“Don’t worry. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

OCTOBER 2018

ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE

ARIZONA GHOST TOWNS of the most deserted places 13 you'll ever see

LOCATION: RUBY, ARIZONA 2 EDITOR’S LETTER Grand Canyon 3 CONTRIBUTORS National Park

4 LETTERS Sedona Humboldt 5 THE JOURNAL Congress Cleator People, places and things from around the state, includ- Swansea Stanton ing a piece about sorghum, which was seen as the next PHOENIX big thing for Arizona in the 1950s; the story behind an Sasco unlikely photograph of Havasu Falls; and a new restau- 2018 Tucson Dos Cabezas October Pearce rant in Tucson by the legendary Flores family. Mount Hopkins Gleeson Courtland Patagonia Fairbank 16 ARIZONA GHOST TOWNS Ruby Harshaw In addition to canyons, cactuses and colorful sunsets, POINTS OF INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE Arizona has an abundance of ghost towns. As a general rule, they’re not very scary. Nevertheless, we figured October would be a good time to tell you about some of the more interesting old places. Thirteen, to be exact. GET MORE ONLINE Edited by Noah Austin www.arizonahighways.com Text by Philip Varney Photographs by John Burcham and Eirini Pajak /azhighways 50 SCENIC DRIVE @arizonahighways Mount Hopkins: There aren’t many scenic drives that fea- ture gamma ray telescopes, but this one does, along with some high-altitude panoramas of the Santa Cruz Valley. By Kathy Montgomery Photographs by Randy Prentice 52 FALL COLOR GUIDE Whether you’re in the mood for a leisurely drive or a forest stroll, there are plenty of ways to experience Arizona’s autumn hues.

Golden aspen leaves punctuate a nighttime view of the San Francisco Peaks near The 54 HIKE OF THE MONTH Nature Conservancy’s Hart Prairie Preserve, Sterling Pass-Vultee Arch Trail: Fall color, breathtaking which is west of the Peaks. Claire Curran switchbacks (literally and figuratively), big trees, small

FRONT COVER: Montana Peak looms over trees, tragic history and one of the state’s most impres- decaying walls in Ruby, a Southern Arizona site sive arches highlight this trek in Red Rock Country. that’s among the state’s best-preserved ghost By Robert Stieve towns. Eirini Pajak Photographs by Joel Hazelton CANON EOS 5D MARK III, 1 SEC, F/16, ISO 100, 19 MM LENS

BACK COVER: A tombstone at one of two 56 WHERE IS THIS? cemeteries in Congress, a Central Arizona ghost town, marks 22-year-old Oscar McElroy’s resting place. John Burcham CANON EOS 5D MARK IV, 1/160 SEC, F/5.6, ISO 160, 30 MM LENS

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

September and ending as late as January in some JOHN BURCHAM of the desert’s riparian areas. Sprint. Marathon. Before his assignment for this issue OCTOBER 2018 VOL. 94 NO. 10 Take your pick. We’ll admit that Vermont is the (see Arizona Ghost Towns, page 16), crown jewel, but as Joyce Rockwood Muench 800-543-5432 John Burcham didn’t know anything wrote in our October 1957 issue, Arizona’s palette www.arizonahighways.com about Humboldt, Cleator, Stanton, is pretty impressive, too. GIFT SHOP: 602-712-2200 Congress and Swansea — the five “Paved highways and their less sophisticated ghost towns he photographed. “I didn’t relatives take you unerringly into these frontiers PUBLISHER Kelly J. Mero even know they existed,” he says. And EDITOR Robert Stieve of color,” she explained with her own burst of while each location posed unique chal- MANAGING EDITOR Kelly Vaughn I can’t remember where we color. “You can scarcely travel east or west, north lenges, Burcham says that was part ASSOCIATE EDITOR Noah Austin got our pumpkins. That’s not something we or south, without being caught in the rolling of the fun. “It was an adventure just EDITORIAL grew on the farm. Most likely, they came tide of prismatic changes. Whether it’s along the ADMINISTRATOR Nikki Kimbel getting out there and going to a new

from a roadside stand somewhere. They were winding blacktop over the Kaibab: a fifty-mile PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jeff Kida place each time,” he says. “Most of the

everywhere. Self-serve card tables heaped with cavalcade of green and gold in Northern Arizona; CREATIVE DIRECTOR Barbara Glynn Denney time, I was just out in the desert, on

produce. Hand-painted signs. Capitalism based down the escalator-drop of 7,000 feet in fifty ART DIRECTOR Keith Whitney dirt roads, with no one else for miles

on the honor system. I’m guessing we paid about a buck apiece — it was the miles through the movie-backdrop of Oak Creek MAP DESIGNER Kevin Kibsey around.” Burcham camped overnight at each of the towns, allowing him to photograph

’60s and early ’70s — and drove away feeling like philanthropists. “Highway Canyon; or whisking up to the Alpine resort in PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Michael Bianchi during sunset and sunrise. “I went to each location at about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, then

robbery!” That’s what my grandfather would have called it. But it was money the Hualapais ... vistas of foliage can be caught in DIRECTOR OF SALES scouted it to see how it would work,” he says. “Then I’d shoot until sunset, but I also well spent, because Halloween was an adolescent bender. Mardi Gras for the very act of changing costume. Navajo Moun- AND MARKETING Karen Farugia wanted to shoot at sunrise, because some buildings were better at that time.” Of the five kids too young to drive. tain, deep in the Indian country; the rolling ups WEBMASTER Victoria J. Snow towns he tackled, he says Swansea, in Western Arizona, was his favorite. “That was a true Whether or not it’s possible to warp the fabric of existence, I can go back and downs of the White Mountains; the unfor- CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Nicole Bowman ghost town,” he says. “No houses, no people, nothing around there. It just felt remote and in time whenever I want. I just close my eyes and I’m back in the backyard gettable San Francisco Peaks; the Blues; Sierra DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Matthew Bailey super-cool.” Burcham is a regular Arizona Highways contributor whose photos have also of my boyhood home. Carving pumpkins with my brothers, dive-bombing OPERATIONS/ appeared in National Geographic, Backpacker and other magazines. Anchas; Santa Catalinas crowd the roster. You can IT MANAGER Cindy Bormanis mounds of maple leaves, pretending to be Bart Starr. Or Roman Gabriel. include the Ajos, the Grahams and the Chirica- The October air was crisp — it would frost the pumpkins overnight. And huas, and still be leaving out invitations to keep CORPORATE OR it smelled like fall. Some combination of wood smoke, corn shocks and the you moving along the trails to autumn tints.” TRADE SALES 602-712-2018

ironic redolence of decomposition. Although our issue this month is focused on SPONSORSHIP SALES So many of my best memories are linked to autumn. Winter in Wisconsin ghost towns, every one of which is well suited to REPRESENTATION On Media Publications Deidra Viberg was cold. Spring was wet. Summer was buggy. But fall was picture-perfect. a visit in October, we do offer some guidance on 602-323-9701 The valedictorian of the class. It’s the same in Arizona, even though our state where to see fall color. Our Hike of the Month fea- is often disparaged as a place with no seasonal personality. It’s true that tures two trails in the Red Rock-Secret Mountain LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [email protected] the change in the desert is more subtle, but there’s a definite transition that Wilderness near Sedona. There’s a lot of color in 2039 W. Lewis Avenue marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall. In the high country, it’s there. Mostly red. And our Scenic Drive, which Phoenix, AZ 85009 easier to see, but it’s everywhere, and that’s what makes Arizona so unique. ultimately leads to Mount Hopkins, also winds And maybe better than anywhere else. along Montosa Canyon, where, at the end of the GOVERNOR Douglas A. Ducey A few years ago, we caused a stir after teasing that theory on our cover. month, the cottonwoods will be draped in gold, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT Turns out, some folks in Vermont — all 623,657 of them — weren’t crazy like Louis XI at Plessis-les-Tours. In addition, our OF TRANSPORTATION John S. Halikowski about the cover line: “Autumn in Arizona & Why It’s Better Here Than It Fall Color Guide gives specifics on some of the

Is in Vermont.” Among the many calls I took was one from the governor’s places Ms. Muench mentioned in 1957, along with Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published office in Montpelier. I think that’s what got the attention of the Associated a few others. There are 17 in all, and we think monthly by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Subscription price: $24 a year in the U.S., $44 outside Press. After that, the story went viral. Even Time magazine weighed in: “It’s they’re all worth a look. the U.S. Single copy: $4.99 U.S. Call 800-543-5432. UP- EIRINI PAJAK a leaf-peeping smackdown. A magazine promoting tourism in Arizona (yes, Of course, we also thought it was a good idea DATED PRIVACY POLICY: Our privacy policy has been As a photographer, Eirini Pajak is mostly drawn to close-up and macro shots, so her updated to reflect the new changes in data protection Arizona) is boasting that its foliage season is better than Vermont’s.” to start a war of words with the state of Vermont. laws, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regu- assignment this month — photographing eight Southern Arizona ghost towns (see The best response, though, came from our former colleagues at Vermont Five years later, we’ll tip our hat to the Green lations. To read our updated privacy policy, go to www Arizona Ghost Towns, page 16) — was a real stretch creatively. “I felt the same pressure .arizonahighways.com/privacy-policy. Subscription cor­re­ I feel during event photography,” she says. “The subject matter was a mix of architectural Life, which was one of the great regional travel magazines in the country — Mountain State and wish you well as you make spon­dence and change of address information: Arizona sadly, they shut down in May after 72 years of preeminence. To their credit, a plan to explore autumn in Arizona. It’s going Highways, P.O. Box 8521, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Peri­ and landscape photography, neither of which comes naturally to me. I’m very thankful odical postage paid at Phoenix, AZ, and at additional that the Arizona Highways staff believed in me enough to let me try my hand at it.” Some they counterpunched with a mocked-up cover about one of their state’s to take some time. Meanwhile, happy Hallow- mailing office. Canada Post international publications scenic wonders. The cover line read: “Gorges in Vermont & Why Quechee een. Here’s hoping you find pumpkins for a buck mail product (Cana­dian distribution) sales agree­ment of the locations Pajak shot are fairly remote, and while she says she enjoys solitude and Gorge Is Grander Than the Grand Canyon.” It was a brilliant tongue-in- apiece. There has to be a roadside stand out there No. 40732015. Send returns to Quad/Graphics, P.O. Box exploring less-developed areas, “as a woman traveling alone, in unfamiliar territory at 456, Niagara Falls ON L2E 6V2. Post­master: Send ad- cheek comeback to a feud that never really was. somewhere. dress changes to Arizona Highways, P.O. Box 8521, Big strange hours, sometimes I felt a bit on edge.” In almost every ghost town, though, she Our theory was never about quality, but rather quantity. If you do the math, Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Copy­right © 2018 by the Ari­zona met people who lived nearby, which put her at ease. “Each person I met was unique, and Department of Trans­­por­­tation. Repro­duc­tion in whole or the peak season for fall color in Vermont runs for about three weeks. In Ari- ROBERT STIEVE, EDITOR in part with­­out permission is prohibited. The magazine they all had a strong interest in, and knowledge of, the history of these places,” she says. zona, it goes on for more than four months, beginning on the North Rim in Follow me on Instagram: @arizonahighways does not accept and is not responsible for un­solicited “I also was touched by their honor and care for past inhabitants, which was evident in their mater­ ials.­ diligent upkeep of the cemeteries.” Pajak’s macro images of wildflowers will appear in an PRODUCED IN THE USA upcoming Arizona Highways book. — NOAH AUSTIN

2 OCTOBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL MARKOW PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP HAILEY GOLICH ABOVE, RIGHT EIRINI PAJAK www.arizonahighways.com 3 LETTERS [email protected] THE “Ain’t nuthin’ better than ridin’ a fine horse to a new country.” — AUGUSTUS McCRAE, LONESOME DOVE JOURNAL

AUGUST 2018 WHAT A GREAT COVER PHOTO ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE [August 2018]. And perfect cover lines, too. Before BOOTS, reading the attribution, I’d assumed it was by one CHAPS & of [Louis] L’Amour’s characters. As a kid, I’d barely COWBOY HATS been west of the Mississippi before we moved to EXPLORING ARIZONA'S WESTERN CULTURE Phoenix. That was 60 years ago. With me then were many haunting Arizona images implanted by Zane Grey books. “Boots, Chaps and Cowboy Hats” had that Grey flavor, and the flavor of Arizona in the 1950s. Your August content more than lives up to the Arizona Highways mystique. Thank you! LOCATION: MLY RANCH, Dick Kemp, Phoenix WHITE MOUNTAINS August 2018 Golden ou mentioned in your Editor’s Letter [Hike of the Month, July 2018]. Day 1, Phoenix, in late summer, was covered Delicious [August 2018] that Robert Duvall will we got Betatakin; the next day, we in “white cotton snowballs.” We con- Hart Prairie Road (Forest Road 151) Y forever be your Augustus McCrae, as hiked to Keet Seel, spent the night and tinued our visits over the years, falling meanders through a grove of is the case for many of us. That caused returned the next day. One of the guys more in love with the diversity of the aspens and evergreens northwest me to meditate on the phenomenon had to help me pack out my gear on the landscapes. We had three children who of Flagstaff in the Coconino whereby two pieces of endearing art, 1,000-foot switchbacks on our way out also became enamored with the state. National Forest. The dirt road, sometimes obviously related but often to Tsegi Point. Memorable. Amazing. When college time came for the eldest, which is navigable in any vehicle not, inadvertently merge, in soul, into And although the ranger told me there nothing would do but to attend Arizona in good weather, is an excellent place to see golden aspen leaves something greater than the sum of the weren’t any turkeys in the canyon, I State University, and he never came in autumn. For more information, parts. How many of us, for instance, swear I heard a turkey during the night. home! You have a very happy police chief contact the Flagstaff Ranger have been forever changed so that we no But maybe it was a ghost of the past. keeping the peace in one of the beautiful District at 928-526-0866 or visit longer simply read of Hercule Poirot’s That trip still haunts me. So glad I went. environs of the state, and the rest of the www.fs.usda.gov/coconino. adventures, but rather have them lived Peggy Buffo, El Cajon, California family visits and continues the explora- CANON EOS 5D MARK II, 0.6 SEC, F/16, out, deep within, by the muse of David tions of this beautiful creation of God. ISO 100, 73 MM LENS Suchet? As I pondered this, apparently he August 2018 issue of Arizona Patricia Armstrong, Fort Mill, South Carolina subconsciously, while consciously ridin’ Highways captured my interest, as to new country on the fine horse of your T always. But it wasn’t until I looked att Jaffe’s account of The Ultimate magazine, the breath was knocked out closely at the photo on the back cover by Arizona Road Trip [July 2018] was of me by J. Peter Mortimer’s amazing Matt Whelan that I discovered some- M worth the cost of several years’ photo of that old cowboy and his young thing unexpected. Hidden within the worth of subscriptions to this outstand- friend [page 20]. Henceforth, their gaze rocks, I have found six faces. The most ing magazine. What a well-written and will forever be fused, for me at least, prominent is the “bear” (with his arms descriptive report. Thank you for pub- with the deep struggles of my friends extended) at the top of the waterfall. It lishing it. from Fire on the Mountain. Of that, I’m seems each time I look, I spot another Paul Luvera, Gig Harbor, Washington certain that even Cactus Ed would face. Has anyone else mentioned this, or approve. am I suffering from summer heat? CORRECTION: This year’s Vermilion Cliffs condor John Zajac, Sturbridge, Massachusetts Ann Sands, Hopewell Junction, New York release [Scenic Drive, September 2018] is Sep- tember 22, not September 29. The event was think what you do is so cool. All of the y July 2018 issue arrived on Friday, rescheduled after the issue was printed. For pictures you put in Arizona Highways and by Monday morning, I had more information, visit the Condor Cliffs Face- I look so surreal. Keep doing what M completed my trip with Matt and book page, www.facebook.com/condorcliffs. you’re doing. Becky Jaffe, every word, every picture, Cooper Jones, Gilbert, Arizona enjoying a return to quite a few of contact us If you have thoughts or com- the locations we had visited over the ments about anything in Arizona Highways, we’d any moons ago, I took a hiking trip years. In 1955, my father-in-law was love to hear from you. We can be reached at editor@ arizonahighways.com, or by mail at 2039 W. Lewis that Arizona Highways had organized sent to Arizona with the Department of Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009. For more information, M to hike to Navajo National Monument Agriculture’s Cotton Division. South of visit www.arizonahighways.com.

4 OCTOBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY GUY SCHMICKLE nature J

Arizona Treefrogs

NOAH AUSTIN

Mountain streams and wet meadows are the habitat of Arizona treefrogs (Hyla wrigh- torum), identified by their green or copper- colored bodies and dark eye stripes. These relatively small frogs grow to about 2 inches long, and in Arizona, they’re found mostly above the Mogollon Rim, in a narrow band that extends from the Williams area south- east to the New Mexico state line. The frogs breed at the beginning of the summer mon- soon, and while their breeding choruses last only two or three days, occasional metallic- sounding calls can be heard all summer. Arizona treefrogs have been Arizona’s state amphibian since 1986.

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

6 OCTOBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY EIRINI PAJAK www.arizonahighways.com 7 J history dining J

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY Charro Steak jalapeños for salsa. Side dishes, based n Police halt all poker When it comes to legendary restaurateurs in Tucson, the Flores family ranks on El Charro chef Carlotta Flores’ fam- games in Yuma’s saloons way up there — their El Charro Café is an institution. Now, they’ve opened a ily recipes, include the frijoles charros: on October 3, 1907, and steakhouse, and it comes with a delicious south-of-the-border twist. whole pinto beans simmered with house- similar measures are con- smoked mesquite-charred ham, sautéed sidered in Bisbee, Globe KATHY MONTGOMERY tomatoes and onions. and other towns. Carlotta Flores and Hickey collaborated n A Bisbee man is shot to CHARRO STEAK is not your father’s and exposed vents. Floor-to-ceiling win- on the esquites con crema. “[It’s] our ver- death on October 7, 1922. steak­house. Named for the horsemen of dows flood the space with light. sion of Mexican street corn,” Hickey says Reports say the shooting Mexico, the Tucson ranch-to-table restau- Company President Ray Flores Jr.’s of a dish typically made with mayonnaise, follows an argument over rant features clean, sustainably produced victory over cancer partly inspired the chiles and lime. “We deconstructed that the price of tamales. food with a south-of-the-border twist. restaurant, Hickey says. His recovery and made it like a creamed corn. That’s n On October 12, 1940, “The whole concept is better food for included a change to natural, low-sodium our No. 1-selling side. People love it.” Tom Mix, an actor known you,” chef Gary Hickey says. “We use foods. “We kind of were like … ‘We owe The Charro version of creamed spinach for his roles in Western 100 percent all-natural beef — no hor- this to our public,’ ” Hickey recalls. “We features a green chile cream base and films, dies in a car crash on mones, no antibiotics, no GMOs.” put together a concept, and it caught on fresh nopales. And while you won’t find what now is State Route 79 The restaurant locally sources its fruits like wildfire.” a baked potato, you will find El Camote: (the Pinal Pioneer Park­way) and vegetables. Even margaritas are Steaks fired over the restaurant’s one- sweet potatoes mashed with citrus, but- southeast of Florence. made from fresh lime juice sweetened of-a-kind mesquite grill range from a ter and more. Workers harvest sorghum from a field in the Phoenix area in the early 1950s. n The Phoenix City Council with agave, rather than sugar. But the 7-ounce filet mignon to a 1-pound T-bone. For the Charro experience without decides on October 28, 1896, best reason to eat at Charro Steak is that Hickey cuts them all by hand, daily, in steakhouse prices, happy hour (4 to 6 p.m. to impose a fine of $50 or the food is as delicious as it is innovative. the dining room. “People find that inter- and 9 p.m. to close) offers specials such Sorghum in Arizona a sentence of 50 days in Located in a historic downtown build- esting,” Hickey says. “It’s kind of a trans- as chicharrón frito — slow-roasted sea- In the middle of the last century, sorghum was seen as the next big thing for Arizona’s jail for riding a bicycle fast­ ing, the restaurant is the latest venture of parent way of showing our guest base soned pork belly, chopped and fried crisp grain industry. It got off to a good start — by 1950, it was a multimillion-dollar business — er than 8 mph on city the Flores family, whose legacy restaurant, what they’re eating.” — and mesquite-seared ahi nacho sliders, but the amber wave eventually crashed. streets. El Charro Café, is an institution. Charro And mesquite grilling isn’t restricted along with a manchego quesadilla. It’s Steak looks contemporary but rustic, with to meats. Hickey also grills lemons and a break from tradition, but even your NOAH AUSTIN 50 YEARS AGO distressed-wood tables, concrete floors limes for sangria, and tomatoes and father would find it in good taste. hen you think about Arizona agri­ sorghum were produced annually in the state. IN ARIZONA HIGHWAYS culture, you probably imagine cit­ But that number jumped to 2.6 million bush- rus in the Phoenix area or leafy els in 1949 and 3.8 million in 1950. “Surety of W greens in Yuma. You probably don’t growth and higher yields of quality seed are imagine sorghum — unless you’re one of the winning the confidence of Arizona growers, handful of Arizona growers who cultivate it as exemplified in rising production figures,” today. But this drought-tolerant crop once was McLain wrote. seen as the next big thing for Arizona’s grain The state’s sorghum boom hasn’t lasted, industry. though. In 2015, grain sorghum was harvested Sorghum bicolor, a type of grass thought to from just 4,000 acres in Arizona and produced have originated in Africa, is believed to have about 370,000 bushels, according to the U.S. arrived in the United States in the mid-19th Department of Agriculture. Another 20,000 century. It’s since become an important crop acres were harvested for sorghum silage, or worldwide, and it’s used as a staple food and animal feed. And in recent years, growers Jerome, Tombstone, Oat- as feed for livestock. The plant species’ toler- in Central Arizona have battled sugarcane man and other old mining ance of arid climates makes it ideal for Central aphids, which devour sorghum plants. towns were the stars of and Southern Arizona, and agriculture experts But the crop could be due for a renaissance Arizona Highways’ October say sorghum requires less water than corn and in Arizona. For one thing, it contains no gluten, 1968 issue, whose theme produces better yields in hot, dry areas. which means it can be used to make bread, was “Touring Arizona’s The October 1951 issue of Arizona Highways beer and other foods that are safe for those Yesterdays.” The issue also reported that the state’s sorghum crop was with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. For included a story on Proj- worth an annual $5 million — the equiva- another, many scientists believe sorghum holds ect SLOOP, a plan (later lent of about $48 million today. Back then, promise as a source of ethanol, an environmen- deemed unworkable) sorghum production was growing rapidly in tally sustainable biofuel. It could be a while, to use low-yield nuclear Arizona. As writer Jerry McLain reported, though, before cars powered by Arizona sor- devices for copper mining from 1939 to 1948, about 1.6 million bushels of ghum make their way onto America’s roadways. in Graham County. TUCSON Charro Steak, 188 E. Broadway Boulevard, 520-485-1922, www.charrosteak.com

8 OCTOBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY McLAIN PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MECKLER www.arizonahighways.com 9 J from our archives [September 1959]

“Our pages this month … are dedicated with love and affection to that growing audience of travelers who journey forth in autumn to witness Old Mother Nature at her colorful best,” Editor Raymond Carlson wrote in the September 1959 issue of Arizona Highways. Among the issue’s stunning photos of fall color was this Ray Manley shot of a young boy standing along Sonoita Creek, just north of the Circle Z Ranch near Patagonia. “Here each fall, which is about the middle of November, the cottonwoods turn brilliant yellow, and for the past three years we have spent a delightful Thanksgiv- ing afternoon at this beautiful spot,” Manley wrote.

10 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 11 J photography

A Havasupai man rides his horse across blue-green Havasu Creek beneath the rushing water of Havasu Falls. Q&A: Gary Tackman

PHOTO EDITOR JEFF KIDA

JK: This is a great shot, Gary. then using that to take advantage of this GT: I made it in July of 1979, when I was opportunity. It was an overcast afternoon 22 years old. I was working for the Fred during the summer monsoon, which Harvey Co. on the South Rim of the Grand I think made the photo that much better. Canyon, and three friends and I had hiked down to Havasu Creek, on Havasupai JK: Do you still spend time at the Canyon? Tribe land. After exploring and photo- GT: Yes, I visit regularly, but this was one graphing Havasu Creek below Mooney of the better trips I’ve done — it ranks right Falls, we were on our way back and were up there with a rim-to-rim hike we did the crossing the creek below the travertine same year. This photo is among my favor- pools of Havasu Falls. A Havasupai man ites that I’ve made there. It was just a truly on horseback then lowered a boy, pos- rare photographic moment, one when the sibly his son, into the water, where the boy circumstances aligned just right for me to began to splash and play. The man stayed capture the picture. on his horse and rode into the creek.

PHOTO JK: Did you immediately get your camera WORKSHOP out and start shooting? GT: No, because we already had a day’s worth of pictures and were all tired and eager to get back to the rim. My friend Ellen urged me, more than once, to take the picture, and at first I kind of grumbled, but I eventually got my Fujica 35 mm cam- era out of my backpack. I’ll never be able to thank Ellen enough for urging me to take the picture.

JK: I like the composition of this shot, with the travertine shelves in the fore- Grand Canyon in Winter ground and the waterfall in the back- January 19-21, South Rim ground. Was that intentional? Photographer Suzanne Mathia leads GT: Yes. I was a big depth-of-field nut participants to some of the South Rim’s back then, and I still am. I had been shoot- best-known viewpoints, along with lesser- ing for a few years at that point — I think known locations, for a chance to make I was 17 or 18 when a manager I had at magical photographs of a snow-cloaked a pet shop turned me on to photogra- Canyon. Information: 888-790-7042 phy. So it really came down to knowing or www.ahps.org a little about how to compose a photo,

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

12 OCTOBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPHS: ABOVE, LEFT RICK SPRAIN ABOVE GARY TACKMAN www.arizonahighways.com 13 J lodging

TRAVEL, LEARN & BE INSPIRED Discover your unique creative expression through the art of photography. Whether you are just getting started or are a seasoned enthusiast, Arizona Highways PhotoScapes has an educational experience for you.

up to its name with plenty of reading Spirit Tree Inn material, plus Native American accents Originally homesteaded in the 1800s, this lovely B&B in Southern Arizona and a loft with an extra bed. All rooms is surrounded by the Coronado National Forest and shaded by a massive, have private baths, comfy mattresses and 200-year-old cottonwood. luxurious bedding, and the house’s adobe keeps the temperature pleasant. NOAH AUSTIN Breakfast varies from day to day and can be tailored to any dietary needs. A THE SPIRIT TREE INN’S namesake is and later operated as a cattle ranch, the recent morning saw Tom cooking up Your photographic adventure awaits. hard to miss. And if you have your win- property, now 52 acres, is surrounded by gluten-free blue corn pancakes with Arizona * Africa * Alaska * Canada * Hawaii * Italy * Mexico dows down as you drive up, you might the Coronado National Forest, and it’s agave syrup, turkey bacon and fresh fruit. hear it before you see it. cradled by the Canelo Hills to the north- And guests have the run of the property, New Mexico * Oregon * Utah * Washington * Wyoming A massive Fremont cottonwood, nearly east and the Patagonia Mountains to the which includes an 1830 Amish barn that To learn more about our exciting workshops, destinations and 2019 200 years old, dominates the view from southwest. Its four guest rooms in the was disassembled and shipped there workshop schedule visit www.ahps.org or call 888.790.7042. the bed and breakfast’s patio, and its main house, plus two dog-friendly casitas from Pennsylvania. A group of Amish rustling leaves are a constant sooth- with kitchenettes, are popular with hik- traveled to Arizona in 2008 and meticu- ing presence. Mary Jane Pottebaum and ers, thanks to a nearby trailhead for the lously reconstructed it, and it’s become Tom Bartholomeaux, who opened this Arizona Trail, and birders, who see hun- a charming venue for weddings and con- secluded Patagonia property as a B&B in dreds of species pass through every year. certs. Near the barn, Mary Jane tends her 2005, decided the tree inspired a better (Two of them, a northern cardinal and horses and a donkey named Etos. name than the “Tuck ’Em Inn,” one of a house finch, arrive on the patio while There’s no TV and limited cell ser- Tom’s suggestions. Mary Jane and Tom talk about the B&B.) vice, so besides Etos’ occasional braying “I was telling [Mary Jane] one day In the main house, the Oriental Room around mealtime, the sound you’re most about tall trees and how they’re revered has a massive armoire Tom found in Ohio, likely to hear at the Spirit Tree Inn is the in the Plains states by the Indians, because while the headboard and footboard in the spirit tree. And that’s the way the owners they believe their ancestral spirits reside Lavender Room came from former Gov- like it. “This is an extension of our home, in these trees,” Tom says. “She said, ‘Oh, ernor Rose Mofford’s estate. The Equine so we try to give people a sense of peace so we’ve got a spirit tree.’ And that was it.” Room reflects Mary Jane’s lifelong love of and quiet,” Mary Jane says, “and make Originally homesteaded in the 1800s horses, and the Library (pictured) lives them feel like they’re at home.”

PATAGONIA Spirit Tree Inn, 3 Harshaw Creek Road, 520-394-0121, www.spirittreeinn.com

© Shane McDermott 14 OCTOBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MECKLER ARIZONA GHOST TOWNS In addition to canyons, cactuses and colorful sunsets, Arizona has an abundance of ghost towns. As a general rule, they’re not very scary. Nevertheless, we figured October would be a good time to tell you about some of the more interesting old places. Thirteen, to be exact. EDITED BY NOAH AUSTIN

TEXT BY PHILIP VARNEY A picturesque hillside cemetery is one of the highlights PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN BURCHAM AND EIRINI PAJAK of Dos Cabezas, a Southeastern Arizona ghost town that’s still home to a few residents. Eirini Pajak

16 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 17 EDITOR’S NOTE: In 1994, we published a book titled Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. It was written by Philip Varney, and it went on to become one of the best-selling books in our history — it’s currently in its 19th printing. This month, we’re excerpting a portion of that book, which defined a ghost town as a place having two characteristics: 1) The population has decreased markedly, and 2) the initial reason for its settlement (mine, railroad, etc.) no longer keeps people in the community. Tony Hillerman once said that “ghost towns offer a sort of touching-place with the past.” We agree with the great writer, and hope this collection has the same effect.

0 1 CLEATOR Established 1900s

CLEATOR IS WHERE the old route of Mur- signed on as an able seaman for a voyage Cleator eventually declined in the phy’s Impossible Railroad, having gone to Spain. In 1889, he came to America late 1920s as mines closed. Jimmie through Cedar Canyon, becomes today’s and quit the sea. He would proudly Cleator, who had married in 1919 after dirt road to Crown King. recall that in San Francisco, he shook almost 50 years of bachelorhood, then The road heading south from Cordes the hand of President Benjamin Har- had a wife, two children, a shut-down soon drops off the plateau, and one rison. After making $10,000 on a Cali- mine and a ghost town. He put Cleator can clearly see a small cluster of build- fornia mining claim, he came to Arizona up for sale in 1949 but had no takers. ings along Turkey Creek, as well as the via Mexico in 1900. The post office closed in 1954. Jimmie dramatic eastern face of the Bradshaw Cleator approached Nellis in 1905 Cleator died five years later, leaving the Mountains. It is hard to imagine plan- about buying into Nellis’ business. Nel- town to his son, Tom. ning, much less completing, a railroad lis agreed. The partnership worked so A Works Progress Administration- on that formidable terrain. well that they expanded into ranching. built stone schoolhouse and about a The Turkey Creek Mining District In 1915 they amicably split the partner- dozen cabins still stand at Cleator. Some was a placer gold site established in 1864 ship, Nellis taking the cattle and $2,500 of the structures are now inhabited, so as prospectors fanned out from Walker and Cleator getting the town. Ten years visitors must enjoy them from the road. to find the next bonanza. After a stage later, Postmaster James P. Cleator had The original Cleator store is closed, but station was constructed 2 miles west the post office renamed after himself. the adjacent saloon, site of those gala of the creek in 1869, a post office was Cleator was a lively place where dances, is open daily. Until his death, in granted at Turkey Creek. But it lasted ranchers, miners and railroad work- 1996 at age 71, Tom Cleator hosted visi- only five months. ers converged. Mynne Cordes Jarman tors there, telling stories of the Cleator The placer workings gave out quickly, fondly remembered the Cordes girls clan, who have been such an integral but mines in the foothills took their riding to the store in Cleator for dances part of the surrounding country. Rest- place. By 1902, when Murphy’s Impos- with local ranch hands and miners. ing in the quiet, high desert on the east sible Railroad reached Turkey Station (also called Turkey Creek Station and Turkey Siding), several mines were ready customers for cheap ore transportation. Leverett “Lev” Pierce Nellis had arrived a year before. In anticipation of the railroad, he had built a store and saloon and reopened the post office. Within a couple of years, he owned most of the growing town. James P. Cleator came to Turkey Creek soon afterward. Born on the Isle of Man in 1870, Cleator went to sea as a cabin boy at age 12. At 16, he

LEFT: A general store is one of the historic structures still standing in Cleator. John Burcham RIGHT: Cleator is shown in the 1960s, decades after its mines closed. Sharlot Hall Museum

18 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 19 A rusted old truck punctuates a view of the Bradshaw Mountains near Cleator. The ghost town is little more than an hour’s drive from Phoenix, but it feels much more remote than that. John Burcham

slope of the Bradshaw Mountains, a little more than an hour’s drive from Phoenix, Cleator is a relaxing place to stop and seems like a thousand miles and a hundred years away from modern city life. Traversing Murphy’s Impossible Railroad is not impossible at all. The dirt road heading southwest from Clea- tor is the roadbed of the old Bradshaw Mountain Railroad. Evidence of this are backfilled dips, gentle curves and deep cuts made in the rock — traits that are roadbed requirements for trains, not automobiles. About 2.5 miles out of Cleator, the road passes the site of Mid- dleton, where a 0.75-mile-long tramway once delivered ore to the railway from the De Soto Mine. Remnants of that tramway extend west up the mountain to the mine. After climbing gently, the roadbed becomes a series of very steep switch- backs. Most motorists think a “switch- back” is simply a hairpin turn. But to a railroader, it’s something very dif- ferent. At a switchback, the train goes into a spur beyond the turn, a switch is thrown, and the train backs up to the next such switchback, where the pro- cess repeats itself and the train goes for- ward once again. The railroad to Crown where the train was positioned to climb road bed. An interesting sidelight: dances, held in the schoolhouse at DIRECTIONS: From Black Canyon City, go north 1 mile to County Road 59. Turn right onto King had five pairs of these switchbacks. the next part of the grade. When the tracks were taken up in 1927, Crown King, as participants considered on Interstate 17 for 14 miles to Bloody CR 59 and continue 3.6 miles to Cleator. Basin Road (Exit 259). Turn left (west) onto The road today follows two of the pairs. At places where trestles were used, Model T-era vehicles drove the trestles the treacherous midnight drive home. Some of the route is unpaved, but it’s suit- Bloody Basin Road and continue 3.4 miles able for most vehicles in good weather. Motorists should be sure to look at the the old roadbed clearly heads off into on boards strung along the towering Nearing its destination, the dirt road to Antelope Creek Road (County Road cutaways the railroad made to allow the space (now blocked by earth and/or structures at wheel width. There was detours around a now-collapsed tunnel, 179). Turn left onto Antelope Creek Road INFORMATION: Cleator Bar and Yacht Club, switches to be thrown. If the turn goes signs). Today’s dirt road takes much little room for error in judgment. There crosses a bridge and enters a forested and continue 2.8 miles to a “Y” intersection. www.cleatorbarandyachtclub.com to the right, for example, look left to see tighter turns until rejoining the rail- was also very little drinking at weekly paradise. Welcome to Crown King. Veer right, toward Crown King, and continue

20 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 21 ABOVE: Congress is pictured during its mining heyday. Arizona Historical Society RIGHT: The Pioneer Cemetery is one of two cemeteries visitors can see in Congress today. John Burcham 0 2 CONGRESS Established 1890s

CONGRESS IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE of just The mining town prospered into the how much can disappear into the Ari- mid-1930s. The post office at Congress zona desert. The community was actu- closed in August of 1938, and its name ally two separate places. “Mill Town,” was transferred to the post office at closer to the mine, featured the mill, Congress Junction on November 1 of company offices, a hospital and resi- that year. For all intents and purposes, dences. “Lower Town,” located farther the railroad community had become the south, boasted the commercial district, only Congress and is so to this day. including restaurants, the usual stores The former Congress Junction has the and saloons, two churches, and a school. only buildings for the ghost town enthu- Virtually nothing but debris remains at siast. The old Congress Hotel and a few either site, except for lasting testaments other structures sit along State Route 89 to man’s presence: two cemeteries. just south of State Route 71. Until Congress sprang into existence after recently, the original school, across the Dennis May’s 1884 discovery of gold railroad tracks to the west, housed the ore. The mine was sold in 1887 and then Congress Community Center, but that again in 1894, when the boom period building was damaged in a 2014 mon- began. The cost of transporting ore to soon storm and ultimately demolished. market, the major shortcoming of many A historical marker still stands at the Arizona mines, was easily solved at Con- now-vacant lot along Santa Fe Road. gress: By 1893, the Santa Fe, Prescott and The two cemeteries are reached, Phoenix Railway passed within 3 miles appropriately, via Ghost Town Road, although flags are not always flying. dear boy, now take thy rest. God called locked gate. At least eight infant graves DIRECTIONS: From Wickenburg, go northwest of the mine. which heads north from SR 71 west of From the main route to the cemeteries, thee home, he thought it best.” grace the site. Eloicita Mouelthrop died on U.S. Route 93 for 6 miles to State Route 89. Turn right (north) onto SR 89 and continue The station, known as Congress Junc- the railroad tracks. Follow the road for this site is reached via a dirt road on the The Pioneer Cemetery is 0.6 miles in 1898 at the age of 1 month and 10 days. 10 miles to Congress. The entire route to the tion, gave life to a small community that almost 2 miles. Signs direct you first to left. Among several interesting grave farther down the road, which eventu- Joseph Villetti was just beginning his town is paved, but a high-clearance vehicle is featured its own post office. In 1899, the the Congress Cemetery and then to the markers is that of Oscar McElroy, who ally loops back to Ghost Town Road. third year of life when he died in 1897. recommended for the road to the cemeteries. Congress Consolidated Railroad was Pioneer Cemetery. was born in Center Point, Texas, in 1880 (Segments of this route require a high- The marker says his death was “regret- completed between the mine and Con- The two silver flagpoles of the and buried at Congress in 1903 (see back clearance vehicle.) To prevent further ted by his beloved parents.” His epitaph: gress Junction. Congress Cemetery are easy to spot, cover). The inscription reads: “Sleep on vandalism, graves are protected by a “Gone to be an angel.”

22 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 23 0 3 COURTLAND Established 1900s

TODAY, THERE ARE SPARSE remnants of hundred people swarmed to the region that time, many of the buildings had Courtland, whose last resident died as the Calumet and Arizona, Copper already been moved or razed. in the 1970s. The surviving buildings Queen, Leadville, and Great Western Many open shafts, some unfenced, include a concrete jail, a collapsing store, mining companies all began operations. are near the town site. Those walk- stone walls, foundations and consider- The Great Western was owned by ing around Courtland should exercise able mining evidence. If you keep driv- W.J. Young, who named the town for extreme caution. ing along Ghost Town Trail, you can’t his brother Courtland. Eventually home miss most of the structures — especially to about 2,000 people, the settlement DIRECTIONS: From Tombstone, go southeast the jail, which is near the road and is had a post office, two newspapers, a on State Route 80 for 0.7 miles to Camino San Rafael. Turn left (north) onto Camino on land owned by a mining company. movie theater, a butcher shop, an ice San Rafael and continue 1.1 miles to Gleeson Other areas of the town have recently cream parlor, a pool hall, a Wells Fargo Road. Turn right onto Gleeson Road and con- been purchased by the Arizona Land office, the Southern Arizona Auto Co. tinue 15.5 miles to Ghost Town Trail. Turn left Project, which plans to preserve some of and the Mexico and Colorado Railroad, onto Ghost Town Trail and continue 3.5 miles the structures and make them available a branch line extending north from to a “T” intersection. Turn left to stay on Ghost Town Trail, then continue 0.4 miles for public tours. Douglas. to Courtland. Some of the route is unpaved, You wouldn’t guess it today, but long The town survived into the Depres- but it’s suitable for most vehicles in good ago, Courtland thrived. In 1909, several sion but lost its post office in 1942. By weather.

ABOVE: Courtland was a thriving community in the early 1900s, when this photo was made. Arizona Historical Society LEFT: Shadows creep up the side of Courtland’s concrete jail. Eirini Pajak RIGHT: An old store, slowly being reclaimed by the desert, is among the surviving evidence of Courtland’s past. Eirini Pajak

24 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 25 CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT: This Dos Cabezas house likely dates to the 1920s. Eirini Pajak The windowpanes have long since disappeared from many of the town’s buildings. Eirini Pajak Dos Cabezas residents maintain the town’s hillside cemetery. Eirini Pajak The town’s Virginia Milling Co. is pictured around the turn of the 20th century. Arizona Historical Society

DOS CABEZAS, where Ewell Spring is On the highway through Dos Cabe- DIRECTIONS: From Willcox, go east on State located, was the next dependable zas, one can see an adobe commercial Route 186 for 14.7 miles to Dos Cabezas. The entire route is paved. source of water west of Apache Spring. building still under roof, several plas- 0 4 DOS CABEZAS A stage depot was built here, and in the tered adobe walls (some of them mostly INFORMATION: Dos Cabezas Retreat Bed and Established 1900s late 1870s, gold and silver were found in hidden by mesquite limbs), remnants of Breakfast, 520-507-1244 or www.dos cabezasretreat.com the Dos Cabezas Mountains (Spanish for residences and some occupied buildings, “Two Heads,” for the prominent twin including a two-room bed and breakfast. peaks) above the spring. The resulting A picturesque cemetery is on a hillside town took its name from the peaks. west of town.

26 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 27 0 5 FAIRBANK Established 1880s OPPOSITE PAGE: Fairbank features several well-preserved buildings from the 1880s. FAIRBANK WAS A satellite community wounded one of the five robbers. Then a DIRECTIONS: From Tombstone, go north­- Eirini Pajak to Tombstone. It came into existence shot splintered his left arm, but he man- west on State Route 80 for 3 miles to State LEFT: Passengers wait at the Route 82. Turn left (west) onto SR 82 and town’s railroad depot in an in 1882 with construction of the New aged to throw the strongbox key out continue 6 miles to Fairbank. The entire undated photo. Mexico and Arizona Railroad. This into the brush. A crowd gathered, and route is paved. Arizona Historical Society short line was a link between the South- the robbery was aborted. BELOW: The photographer’s reflection frames a view through ern Pacific tracks in Benson and the One bandit escaped to Mexico, but INFORMATION: San Pedro Riparian National a window of one of Fairbank’s Conservation Area, 520-258-7200 or border town of Nogales. Fairbank was the other three were captured. Milton buildings. Eirini Pajak www.blm.gov/arizona created where the track turned west. was taken by rail to a surgeon in San Its proximity also turned Fairbank into Francisco. Told that his arm had to be Tombstone’s supply depot. Named for amputated, he said, “The man who cuts Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank, a Chicago off my arm will be a dead man.” Not grain broker and a founding member of surprisingly, his arm was spared and he the Grand Central Mining Co. in Tomb- regained partial use of it. stone, the town probably never had Now, with several good 1880s build- more than 300 people. It did, however, ings remaining, Fairbank is part of the have a maze of tracks: Three separate San Pedro Riparian National Conserva- railroads eventually located depots tion Area under the Bureau of Land Man- there. Besides the line to Nogales, one agement. The Fairbank Commercial Co., went to Bisbee, and a branch eventually a large adobe structure, was in danger extended into Tombstone. of collapse, but the BLM stabilized it. A During futile attempts to reopen few houses and a gypsum-block school, Tombstone’s mines, Fairbank was the circa 1920, stand north of the mercantile. site of a train robbery involving one of The public can take self-guided tours or Arizona’s most respected lawmen, Jeff walk a 4-mile loop trail that passes the Milton. In February of 1900, Milton town’s mill and cemetery. The school rode in an express car guarding a Wells now houses a bookstore, museum and Fargo box, and a gang rushed the train gift shop open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at its stop in Fairbank. Milton fatally Fridays through Sundays.

28 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 29 0 6 GLEESON LEFT: A panoramic photo shows the Gleeson area around 1910. Established 1900s Library of Congress BELOW: Gleeson’s concrete GLEESON AND THE HILLS at the southern hospital, with mining evidence in jail has been restored and now serves as a museum. end of the Dragoon Mountains had the hills behind. On the same side of Eirini Pajak long been mined by the Indians for Gleeson Road, west of the hospital, is a BELOW, RIGHT: The pillars on decorative turquoise. When white men partly collapsed saloon and store that the town’s school once held an arch that collapsed long ago. came in the 1870s, they found copper, had an off-again, on-again existence for Eirini Pajak lead and silver as well, but they still decades. Go north on High Lonesome named their camp Turquoise. The town Road to see an old building’s founda- received a post office in 1890, but the tion and some miners’ quarters. Farther mines closed down and the town was north, the road passes the adobe ruins abandoned after Jimmie Pearce found of the Musso house (posted against gold at the Commonwealth claim in trespassing). A Prohibition-era rumor 1894. Then, in 1900, a Pearce miner and suggested the Mussos sold bootleg Irishman named John Gleeson pros- liquor and stored it beneath a shallow pected the Turquoise area and filed fishpond in the backyard. claims for the Copper Belle mine. Mines South of Gleeson Road on High Lone- with names such as Silver Belle, Brother some Road is the restored jail (virtu- Jonathan, Pejon and Defiance joined the ally identical to the one at Courtland), Copper Belle. The town site was moved which serves as a museum. It’s open from the hills down onto the flats to be the first Saturday of every month, or by closer to a more reliable water supply, appointment. Farther south, you’ll find and Turquoise, which had lost its post the foundations of the school. The final office in 1894, reopened as Gleeson. stop in Gleeson is the Gleeson Cemetery, John Gleeson sold out by 1914, but the which is west of town, on the north boom continued, and copper production side of Gleeson Road. rose due to World War I. After the war, prices fell, production declined, and the DIRECTIONS: From Tombstone, go southeast mines shut down. The post office closed on State Route 80 for 0.7 miles to Camino San Rafael (look for the sign for Gleeson). its doors for the last time in 1939. Turn left (north) onto Camino San Rafael and Gleeson is well worth exploring. continue 1.1 miles to Gleeson Road. Turn right From the intersection of Gleeson Road onto Gleeson Road and continue 14 miles to and High Lonesome Road, head east Gleeson. The entire route is paved. and look on the north side of Gleeson INFORMATION: Gleeson Jail, 520-609-3549 or Road for the long adobe ruins of the www.gleesonarizona.com

30 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 31 FAR LEFT: James Finley’s brick residence, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a highlight of a visit to Harshaw. Eirini Pajak LEFT, ABOVE: The town’s cemetery is the only Harshaw landmark on public land. Eirini Pajak LEFT, BELOW: A mill at the Hermosa Mine is shown during its construction in the late 1870s. 0 7 HARSHAW Arizona Historical Established 1870s Society

RANCHER DAVID TECUMSEH HARSHAW should period in 1880). The population of Har- claim for $600. This time, the mining nity. Down that private road about have thanked Tom Jeffords for making shaw reached an estimated 2,000. The lasted longer but on a much smaller 400 yards stands the site’s primary him a rich man. When Harshaw was town’s life span, however, was very scale, and only about 100 residents lived remnant, Finley’s once-elegant brick grazing cattle on Apache land in 1877, short. A violent thunderstorm, a fire and in the town. In 1903, Finley died, and residence. Jeffords, an Indian agent, ordered him a drop in ore quality led to its demise. the market price of silver subsequently The wooden porch, with its grace- to remove them. Harshaw relocated An 1882 article in The Tombstone Epitaph dropped significantly. By 1909, the town ful, curving tin roof, and the skillful his herd to this area and discovered a told of a place where 80 percent of the was a ghost once again. brickwork make the Finley home one of tremendously rich silver vein, which he more than 200 buildings were unoc- The community of Harshaw last Arizona’s most architecturally pleasing named the Hermosa. Within two years, cupied, with “windows smashed and saw limited life from 1937 until 1956 as historic buildings. It was added to the from Patagonia, across cottonwood- DIRECTIONS: From State Route 82 in Patagonia, Harshaw, who named the mining town doors standing open.” This is the same the Arizona Smelting and Refining Co. National Register of Historic Places in lined Harshaw Creek. Some of the head- go south on Taylor Avenue for 0.1 miles to Harshaw Road. Turn left onto Harshaw Road that rose near the mine after himself, Harshaw that only two years earlier had worked the nearby Flux and Trench 1974. The landowners allow visitors to stones and wrought iron markers date and continue 5.9 miles to Forest Road 49. had sold his holdings to a New York its own newspaper, the Arizona Bullion, mines. see the house, provided that they stay from the 1880s. Turn right onto FR 49 and continue 2 miles concern and moved on. and a bustling, mile-long main street An adobe residence, formerly with on the road, respect all “Private Prop- One particularly poignant marker to Harshaw. Some of the route is unpaved, The Hermosa Mine, located due south with a reported seven saloons. a tin roof that’s now been removed, erty” signs and do not venture closer to reads: “Freddie Lee Sorrells. Born Feb- but it’s suitable for most vehicles in good of Harshaw up a jeep trail, became the Harshaw had two minor rebirths. marks the intersection of Forest Road 49 the house or any farther down the road. ruary 14, 1880. Died June 5, 1885. A little weather. major producer in the area (peaking at a One began in 1887, when Tucsonan and the private side road that heads east A small, interesting cemetery is situ- time on Earth he spent, till God for him INFORMATION: Sierra Vista Ranger District, 520- reported $365,654 during a four-month James Finley purchased the Hermosa into what is left of the Harshaw commu- ated on a hillside west of FR 49, the road an angel sent.” 378-0311 or www.fs.usda.gov/coronado

32 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 33 0 8 HUMBOLDT Established 1890s

THE HUMBOLDT AREA was settled in the school, a telephone exchange, a bank, an Today only one stack, some slag piles 1860s. This community in the Agua Fria icehouse, a hospital, the Tisdale Hotel, and the brick walls of the smelters Valley was originally called Val Verde, Wingfield’s Mercantile, the Humboldt remain. In 1955, a stack built in 1899 for a smelter of that name that processed Commercial Co., saloons and pool halls. was deemed a hazard, so school was the copper and lead of the Blue Bell and In the midst of the prosperity, how- recessed to let children watch the old De Soto mines. At one point the Blue ever, two fires struck the community. stack topple. These days, access to the Bell, owned and operated by the Con- The first, in 1909, burned down the smelter is closed, but visitors can view solidated Arizona Smelting Co., shipped Tis­dale Hotel and the Humboldt Com- it from the closed gate on Main Street, 11,000 tons of ore monthly. The commer- mercial Co. The second, a year later, where signs indicate the site is being cial section of town was built on a ridge, destroyed 15 buildings in one of the studied for cleanup under the Environ- with Main Street running down the cen- gulches. mental Protection Agency’s Superfund ter. Company houses and other build- After World War I, the mines shut program. Several false-front buildings ings occupied the gulches on either side, down and smelting ceased. The town from the 1920s and ’30s remain on Main while high-class houses were located on was deserted by 1924. A 1926 article in Street, as does the Bank of Humboldt. Nob Hill, near the smelter. the Miami Silver Belt warned, “Another The bank failed in the ’30s, and the A post office opened in 1899 as Val lesson to be learned from the experience building now is labeled as a private resi- Verde but was renamed Humboldt in of Humboldt is that any community dence. Among the modern-day attrac- 1905 to honor Baron Alexander von should strive earnestly and consistently tions on Main Street is Jackie Boyz Little Humboldt (1769-1859), who had pre- to work itself out of a situation wherein Italy, a well-regarded Italian restaurant. dicted more than a century earlier that its commercial and industrial existence “the riches of the world would be found” is entirely dependent upon a single DIRECTIONS: From Prescott, go east, then south in the vicinity of the Bradshaw Moun- industry.” That is much easier said on State Route 69 for 17 miles to Main Street. Turn left onto Main Street and continue tains. As other mines were discovered than done. However, Humboldt was a quarter-mile to Humboldt. The entire route in the area, more ore was sent to Hum- resurrected in 1934, when Fred Gibbs is paved. boldt. The expansion of smelting opera- acquired the Iron King Mine, which tions naturally meant prosperity for the produced more than $100 million in INFORMATION: Town of Dewey-Humboldt, town. The community eventually had a lead and zinc until its closure in 1968. 928-632-7362 or www.dhaz.gov

ABOVE: Many of Humboldt’s buildings are visible in this panoramic photo from the mid-1910s. Sharlot Hall Museum RIGHT: Agave stalks frame a view of Humboldt’s smelter, which now must be viewed from a distance. John Burcham

34 OCTOBER 2018 0 9 PEARCE Established 1890s

PEARCE WAS NAMED for Jimmie Pearce, a man who tired of being a Tombstone miner after the boom years waned and pickings were slim. He and his wife, who ran a boardinghouse, were saving their money to buy a piece of the great outdoors. They managed, finally, to purchase some ranchland northeast of Tombstone. One day in 1894, while out ABOVE: Pearce’s surveying his spread, Jimmie found free cemetery is west of town, on the way to gold on the side of a hill. He was back in mine, which operated into the 1930s. trail across the Dragoon Mountains Middlemarch Road, the mining business — but as an owner, Today, there are some newer struc- taken by soldiers trekking between Fort which runs through the not a laborer. tures in the area, but several buildings Bowie and Fort Huachuca in the 1870s Dragoon Mountains. Eirini Pajak A town grew at the base of Jimmie remain from Pearce’s heyday, including and ’80s. OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP: Pearce’s Commonwealth Mine. A post a school, a jail, a few ruins and founda- Pearce’s jail is easily office opened in 1896, and the popula- tions, and the remarkable Old Store, DIRECTIONS: From Tombstone, go southeast on spotted near the town’s tion swelled to about 1,500 as com- built in 1894 by the Soto brothers and State Route 80 for 0.7 miles to Camino San main intersection. Rafael. Turn left (north) onto Camino San mercial businesses, which eventually Charles Renaud. The mercantile is a Eirini Pajak Rafael and continue 1.1 miles to Gleeson OPPOSITE PAGE, included a motion-picture theater, lined large adobe building with a high false Road. Turn right onto Gleeson Road and con- BOTTOM: One both sides of a long main street. front and an elaborate tin facade. It’s tinue 15.5 miles to Ghost Town Trail. Turn left of Pearce’s first onto Ghost Town Trail and continue 3.5 miles boardinghouses is Jimmie Pearce sold the Common- listed on the National Register of His- to a “T” intersection. Turn left to stay on shown in the late 1800s. wealth for $250,000. His wife, remem- toric Places, as is the nearby Our Lady of Ghost Town Trail, then continue 10 miles Arizona Historical bering harder times, inserted a clause Victory Catholic Church. Society to Pearce. Some of the route is unpaved, into the contract granting her the sole The Pearce Cemetery is west of town, but it’s suitable for most vehicles in good right to operate a boardinghouse at the on the way to Middlemarch Road, a weather.

36 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 37 1 0 RUBY Established 1910s

RUBY, FOR DECADES, was a place ghost-town and the owners now offer access to the enthusiasts looked upon with some- town on certain days of the week (a fee thing approaching hunger. They knew it is required). Even if you don’t arrange was one of the premier ghost towns in for access, you can see parts of Ruby the country. Only Vulture (near Wick- with binoculars from the road. In any enburg) rivals it for number of standing case, the journey is well worth taking. buildings. Yet Ruby was completely The area at the base of Montana off-limits to visitors, naturally whetting Peak was first mined in the 1870s. The their appetites as they gazed longingly settlement that grew from the diggings past the locked gate. That has changed, became known as Montana Camp. Pri-

mary ore deposits showed lead, silver, his wife, Gypsy, kept firearms in every enough to wipe out a regiment. Clarke OPPOSITE PAGE: A gnarled tree offers gold, zinc and copper. room of their house and store. enjoyed a good laugh as the old man some shade to one of Ruby’s bunkhouses. Eirini Pajak Store owner and Postmaster Julius On one occasion, the lives of the made a wide detour around the cylinder. ABOVE: Mexican free-tailed bats take Andrews gave the town its name when Clarke family may have been saved In truth, the device was nothing but a flight from Ruby at sunset. The bats are a the post office was established in April by a tall tale. During a time when all rain gauge. common sight in late spring and summer. Eirini Pajak 1912, two months after statehood. He ranchers and miners were concerned When Guzman returned about a named the post office — and effectively about cross-border raids by Mexican month later, Clarke asked him if he the town — for his wife, Lillie B. Ruby revolutionaries, Clarke was asked by an had encountered any revolutionary sol- thing that shoots poison gas.” The sol- Andrews. old man named Guzman what the new diers. “Oh, yes. … They went through diers decided to avoid the Ruby store. Philip C. Clarke purchased the pipe apparatus was in front of his store. everything I had. But they took only From then on, Clarke said, “I was very Andrews store in 1913 and built a larger Clarke loved to kid the serious old man, my tobacco.” Clarke then asked if the careful to tell everyone about my ‘death- version up on a hill, where its ruins so he told him that it was an elaborate soldiers had considered coming to the dealing machine.’ ” still stand. Because Ruby was so close device by which he could release a spray Ruby store. Guzman replied, “Yes, they Others were not as lucky. Clarke to the Mexican border and raids in the of poison gas with a master switch in asked me all about it and I told them leased the store to Alex and John Fraser area were all too common, Clarke and his bedroom. He said it was strong about that thing you have there — that in 1920, warning them to keep well

38 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 39 GHOST TOWN DIRECTORY Originally published in the August 1960 issue of Arizona Highways.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ghost towns have been a popular topic for us for many years. One of the most extensive pieces was published in August 1960. The story that month was written by Nell Murbarger, who, according to our editors, was widely known as “the Roving Reporter of the Desert.” Among the 18 pages was this wonderful map by Larry Toschik, who was Ruby once was a thriving mining camp at the base of Montana Peak. Arizona Historical Society a longtime illustrator for us.

1. CHARLESTON armed, especially when behind the The most prosperous period for Ruby 2. CONGRESS counter. Less than two months later, began in 1926, when the Eagle-Picher 3. COURTLAND Alex lay dead by the cash register and Lead Co. took over operations. The 4. DOS CABEZAS John, shot in the eye after being forced town boasted electricity (supplied by 5. DUQUESNE to open the store safe, lived only a few diesel engines), a doctor, a hospital and 6. EHRENBERG hours longer. One of the two bandits a school with eight grades and three 7. LA PAZ was later killed resisting arrest, but not teachers. From 1934 to 1937, the Mon- 8. GILA CITY before killing a deputy. The other was tana Mine was the leading producer 9. GILLETT never apprehended. of lead and zinc in Arizona. In 1936, it 10. GLEESON Clarke was still feeling guilty about was third in silver production. But the 11. GOLDROAD the situation in which he had put the ore played out in 1940, and by 1941, the 12. HARDYVILLE Fraser brothers when Frank Pearson town that once claimed 1,200 residents 13. HARSHAW approached him about purchasing the became a ghost. 14. HELVETIA store. Pearson brushed words of cau- Today, Ruby has more than two 15. JEROME tion aside, arguing that lawlessness had dozen buildings under roof. The Clarke 16. JOHNSON decreased sufficiently and that another store, which was habitable until the 16A. KOFA attack was highly unlikely. Pearson 1970s, has completely collapsed, but 17. McCABE became the store’s next owner, and on the sturdy jail next door remains. The 18. McMILLENVILLE August 26, 1921, he and his wife were school stands nearby, with two toppled 19. METCALF killed by seven armed men. Their young teacherages (now reduced to piles of 20. MINERAL PARK daughter, Margaret, fell while trying to lumber) adjacent to the playground. 21. MOHAVE CITY escape; she looked up to see her pursuer On the southern side of the town site stop over her and then, unaccountably, are mine offices, mill foundations, mine 22. MOWRY turn and walk back inside the store. officials’ residences and a miners’ dor- 23. OATMAN Margaret Pearson Anderson, her life mitory. Several of the southern build- 24. ORO BLANCO spared for whatever reason, lived to ings are visible from the road or atop a 25. PARADISE become a teacher and reading specialist small hill. 26. GALEYVILLE in Nogales and Tucson, retiring in 1980. 27. PEARCE Two of the seven bandits were recog- DIRECTIONS: From Nogales, go north on Inter- 28. SIGNAL nized as they fled Ruby. Placido Silvas state 19 for 7.2 miles to Ruby Road (Exit 12). 29. GREENWOOD Turn left (west) onto Ruby Road and contin- and Manuel Martinez were taken into 30. SILVER KING ue 10 miles to a “T” intersection. Turn left to 31. STANTON custody, tried, convicted and sentenced stay on Ruby Road, then continue 14.2 miles to hang. The sheriff’s car transporting to Ruby. A high-clearance vehicle is required. 32. WEAVER them to Florence overturned, killing the Consult the ghost town’s website for visiting 33. OCTAVE sheriff and injuring his deputy. Martinez hours and fees. 34. WALKER was later recaptured and hanged at the INFORMATION: Ruby Ghost Town, 35. WASHINGTON Florence prison. Silvas was never found. 520-744-4471 or www.rubyaz.com 36. WHITE HILLS

40 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 41 LEFT: Sasco’s jail is one of the ghost town’s many surviving structures. In the background is Ragged Top, a defining feature of nearby Ironwood Forest National Monument. Eirini Pajak TOP: The crumbling Hotel Rockland is another Sasco highlight. Eirini Pajak ABOVE: Sasco’s smelter sends smoke skyward in the early 1900s. Arizona Historical Society

the community from 1907 to 1919. Today, road. From Sasco Road, head north Continuing west on Sasco Road, old smelter stack base, the smelter foun- DIRECTIONS: From Tucson, go northwest on 1 1 SASC0 remnants of Sasco are scattered over a 0.6 miles to a “Y” intersection, where you’ll see the volcanic stone walls of the dations, a series of concrete monoliths, Interstate 10 for 32 miles to Red Rock (Exit 226). Turn left to cross over the freeway, then wide area. you’ll find the Sasco Cemetery. Among Hotel Rockland — vandalized, spray- an enormous slag pile and a railroad Established 1900s continue 0.2 miles to a “T” intersection. Turn From Interstate 10, it’s a 7-mile jour- the memorials are several concrete painted and forlorn — on the north side platform. right and continue 0.2 miles to Sasco Road. SASCO — ITS NAME AN ACRONYM for the South- ney, much of it beside irrigation ditches crosses, reminders of the devastat- of the road. West of the hotel stands a The final stop in Sasco is a bit farther Turn left onto Sasco Road and continue ern Arizona Smelting Co. — once was a and cattle pens, through Red Rock to ing influenza epidemic of 1918-19 that structure that says “City Hall” but actu- west, on a minor dirt road that heads 7 miles to Sasco. Portions of the main road community of about 600, and it featured the Sasco area via Sasco Road. The claimed more than a half-million Ameri- ally was a jail. Farther west, a road to south from Sasco Road. On this road, and many of the side roads require a high- clearance vehicle. Additionally, Sasco Road a smelter, associated company build- Arizona Southern Railroad followed can victims. You can view the cemetery the north leads from Sasco Road to the you’ll find a concrete powder house, crosses several washes, so do not attempt ings, residences, saloons, stores and the the same route from its connecting from the road, but the gates are locked ruins of the smelter. foundations of adobe buildings and a the drive after recent rain or if rain is in the Hotel Rockland. A post office served point with the Southern Pacific Rail- and “No Trespassing” signs are posted. An exploration on foot leads to the waterless stone fountain. forecast.

42 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 43 1 2 STANTON Established 1860s

STANTON, ORIGINALLY CALLED Antelope that was to serve a newcomer well. was patently false. Partridge, however, Barney Martin. Undeterred, Stanton Station, was a small community that Charles P. Stanton came to Ante- believed the threat and shot Wilson hired a group of desperadoes led by a developed along Antelope Creek. Most lope Station in the early 1870s, having on sight. Partridge was arrested, tried, man named Francisco Vega to dispose of the residents were miners, but some left the post of assayer at the Vulture convicted and sentenced to prison in of Timmerman. This done, in 1875 merchants settled there, too, providing Mine. He conceived a plan to use the Yuma, where he claimed to be haunted the town was renamed Stanton, with goods and services. The stage station Partridge-Wilson feud to eliminate both by Wilson’s ghost. Charles Stanton as postmaster. Besides owner was an Englishman named Wil- men, which he believed would leave However, things didn’t immediately Stanton, the only remaining person of liam Partridge. The general store was the two principal commercial enter- go as Stanton had planned. Wilson had power was Martin. In July of 1886, the owned by G.H. “Yaqui” Wilson. Pigs prises of Antelope Station in his hands. a silent partner named Timmerman. remains of Martin, his wife and their belonging to Wilson broke into Par- He told Partridge, “The owner of the And the incarcerated Partridge had children were found in a charred wagon tridge’s property, beginning an enmity pigs is out to get you,” a statement that creditors, who sold his stage station to not far from town.

Charles Stanton brutally achieved most substantial structure on the site, the control he sought. But not for long. was a saloon and now serves as a recre- In November of the same year, a young ation hall. member of the Vega gang, Cristero At the north end of the interior, one Lucero, shot Stanton to death because can see where a shelf once was attached Stanton had insulted his sister. As he to the wall. It is not widely known, fled town, Lucero met another Stanton thanks to Western movies, that most adversary, Tom Pierson. When Lucero saloons in the Old West did not have told him what he had done, Pierson is tables and chairs. Men stood around the said to have replied: “You don’t have to periphery of the room, facing the center, pull out. If you stick around, you’ll get a their drinks positioned behind them on reward.” a narrow sill. This allowed imbibers to Within four years, Stanton, the town, keep an eye on each other and anyone was almost as dead as Stanton, the man. who came through the door. In a town The post office closed in 1890 as mines with the likes of Charles Stanton, Vega played out, then reopened in 1894 along and Lucero, the arrangement had defi- with the mines. About 200 people lived nite advantages. in the community, which featured a new The weathered Hotel Stanton is the store, a boardinghouse, homes and a other outstanding building at the town five-stamp mill. The post office closed site. Originally Partridge’s stage sta- for good in 1905. tion, the hotel features a main lobby For many years Stanton was closed to and a series of rooms stretching down a the public, which probably accounts for boardwalk, each with its own front and its restorable state. Since purchasing the back doors — another prudent archi- site in 1978, the Lost Dutchman’s Min- tectural consideration for a town with a ing Association has improved roofing, treacherous past. shored walls and, happily, allowed the public to visit. The group also has devel- DIRECTIONS: From Wickenburg, go north- oped the surrounding area and added west on U.S. Route 93 for 5.3 miles to State Route 89. Turn right (north) onto SR 89 and amenities such as RV hookups. Only a continue 11.8 miles to Stanton Road. Turn few original buildings stand at Stanton right onto Stanton Road and continue today, but they are excellent reminders 6.5 miles to Stanton. Some of the route is un- of the Old West. paved, but it’s suitable for most vehicles One is Charles Stanton’s old stage in good weather. stop and store, in which he was mur- INFORMATION: Lost Dutchman’s Mining Associa- dered by Lucero. Another building, the tion, www.facebook.com/LDMACAMPS

LEFT: Stanton’s surviving buildings serve as a reminder of the mining town’s violent past. John Burcham ABOVE: The town’s store is shown in an undated photograph. Sharlot Hall Museum

44 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 45 1 3 SWANSEA Established 1900s

THE DUSTY RUIN OF SWANSEA, a premier doned wreck of its former self, deserted four-wheel-drive trail brings you to the ghost town, is situated about 4 miles in the middle of nowhere. Bill Williams River and the remnants south of the Bill Williams River, one of Today, the site includes the brick of the pumping plant that once supplied West-Central Arizona’s largest rivers. walls of a large smelter; a double row Swansea’s water. All this only hints at While Swansea saw only a few good of gray-plastered quarters for single the town’s original size. years before it was left for the desert men; the adobe walls of mining officials’ The site is managed by the federal to reclaim, its remains are eerie and homes; a company store foundation; a Bureau of Land Management, which intriguing. The town site is not dotted train depot; and dump sites of the mine, established the Swansea Town Site with shops, as are Jerome, Oatman and mill and smelter. Special Management Area in an attempt Bisbee. Instead, Swansea is an aban- Another 4 miles north on a tortuous to stop vandalism and deterioration. In partnership with Friends of Swansea Inc., the BLM has carefully restored roofs to some buildings, including the single-men’s quarters, and shored up others. The BLM also established an interpretive trail and installed vault toilets for visitors. When you arrive, sign in at the BLM register along the entrance road and pick up a brochure, It is difficult to imagine that this The area was first prospected in 1886 Railroad was completed in 1907, claims which includes a map of structures you site once boasted theaters, restaurants, by three men who were disappointed had been consolidated in the region as can visit in Swansea. saloons, barbershops and even an when the veins showed principally cop- the Clara Gold and Copper Co., and a automobile dealership. The showplace per and only small amounts of silver. mining camp began to grow. residence was a two-story, 3,600-square- Ten years later, one of the men returned Unfortunately for Swansea, George ABOVE: A reverberatory furnace is among the multitude of surviving structures foot adobe home with a palm-tree-lined with new partners because copper was Mitchell, a metallurgist and the princi- at the remote ghost town of Swansea. entrance. becoming more valuable. Still, little pal promoter for the mining company, John Burcham As was often the case in early min- actual mining took place due to the high was a better promoter than he was a LEFT: The town is pictured around 1910, during its most prosperous period. ing towns, the men who worked in cost of transporting ore from such a metallurgist. He poured money into Sharlot Hall Museum the mines lived in the shadow of those remote place. embellishments that impressed inves- OPPOSITE PAGE: A walking tour of civilized elements. They were primarily Then, in 1904, a rail line was pro- tors rather than into improvements that Swansea takes visitors to the town’s Mexicans and Colorado River Indians, decaying smelter. posed from Congress to Parker, along enhanced the mining of ore. As a result, John Burcham people not welcome in the theaters and the Colorado River and into California. the cost of producing copper was 3 cents unlikely to patronize a car dealership. By the time the Arizona and California per pound higher than its selling price.

46 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 47 A view of the miners’ quarters in Swansea also shows the surrounding Buckskin Mountains — and a ghostly glimpse of our photographer. John Burcham

As mining expert Harvey Weed Mitchell left Swansea in 1916 to join ended after World War I, when copper serene. While it was no doubt a difficult DIRECTIONS: From Parker, go south on State coverage, and that stretches of the road are wrote in his 1913 Mines Handbook, Mitch- another operation. After his departure, prices plummeted. By 1937, the town place to live and work, it is now a mar- Route 95 for 1.5 miles to Shea Road. Turn steep, narrow and rocky. Visitors should take left (east) onto Shea Road and continue ell’s vision of Swansea was “an example or perhaps because of it, Swansea man- was a thoroughly scavenged ghost. velous place to escape the modern plenty of water, have at least one spare tire 13.3 miles to Swansea Mine Road. Turn right (preferably a full-size one) and be able to of enthusiasm run wild, coupled with aged to make a profit for two years. Although other mining camps have world. Camping out at Swansea — with onto Swansea Mine Road and continue change or repair a flat tire on a dirt road. reckless stock selling and the foolish Ironically, Mitchell’s smelter did not more substantial ruins and are much no power lines, televisions or air condi- 17.7 miles to Swansea. A high-clearance, four- construction of surface works before process the ore — it was sent to Clark- easier to reach, Swansea’s appeal is tioners, and with only coyotes, hum- wheel-drive vehicle is required. Addition- INFORMATION: Lake Havasu Field Office, 928- the development of enough ore to keep dale, Humboldt and Sasco. enduring. The desert can be harsh, but mingbirds and other wildlife as ally, visitors should know that the Swansea 505-1200 or www.blm.gov/arizona area is extremely remote, with no cellphone them busy.” Swansea’s short-lived prosperity it can also be stunningly beautiful and neighbors — is a rare experience indeed.

48 OCTOBER 2018 www.arizonahighways.com 49 scenic DRIVE

MOUNT HOPKINS There aren’t many scenic drives that feature gamma ray telescopes, but this one does, along with some high-altitude panora- mas of the Santa Cruz Valley. BY KATHY MONTGOMERY / PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDY PRENTICE

Back on the road, the pave- ment ends past the visitors center and remains gravel for most of the 8 miles to the observatory gate. The road edges along Montosa Canyon, where cottonwoods are just turning gold. About 1.5 miles past the vis- itors center, we discover the astronomy overlook. Cement benches and pads form sur- faces for telescopes, while interpretive panels describe the area’s geology and land- is more impressive than the last. Soon, feeling giddy from the altitude and as marks. To the south, a black hole marks we get our first glimpse of the telescopes expansive as the sky. the defunct Isabella Mine, one of many on the ridge. They include MEarth, an in the area; both Mount Hopkins and automated system looking for other plan- SCENIC nearby Mount Wrightson were named ets that might support life. DRIVES of Arizona’s ADDITIONAL READING: Best Back for mining engineers killed by Apaches At the observatory gate, we come 40 Roads For more adventure, pick up a copy of our book Arizona in the 1860s. nearly head to head with the summit of Highways Scenic Drives, which Past the vista, the road narrows. About Mount Wrightson, the Santa Ritas’ tall- features 40 of the state’s most beautiful back roads. To order, 3.4 miles past the visitors center, the first est peak. We pause here to take in the visit www.shoparizonahighways Edited by Robert Stieve of several views opens up, and each vista dizzying view before heading back down, and Kelly Vaughn Kramer .com/books.

TOUR GUIDE Note: Mileages are approximate.

LENGTH: 19.2 miles one way (from Interstate 19) DIRECTIONS: From Tucson, go south on Interstate 19 for ome to the Fred Lawrence Whip- grasses. As we turn onto Elephant Head Inside the visitors center, a short video 40 miles to Canoa Road (Exit 56). At the traffic circle, ple Observatory, Mount Hopkins Road, the observatory comes into view recounts the history of the observatory go under the highway to reach the I-19 frontage road. might be heaven on Earth for atop Mount Hopkins. Closer, Elephant and its telescopes, including the sum- Turn right (south) onto the frontage road and con- H tinue 3.2 miles to Elephant Head Road. Turn left onto the star-struck. But the view of much of Head, easily identified by its distinctive mit’s Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT). Elephant Head Road and continue 1.5 miles to Mount Southern Arizona from near this Santa shape and lighter color, rises dramati- That instrument is jointly operated by Hopkins Road. Turn right onto Mount Hopkins Road Rita Mountains summit will send even cally from the valley floor. the Smithsonian Institution and the and continue 14.5 miles to the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory entrance gate. the most grounded over the moon. You’ll After turning right onto Mount Hop- University of Arizona, and astronomers VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: None in good weather. need to reserve a tour to visit the obser- kins Road, we arrive at the visitors center are using its data to create a 3D map of SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: The observatory’s visitors vatory. But there’s an encapsulated ver- about a mile past the Coronado National the universe. There’s also a replica of center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, excluding federal holidays, and is free sion at the visitors center, plus a nearby Forest boundary. Here, we find the only the MMT and, outside, a viewing scope to visit. Tours of the observatory are generally available astronomy viewing area if you want to telescope system we can see without a trained on the real thing. A petroglyph Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from mid-March use your own telescope. And on the drive tour. It’s impressive. The four gamma discovered on the property is on display, through November, weather permitting. Reservations are required, and there is a fee. to the top, there’s a wealth of history and ray telescopes that make up the Very along with information about local plants. INFORMATION: Nogales Ranger District, 520-281-2296 natural beauty. Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope or www.fs.usda.gov/coronado; Fred Lawrence Whipple We begin our drive on an early Nov­ Array System (VERITAS) are mounted ABOVE: Mount Hopkins Road winds up the slopes of Observatory (tours), 520-879-4407 or www.cfa .harvard.edu/flwo em­ber morning, when the cloud-streaked on 60,000-pound bases, and each 39-foot the Santa Rita Mountains. OPPOSITE PAGE: Sunset silhouettes one of the Travelers in Arizona can visit www.az511.gov or dial sky is as pale as a robin’s egg and the “dish” is made up of 345 mirrors and a telescopes of the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory 511 to get infor­ma­tion on road closures, construc­tion, Santa Cruz Valley is tawny with fall camera. atop Mount Hopkins. delays, weather and more.

50 OCTOBER 2018 MAP BY KEVIN KIBSEY www.arizonahighways.com 51 FALL COLOR GUIDE

Snowbowl Road TIMING: Mid-September to mid-October West Fork Trail, Red Rock- Whether you’re in the mood for a leisurely drive or a 4 from U.S. Route 180 CONTACT: Nogales Ranger District, 520- 12 Secret Mountain Wilderness CONDITION: Paved 281-2296 or www.fs.usda.gov/coronado DIFFICULTY: Easy forest stroll, there are plenty of ways to experience DISTANCE: 7 miles one way ELEVATION: 5,400 to 5,500 feet ELEVATION: 7,200 to 9,000 feet Hikes LENGTH: 3 miles one way TREES: Aspen (groves in top 2 miles) ACCESS: From Sedona, go north on Arizona’s autumn hues. Here are 17 of them. State Route 89A for 9.9 miles to the Call TIMING: Mid-September to mid-October 10 North Kaibab Trail of the Canyon parking area. CONTACT: Flagstaff Ranger District, 928- DIFFICULTY: Strenuous 526-0866 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino TREES: Apple, boxelder, ash, canyon ELEVATION: 8,250 to 5,200 feet grape, maple, dogwood, willow, Virginia creeper Bellemont to Parks LENGTH: 2.7 to 4.7 miles one way TIMING: Mid-October 5 (Historic Route 66) ACCESS: From the Grand Canyon 89A Page CONTACT: Red Rock Ranger District, CONDITION: Good unpaved National Park entrance station, go south 928-203-2900 or www.fs.usda.gov/ Jacob Lake 89 on State Route 67 for 11 miles to the trail- DISTANCE: 8.5 miles one way coconino 1 head, on the east side of the road. FR 22 67 3 ELEVATION: 7,152 to 7,425 feet FEE: Parking fee ($10 per vehicle) TREES: Aspen, maple, oak, cottonwood, 180 FR 552 89 TREES: Aspen 2 89 boxelder, creeping barberry North Rim 10 4 TIMING: Mid-September to mid-October FR 516 TIMING: Early October Verde River Greenway 11 CONTACT: Williams Ranger District, 928- 13 Parks FR 420 5 635-5600 or www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab CONTACT: Grand Canyon National Park, DIFFICULTY: Easy Bellemont 928-638-7888 or www.nps.gov/grca ELEVATION: 3,300 feet 40 FLAGSTAFF Flagstaff to Sedona FEE: Park entry fee ($35 per vehicle) LENGTH: 2 miles one way 180 6 (State Route 89A) ACCESS: From Clarkdale, take 40 CONDITION: Paved State Route 89A (Main Street) to FLAGSTAFF berry, go west on Forest Road 708 for U.S. Route 60 to Mile Marker 223, near DISTANCE: 28 miles one way 11 Hart Prairie Preserve 10th Street. Turn right onto 10th Street 12 40 4.5 miles to the trailhead. Superior. 89A NATURE WALKS: Sundays at 10 a.m. and continue to the Dead Horse Ranch 6 ELEVATION: 6,905 to 4,240 feet TREES: Ash, boxelder, cottonwood, TREES: Chinese pistachio, Perkinsville from June through September State Park entrance. From there, take 13 Sedona TREES: Apple, oak, cottonwood, Dead Horse Ranch Road to the trail- oak, sycamore combretum, sumac, walnut 7 DIFFICULTY: Easy Cottonwood fern, sycamore, walnut head at the West Lagoon parking area. TIMING: Late October TIMING: Mid-November to early Decem- 260 TIMING: Early October to early November ELEVATION: 8,500 feet 260 60 TREES: Cottonwood, willow CONTACT: Red Rock Ranger District, ber; open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Strawberry 14 CONTACT: Red Rock Ranger District, LENGTH: 2 miles TIMING: Late October to mid-November 928-203-2900 or www.fs.usda.gov/ CONTACT: Boyce Thomspon Arboretum Springerville Show Low 928-203-2900 or www.fs.usda.gov/ ACCESS: From Historic Route 66 in coconino State Park, 520-689-2811 or www 17 CONTACT: Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Payson coconino FEE: None for October 2 through .azstateparks.com/boyce-thompson 60 16 8 Flagstaff, go north on Humphreys Street 928-634-5283 or www.azstateparks Nutrioso to the Fort Valley Plaza shopping center, .com/dead-horse March 31; $10 permit required for April 1 FEE: Park entry fee ($12.50 for adults, Alpine Verde Canyon Railroad where the street dead-ends at the top through October 1 $5 for children ages 5 to 12) 191 FEE: Park entry fee ($7 per vehicle) 10 7 (Clarkdale to Perkinsville) of the hill. Meet the van at the south- PHOENIX DISTANCE: 20 miles one way west corner of the parking lot. Boyce Thompson 60 West Baldy Trail 15 Globe ELEVATION: 3,225 to 3,550 feet TREES: Aspen, willow 14 Fossil Creek Trail 15 Arboretum State Park 16 DIFFICULTY: Moderate Superior TREES: Cottonwood, willow TIMING: June through September DIFFICULTY: Strenuous DIFFICULTY: Easy ELEVATION: 9,287 to 11,420 feet TIMING: Early October to early November CONTACT: Hart Prairie Preserve, 928- ELEVATION: 5,800 to 4,300 feet ELEVATION: 2,400 feet 779-6129 or www.nature.org/arizona LENGTH: 3.5 miles one way LENGTH: 1.5-mile loop LENGTH: 7 miles one way 10 CONTACT: Verde Canyon Railroad, 800- 8 582-7245 or www.verdecanyonrr.com FEE: None ACCESS: From State Route 87 in Straw- ACCESS: From Phoenix, go east on ACCESS: From Eagar, go west on State Route 260 for 18.7 miles to State Route Springerville to Alpine 273. Turn left onto SR 273 and continue (U.S. Route 191) south for 8.6 miles to the trailhead at TUCSON 10 8 Sheeps Crossing. CONDITION: Paved TREES: Aspen Benson DISTANCE: 26 miles one way TIMING: September Green Valley 9 90 ELEVATION: 6,965 to 8,030 feet FR 62 FR 70 CONTACT: Springerville Ranger District, TREES: Aspen (on Escudilla Mountain) 928-333-6200 or www.fs.usda.gov/asnf 82 Sierra Vista 19 TIMING: Mid-September to mid-October 92 FEE: None 17 CONTACT: Alpine Ranger District, 928- Nogales 339-5000 or www.fs.usda.gov/asnf 17 Hamburg Trail Madera Canyon DIFFICULTY: Moderate 9 (forest roads 62 and 70) ELEVATION: 5,498 to 6,826 feet CONDITION: Paved LENGTH: 2.8 miles one way DISTANCE: 15 miles one way (from Inter- Drives Lockett Meadow (Forest Road 552) ACCESS: From Sierra Vista, go south on state 19 to Roundup Picnic Area) State Route 92 for 6 miles to Ramsey Jacob Lake to Grand Canyon Lodge Forest Road 22 from U.S. Route 89 2 3 ELEVATION: 2,972 to 5,200 feet Canyon Road, then go west for 3.5 miles (State Route 67) CONDITION: Good unpaved CONDITION: Unpaved, with switch- 1 TREES: Oak, ash, maple, willow to The Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey CONDITION: Paved DISTANCE: 0.7 miles (west of State backs; four-wheel-drive recommended Canyon Preserve and the trailhead. DISTANCE: 48 miles one way Route 67) one way DISTANCE: 4.7 miles one way OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP: Aspen leaves TREES: Sycamore, maple, ash, cotton- ELEVATION: 7,921 to 8,200 feet ELEVATION: 8,701 to 8,713 feet ELEVATION: 8,560 feet gather on a lichen-covered rock near wood, willow TREES: Aspen TREES: Aspen TREES: Aspen Hart Prairie Preserve, northwest of TIMING: Mid-October to early November TIMING: Mid-September to mid-October TIMING: Mid-September to mid-October TIMING: Mid-September to mid- Flagstaff. CONTACT: Ramsey Canyon Preserve, (snow closes road) (snow closes road) October RIGHT: Chinese pistachios are 520-378-2785 or www.nature.org/ CONTACT: North Kaibab Ranger District, CONTACT: North Kaibab Ranger District, CONTACT: Flagstaff Ranger District, among the trees on display at Boyce arizona 928-643-7395 or www.fs.usda.gov/ 928-643-7395 or www.fs.usda.gov/ 928-526-0866 or www.fs.usda.gov/ Thompson Arboretum State Park, FEE: Preserve entry fee ($6 per person); kaibab kaibab coconino near Superior. free for children under 16

52 OCTOBER 2018 MAP BY KEVIN KIBSEY PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP CLAIRE CURRAN ABOVE PAUL GILL www.arizonahighways.com 53 HIKE of the month

STERLING PASS-VULTEE ARCH TRAIL f Sedona’s many scenic wonders, ing again. Immediately. This time, zig- Vultee Arch is among the most zagging downhill into Sterling Canyon. Fall color, breathtaking switchbacks (literally and O impressive. Prior to a plane crash The terrain is similar to what you’ll have in 1938, however, few people, if any, had seen coming up, but you’ll enjoy it more figuratively), big trees, small trees, tragic history ever seen it. Today, it gets its fair share of because you won’t be gasping for breath. and one of the state’s most impressive arches foot traffic. There are a couple of reasons Near the bottom of the canyon, the for that: 1) It’s spectacular to see, and canopy opens up as the trail winds into highlight this trek in Red Rock Country. 2) it’s relatively easy to get to. thickets of young ponderosa pines — BY ROBERT STIEVE / PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOEL HAZELTON On paper, the most obvious route is more new growth. A few minutes later, to hike the Vultee Arch Trail from Forest the Sterling Pass Trail ends where the Road 152. The problem with that route Vultee Arch Trail begins. Continue west is the road — it’s a real bugger. Another and look for a short spur that leads to option is to hike up from Oak Creek Vultee Arch, which is named for Gerard Canyon along the Sterling Pass Trail. It’s Vultee. The story is a sad one: On January more of a workout, but it’s the way to 29, 1938, Vultee, an aviation engineer and go, especially when you combine it with entrepreneur, and his wife, Sylvia, were the Vultee Arch Trail. That’s what we’re flying in a small plane from Winslow to doing here. their home in California. Not long after From the well-hidden trailhead along takeoff, they got caught in a blinding Back on the Vultee Arch Trail, continu- at the trailhead at Forest Road 152. Like State Route 89A, you’ll immediately enter snowstorm. Unfortunately, Vultee was ing west, the route follows a small wash everything else you’ll have seen along the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilder- flying without instrument training and, and winds through a beautiful grove of the way, the basin is beautiful. It’s the ness and start climbing. It’s something presumably, got disoriented. About a spruce trees. There are some big gators arch, though, that makes this route you’ll have to get used to, because you’re mile north of the arch, the plane crashed, in the area, too. And oaks, maples and spectacular. either going up or you’re going down and both passengers died. Douglas firs. Other than the view from on the Sterling Pass Trail. There’s no in “The wrecked plane was found near the 40-foot span of the arch, this is the between. No middle ground, no plateaus, East Pocket, Barney Pasture, just a few best part of the hike. ADDITIONAL READING: no real respites. hundred feet from the canyon brink lead- Eventually, the lush forest gives way For more hikes, pick up a copy After a few short switchbacks, the trail ing into the deep, rocky chasm,” The to a landscape dotted with agaves, yuc- of Arizona Highways Hiking Guide, which features 52 of the drops into a small drainage surrounded Coco­nino Sun reported. Despite the trag- cas and manzanitas, as well as Arizona state’s best trails — one for each by manzanitas, alligator junipers and edy that surrounds it, the arch is one cypresses. This is the look for the next weekend of the year, sorted by seasons. To order a copy, visit thousands of young oak trees. The oaks of the most beautiful memorials you’ll half-mile as the trail leaves the wilder- www.shoparizonahighways have prospered in the wake of the Brins ever see. ness, enters Dry Creek Basin and arrives .com/books. Fire, which was started by an illegal, unattended campfire on June 18, 2006. Although the fire scorched 4,000 acres in all, the oaks are signs of hope, and TRAIL GUIDE they’re especially impressive in the fall. LENGTH: 7.2 miles round-trip From the wash, the route to Sterling Pass DIFFICULTY: Moderate is easy to follow, but not so easy to climb. ELEVATION: 4,832 to 5,990 feet It’s an uphill trudge of more than a thou- TRAILHEAD GPS: N 34˚56.198', W 111˚44.829' sand feet. DIRECTIONS: From the roundabout intersection of State Like the canyon, the pass is named Route 179 and State Route 89A in Sedona, go north on SR 89A for 6.4 miles to the trailhead on the west side of for Charles Sterling, an early settler and the road, about a half-mile north of Milepost 380. Park reputed counterfeiter who allegedly hid in one of the roadside pullouts across from Manzanita out in Oak Creek Canyon. That is, when Campground. VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: None he wasn’t stealing cattle. The saddle DOGS ALLOWED: Yes (on a leash) sits between Wilson Mountain and the HORSES ALLOWED: No Mogollon Rim. It also separates Oak Creek USGS MAPS: Munds Park, Wilson Mountain Canyon and Sterling Canyon. Enjoy the INFORMATION: Red Rock Ranger District, 928- views, and then get ready to start switch- 203-2900 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino LEAVE-NO-TRACE PRINCIPLES: • Plan ahead and be out all of your trash. LEFT: Fall color is abundant along the Sterling prepared. • Leave what you find. Pass Trail in October. • Travel and camp on • Respect wildlife. OPPOSITE PAGE: Vultee Arch, which is 8 feet durable surfaces. • Minimize campfire impact. wide and 40 feet long, is reached by a short • Dispose of waste • Be considerate of spur trail. properly and pack others.

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

Answer the Door Hundreds of thousands of people visit this Arizona religious site every year, but few of them notice this wooden door, which bears the abbreviated name of one of the site’s builders, along with the year the building was completed.

August 2018 Answer & Winner Win a collection of our can also be sent to 2039 W. fied entries. Entries must be most popular books! Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, AZ postmarked by October 15, Cave Creek Canyon, To enter, correctly identify 85009 (write “Where Is 2018. Only the winner will be Chiricahua Moun- the location pictured above This?” on the envelope). notified. The correct answer tains. Congratula- and email your answer to Please include your name, will be posted in our January tions to our winner, editor@arizonahighways address and phone number. issue and online at www Nancy Hunt of .com — type “Where Is This?” One winner will be chosen in .arizonahighways.com­ Duarte, California. in the subject line. Entries a random drawing of quali- beginning November 15.

56 OCTOBER 2018 PHOTOGRAPHS: TOP JACK DYKINGA ABOVE, LEFT DAVID MUENCH