds fill the Canyon below Yavapai Point at sunset. The point is just northwest of the Grand Canyon Visitor Center on the South Rim. Derek von Briesen

ABOVE: After an overnight rainstorm, morning clouds break over the Canyon, as viewed from the North Rim’s Point Sublime. During the North Rim’s operating season (mid- May through mid-October), the secluded spot can be accessed in a high-clearance vehicle via a 17.7-mile dirt road leading west from State Route 67. Wes Timmerman

20 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 21 During an inversion, layers of clouds surround Mount Hayden, named for Arizona pioneer Charles Trumbull Hayden. This view is from the North Rim’s Point Imperial, the Canyon’s highest overlook (8,803 feet). Jack Dykinga

22 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 23 GRAND CANYON ASSOCIATION Grand Canyon Association is the official nonprofit part- ner of Grand Canyon National Park. In that role, it raises private funds to benefit the park, operates retail shops and visitors centers, provides guided hikes and tours, and offers educational classes about the natural and cultural history of the region. Although federal dol- lars support baseline operations and activi- ties at Grand Canyon National Park, those funds do not cover some of the other needs of the park, including wildlife research, trail pres- ervation and educa- tional programs. GCA helps fill that gap. For more information, or to become a member of GCA, please visit www. grandcanyon.org or call 800-858-2808.

Low clouds and a heavy blanket of snow shroud the Canyon’s iconic buttes, as viewed from Yavapai Point at sunset. Derek von Briesen

24 JANUARY 2017 Beams of sunlight find an opening on the horizon and illuminate the Canyon behind Yaki Point at sunrise. Claire Curran

26 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 27 THE CALL OF THE CANYON

ometime in 1966 or ’67, my father went with his father — on horseback — to the village of Supai. The details are a little muddied by time and memory and the feeling of things, but this much we know: My grandfather (we call him Opa) was a surgeon for the U.S. Public Health Service. His attending phy- sician sent him to the village to perform routine procedures, but he said he wouldn’t go without his eldest son. It was the exploring season, after all. Summer. So they went. And it was, Dad says, the genesis of his acro­ phobia. Those switchbacks, I suppose — the long, slow descent along canyon wall and cliff lip — did it. “I remember being very aware of the edge of the trail,” he says. “I thought it was a long way down, and the trail was nar- row, and the horse could have lost its footing.” But the fear of heights is never the fear of the height itself — it’s the fear of what might happen if gravity wins. Fear of height is really a fear of ground.

An essay by Kelly Vaughn PHOTOGRAPHS by KeRRICK JAMES The blue-green water of Havasu Creek tumbles over Havasu Falls, one of several waterfalls near Supai, at sunset. Supai is located in Havasu Canyon, a side canyon of the Grand Canyon.

28 JANUARY 2017 On the ground, in the village, people were lined up to see the doctor from the big city. There were coughs and aches and pains and fevers. But there would be no surgery that trip, only the routine administer- ing of antibiotics and salves. “There were 50 or 60 men and women,” Opa remembers. He’s 82 now. “Some had pneumonia. The tribe’s medicine man ran everything. He would walk the patients into this little stall that was maybe 5 feet high, and smoke was coming from it. He would treat the spirits that caused the sickness, and I would give the people a shot of penicillin on their way out.” At the end of the day, they made their way to camp. The rocks radi- ated heat. My dad remembers seeing one of the waterfalls, but he doesn’t remember which, and the next day, they made the long pack back, That night, the moon filled the canyon, and I awoke to retracing hoofprints through the canyon, up the switchbacks and out what I thought was morning. Instead, stars. The rush of the onto the Hualapai Hilltop. creek. A ringtail scuttling up a tree. Neither man has been back to Supai since. The story, published months later, remains one of my favorites.

early 50 years later, I carried the family name down in search

of a medicine woman. The falls my father saw in the 1960s were a dif- made one return trip after that, walking my mom, my

ferent shape — the 2008 flood had altered the landscape, but not its sister and a friend to the bottom of the canyon, along the color. That water was still turquoise, painted by travertine and the creek and into the village. We explored the falls and made reflec­tion of sky. camp amid cool rocks, Mom sleeping early, the rest of us Dad became a surgeon, but I went the way of words and writing, waiting for stars. choosing them over anatomy and insurance. The next day, my sister panicked on the descent to Mooney I was on assignment for this magazine, sent to profile Dianna Baby Falls — the fear of heights hard-wired in her. She cried out Sue White Dove Uqualla. It was November, and the cottonwoods along for my mom, but made it, climbing the route hours later and the creek had turned, glinting gold-green in the wind. hugging me at the top, gravity conquered. The man in the tourism office sent me to Baby Sue’s home, which she Before dinner, I went with our friend to fetch water from shared with several other women, tribal elders, too. When she greeted the spring. I talked to a man who was familiar with the mag- me at the gate, her face was painted in the traditional way — an ochre azine. We shared an acquaintance. He seemed like someone stripe below her mouth, flashes of color on her cheeks. I’d met before, somewhere, in some faraway time. She carried an eagle feather, walked me to a ceremonial circle and As we left the village the next day, a hug and another bless­ spoke a blessing in her native language. Sage smoke and the slow dance ing from the medicine woman. A promise to return. of the feather. A warrior’s cry. Years later, the man from the spring and I planned to visit It was good medicine. Supai together. We’d spend several days, visiting all of the After, we spoke for a while about what it meant to be Havasupai, a falls, making the long walk to the Colorado River and back. person “of the blue-green water.” It’s possible — likely, even — that We’d go in November, more than 1,000 days after my first Uqualla’s grandfather was the medicine man when my grandfather and visit to that sacred space. Trickling water feeds a grotto of ferns below Mooney Falls on Havasu Creek. father visited. But it didn’t happen, and we hit ground not long after. I don’t know if I’ll make good on my promise to the medi­ cine woman — to return, to find myself back beside the blue-green water again. That sad last plan seems hollow now, and bitter, too. No matter. My children will walk to the village someday. One, I think, will race down that slick-rock wall to the base of Mooney to dance in the mist, wild like the water itself. The other, however, won’t. Instead, he’ll approach the edge with care to sip the falls’ medicine from a distance. Awed, but anchored by gravity.

30 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 31 FRINGE BENEFITS Toroweap is one of the most isolated outposts in the National Park Service. It’s off the grid, literally, and the nearest grocery store is a four-hour round-trip away. Yet, for the rangers who live and work there, the distant wonderland on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is a home from which they never want to leave. And some don’t. BY MATT JAFFE PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN BURCHAM

Toroweap Ranger Station, located near the Grand Canyon’s Toroweap Overlook on the North Rim, is one of the most remote postings in the National Park Service. The station’s buildings were built of local stone in 1935.

32 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 33 Green after recent monsoon rains,

Toroweap Valley spreads west, toward the Uinkaret Mountains.

Rabbitbrush and sunflowers then goes ahead to alert the ranger. splash the remote expanse, more In a few minutes, someone on a mountain bike approaches from the station. He’s com- than 50 miles from the nearest pavement, with ing fast — not coasting on the downhill, but yellows and golds. In the distance, beneath a prom- with legs pumping hard and in perfect cadence. ontory of the Toroweap Cliffs, Toroweap Ranger Soon, I’m describing the accident to Todd Seliga, Station’s metal roof flares with the reflection of the Toroweap’s ranger, before he pedals back, grabs midday September sun. his truck and drives to the Blazer. During previous drives to camp at Grand Canyon According to the Tao of Tom, “you don’t want National Park’s Toroweap Overlook, where the rim to meet anybody on the road.” That’s his way of plunges 3,000 feet straight down to the Colorado saying something has probably gone wrong if you River, I’d never seen the valley so green or appre- unexpectedly find yourself talking to a stranger by ciated its desolate beauty. Then again, I’d never the side of the road. walked this road before. Maybe so. But I sure am happy to meet Todd A couple of miles back, I left my buddy Tom Seliga. Gamache cursing as he unloaded his prized 1972 Chevy Blazer, now balanced precariously on its driver’s side. To recap: We came over a blind o, whaddaya know about Riffey?” rise and into a sloping “S” curve, the rough dirt This journey began a few years ago, in my road’s counterpart to one of the Colorado Riv- mother’s Tucson apartment, when UCLA er’s rapids. Take a bad line or enter a rapid at the professor emeritus of biology Henry “Harry” wrong speed, and you’ll flip. The same is true at Thompson asked me about legendary this spot on the 65-mile route to the rim. ‘‘ToroweapS ranger John H. Riffey. Cresting the hill, I knew we were in trouble. The Now 95, Harry was my mother’s constant, lov- Blazer caught sand along the right and overturned ing companion in her final years, during what onto the passenger side, then bounced or rolled came to be her “second spring.” In the 1970s, Harry before landing hard on Tom’s door and sliding to a halt. The dislodged wind- shield lay shattered in a single piece LEFT: Tom Gamache’s traveled to Toroweap (“Not an easy place to get remember them.” nearby. We walked straight out through 1972 Chevy Blazer lies to — you don’t go through there on the way to Harry spent time with Riffey and his wife, on its driver’s side after its frame. a mishap on the way to somewhere else”) to search for a new species of Meribeth, an ornithologist. They shared fresh- Tom has a couple of cuts, and my arm Toroweap. encelia, a desert shrub. baked cookies and brewed a pot of coffee as Harry is swelling, but we’re in better shape ABOVE: Park Service I told Harry that I knew only slightly more about described his fieldwork. Harry so liked Riffey that than the truck after the most turbulent ranger Todd Seliga has Riffey than I did about encelia. But if ever a man he decided to name the new plant species after the patrolled half a million 100 feet of its nearly 1.6 million-mile run. acres of the Toroweap and a place were inseparable, that was Riffey and ranger. But the directions Harry carried from previ- The last thing I heard as I set out for the area on mountain bike, Toroweap, where he served from 1942 to 1980. ous researchers sent him to the wrong spot by the ranger station was Tom: “There are just raft and foot for eight When Harry met Riffey, the ranger’s spirit imme- rim. Harry never did find any specimens of what years. days in your life. That’s the end of the diately impressed him. “He was just a charmer, would have been Encelia riffeyi. Blazer.” smiling all the way,” Harry explained. “Get lost? I step over cattle guards and try to Forget your lunch? Riffey would take care of you. gauge whether the desert light is mak- He thought everyone had a right to go out there wanted to explore Riffey’s world and talk with ing the ranger station, among the most and experience the area where he was the expert. Seliga about his experiences at Toroweap (the remote postings in the National Park So often, you have a guy who wants to shut a place Park Service calls it Tuweep, but the two terms Service, appear closer than it actually down — he treats it like his private possession. But are used more or less interchangeably). Rang- is. After 3 or 4 miles (it’s hard to say), Riffey was not a grumpy guy at all. He welcomed ers have worked there since the 1930s — when a motorcyclist comes up behind me, everyone into his house, then got to know and Ithis area on the Arizona Strip was administered

34 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 35 vous. “A stern guardian on one hand, and gentle, separately from the park, as Grand Canyon National kind-hearted caretaker on the other.” Monument. For eight years, Seliga has covered Riffey learned to fly, then searched for wildfires, a vast country: 500,000 acres, including a 140-mile poachers and wayward cattle in “Pogo,” a single- stretch of the Colorado River. engine Piper Super Cub perpetually plagued by Seliga is a throwback to the classic age of rangers. nesting mice and named for the many short hops Visitor contact (and emergencies like ours), range the ranger flew over his domain. Pogo and Riffey management, monitoring archaeological sites ... managed to avoid any serious mishaps while taking they’re all part of the job. Seliga acts as a natural- off and landing from what he dubbed an “interna- ist, and the pistol holstered on his hip is a reminder tional airport” — the dirt airstrip a short distance that he’s sometimes the law, too. from the station. Riffey put up signs designating “I’ve always been self-motivated and indepen- gates 1 and 2, as well as the north and south con- dent. I’m perfectly happy by myself, but I also love courses, of what was just a wooden shed he built to my time with people,” the Boston-area native says. protect Pogo. “And I like serving and making a difference.” Riffey could certainly riff. The Rendezvous tran- Seliga is 38 and looks younger. He’s tanned and scripts offer a long glossary of his terms and say- impeccably fit, with tightly braided muscles in ings. When visitors asked for plant identifications, arms and legs sculpted from rugged backcountry Riffey called flowers close to the road “nearodas,” patrols on foot, mountain bike and river raft. His while those in the distance were “farrodas.” handsome face frequently brightens into a sweet, “Rancid Roy” was a skunk who lived by the easy smile. He’s cute as nails. ranger station. And in 1976, when visitor Jim Stiles Seliga interned and worked at Jewel Cave mentioned that he knew Edward Abbey, the author National Monument in South Dakota. He quickly of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Riffey said that he fell in love with the work, then did stints at Yellow- might even try some monkey wrenching himself if stone, Yosemite and Saguaro national parks, among it meant keeping the Toroweap road free of asphalt. others. He never wanted a job at the Grand Canyon, “And if that doesn’t work,” he added, “they’ll have ironically, because he didn’t think it offered many to pave the road over my dead body.” trails or much hiking. Riffey never wanted to leave, and according to While he sometimes surveys his turf from Park Luttrell, Meribeth purchased land in the valley for Service aircraft, Seliga mostly goes out on his own, a cabin where the couple could live after he retired. self-powered. He’ll hike 20 miles down a side can- Riffey also said that if he ever fell ill, no one was to yon to reach the Colorado, then set out by river for call a helicopter until they were 100 percent sure he another 20 miles, in a pack raft that compresses was dead. to the size of a water bottle, before trekking back In July 1980, Riffey’s heart gave out. He died to the rim and repeating the process. Seliga com- before reaching pavement. peted nationally as a mountain biker and can cover 100 miles in a day. But the Grand Canyon’s topo- graphical complexity means his patrols are never ranger cabin have new roofs that volunteers and ABOVE, LEFT: Todd Ranger, by Jean Luttrell, and also sent a copy to f Riffey left this world somewhere on the road the same. “When I’m on foot, some days I might Park Service workers installed. Generators, first Seliga enjoys a view of Harry. Later, I tracked down transcripts from between Toroweap Valley and civilization, Kae- the Grand Canyon at cover 30 miles,” he says. “On others, it might take diesel and then propane, once powered the station, Toroweap Overlook. the John Riffey Memorial Tall Tale Rendezvous, lin Zielinski nearly entered it here. For almost me all day to go 1 mile.” but now an eight-panel solar array provides the ABOVE: John H. a 2001 event organized at Toroweap by Liz and nine years, starting in 1988, her late father, Ed Today, there will be no exploring, just trips to necessary juice. Riffey, who served Clair Roberts, the station’s rangers until 2002. Cummins, served as ranger at Toroweap along shuttle our gear and long waits by the Blazer — first Climbing toward a saddle above the cabin, as Toroweap’s ranger A native of Mancos, Colorado, Riffey earned Iwith her mother, Cathy Alger — who still works for from 1942 until his for the Mohave County sheriff, then for a wrecker I check out the nearly 10,000-gallon rainwater death in 1980, takes a master’s degree in forestry and range manage- the Park Service, at Pipe Spring National Monument out of Fredonia. I cool off inside Toroweap’s barn catchment system, which volunteers updated in in a similar view at the ment, then worked for the U.S. Forest Service near Fredonia. with a crescent of sweet watermelon that Seliga has 2014 after hauling 10,000 pounds of half-inch cor- overlook in the 1950s. before arriving in Toroweap Valley at 31 years old. In June 1989, Alger went into labor out at Courtesy of Grand offered (he’s just restocked on food after going into rugated steel sheets up the slope. I continue to Canyon National He was no company man: I’ve never seen a picture Toroweap. The couple loaded son Eli, still under 3, town) and talk with Miki Magyar, a volunteer from a higher point, then look back to see two plumes of Park Museum of Riffey in uniform. If you’d come upon him, typi- and their dogs, Zack and Bear, into the car for an Boulder, Colorado. dust, one moving toward Fredonia and the other Collection cally in a plaid or checked shirt and wearing his anxious, bumpy two-hour drive out through Colo- She and her husband, John, first met Seliga out approaching the station, as Tom and Seliga return white straw cowboy hat, you’d have assumed he rado City to reach a St. George, Utah, hospital. in the backcountry and are spending a month at just before night falls on Toroweap Valley. was a local rancher. Riffey remained more com- “We were known as the feral children of the Park Toroweap. Through the barn’s big doors, Miki mitted to Toroweap and its people — the ranchers Service,” says Zielinski, who lived at Toroweap and I look across the valley. Whenever anyone whose families had lived here for generations, along until she was nearly 8. She and Eli led an idyllic approaches the station on the way to the rim, Miki hough Encelia riffeyi wasn’t meant to be, Riffey with first-time visitors — than to any bureaucracy. existence connected to their natural surroundings. greets them and provides information. nevertheless achieved a measure of immor- He resisted all efforts to transfer him, and eventu- Often barefoot, they played cowboys and Indians, I wander around Toroweap, which has under- tality through the loving, often laughing ally, the Park Service gave up trying. and built a fort among the rocks. They grew up gone numerous improvements during Seliga’s time. memories of those who knew him. I found “In many ways he was like a shepherd,” wrote aware, not fearful, of the rattlesnakes, tarantulas Built of local stone in 1935, both the barn and the Tthe biography John H. Riffey: The Last Old-Time friend Gene Wendt in a tribute from the Rendez- and scorpions common at Toroweap. Zielinski 36 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 37 But if the overlook and its famous view belong Like Riffey, Seliga has found his place in the to the world, the station belongs to the remarkable Arizona Strip community. He has family ties here: group of people — from Riffey to Seliga — who have One of his maternal great-great-great-grandfathers called it home. “I used to be drawn to the big, dra- was Mormon pioneer Jacob Hamblin, and another matic Canyon views,” Seliga says. “After being here operated the sawmill on Mount Trumbull. He’ll for so long, it’s the valley that means the most to me.” stop to talk to ranchers moving their cattle from I unroll my pad below the cabin and orient it for pasture to pasture, and he attends big events such as the Bundy fam- ily’s recent 1,500-person reunion. “Kindness was Riffey’s religion,” Seliga says. “Because of his generosity, people wouldn’t do things that were offensive or destruc- tive to the park. They wouldn’t want to disre- spect Riffey.” Seliga understands he works in a region that’s far from fed-friendly. I mention that we saw big shotgun blasts in the sign for Grand Canyon-Para- shant National Monument. He’s had his moments, including a life-threaten- ing encounter, and has tried to build a rapport with those in the area. “You only worry about the people who don’t know you — who see you as a uniform, not as an actual person,” he says. ABOVE, CLOCKWISE the best view of the sky over Toroweap Valley. Then While Tom organizes his gear for the trip to St. If the overlook and its famous view belong to the world, the station belongs to FROM FAR LEFT: I can’t sleep. When I shut my eyes, the accident George, Seliga and I walk past the 1921 road grader Rangers posted at the remarkable group of people — from Riffey to Seliga — who have called it home. Toroweap often find it repeats like a GIF in my head. And I can’t resist that Riffey nicknamed “Big Scratchy” on the way to difficult to say goodbye checking the sky. The night is without clouds, the his and Meribeth’s gravesite. Riffey said he wanted to the secluded ranger stars brilliant, and I wait for total darkness to come to be stuffed and put in a rocking chair on the cab- station. remembers “talking” to coyotes by standing on the Trekking Co., a Flagstaff outfitter. once the quarter-moon sets. in’s porch, then given a push every now and again. A nearly 10,000-gallon picnic table and howling into the valley’s emptiness. Eventually, the family, concerned that the chil- rainwater catchment Doze. Wake up. Repeat. Finally, I open my eyes But I’m guessing he’s pretty happy at this spot over- Their parents trusted her and Eli, and placed few dren needed more chances to socialize, finally system provides water to the Milky Way smeared across the moonless sky. looking the valley. limits on what the children could do. “It was cool moved. Ed took a job at Lees Ferry. “There was for the station’s cabin Shooting stars break the stillness, and twinkling I unlatch an ammo box that protects a tribute and barn. because there were no boundaries,” Zielinski says. drama and trauma and tears, but it really was time,” red-eyes out of Las Vegas move like spacecraft book placed here in 2000 by Clair Roberts and From Toroweap “Their attitude was: ‘Come back home. Don’t die.’ ” Alger says. Overlook, the Grand across the universe, silent, until sound catches up flip it open to a page that reads, “Thanks John for Even with the nearest groceries a four-hour “I was leaving the only home I had ever known,” Canyon’s North Rim to light. the homemade cookies back in 1967.” Then I write round-trip away, and even though she had to clean Zielinski says. “I have a very specific image of turn- plunges more than half Around dawn, we gather at a table by the antique a note to Riffey and mention that Harry sends his a mile to the Colorado diapers in an old-fashioned wringer washer, Alger ing around in the back seat and watching the cabin River. drill press that Riffey installed in the barn. Seliga regards. says Toroweap was “just a delight.” With a steady disappear in the distance. I cried my heart out.” Longtime Toroweap offers clusters of wild grapes dropped off by locals Riffey’s gravestone is engraved with an image stream of rim-bound visitors from all over the Riffey would have understood. ranger John H. Riffey before we walk around the property. of Pogo soaring along the Canyon rim. The inscrip- world, the station hardly felt isolated, and the nicknamed this Riffey is inescapable. There’s his hand-painted tion reads, “A man who could spend a lifetime on 1921 road grader “Big couple used Toroweap as a classroom as they home- Scratchy.” sign for Grand Canyon National Monument and the rim and not waste a minute.” Words to live schooled their children. ith the battered Blazer in Fredonia, Tom a caricature in the cabin of Pogo and Riffey with his by, especially when everything can change in an Curiosity and exploring became a way of life. and I aren’t leaving Toroweap tonight. We fist raised; the caption reads, “Doggone tenderfoot instant. From a young age, Eli rode with local ranchers on won’t make it to the rim, and I’m disap- tourists!” Seliga points out the porch Riffey added roundups and now works as a packer at Yellow- pointed to be so close, yet still miss one of onto the cabin and a stone root cellar he built To learn more about the Toroweap (or Tuweep) area of Grand Canyon stone, while Zielinski has a job with the Wildland Wmy favorite places. behind it. National Park, visit www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/tuweep.htm. 38 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 39 SO FAR. So GOOD. About five years ago, Rob Krar gave up his day job as a pharmacist and started competing in some of the country’s most prestigious “ultras” — races that cover 50 miles or more. Today, he’s considered one of the world’s elite endurance athletes, and the numbers speak for themselves: In 2013, he ran 41.2 miles, from rim to rim to rim at the Grand Canyon, in 6 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds. BY KELLY VAUGHN PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAWN KISH

40 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 41 ’VE LOST ROB KRAR. running, too,” Krar says. “And then it got to the point where and pain that go with being body, heart Well, kind of. It’s midafternoon on a Thursday, and I just wasn’t happy in Phoenix anymore.” and brain deep in it. we’re running a segment of the Arizona Trail near the He needed a change of scenery and longed to experience the He started on the South Rim in the San Francisco Peaks. Krar detours into the woods. seasons again. He transferred to Flagstaff. From there, a new dark, shortly before sunrise. For a while, So, I am — if only briefly — outpacing one of the world’s elite running life — he took to the roads around his new home and he ran with a friend. And then he was endurance athletes. found running at an elevation of 7,000 feet far easier than you alone, coursing past Phantom Ranch, Within seconds, though, I hear him, footfalls so delicate or I or other mortals would. After a few half-marathons, he ran Bright Angel Creek, the turnoff to Rib- I think he must really be gliding. And as he moves in front of the Boston Marathon in 2007. bon Falls, Cottonwood Campground. me again, I realize he is. In 2009, Krar’s friend Mike Smith encouraged him to enter For him, though, the major destinations Because that’s what he does. the TransRockies Run, a six-day, 120-mile, 20,000-feet-of-eleva- for the majority of Canyon visitors were Although Flagstaff is Krar’s home and training ground, tion-gain team race in Colorado. He took to Flagstaff’s trails to simply landmarks, check marks on his it’s the 41.2 miles he ran 74 miles away, at the Grand Canyon, train — running long and hard at even higher elevations. mental map of the route. for which he’s best known. The race itself hurt him. But it also healed him. “I guess that when I’m doing some- And maybe his own words best explain his pull to the place. Bone spurs on Krar’s heels required surgery. Rehab. The thing like that, I’m not consciously He wrote them shortly after he completed what stood for more long, slow process of mending, of trying to avoid what he calls absorbing the Canyon itself, not breath- than three years as the fastest known time — 6 hours, 21 min- his “dark space,” a depression that sometimes frightens him. ing in the scenery,” he says. “It’s more utes, 47 seconds — from rim to rim to rim at the Canyon. But he had help. about just focusing on the technical It took some time for the many emotions to settle and organize in Krar met Bauer at TransRockies. She, too, was a last-minute aspect of the run, putting one foot in For Rob Krar, doing a rim-to-rim-to-rim run at the my mind. Collecting myself, I walked to the rim, just like I had begun, Grand Canyon is less about enjoying the scenery and entry in the race, filling a spot abandoned by a friend’s injured front of the other.” more about “putting one foot in front of the other.” taking a few moments to stand and look over the Canyon and reflect partner. He crested the North Kaibab Trail and on the enormity of the effort, the power of the Canyon washing over me “I’m kind of shy at big events, but my friend was from Flag- hit the North Rim in just over three hours. once again. I thought about the journey my running and life have taken staff, too, so we had our little Flagstaff contingent,” Bauer Then, as he passed Supai Tunnel, the the past few years, from meeting my partner in the mountains of Colo- remembers. “I kind of blew Rob off a little bit, but after coming worst possible thing happened: He fell. “The Grand Caon holds rado, to injury, then surgery, and a recovery so long I doubted I’d ever home from the race, I thought: Hmm. That guy was pretty cool. So “I had shoved all this GU [nutrition run gentleman’s pace with friends again, let alone race and compete. we started emailing and talking. After a while, we’d do the full gel] into my waistband for fuel, and I hit a deeply rooted place in my I thanked the Canyon for gifting me with near-flawless conditions, sure drive back and forth between Salt Lake City and Flagstaff, but a rock with my toe and just went down,” heart — it’s seen me at my the stars would not align so perfectly for me again. we’d meet in Moab or on the North Rim, too.” Krar says. “I landed so hard, a few of the Since then, Krar has visited the Grand Canyon often, both They would camp and talk and connect in the open, sacred packets broke, and I was scraping the gel best and also my darkest.” to advocate for its protection — he’s a major proponent of the spaces of nature. They fell in love. They married. And together, off my legs because I knew I would need Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument, which they started ski mountaineering. the calories.” — ROB KRAR would ban uranium mining on the public lands that surround “In the winter of 2011 and 2012, I still never thought I’d run Had the GU not been there to break his the national park — and to train. again,” Krar says. “Christina always wanted to ski mountaineer, fall, Krar likely would have injured him- “It’s just one of those iconic places where you go and feel where you have skins on the bottom of your skis that let you hike self — badly — and that would have ended the run. “The Grand Canyon holds a deeply rooted place in my heart small and set your troubles to rest,” says Krar’s wife, Christina up the mountain. Then you get to the top and rip the skins off Footfalls, footfalls, descent, the squeezing of the universe — it’s seen me at my best and also my darkest,” he writes. “My Bauer. “I think Rob really needs that in his life. Sometimes he and ski down. At [Arizona] Snowbowl, it’s 2,200 feet of vertical into a ball. rim-to-rim-to-rim in 2013 was the perfect day when the Can- just lives too intensely, and the Canyon is always this available hiking. So I got really fit without realizing it.” And then, the return to Phantom Ranch. There, he stopped yon was kind to me, while I was constantly cognizant of the place — familiar and unfamiliar — to go and just clean out and The training prompted him to run the Moab Red Hot 33K to refill his water bottle, knowing that he’d need the hydra- respect it deserves. I doubt I’ll tackle another [one] but under- connect with the land. I think that’s a huge part of what makes in 2012. He won. Other victories, including the overall victory tion for the nearly 5,000 feet he had to climb back out onto the stand the call of the Canyon can be overwhelming at times.” him a runner. Of course, there’s terrain and elevation and all of in the La Sportiva Mountain Cup, followed. South Rim. When he crossed the Colorado River, he’d been Thirty-eight months after Krar’s big Canyon run, he stops the things that are positive about shaping a runner, but I think Then came sponsorships (including The North Face), an running for 4 hours, 49 minutes. me as we make the turn to begin the return trip on our run. it’s more about mental freedom, of being in this beautiful place end to his pharmacy career and entries into some of the coun- On the way up and out, he suffered. He rallied. He hit the We sit in a meadow in the shadow of the San Francisco Peaks. and being able to do something that you’re meant to do.” try’s most prestigious “ultras,” races that cover 50 miles or more. rim with a new fastest known time. I am grateful for the chance to try to breathe again. Krar, At the 2013 Western States Endurance Run, his first 100-miler, though, is thinking. F T.S. ELIOT’S J. ALFRED PRUFROCK measured his he came in second after 15 hours of running. Later, in an article HE STARS HAVE YET TO ALIGN so perfectly for After several heartbeats, the words come. He is no prophet, life in coffee spoons, Krar measures his — in part — in in Runner’s World, he said: “I have no idea where those 15 hours Krar again, and he doesn’t exactly want them to. but, still, they matter. miles run and races won. went. I was just a totally different being.” For now, anyway. Just a few weeks before this story “I’ve struggled for a long time with this new world we live As a kid in Hamilton, Ontario, he ran cross-country and A running life anew. goes to press, another Flagstaff runner, Jim Walmsley, breaks in,” he says. “Social media, even all the games are so realistic. track and played a slew of other sports, such as water polo Krar’s record. By 26 minutes. People can live this alter-ego life with these avatars. I think the and badminton. He moved south to Indianapolis for college at EN HAVE SEEN THEIR GREATNESS flicker A few days after that, I ask Krar, via email, whether he’ll world is falling apart in some ways. Maybe it’s wishful think- Butler University and ran middle distances on the track team. in the folds of the Grand Canyon. Some make another attempt. He’s deep into the Rob Krar Ultra ing, but I believe that if more people could just be sitting here Then he became a pharmacist. And he moved to Phoenix. And have found the eternal footman there. But Running Camp, a six-day Flagstaff-based program that offers like us right now, this world could be a bit better of a place. that running life was over. on May 11, 2013, Rob Krar found himself — and a new record a small group of runners the opportunity to train on some of It’s just getting out the door — just getting people out the door “I worked long hours and took kind of a long break from — amid its layers. Across the terrain and the gains and losses Krar’s favorite trails. and introducing themselves to what is possible.”

42 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 43 This ponderosa pine lived above Horn Creek Rapids in the Grand Canyon’s Inner Gorge, at an elevation — around 3,000 feet — that’s inhospitable to the species. GROWING, GROWING, GONE Four or five years ago, a tree died in the Inner Gorge of the Grand Canyon. That’s not unusual — trees die all the time — but this tree, a 150-year-old ponderosa pine, should never have been living there in the first place. It was a freak of nature.

BY TYLER WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHS BY BILL HATCHER

44 JANUARY 2017 WASN’T SURE IF I SHOULD BELIEVE THE RUMOR — a ponderosa pine growing above Horn Creek Rapids in the Inner Gorge? River guides tell tall tales, so this might be a hoax, something to get me fidgety behind the oars as I approach the lip of the rapids. That spot is the most dramatic downstream view in the Grand Canyon: Black walls narrow to a “V,” and the river van- ishes into an ominous, misty horizon. It’s not the place one tends to be gazing toward the rim, looking for a pine tree. Nonetheless, as the Colorado River gathers itself above the roar, I find myself stealing glances from water to rock like some distracted texting driver. And then, there it is: a tall pine silhouetted against cream-colored sandstone. A sec- ond later, it’s gone, furtively vanishing behind a fin of schist, like a Sasquatch standing still in the forest as one speeds past. I plunge into the tumult of rapids and sluice out the bottom with whoops of relief, feeling cleansed of everything that came before and wondering if it was all a dream. Had I really seen a pon- derosa in the Inner Gorge? Pinus ponderosa is the dominant tree on both rims of the Grand Canyon, where the elevation is generally 7,000 to 8,000 feet. Once in Earth’s history — about 10,000 years ago, when the climate was cooler — the trees commonly grew below the rims, down to 6,000 feet, but never as far down as the Inner Gorge. At 3,000 feet, it’s a land of searing black rock and sparse desert shrubs. A ponderosa pine down there is about as likely as an aspen grove on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. Tell most non-Arizonans that we have the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the world, and they’ll look at you like some naive local. But the image of a robust, orange-barked ponderosa is iconic to Arizonans, as inextricable to our high country as the saguaro is to our deserts. Arizona exists at an optimal location for pine trees. The 35th parallel north, a circle of latitude that crosses the state about 20 miles south of downtown Flagstaff, is a bull’s-eye for pines. There, ample sunshine and just enough moisture make conditions conducive to drought-tolerant pines, but not so great for thirsty competitors. It is the aridity of the Southwest that has allowed pines to exist in our mountain landscapes. There are two varieties of ponderosas in Arizona: Rocky Mountain (Pinus ponderosa scopulorum) and Southwestern (Pinus ponderosa brachyptera). No matter the variety or location, ponderosas thrive where there are regular fires, fend- Writer Tyler Williams ing off blaze after blaze with their thick, flame-resistant bark. Yet they still studies the Inner Gorge To me, the tree’s recent death isn’t as surprising as its pre- climatologist Ken Cole, “the climate was in an exceptionally succumb to the hottest infernos, making forest fires a main cause of mortality. ponderosa, which is ceding survival — probably for 150 years or more, judging from cool and wet period we call the Little Ice Age.” A few wet Within the depths of the Grand Canyon, fire isn’t much of a threat, because thought to have died its narrow-plated orange bark. Bill and I backtrack, descend years, a perfect configuration of topography, a supporting cast the landscape is mostly treeless and thus lacking in fuel. Neither would a pon- in 2012 — a year that a draw in the sandstone cliff and contour the base of that cliff of humidifying bushes — when this ponderosa sprouted, the derosa down here be threatened by logging, or any other man-made impact, for had a dry winter and a for an hour to reach the tree. There we sit, in the same Tapeats neighborhood was perfectly hospitable. And so, year after year, that matter. Maybe a ponderosa could survive near the bottom of the Canyon. weak monsoon. shade that nurtured this bold pine. this stalwart pine grew, pushing farther into the harsh atmo- Maybe what I saw was no ghost. We’ve been there for hours when I notice a crack leading sphere with each season, with every inch of dictated growth. into the wall. A low roof forces me onto hands and knees as The last couple of decades, no doubt, got tougher: more sun- THE RIVER RUMBLES A THOUSAND FEET BELOW and a hot sun saps I creep in carefully, scanning dark crevices for anything that shine as the tree grew beyond the cliff’s shade, more hot years our motivation as photographer Bill Hatcher and I scramble over ledges of might not want to share the overhang with me. Three crawls in, as the climate entered a new era. Finally, this ponderosa pine, Tapeats sandstone and speculate on where this supposed pine tree might a cool breeze brushes across my neck. It’s natural air condition- resolutely finding its niche in an obscure habitat amid a land of reside. I’m lost in Canyon reverie when Bill’s voice echoes over the rocks: “Hey, ing, emanating from a series of shady fissures tucked inside the oven-hot rock, reached its limits. here’s a pine tree.” It’s the crown of a full-grown pine, its orange bark and long sandstone. Looking out, there’s the pine, directly in line with It will soon topple, sadly but inevitably. Softening the loss needles barely poking above the cliff where we stand. It’s unmistakably pon- the cool spilling air. Rain runoff surely follows this same crack is a young piñon pine growing a few feet away. This small tree derosa, and it’s unmistakably dead. system, giving extra moisture to the pine and a surrounding is out of place down here, too, but less so than the ponderosa “It probably died in 2012,” says George Koch, a Northern Arizona University copse of greenery. Below the natural garden, a huge square was. A charismatic little tree with drooping limbs, it’s sure to professor and plant ecophysiologist who’s climbed many of the world’s largest block of fallen Tapeats sits like a dam, containing the moisture cast a striking silhouette. Someday, if I’m lucky, I might float trees to understand how their hydraulic systems work. “That year had a dry and the cool, humid air. past in a haze of heat and say: “Look up there — a piñon pine winter followed by a weak monsoon. It was tough on a lot of trees.” “When that tree was a seedling in the late 1800s,” says growing in the Inner Gorge. Who would ever believe that?”

46 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 47 THE LION KING Brandon Holton is a wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park. Recently, he wrapped up a 10-year study on mountain lions, also known as pumas, cougars and catamounts. On a rare day in the office, he talked to us about blow darts, Marlin Perkins and the many misconceptions about mountain lions.

INTERVIEWED BY BRIANNA COSSAVELLA

TALK ABOUT A DAY IN THE LIFE WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OF BRANDON HOLTON. SHOWS LIKE RUNNING WILD It varies. Sometimes, I’m out WITH BEAR GRYLLS? GOOD OR in the field for up to two BAD FOR WILDLIFE? weeks, whether it be on I haven’t seen the show, but a river trip or doing work my guess is that it’s very with mountain lions and much sensationalized. As far bighorn sheep. Other times, as people attempting similar I’m plopped in my office, stunts, it’s probably minimal writing reports and doing and doesn’t have much of an data analysis. impact.

DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE TALK ABOUT THE RADIO­ MARLIN PERKINS? TELEMETRY STUDY THAT I think he was more focused YOU’VE JUST COMPLETED. on the general population. The emphasis was on puma- Maybe half of my work is human interaction and geared toward the general whether there was a human population, and the other safety component. It was also half toward scientists. So, about collecting baseline no, I don’t feel like Marlin ecology of pumas. That Perkins. includes anything from prey

As a wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park, Brandon Holton deals with many of the Canyon’s animals, but one of his recent projects focused on the park’s mountain lions. Dawn Kish

48 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 49 composition to habitat selec- bilizing them and strapping areas that have the highest just want to move away only for traveling and hunt- “Because it’s the Grand Canyon, and you have tion, movements, and demo- a collar around their necks. muscle mass — like the shoul- from you. ing, but to go over the Canyon graphic factors such as der or the hip. Typically, we’ll rim to den. So, by necessity, 5,000 feet of elevational gradient in a very confined survival. What we found is WHAT’S THEIR DEMEANOR go into a range to practice. HOW MANY LIONS ARE these cats are having to cross place, these cats are moving around differently that there’s virtually nothing WHEN YOU GET TO THEM? IN THE PARK? the road very frequently. to be afraid of when it comes It varies. You have some cats IT HAS TO BE KIND OF COOL No one knows, but it appears Vehicle mortality has been the than in other systems.” — BRANDON HOLTON to mountain lions. For the that are mellow and just WHEN YOU’RE SITTING we have a rather robust popu- second-­biggest cause of mor- most part, mountain lions want to get it over with, and AROUND, TALKING TO FRIENDS lation of mountain lions. That tality for these cats. avoid developed areas around other cats are highly agitated AFTER WORK, AND ONE OF said, that landscape configura- the park. There were no and jumping around a little THEM ASKS: “SO, BRANDON, tion of the Grand Canyon is WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU human safety issues in the bit. But we implement spe- HOW WAS YOUR DAY?” YOU limited, as far as being able to SEE A MOUNTAIN LION IN time we conducted the study. cific protocols when actu- GET TO SAY: “EH, IT WAS JUST harbor a large population of THE WILD? Sometimes, people are con- ally trapping these animals ANOTHER DAY ... I TRANQUIL- mountain lions. The boundar- Stand your ground. Watch it. cerned about their pets or and checking the traps — IZED A MOUNTAIN LION WITH ies in certain areas, whether Chances are the animal will livestock, too. We had a total it’s a minimum of once or A BLOW DART.” it be on the north side or the be running away from you, of 32 collared mountain lions twice a day. We have trap Well, in a lot of ways, south side, are rather shallow. so, smile and think to your- it’s stressful. You’re invasively So, by necessity of having huge self, This is an awesome wildlife trapping this animal. Sure, home ranges, the vast majority experience. Very few people it’s fun and exciting, but even of cats, even if they’re caught get to actually see a moun- if you’ve captured the animal, inside the park, will use For- tain lion in the wild. reversed the drug and let it go, est Service land almost as there’s still that element of much as, if not more than, the WHAT DO MOUNTAIN LIONS making sure it’s OK for the actual Park Service land. So LIKE TO EAT? next couple of days. With any we can’t really define a “Grand At Grand Canyon, it depends sort of invasive animal cap- Canyon cat,” because most of whether that cat is on the ture, there’s a possibility that them are not using the Grand South Rim, the North Rim things can go wrong. So, usu- Canyon exclusively. or actually in the Canyon ally, it’s more about drinking itself. Cats on the south side a beer and being glad that WHAT ARE THE CHANCES consume primarily elk, fol- things went as smoothly as OF A VISITOR SEEING ONE? lowed by mule deer. On the they could possibly go. Very, very rare. Most of the north side of the Canyon, people who come to the it’s almost exclusively a mule BETTER THAN ACCOUNTING, park are very concentrated, deer prey system. If the cats When Brandon Holton isn’t studying the Grand Canyon’s wildlife in RIGHT? whether it be the North Rim are in the Canyon, they’re the field, he’s writing reports and doing data analysis in his office. Absolutely. village, the South Rim vil- preying primarily on big- Dawn Kish lage or Desert View. Most horn sheep and mule deer. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SCARED? visitors don’t go out into the Mountain lions can be intimidating, but Brandon Holton says the chances of a mountain lion attacking a human are extremely low. Tim Fitzharris Sometimes adrenaline kicks woods where most of the cats ARE THEY A THREAT and zero incidents of them transmitters that will give off in and you get a little scared, are, and it’s also a product of TO HUMANS? preying on pets or livestock. If different signals if the trap but not for extended periods activity pattern. We are active The chances of a mountain you give these guys a lot of has been sprung, so we know of time. Like, if a mountain during the day, and cats are lion attacking a human are room to run, a solid prey base if we have a potential moun- lion jumps at you really fast, primarily active at night, so extremely low. If you look at if the animal is diseased. But lions cross the river. Most yon, and you have 5,000 feet and good habitat, you’ll have tain lion capture before walk- it’s a split-second moment that doesn’t lend itself to a lot all the data that’s been col- for the most part, especially lions are on the rims, but they of elevational gradient in no issues whatsoever as far as ing to the snare. and you react. It’s more about of interaction between us and lected since the late 1800s, around here with lots of room will go into the inner Canyon a very confined place, these human safety goes. reaction than actually being mountain lions. only 20 people have been to roam and a good prey base, and cross the river. cats are moving around dif- ONCE THEY’RE IN THE SNARE, scared. Mountain lions specif- killed by mountain lions. you have no problem. Our ferently than in other systems. HOW WERE THE MOUNTAIN WHAT’S NEXT? A BLOW DART? ically, and wildlife in general, WHERE IS THAT MOST LIKELY That’s an extremely low stress levels are nonexistent. HOW BIG DO THE LIONS GET? We’re looking to see if they’re LIONS CAPTURED? Yes. want to stay away from us, so TO HAPPEN? number when you look at In my study, the average male actually impacting their prey We used mostly padded we’re inducing more of an On the road. We have the time period. Statistically, ARE THE LIONS MORE LIKELY was about 130 pounds and base. One big question I have, snares inside the park. But on WHAT’S IT LIKE SHOOTING element of being scared than what’s called the East Rim it’s a non-event. But these TO HEAR YOU, SMELL YOU OR a female about 100 pounds. which is why I do a lot of des- the North Rim, we employed A BLOW DART? HOW DO YOU they are to us. Drive — it’s roughly about animals are susceptible to SEE YOU FIRST? ert bighorn sheep work these a trap specialist, and he PRACTICE THAT? a 25-mile stretch that runs certain things. You could have See you and hear you. WHAT WAS THE ULTIMATE days, is: Why are lions very caught cats outside the park You can usually get within WHAT ABOUT YOUR between the South Rim and a young cat that’s not finding GOAL OF THE PROGRAM? rarely preying on desert big- for us using trained hounds. 15 feet or so when they’re in FAMILY AND FRIENDS; DO Desert View. It parallels the a territory of his own, it’s get- DO LIONS EVER GO DOWN TO To better understand what horn sheep? And it’s probably It’s the same way that you the snare, so it’s not a long- THEY WORRY? Canyon, for the most part, ting beat up by other males, THE COLORADO RIVER, OR mountain lions are doing, a product of having such high would hunt the cats, but in range shot, but you do want No, I don’t think so. Again, and has really bisected the and it’s desperate and hungry. CROSS THE RIVER AND GO specifically in the Grand prey bases on the rims, that our case, we weren’t hunting to practice so you can get it’s nothing that’s worrisome. cats’ preferred habitat. They These cats are the most likely TO THE OPPOSITE RIM? Canyon. It’s a unique system. they rarely have to go into the them; we were just immo- good at it. You want to go for These cats are good cats and love the Canyon edge, not to be a threat to a human, or Yes. I’ve had two collared Because it’s the Grand Can- inner Canyon to find prey.

50 JANUARY 2017 www.arizonahighways.com 51 scenic DRIVE

IRONWOOD FOREST This scenic drive is among the hardest and densest in the world — hence the name. A drive through Ironwood Forest National Monument through 190,000-acre Ironwood Forest National Monument offers plenty of these offers a look at some of the hardest trees in the desert stalwarts, along with an up-close world, along with an up-close view of one of view of one of Southern Arizona’s most distinctive peaks. Southern Arizona’s most distinctive peaks. From Marana along Interstate 10, BY NOAH AUSTIN / PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEFF MALTZMAN head west on Marana Road. After pass- ing through farmland and crossing the Santa Cruz River, you’ll turn right onto esert ironwoods aren’t as iconic the Sonoran Desert. They can live for Silverbell Road and begin winding into as saguaros, but the trees — offi- centuries in the scorching heat, they pro- the monument. The road eventually turns D cially known as Olneya tesota vide valuable shade for young saguaros from pavement to dirt, but it’s well main- — are the unsung heroes of much of and other desert flora, and their wood tained and easy to navigate in most cars. In addition to ironwoods — identi- fied by their blue-green leaves, grayish bark and purple spring blooms — you’ll see paloverdes, saguaros, ocotillos and prickly pear cactuses, many of which are “nursed” by ironwoods. It’s an impres- sive contribution to the desert ecosystem, but ironwoods are impressive even after they die. Because their wood is so dense, it’s essentially immune to decay, so a dead ironwood might be around for sev- A couple of miles past Ragged Top, right and navigate a rocky, rutted dirt eral hundred years before it erodes away. around Mile 20 of the drive, you’ll reach road to return to I-10 in Red Rock. The SCENIC The plant life isn’t the only draw of an intersection with Sasco Road. If you’re payoff on that road is views of Picacho DRIVES of Arizona’s Best Back this drive. The saguaros attract lesser driving a passenger car or don’t feel like Peak, the ghost town of Sasco and more 40 Roads ADDITIONAL READING: For more adventure, pick up long-nosed bats (a threatened species), having your teeth rattled, turn around ironwoods. But if you can’t do the whole a copy of our book Scenic and desert bighorn sheep live in the mon- and head back to Marana the way you drive, don’t worry. The ironwoods will Drives, which features 40 of the state’s most beautiful back ument’s Silver Bell Mountains. Keep an came. But if you have a high-clearance, be there the next time you visit — and roads. To order, visit www.shop Edited by Robert Stieve eye out for hawks, roadrunners and tur- four-wheel-drive vehicle, you can turn a few hundred years after that, too. and Kelly Vaughn Kramer arizonahighways.com/books. key vultures, too. And the area’s human history is on display at more than 200 Hohokam rock art sites. Soon, you’ll approach a mountain TOUR GUIDE whose strange profile you’ve probably Note: Mileages are approximate. noticed while driving on I-10. Ragged LENGTH: 33 miles one way (from Interstate 10) Top, like ironwoods, is appropriately DIRECTIONS: From Tucson, go northwest on Inter­- state 10 for 22 miles to Marana Road (Exit 236). Turn named. The rhyolite peak is a textbook left (southwest) at the stop sign and continue 0.1 miles example of a volcanic plug, which occurs to Marana Road. Turn right onto Marana Road and when magma hardens in a vent on an continue 6 miles to Silverbell Road. Turn right onto Silverbell Road and continue 13.9 miles to Sasco Road. active volcano. That’s what happened Turn right onto Sasco Road and continue 13 miles to here about 22 million years ago. Today, Red Rock and I-10. Ragged Top is a popular climbing desti- VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: None for Silverbell Road, but a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle is required nation, but there’s no established trail to for Sasco Road. Don’t attempt either portion of the the summit. If you’re not in the mood for drive if rain is in the forecast. scrambling, just enjoy the views of the WARNING: Back-road travel can be hazardous, so be aware of weather and road conditions. Carry plenty of craggy peak from the road. water. Don’t travel alone, and let someone know where you are going and when you plan to return. LEFT: Ragged Top is Ironwood Forest National INFORMATION: Ironwood Forest National Monument, Monument’s defining geological feature. 520-258-7200 or www.blm.gov/az OPPOSITE PAGE: Desert ironwoods mingle with Travelers in Arizona can visit www.az511.gov or dial ocotillos, saguaros and other desert plants in 511 to get infor­ma­tion on road closures, construc­tion, the monument. delays, weather and more.

52 JANUARY 2017 MAP BY KEVIN KIBSEY www.arizonahighways.com 53 HIKE of the month

drinking a lot of water and Technically, this is PACKARD MESA TRAIL If you have excellent route-finding skills and keeping a steady pace. Ten where the Packard Mesa minutes beyond the sign, Trail ends, but most hik- you’re up for a challenge, this hike in the Prescott National Forest is a good you’ll leave the wilderness ers continue north on “63” area and make your way to to the edge of Sycamore one. However, if you can’t read a compass, you might want to think twice. a shelf that masquerades as Canyon. To get there, you’ll BY ROBERT STIEVE / PHOTOGRAPHS BY GUY SCHMICKLE the top. It’s not. It’s a pawn pass through two gates of Mother Nature, put there on either side of Sycamore to deter the less deter- Tank and come to another ou won’t touch any summits or a challenge, this is a great hike. arrive at the boundary of the Sycamore mined. Take a breather, and “63” sign along a narrow conquer any canyons on this hike, The adventure begins at the southern Canyon Wilderness. From there, there then continue the climb. jeep road. The trail here Y but you’ll earn a notch in your end of Sycamore Canyon. For the first are two things you’ll need to look for: As you huff and puff uphill, is extremely difficult to belt nonetheless. There are longer hikes five minutes, you’ll follow the Parsons prickly pears and cairns. You already you’ll pass a massive boul- find, but if you scan the and more difficult trails, but the chal- Trail down a steep slope to the bank of know about the importance of the cairns. der and another “66” sign, tall grass along the road lenge here is staying the course. Although Sycamore Creek, which runs year-round The cactuses are singled out for their after which you’ll veer left and look due north, you’ll the Chino Valley Ranger District does and separates the Coconino National gargantuan nature and their menacing along a large wash littered find it. Ten minutes later, a great job of marking the route with Forest from the Prescott National For- barbs. They’re hell-bent on getting you. with big rocks and several you’ll arrive at the edge of cairns, Packard Mesa is crisscrossed by est. The creek is the first test. Although That’s why gaiters are a good idea. broken trees. Sycamore Canyon and the several cattle paths, which look identical there’s a wooden sign to point you in About 20 minutes in, you’ll come to The route along the wash boundary of the wilder- to the trail you’ll be hiking, and it’s cov- the right direction, it’s difficult to see another wooden sign marked simply lasts about 10 minutes and ness area. If you make it ered with a blanket of thorny brambles exactly where to cross the creek. There “66.” That’s the official trail number, leads to the top. It’s a long this far, give yourself a pat and long grasses. That adds up to a trail are cairns, if you can find them. If not, and you’ll need to know it later on. At haul, but the payoff is on the back. However, if that’s hard to follow, which is why this just rock-hop across the water and bush- this point, though, you need to focus on a gorgeous high-chaparral grassland dot- come in handy on the return trip — and you want a notch in your belt, you’ll have month’s Hike of the Month comes with whack to the opposite bank. Initially, the ted with ancient junipers and galloping keep your eyes peeled for the indispens- to make it all the way back. a powerful disclaimer: Unless you have trail parallels an old barbed-wire fence. jackrabbits — some of the hares are so able cairns. At the two-hour mark, you’ll excellent route-finding skills, you might When you find it, veer left and begin the BELOW: The Packard Mesa Trail’s namesake offers big you’ll think you’re hallucinating. The see another “66” sign before entering a nice view of the greenery along Sycamore Creek. want to sit this one out. However, if you long, grueling climb to Packard Mesa. OPPOSITE PAGE: The trail is well marked, but views are nice, too, especially Sycamore a flat area of red dirt that floods when it ADDITIONAL READING: can read a compass and you’re up for Within a few hundred yards, you’ll following it can still be a challenge. Canyon to the east and Kendrick Peak to rains. The water has created some deep For more hikes, pick up a copy the north. ruts that obscure the trail, but if you pay of Arizona Highways Hiking Guide, which features 52 of the From there, the trail is mostly level as attention, you’ll eventually arrive at an state’s best trails — one for each it heads north and parallels the western intersection with the Sycamore Basin weekend of the year, sorted by seasons. To order a copy, visit edge of the wilderness area. Press firmly Trail, which is marked as “63” — it comes www.shoparizonahighways. with each step — your footprints will in from the west and then heads north. com/books.

TRAIL GUIDE LENGTH: 11.8 miles round-trip DIFFICULTY: Strenuous ELEVATION: 3,775 to 4,810 feet TRAILHEAD GPS: N 34˚51.837', W 112˚04.143' DIRECTIONS: From Cottonwood, go northwest on Main Street and follow the signs to Tuzigoot National Monu- ment. Turn right onto Tuzigoot Road, continue across the Verde River bridge and turn left onto Forest Road 131 (Sycamore Canyon Road). From there, it’s 11 miles to the trailhead. VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: A high-clearance vehicle is required. DOGS ALLOWED: Yes HORSES ALLOWED: Yes USGS MAPS: Sycamore Basin, Clarkdale INFORMATION: Chino Valley Ranger District, 928- 777-2200 or www.fs.usda.gov/prescott LEAVE-NO-TRACE PRINCIPLES: • Plan ahead and be out all of your trash. prepared. • Leave what you find. • Travel and camp on • Respect wildlife. durable surfaces. • Minimize campfire impact. • Dispose of waste • Be considerate of properly and pack others.

54 JANUARY 2017 MAP BY KEVIN KIBSEY www.arizonahighways.com 55 WHERE IS THIS? travel on a Grand Scale Seeing Double Once upon a midnight (or midday) dreary, this raven took flight from atop its doppel- gänger, which watches over a parking lot at one of Arizona’s most well-known attrac- tions. The other three lots there are named for a mammal, a reptile and an insect. To keep this a challenge, they’ll remain nameless here. For evermore.

October 2016 Answer & Winner Win a collection of our most popular books! To enter, correctly identify the location pictured above and email your answer to U.S. Route 89 @ November 2016 editor arizonahighways.com — type “Where Is This?” in the subject line. Entries can north of Flagstaff. also be sent to 2039 W. Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009 (write “Where Is This?” on Answer & Winner Congratulations to the envelope). Please include your name, address and phone number. One winner will 888-868-WEST (9378) our winner, Roger Cape Royal Road, Grand Canyon North be chosen in a random drawing of qualified entries. Entries must be postmarked by Moynihan of Fall- Rim. Congratulations to our winner, January 15, 2017. Only the winner will be notified. The correct answer will be posted in brook, California. our March issue and online at www.­ ­arizonahighways.com beginning February 15. Dorota Thieme of Prescott, Arizona. Find us on 4 HOURS FROM PHoenix 56 JANUARY 2017 PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP DEREK VON BRIESEN ABOVE, FAR LEFT JOHN BURCHAM ABOVE, LEFT ADAM SCHALLAU