A 5-YEAR-OLD PHOTOGRAPHS ARIZONA

2015 HAWKEYE HUEY: WITH HIS FUJIFILM INSTAX WIDE 300 OCTOBER

ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE OUR FAVORITE PLACES TO SEE FALL COLOR Autumn in Arizona — F. SCOTTF. FITZGERALD —

WHY LESSER LONG-NOSED BATS WILL NOT SUCK YOUR BLOOD “Life starts“Life again over when all gets it crisp in the fall.”

Lookout Canyon, Kaibab Plateau

plus: FOREST ROAD 38: THE BACK WAY TO MOUNT LEMMON • WATER DOGS CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL MONUMENT • RAY MANLEY • HOUSTON BROTHERS TRAIL 10.15 CONTENTS Grand Canyon National Park 2 EDITOR’S LETTER 3 CONTRIBUTORS 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 56 WHERE IS THIS? > > > Flagstaff Williams

Sedona 5 THE JOURNAL People, places and things from around the state, including a look back 50 STARTING FROM SCRATCH at iconic photographer Ray Manley, Chiricahua National Monument, There’s irony in the fact that one of Arizona’s most renowned PHOENIX water dogs and bigtooth maples. Mount Lemmon custom-bicycle makers is partially paralyzed from the waist down. Chiricahua National Monument 16 FALL COLOR “It bears mentioning,” Steve Garro says. “At the same time, I don’t Tucson let it define who I am.” Madera Canyon Our annual portfolio of oaks, aspens, maples and more. BY MOLLY BILKER EDITED BY JEFF KIDA PHOTOGRAPH BY DAWN KISH POINTS OF INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE 32 HAWKEYE HUEY WAS HERE 52 SCENIC DRIVE At age 5, Hawkeye Huey is the youngest contributor to National Geo- Bill Williams Mountain Loop: This scenic drive in Northern Arizona graphic Creative, and when he’s not being a typical kid, he travels the cuts through a beautiful ponderosa-pine forest and past Coleman country — including Northern Arizona — with his parents, shooting Lake as it loops around the area’s tallest mountain. photos of the people, places and things he encounters with his Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 camera. 54 HIKE OF THE MONTH EDITED BY KELLY VAUGHN Houston Brothers Trail: Dense forests, lush meadows, a spring-fed PHOTOGRAPHS BY HAWKEYE HUEY stream ... there are many things to like about this trail. And this 38 THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT time of year, the autumn leaves make it even better. Vampire bats get most of the attention this time of year. Admittedly, they’re pretty cool, but we don’t have any in Arizona. We do, however, have 28 other bat species, including lesser long-nosed bats, which are one of only two species in Arizona that rely primarily on nectar and pollen. They won’t suck your blood on Halloween, but they might drain your hummingbird feeder. BY MATT JAFFE PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRUCE D. TAUBERT 42 THERE IS ANOTHER WAY GET MORE ONLINE To the millions of travelers who make the drive to Summerhaven every www.arizonahighways.com year, the Catalina Highway is the way to go. There was a time, however,

when the only way up was on Forest Road 38. That old mountain road /azhighways is still an option, but it takes time and a high-clearance vehicle. @azhighways BY ANNETTE McGIVNEY PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDY PRENTICE @arizonahighways

◗ A burrowing owl ponders its next move on the outskirts of Coolidge, southeast of Phoenix. | EIRINI PAJAK CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D MARK II; SHUTTER: 1/500 SEC; APERTURE: F/4; ISO: 400; FOCAL LENGTH: 600 MM FRONT COVER Golden aspens line a dirt road through Lookout Canyon, located northwest of the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. | CLAIRE CURRAN CAMERA: CANON EOS-1DS MARK III; SHUTTER: 1/10 SEC; APERTURE: F/18; ISO: 100; FOCAL LENGTH: 111 MM BACK COVER An autumn-hued cot- tonwood is bathed in evening light at the Granite Dells of Watson Lake near Prescott. | CLAIRE CURRAN CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D MARK III; SHUTTER: 1/40 SEC; APERTURE: F/18; ISO: 400; FOCAL LENGTH: 200 MM

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

JACKI MIELER Sweatshirt Weather When we asked Jacki Mieler what she most enjoyed about visiting Flagstaff’s Criollo Latin Kitchen (see 0CTOBER 2015 VOL. 91, NO. 10 have an old maroon sweatshirt. It’s a “fall” in the headline eye’s father, Aaron, The Journal, page 5), she had a hard time choosing. 800-543-5432 “It’s a tossup between the jalapeño margarita and faded Champion. At least 30 years old. of this month’s portfo- is a photographer for www.arizonahighways.com I got it from my mom, who will be sur- lio. Simply titled Fall National Geographic. owners Paul and Laura Moir,” she says. “The jalapeño prised to know it’s still around — it’s Color, the collection With his parents, PUBLISHER Win Holden doesn’t hit you over the head, but it adds that little I EDITOR Robert Stieve one of those things. I can’t remember opens with a shot by Hawkeye travels something that takes the margarita to the next level. why she gave it to me, but I know it Shane McDermott that all over the country ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, And the Moirs are so passionate about food and this

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Kelly Mero TANGLED LILAC PHOTOGRAPHY wasn’t because of ASU. At the time, she ranks as one of the posting images on community, it’s hard to not get caught up in all the MANAGING EDITOR Kelly Vaughn had no idea I’d end up at the Cronkite best we’ve ever seen. In­stagram. In Hawkeye exciting things they’re doing.” Mieler says she also finds it interesting that the Moirs have ASSOCIATE EDITOR Noah Austin School, and that every Saturday in Octo- Even Photo Editor Jeff Huey Was Here, you’ll now opened successful restaurants in Flagstaff and Tucson, but not in Phoenix. “It’s not EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR Nikki Kimbel ber I’d be wearing it to show my bias Kida, who sees tens of see some of his photos typical for restaurateurs to skip over the largest city in the state as they look to expand, PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jeff Kida toward the Sun Devils — thanks, Mom, thousands of images from a recent road trip but I think these towns have the vibe that the Moirs are looking for,” she says. Mieler is a CREATIVE DIRECTOR Barbara Glynn Denney for not getting me navy blue. every year, called me to Northern Arizona. regular contributor to Arizona Highways, and she says if you visit Criollo for breakfast, you College football and old sweatshirts into his office to have By the way, he shoots ART DIRECTOR Keith Whitney can’t go wrong with the blue-corn pancakes. mark the arrival of fall. It’s especially true a look. Claire Cur- with a Fujifilm Instax DESIGN PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Diana Benzel-Rice in places like Minnesota, Massachusetts ran’s photo of Cave MARKOW PAUL Wide 300 camera. MAP DESIGNER Kevin Kibsey and Pennsylvania, but it’s true here, too. Creek Canyon is impressive, too. And so When asked about his son’s style, PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Michael Bianchi HAWKEYE HUEY For us, fall begins in September on the is Derek von Briesen’s shot of Aravaipa Aaron says it’s “a bit crooked; centered. WEBMASTER Victoria J. Snow At age 5, Hawkeye Huey would rather talk about Kaibab Plateau — our cover photo was Canyon. If you think we get bored with I think he’s just trying to get the subject CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Nicole Bowman Legos and Star Wars than photography — at least ac- made in Lookout Canyon, south of Jacob recurring themes, we don’t. And our in the box he’s looking through.” Beyond FINANCE DIRECTOR Bob Allen cording to his dad, National Geographic photographer Lake — and then works its way down. By cover story shows why. There’s a lot of the photography, Hawkeye is a typical OPERATIONS/IT MANAGER Cindy Bormanis Aaron Huey. But that didn’t stop the Huey men from October, the color shows up in the White fall color inside. If you want more, plan 5-year-old. “He likes to draw, have tan- embarking on a 19-day tour of the American West, Mountains, on the Mogollon Rim and in a trip to Mount Lemmon. But instead of trums and demand dessert every night.” CORPORATE OR TRADE SALES 602-712-2019 during which Hawkeye made many images of the the upper reaches of our “sky islands.” taking the usual route, go the back way. He also likes Star Wars and Legos. His SPONSORSHIP SALES people and places of Arizona with his Fujifilm Instax REPRESENTATION On Media Publications It shows up in the pages of Arizona High- Up Forest Road 38. interests, his father says, are more engi- Lesley Bennett Wide 300 camera (see Hawkeye Huey Was Here, ways, too. It’s been that way for almost as “From 1920 until the late 1940s,” neering-based, which is why the parents 602-445-7160 page 32). Those images became part of Hawkeye’s long as we’ve been around. Annette McGivney writes in her travel- expect to retire Hawkeye from his photo Instagram account (@hawkeyehuey) and will soon A few weeks ago, before I started writ- ogue, “FR 38 was the only vehicle route career when he’s 6. Whatever happens, I LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [email protected] become part of a book documenting the adventure. 2039 W. Lewis Avenue While Hawkeye’s photographic vision is maturing, ing this column, I walked across the hall between the sizzling desert floor and the think he’ll probably hang on to that cam- Phoenix, AZ 85009 to our library and picked up a copy of our cool high country of the Santa Catalina era. It’s bound to be one of those things. he remains a boy. “I must remind readers that he’s October 1961 issue — I like looking back Mountains.” It’s still an option, but “you Like an old faded sweatshirt. Or a Satur- still young enough that he doesn’t understand the GOVERNOR Douglas A. Ducey AARON HUEY at the old stuff. The cover featured a shot can’t be in a hurry on this road,” says day afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium. concept of time, occasionally talks in tongues and DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT of a golden cottonwood in Canyon de Chuck Sternberg, the resident expert on OF TRANSPORTATION John S. Halikowski can collapse at any random moment into a pile of wailing tears if I don’t have a juice box

Chelly. The portfolio inside was titled The FR 38. “With all the rocks and switch- ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION ready for him when the idea of thirst pops into his head,” Aaron Huey says. Touch of Midas. backs and amazing views, you have to BOARD CHAIRMAN Kelly O. Anderson In his introduction to the piece, Editor take your time.” VICE CHAIRMAN Joseph E. La Rue Raymond Carlson wrote about the beauty In all, the historic route winds and MEMBERS William Cuthbertson RANDY PRENTICE of October. He also tackled the words climbs for 25 miles from the “desert out- Deanna Beaver “The Santa Catalina Mountains are my mountain range,” says photographer Randy Pren- “fall” and “autumn.” “This wondrous post of Oracle to the mountaintop village Jack W. Sellers tice, whose assignment for this issue was capturing historic Forest Road 38 (see There Season,” he wrote, “has such power and of Summerhaven.” That’s where the fall Michael S. Hammond Is Another Way, page 42). Prentice drove the road 12 years ago and says he was curious impact on the bedazzled senses of the color will be, but there’s a lot of scenery Pliny M. Draper to see what had changed. “Turns out, with the exception of some minor development at poor beholder it is the only Season of along the way, too. To capture some of the low elevations, it’s as rugged and remote as ever,” Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published monthly by DERMOTT he says. “I won’t say the road is gnarly, but it is harsh — the year with two names.” He goes on to that beauty, we sent Randy Prentice out c the Arizona Department of Transportation. Subscription price: quote Webster and Fowler and The King’s with his Canon EOS 5D Mark II. If you’re $24 a year in the U.S., $44 outside the U.S. Single copy: $4.99 U.S. patient, slow driving is in order.” Prentice made two English in an effort to sort it all out. Ulti- a longtime reader of Arizona Highways, Call 800-543-5432. Subscription cor­respon­dence and change trips up the old road for this assignment; on his SHANE M of address information: Arizona Highways, P.O. Box 8521, Big mately, Fowler, the British lexicographer, you’re familiar with Randy’s work. He’s Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Periodical postage paid at Phoenix, AZ, second trip, he camped for a night before continuing deferred to the Americans: “Fall is better been with us for a while. That’s not to COMING IN NOVEMBER ... and at additional mailing office. CANADA POST INTERNATIONAL to Summerhaven at the top of the road. “I’m not a PUBLICATIONS MAIL PRODUCT (CANADIAN­ DISTRIBUTION) on its merits than autumn, in every way: say he’s old, but he’s definitely older than We take a look at Salt River Canyon, one SALES AGREEMENT NO. 41220511. SEND RETURNS TO QUAD/ proponent of mining in wilderness or national-forest it is short, Saxon (like the other three Hawkeye Huey. of Arizona’s other grand canyons. We also GRAPHICS, P.O. BOX 875, WINDSOR, ON N9A 6P2. POST­MASTER: areas, but I have to admit the flat top on a deposit Send address changes to Arizona Highways, P.O. Box 8521, Big season names), picturesque; it reveals its Hawkeye, who is 5, is the youngest feature the state’s National Natural Land- Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Copy­right © 2015 by the Ari­zona Depart- of mine tailings provided a great place to camp,” he derivation to everyone who uses it, not to photographer we’ve ever contracted. marks and Phantom Ranch. ment of Trans­­por­­tation. Repro­duc­tion in whole or in part with­­out says. Prentice is currently contributing images to a permission is prohibited. The magazine does not accept and is not the scholar only, like autumn.” However, we’re not the first to do so. responsible for unsolicited­ mater­ ials.­ forthcoming book about the Colorado River, and his I always learn something when I dig National Geographic Creative beat us to it. ROBERT STIEVE, EDITOR work has also appeared in Sierra and Natural History PRODUCED IN THE USA through the archives. Thus the word Of course, they had an advantage: Hawk- Follow me on Twitter: @azhighways magazines. — NOAH AUSTIN AND KELLY VAUGHN

2 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 3 letters to the editor [email protected] THE JOURNAL 10.15

national parks centennial > history > photography ’m always very impressed with Arizona iconic photographers > dining > nature > lodging > things to do Highways. We’ve lived here eight years and I love receiving it or picking it up at the THE BEST I grocery store. I just wanted to say that the photographs in this issue [August 2015] are OF ARIZONA If we were Texas Highways, we couldn’t do this portfolio exceptionally spectacular. They make me — there are too many counties (254) in Texas. In Arizona, however, where there are only 15, it’s a little easier to feature one of the scenic wonders of every county in the state. As APACHE want to get out and visit some of these areas. you’ll see, there are beautiful landscapes all across Arizona. COUNTY SEAT: St. Johns FOUNDED: 1879 A PORTFOLIO EDITED BY JEFF KIDA AREA: 11,198 square miles POPULATION: 71,518 (2010) OTHER MAJOR CITIES: Alpine, Thank you for this wonderful magazine. I look Chinle, Ganado, Springer- ville, Tsaile, Window Rock GEOGRAPHIC HIGHLIGHTS: Apache County is home to the headwaters of the two forks of forward to it every month. the Little Colorado River. It also includes White Mountains destinations such as Big Lake, Hawley Lake and Baldy Peak, along with the Navajo Nation’s Canyon de Chelly Dawniele Castellanos, Maricopa, Arizona National Monument and most of Petrified Forest National Park.

First light colors the ponderosa pines and tall grass surrounding Big Lake, a popular recreation spot in the White Mountains south of Springerville. | LAURENCE PARENT

16 AUGUST 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 17

August 2015

s a longtime subscriber, I wanted was accepted. As an aside, we also were speak English. And Dad, of course, A to say I particularly enjoyed the successful in getting the U.S. board to didn’t know a word in Navajo. So the articles in the July 2015 issue that accept diacritical marks when we dealt two struggled to communicate in bad discussed efforts to preserve special with 22 names from Hopi. Spanish. It worked — sort of. Finally, places in Arizona like the Blue Range Tim J. Norton, Sun City West, Arizona the woman handed Dad a rug she had Primitive Area [The Blue] and the area weaved. About 2.5 feet by 5 feet, it por- Let There around Walnut Canyon National delayed writing regarding a correc- trays the Navajo Nation’s Two Grey Hills. Be Light Monument [For Land’s Sake]. It’s good to I tion in your Summer Hiking Guide [June The rug became a Haller family treasure. be reminded that many of the beautiful 2015] since I was confident other sub- Today, it’s on a wall in my son Bill’s The water of Havasu Creek places in Arizona are preserved because scribers would respond to the photo home in Greenville, South Carolina. cascades over Mooney Falls in the people of Arizona and others have on page 42. But, alas, I have seen no Arch Haller, Oro Valley, Arizona Havasu Canyon. The waterfall worked hard to make it so. I also believe posting regarding what I believe is an is one of several in the canyon, the quality of Arizona Highways contrib- erroneous identification of the plant was delighted to find my old friend, which is on Havasupai Tribe land utes to a pride in Arizona’s history and pictured. Please check again, as I believe I the jumping spider, in the July issue in the Grand Canyon. To make beauty that enhances the culture. the photo to be of purple locoweed, not [The Journal]. As a young student at this image, Ben Coan and his Benjamin Smith, Aiken, South Carolina lupine. The clue is the plant’s foliage — Phoenix College many years ago, I had friend, who are in the photograph, not palmately compound, like lupine, settled down for a break at an outdoor painted the falls with light from read with interest the article on page but rather pinnately compound, as picnic table and found myself fascinated their headlamps for 10 to 15 sec- I 10 of the March 2015 issue [The Journal] described in Arizona plant field books. by a fuzzy little brown spider, probably onds. “I had my camera set up to on Mr. Carlos Elmer. While I served as John Burcham’s excellent close-up photo about a quarter-inch in size. Equally fas- take a 25-second exposure every the chair of the Arizona State Board on clearly shows the flowering characteris- cinated, he eyed me (no pun intended) as 30 seconds in interval mode and Geographic and Historic Names in 1995, tics of locoweed. I eyed him, moving carefully to examine hoped that one of the exposures a place-name proposal was submitted Sally M. Alcoze, Ph.D., Emeritus, the little guy closer up. At that point, would capture what I wanted,” to honor Mr. Elmer. The board spent Northern Arizona University with my nose about 6 inches from his, he Coan says. | BEN COAN considerable time finalizing the name leaped upon me, either out of curiosity To learn more, call the tribe’s tour- as “Carlos Elmer’s Joshua View,” located EDITOR’S NOTE: Thank you for keeping us on our or instinctive self-defense, scaring the ist office at 928-448-2121 or visit www.havasupai-nsn.gov. in Mohave County. The reason for the toes, Ms. Alcoze. The flower on page 42 is, indeed, life out of my 6-foot, 200-pound frame. consternation was the U.S. board’s a locoweed. Where he went thereafter I do not know, CAMERA: NIKON D750; SHUTTER: 25 SEC; APERTURE: F/2.8; ISO: 6400; FOCAL LENGTH: 14 MM insistence on not using the apostrophe but the memory of it still makes my heart to show possession. That board did he photo of Navajo rugs at Hubbell race! And thus I learned what a jumping not want any diacritical marks whatso- T Trading Post in the July 2015 spider really was, up close and personal. ever. The Arizona board, to its credit, issue [The Journal] of Arizona Highways Stewart J. Ritchey, Mesa, Arizona insisted that the apostrophe was neces- reminds me of an incident way back in sary because the first three words of the 1939. My father was a clerk at a grocery contact us If you have thoughts or com- place name could be construed as per- store in Holbrook, Arizona. A Navajo ments about anything in Arizona Highways, we’d sonal first names — Carlos, Elmer and couple, dressed in their colorful finery, love to hear from you. We can be reached at editor@ arizonahighways.com, or by mail at 2039 W. Lewis Joshua. We convinced the U.S. board on came in to get some supplies, but they Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009. For more information, the use of the apostrophe, and that name didn’t have any money. Nor could they visit www.arizonahighways.com.

4 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 5 national parks centennial � �

EDITOR’S NOTE: In August 2016, the National Park Service will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Leading up to that milestone, we’ll be spotlighting some of Arizona’s wonderful national parks.

Visitors explore the monument near Faraway Ranch in the 1920s. | ARIZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL

THE JOURNAL MONUMENT

hiricahua National Monument was established in 1924 to protect a labyrinth of hoodoos — balanced rocks and rock spires formed by erosion. Although these pillars are C mesmerizing, the park is known for more than hoodoos. The monument is also home to an inactive volcanic range, a caldera 12 miles across, lava flows, a natural bridge and astound- ing biodiversity due to the crisscrossing of four distinct regions: the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, and the Rocky Mountain and Sierra Madre ranges. Thus, in the southeastern corner of Arizona, visitors can discover black bears, rattlesnakes, evergreens and cactuses sharing the same land. Year-round camping, an 8-mile scenic drive through Bonita Canyon and 17 miles of hiking trails reward travelers who make the trek to Chiricahua. Visitors can also explore Faraway Ranch His- toric District, an area preserving the 19th and 20th century home and dude ranch of Swedish immigrants. — KAYLA FROST

YEAR DESIGNATED: 1924 AREA: 11,985 acres Lichen-stained rhyolite spires mark WILDERNESS ACREAGE: 10,290 acres the view along Chiricahua National Monument’s Echo Canyon Loop. ANNUAL VISITATION: 45,125 (2014) | GEORGE STOCKING AVERAGE ELEVATION: 6,270 feet

www.nps.gov/chir

6 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 7 history photography � � � �

Phoenix Indian School Band As unlikely as it might seem, one of the first bands in Arizona was made up of Native American students at Phoenix Indian School. It was an elite group that earned accolades from as far away as Washington, D.C.

o one knows exactly when the band gave public performances early on, school to participate. Phoenix Indian School Band staging Sunday concerts and playing at As more schools opened on tribal organized, but it may have nearly every parade and celebration in lands, enrollment at the school N been the school’s greatest Phoenix. Occasionally juggling as many declined. The Bureau of Indian Affairs achievement. as three gigs in a day, the band toured shuttered the school in 1990. Phoenix The United States Industrial Indian as far as Atlantic City, New Jersey and now owns the former band building, School at Phoenix, later known as Phoe- Washington, D.C., garnering praise and one of three remaining structures at nix Indian School, opened in 1891 with drawing large crowds wherever it went. Steele Indian School Park. 41 boys. At its peak, it enrolled nearly By 1923, the band was getting more In 2014, Native American Connec- 1,000 students from 23 tribes, with the requests than it could accept. tions and the Phoenix Indian Center controversial mission of teaching tribal The band became less active in the announced plans to transform the members trades and assimilating them 1930s and dissolved for a time in the building into a cultural center, a fitting into Anglo culture. 1940s. Rosemary Davey resurrected it in tribute to a place where tribal members Industrial teacher James Devine first 1950 and twice led her musicians in Cal- from all over the West learned to live assembled the 30-member band — one ifornia’s Rose Parade, making Phoenix and play together in perfect harmony. of the earliest formal bands in Arizona Indian School the first Native American — KATHY MONTGOMERY — and molded it into an elite group that became the school’s best public- relations tool. A local paper opined that the band eloquently answered the question, “Why educate the A “blood moon” total lunar eclipse looms over the Vermilion Cliffs of Northern Arizona. |GARY LADD THE JOURNAL Indian?” Considered a privilege, band membership required Shooting the Moon good grades and a demand- Photo Editor Jeff Kida and Gary Ladd discuss lunar eclipses ing practice schedule. The and combining science with photography. The Phoenix Indian School Band marches in a parade before a football game in the early 1900s. JK: How long have you been interested in trip with a group of spelunkers, one of it didn’t make sense to shoot a red moon | ARIZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY photography? whom had a Nikon camera. That awak- without a foreground. I got out of bed at GL: I don’t remember how old I was, but I ened me to the possibility of combining 3 a.m. and was down in Marble Canyon remember standing in a grocery store with photography with science. After I got my 45 minutes later so I could use the Ver- my parents, asking them to buy me a cam- degree, I worked at Kitt Peak National milion Cliffs as a foreground and give the ARIZONA HIGHWAYS this ■ Arizona elects its ing the ice to slip from “Mine With an Iron era. They said I could have one when I was Observatory for four and a half years. I photo a sense of place. I didn’t scout this, first female member the bed of the wagon Door” on October 25, 50 Years Ago The October 1965 8 years old. From then on, I was always spent another two years at Mount Hopkins and I got lucky with how the shot turned of Congress, Isabella and into the river. 1923, after reading issue of Arizona making photos. Observatory, which today is known as out. This is near totality, so there’s still a month Highways featured Greenway, on ■ On October 24, a novel by Tucson Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. At tiny sliver of white light on the moon. October 3, 1933. 2001, Flagstaff, the native Harold Bell. acclaimed photogra- in history JK: You’re also a science buff. How did both observatories, I worked with the Kron ■ Residents of home of Lowell The group does not pher Ray Manley’s that happen, and how have you com- camera, a device 15 times more sensitive Tucson see “icebergs” Observatory, is find the mine. favorite place: Canyon bined that passion with photography? to light than ordinary cameras are. floating in the Santa named the world’s ■ Tucson’s probate de Chelly. The article GL: When I was at Central Methodist Col- Cruz River on October first International judge resigns after showed readers the 16, 1929, after an ice- Dark-Sky City. citizens fail to enter Native American lege in Missouri, I was simply a “science” JK: What can you tell us about the photo wagon driver fords ■ A group from New a complaint about paintings and carv- major because the school didn’t distin- pictured above? ADDITIONAL READING the river with the York funds a search a felony murder on ings that adorn the guish between various disciplines, but the GL: This was made on April 4 of this Look for our book Arizona Highways Photography Guide, available at two things I liked most were geology and year, during the “blood moon” total lunar tailgate down, caus- to find the fabled October 30, 1860. canyon’s walls. bookstores and www.shoparizona astronomy. I went on an extracurricular eclipse. I had read about this event, but highways.com/books.

8 OCTOBER 2015 To learn more about photography, visit www.arizonahighways.com/photography. www.arizonahighways.com 9 iconic photographers � � THE JOURNAL COURTESY OF THE MANLEY FAMILY RAY MANLE Y

iven his love of sunsets, scenic pho- Northern Arizona University, where he met his tographer Ray Manley was lucky to wife, but he dropped out to serve as a photography be an Arizona native. His daughter, instructor in the Navy during World War II. Upon G Carolyn Robinson, recalls many fam- returning to Arizona, he avidly photographed ily dinners being interrupted as Manley dashed its landscapes and people, particularly Native outside to photograph a sunset’s final, brilliant American elders with weathered and wise faces. burst. Though Manley’s work was published in He published books on Native American cultures magazines such as National Geographic and Life, and crafts, along with compilations of his stun- he was best known for his submissions to Arizona ning landscape photos. Later in life, he formed Highways. Ray Manley Tours to show off Arizona’s beauty to Before his career took off, Manley attended others. He died in 2006 at age 84. — KAYLA FROST

ABOVE: Perched atop his car, Ray Manley photographs horseback riders beneath the Rincon Mountains in 1949. His daughter, Carolyn Robinson, says her father may have been shooting for an Arizona Highways story or a guest-ranch brochure.

RIGHT: Our September 1970 issue featured several of Manley’s color photos,

including this shot of Seven Falls in the Santa Catalina Mountains. MANLEY RAY

10 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 11 dining nature � � � �

Criollo Latin Kitchen Bigtooth maples grow, Paul and Laura Moir wanted a second act for their hit Flagstaff restaurant, Brix. on average, to So, in 2009, they opened Criollo. Since then, it’s taken its place in the about 35 feet. community as a go-to spot for Latin fare and clever cocktails.

Their bark is dark brown, SECOND ACTS ARE, BY NATURE, RIPE FOR “I really love how it has taken its place sip on interesting margaritas during the thin and disappointment. “That’s a tough act to in the community,” says Paul, who, along weekday happy hour. scaly. follow” isn’t exactly an empty cliché, as with Laura and executive chef David The weekend brunch menu is served countless sequels have sent fans running Smith, created a menu built around until 4 p.m., and it’s worth two visits back to the comfort and things they like to eat. in one day to squeeze in both the tradi- flagstaff familiarity of the original. As it turns out, Criollo’s loyal follow- tional migas — an egg dish with tortilla When Paul and Laura ing has similar tastes, especially when chips and green-chile sauce — and the Moir decided it was time for a sequel to it comes to the top-selling fish tacos. blue-corn pancakes. Not your run-of-the- Brix, their nationally recognized down- The first bite of organically farmed fish mill flapjacks, Criollo’s version is vibrant town-Flagstaff fine-dining institution, — beer-battered, nestled into a locally in color and taste, achieving the crown- they focused on developing a second act made tortilla and drizzled with jalapeño ing breakfast glory of balancing sweet that would stand on its own, an original glaze — is a one-way ticket from land- and savory flavors. in its own right. In 2009, they opened locked Arizona to ocean waves and beach The team at Criollo prides itself on the Criollo Latin Kitchen, separated by just umbrellas. locally sourced menu, and the third act is The twigs that hold a few blocks from Brix but miles away in The salmon tostada is evidence that the final piece in the puzzle. The recently the leaves vary from its more approachable and casual dining Criollo isn’t a one-hit fish wonder. A opened Proper Meats and Provisions, a bright red to green- experience. crispy tortilla base is slathered with a few blocks south of Criollo, supplies the ish brown when Crafting Latin-inspired cuisine with thick black-bean spread and topped with restaurant with locally raised meat. As young and turn to gray as they age. an emphasis on local ingredients was seared salmon, goat cheese and crunchy clichés go, the third time is the charm, always the Moirs’ intent, but finding a pepita seeds. and that appears to be spot-on for those

historic building that originally housed A talented bar staff, equipped with an who get to dine at Criollo. — JACKI MIELER TOM DANIELSEN Flagstaff’s movie theater was pure fate. arsenal of unique spirits and beer, turns That, and a deliciously tangy jalapeño out refreshing and Latin-inspired cock- THE JOURNAL Criollo Latin Kitchen is located at 16 N. San Francisco Bigtooth Maples margarita, sealed the deal for Criollo, a tails to complement the cuisine. Those Street in Flagstaff. For more information, call nature factoid sequel that stands on its own. in the know can score cheap tacos and 928-774-0541 or visit www.criollolatinkitchen.com. esilient and colorful, grow from the twigs of the tree bigtooth maples (Acer in pairs opposite each other grandidentatum) offer and are best known for the vivid Ra variety of resources, red they turn in autumn. They from their wood to their sap to usually flower only every two to the girth of their crowns. Their three years, producing clusters sap can be used locally to make of small yellow flowers that maple syrup in place of sugar appear alongside the leaves in maples, their eastern cousins. March and April. Their wood can be used for fuel, Bigtooth maples can be and they provide shade in areas found in moist soil in canyons, on such as the bottoms of canyons. plateaus and in woodlands, as They also provide food for well as occasionally in some livestock and wildlife, which will drier areas. They aren’t particu- eat the seeds, flowers and buds larly picky about their soil types, from the maples’ branches. although they are intolerant of BRUCE D. TAUBERT The fruit, which are known soils with salts or sustained as double-winged samaras, flooding. They thrive in sandy WATER DOGS contain two seeds attached at and limestone-based soils, as As tadpoles are to toads, water dogs are to tiger salaman- ders: the fully aquatic larval form of the species. When water a center from which two fibrous well as clay and loam. dogs metamorphose into adult salamanders, some lose their wings extend. The maple’s Bigtooth maples can be fringed, external gills and grow lungs, allowing them to leave characteristic leaves, which found throughout Northwestern the water. Others, known as branchiate adults, remain aquatic. have three or five lobes with and Southeastern Arizona, along These salamanders breed in larval form, and the sexually mature larvae can be distinguished by coloring — the immature large teeth along the edges, give with much of the western United are usually dark green. — MOLLY BILKER

JOHN BURCHAM JOHN the tree its name. These leaves States. — MOLLY BILKER

12 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 13 lodging � � STEVEN MECKLER STEVEN Santa Rita Lodge Where Arizona is as beautiful FROM THE SHADED BACK DECK OF MY CABIN and awaken to birdsong and cicadas. The birds darted between the feeders at the at Santa Rita Lodge, I listen to the tap, tap, cabin is wood-paneled and comfortable, viewing station, where birders — another tapping of an Arizona with a kitchenette and a front-porch swing. species that has sought shelter here since THE JOURNAL madera canyon woodpecker. Beyond Check-in came with an excellent map of the 1920s — gather for little more than a Inside as it is Outside. the dense tangle of Madera Canyon and news of the latest bird song. — KATHY MONTGOMERY oaks and junipers, I can just make out the sightings. I had just missed a rare plain- smooth, white bark of sycamores along capped starthroat, a hummingbird that Santa Rita Lodge is located at 1218 S. Madera Canyon Madera Creek. I drift off to sleep to the had been frequenting the gift shop’s porch La Posada, Southern Arizona’s premier senior community. Road in Madera Canyon. For more information, call gentle shushing of the seasonal stream feeder. But six other species of humming- 520-625-8746 or visit www.santaritalodge.com. • Indoor and outdoor pools • State-of-the-art fitness Pavilion • Preferred access to a continuum of care • Financial peace of mind with our exclusive LifeLease program things to do in arizona � � • Superb dining, from elegant to casual • Impeccably maintained 110-acre campus Studio Tour entertainment includes Tesoro, Car Show Arts to play traditional Scottish • Independent living in a variety of home options: from spacious October 2-4, Prescott Skyline Flutes and the Territorial October 21-25, Lake Havasu City songs and self-composed tunes. To receive our apartments to award-winning houses • 30 minutes from Tucson This free, self-guided tour features Brass Band. Information: The 38th annual Relics & Rods Information: 928-779-2300 or 56 juried artists at 38 private 520-345-4172 or www. Run to the Sun, one of the larg- www.flagartscouncil.org information packet studios in the Prescott area, along patagoniafallfestival.com est car shows in the South- please call us at with another 30 at four arts cen- west, features more than 800 Capture Your Moment 520-648-8131 ters. Stop in to view or purchase Helldorado Days pre-1973 cars and trucks, along Photo Symposium or watch our video at artwork and watch demon- October 16-18, Tombstone with vendors, a beer garden, live November 7-8, Phoenix strations. Information: www. The “most rip-roaring celebra- music, a swap meet and more. Join Arizona Highways Photo PosadaLife.org prescottstudiotour.com tion in Tombstone” includes Information: 928-855-0933 or Workshops for a celebration of gunfight re-enactments, street www.relicsandrods.com the organization’s 30th birthday. Fall Festival entertainment, fashion shows This event features keynote October 9-11, Patagonia and a parade. That doesn’t Jim Malcolm Concert speakers Jack Dykinga, Joel Celebrate music and art at this sound too different from most October 30, Flagstaff Grimes, Alan Ross and Guy Tal, festival, which features more weekends in Tombstone, now The Scottish folk singer and plus breakout sessions on a than 100 fine artists, crafters that we think about it. Informa- songwriter, formerly the lead wide range of topics. Informa- and artisans. Unique food tion: 888-457-3929 or www. singer of Old Blind Dogs, comes tion: 888-790-7042 or offerings will be on hand, and tombstonehelldoradodays.com to the Coconino Center for the www.ahpw.org La Posada is an award-winning, nationally accredited 350 E. Morningside Rd., Green Valley not-for-profit continuing care community. PosadaLife.org 14 OCTOBER 2015 For more events, visit www.arizonahighways.com/events. OUR ANNUAL PORTFOLIO OF OAKS, ASPENS, MAPLES AND MORE. | EDITED BY JEFF KIDA FALL COLOR

16 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 17 t’s that time of year again, when the state’s oaks, aspens, ma- ples and more start showing off their fall colors. Many think that cool weather or frost cause the leaves to change color. Although temperature might dictate the color and its inten- sity, it’s only one of many environmental factors that play a role in the process, which begins in late summer or early au- Itumn, when the days get shorter and the nights get longer. Like most plants, deciduous trees and shrubs are sensitive to dark- ness. When the nights get too long, the cells near the juncture of the leaf and the stem divide rapidly, but they don’t expand. This abscission layer is a corky layer of cells that slowly begins to block transport of materials such as carbohydrates from the leaf to the branch. When that happens, the production of chlorophyll slows and then stops. In a relatively short period of time, the chlorophyll disappears completely. This is when autumn colors are revealed. Chlorophyll normally masks the yellow pigments known as xanthophyll and the orange pig- ments called carotenoids — both become visible when the green chlorophyll is gone. Red and purple pigments come from anthocyanins, which are manufactured in the fall from sugars that are trapped in the leaf. — United States National Arboretum

PRECEDING PANEL: Lockett Meadow, San Francisco Peaks | Shane McDermott A bluish glow surrounds the white trunks and yellow leaves of tall aspens.

To reach Lockett Meadow from Flagstaff, go north on U.S. Route 89 for 12 miles to Forest Road 552, directly across from the turnoff to Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki national monuments. Turn left onto FR 552 and follow the signs to Lockett Meadow Campground.

Information: Flagstaff Ranger District, 928-526-0866 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino

RIGHT: Cave Creek Canyon, Chiricahua Mountains | Claire Curran Autumn-hued trees drop their leaves into a serene, reflective pool in Cave Creek.

To reach Cave Creek Canyon from Tucson, go east on Interstate 10 for 139 miles (you’ll cross the New Mexico border) to New Mexico State Road 80. Turn right (south) onto New Mexico SR 80 and continue 28 miles to Portal Road. Turn right onto Portal Road and continue 7 miles to Portal. At the fork, bear left as Portal Road becomes Forest Road 42, which goes through the canyon.

Information: Douglas Ranger District, 520-364-3468 or www.fs.usda.gov/coronado

18 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 19 North Rim, Kaibab Plateau | Tom Daniel Aspens in green, orange and yellow line a meadow near Kaibab Lodge and DeMotte Campground.

To reach the campground from Jacob Lake, go south on State Route 67 (the North Rim Parkway) for 26 miles to the campground, which is on the right.

Information: North Kaibab Ranger District, 928-643-7395 or www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab

20 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 21 22 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 23 PRECEDING PANEL: Lockett Meadow, San Francisco Peaks | Shane McDermott Beneath a gathering storm, golden aspens mingle with evergreens. For directions to Lockett Meadow, see page 18.

Coconino National Forest, near Flagstaff | Tom Bean Arizona Snowbowl, near Flagstaff | Suzanne Mathia The red foliage of fetid goosefoot (Dysphania graveolens) contrasts with other Spindly aspens display their golden crowns amid evergreens and jagged rocks. wildflower species along Woody Mountain Road (Forest Road 231). To reach Arizona Snowbowl from Flagstaff, go north on U.S. Route 180 for 7 miles to Forest Road 516 To reach the road from Flagstaff, go west on Historic Route 66 for 2 miles and turn left. (Snowbowl Road). Turn right onto FR 516 and continue 6.3 miles to the parking lot on the right.

Information: Flagstaff Ranger District, 928-526-0866 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino Information: Flagstaff Ranger District, 928-526-0866 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino

24 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 25 26 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 27 PRECEDING PANEL: Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, south of Superior | Derek von Briesen ABOVE: Oak Creek Canyon, near Sedona | Derek von Briesen Cloaked in fall color, willows, cottonwoods and sycamores line the banks of Aravaipa Creek. The serene water of the West Fork of Oak Creek reflects the reds and yellows of autumn. The fork is best explored via the easy West Fork Oak Creek Trail. To access the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness from Superior, go south on State Route 177 for 32 miles to State Route 77 in Winkelman. Turn right (south) onto SR 77 and continue 11 miles to Aravaipa Road. Turn left onto Aravaipa Road and continue To reach the trail from Sedona, go north on State Route 89A for 10.5 miles to the Call of the Canyon 12 miles to the wilderness area’s western trailhead. From there, it’s a 1.5-mile hike through Nature Conservancy land to the day-use area, located on the west side of the road between mileposts 384 and 385. western boundary of the wilderness area. A permit is required, and only 50 visitors per day are allowed. A fee or pass is required to park.

Information: Safford Field Office, 928-348-4400 or www.blm.gov/az Information: Red Rock Ranger District, 928-203-2900 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino

28 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 29 LEF T: Wet Beaver Creek, Coconino National Forest | Claire Curran The still water of the creek mirrors fall color at its peak.

The Beaver Creek Picnic Area provides easy access to the creek. From Interstate 17, take Exit 298 and go east on Forest Road 618 for 2.5 miles to the picnic area. A fee is required to park.

Information: Red Rock Ranger District, 928-203-2900 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino

ABOVE: Oak Creek Canyon, near Sedona | Claire Curran Maple and oak leaves mix with pine needles in a pool on the West Fork of Oak Creek. For directions to the West Fork Oak Creek Trail, see page 29.

30 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 31 edited by kelly vaughn photographs by hawkeye huey AARON HUEY

WAS HERE

At age 5, Hawkeye Huey has more Instagram followers than the entire staff of Arizona Highways combined. It’s no sur- prise, either. As the son of National Geographic photographer Aaron Huey and a National Geographic Creative contribu- tor himself, Hawkeye travels the country with his parents, shooting photos of the people and places he encounters with his Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 camera. Here, we talk to his dad about what it’s like to take family road trips — one of which

AARON HUEY AARON included Northern Arizona — with his tiny protégé.

32 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 33 AARON HUEY

“Hawkeye” seems a fitting name hands and see what happens” A bit crooked; centered. I How long were you on the road of the camera and develop, drive from there to Page was for a child with a passion for moment? think he’s just trying to get for that trip? not to hand him an iPhone to filled with great stops. photography. How did it come It definitely came from me. He the subject in the box he’s Nineteen days. make more digital images that to be? was 4 and did not differenti- looking through! never leave a hard drive. Do you find that people come I’ve always known I’d have ate between crayons, mud or How does he stay occupied up to you to ask questions a son named Hawkeye. It photos. He gravitates toward Other than his extraordinary in the car while you’re on the Talk a little bit about your about Hawkeye and his cam- likely planted itself in my anything and everything you hobby, is he a typical road? experiences in Arizona. Where era? subconscious when I watched put in front of him. He also 5-year-old? Just watching scenery out the did you travel? Was there one People are always surprised M.A.S.H. every day in high likes rock-climbing and paint- Definitely. He likes to draw, window, drawing, watching a destination or person or experi- to see such a small child with school, but I don’t think of ing. He’s now old enough, at have tantrums and demand movie on an iPad and asking ence that stood out? such a huge camera, but they pictures made, but, like in the are too many polished images Alan Alda when I hear his 5 and a half, to tell me what dessert every night. how much longer. We traveled through twice. usually end up asking if it’s adult world, some people say — too predictable, too shiny, name. I think I gave him the he wants. [His interests are] Once on our 19-day trip, we “a real Polaroid” when they see no. But I tell him that’s OK — too perfectly balanced. I think name because you can’t be a way more engineering- and During your adventure What type of camera does went briefly through the Four the picture come out. People it’s good to meet new people. we all like seeing the imper- half-assed Hawkeye. You kind builder-based, so we’ll likely across the American West, Hawkeye use, and why? Corners area, but then we aren’t used to seeing real, fection in his images — the of have to own the name. retire him at 6 from his photo were there any subjects that Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 came back specifically to go to physical photos anymore. What’s it like for you to see the little tilt sometimes, the fact career. Maybe he’ll pick it up seemed particularly interest- now. His backup is the Instax the Grand Canyon, the Navajo world through your son’s eyes that you can’t see everything Did Hawkeye come to you with again someday. ing to Hawkeye? 210. It’s the most reliable Nation and the Page area. The What are his subjects’ reactions and lens? you want sometimes. Analog, an interest in photography He likes landscapes, stone and affordable instant film. Tuba City Friday market was to him? I find it much more interesting and analog in the hands of a 4- first, or did you have an “I’m How would you describe Hawk- towers and animals (coyotes, I wanted him to shoot real, a big standout — great people Highly varied. Most people than the “perfect” photos we or 5-year-old, is very powerful going to put a camera in his eye’s eye or photographic style? eagles, etc.). physical images that come out and great photos — and the are really happy to have their see everywhere. I think there because it’s beyond influence.

34 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 35 AARON HUEY

I can get him to beautiful Talk about the book project paying for costs, we’ll put all necting as a father and son. me to shatter that comfort How has having him with you I love that they’re physical places, so that’s an influence you’re working on. the rest into an account for zone, to be reminded every changed how you shoot? objects, not just digital files he doesn’t know about. But Even though Hawkeye may Hawkeye’s future education What do you hope to achieve day I venture out with my When Hawkeye is with me, in an iPhone. That part is how he frames those subjects retire for a while at 6, we and adventures. with it? camera that there are infinite it’s about Hawkeye, not about important for me, and worth has no creative influence, and really want to share what has Hawkeye is already a very worlds to explore — that my photos. I have to keep a spending the money on real that’s a rare thing for us to see. been made over the past year. What led to this project? social little dude, but I think I am not the center of the very close eye on him, so I’m film. It turns each photo into I love the perfect imperfection I mean, we share through It started because I thought photographing people in this universe, and that my ideas not as focused on my own a genuine interaction, into of his images. his Instagram account, but it would be fun to see if we way opens him up to a life- are among the many perspec- images. We sometimes start a conversation. Everyone is the whole idea is that we’re could both do something on time of communicating with tives and manifestations of to photograph the same peo- smiling when Hawkeye walks Hawkeye is the youngest making physical things you a road trip that I would also people who are very different life that make up this world. ple and environments, but I’ll away. When we were at the AARON HUEY National Geographic Creative can hold. We want to share enjoy. I wanted it to be art- than him and different than I hope for nothing less for let him take the lead. open-mic night at Slab City [a contributor. How do you that part of it, to collect our based, and since I’m looking our local community. I think my son, whether it’s through campsite in the Colorado Des- explain to him the significance favorites into a book. We’ll be through a camera so often, so many people get locked photography or another Is there a story from your trav- forth for it to develop, so now ert in California], I sat on the of that? And what was it like preselling the book through that seemed a good vehicle into a comfort zone with how medium of communication. els with him that really sticks in he does it with every shot ground and watched Hawk- for you to watch him sign his a Kickstarter campaign, with for collaborative exploration. we see the world and whom It’s all really about a way of your memory? right before he hands it to the eye go around meeting people contract? the book coming out in Our trip into the desert with we interact with, and we do seeing and experiencing the The first time he shot, I told person to see. I love to watch and making pictures, and by It was hilarious! He has no November. We want to make cameras was not about pho- that by limiting our exposure. world, and the camera is just Hawkeye that he needed to him run around showing the end of the night, everyone idea what it means. it really affordable, and after tography; it was about con- Photography is one way for one exercise. flap the Polaroid back and people his photographs, and knew his name.

36 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 37 A lesser long-nosed bat searches for nectar A lesser long-nosed near Turkey Creek in bat searches for nectar Southeastern Arizona. near Turkey Creek in The bats transport Southeastern Arizona. pollen from flower to The bats transport flower as they eat. pollen from flower to flower as they eat.

ThingsThatGo Bump in the Night Vampire bats get most of the attention this time of year. Admittedly, they’re pretty cool, but we don’t have any in Arizona. We do, however, have 28 other bat species, including lesser long-nosed bats, which are one of only two species in Arizona that rely primarily on nectar and pollen. They won’t suck your blood on Halloween, but they might drain your hummingbird feeder. BY MATT JAFFE PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRUCE D. TAUBERT

38 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 39 HEN A NECTAR-EATING BAT PEES ON YOUR THERE ARE BAT PEOPLE AND NON-BAT PEOPLE, with the of Disney’s The Living Desert,” Fleming says. “I saw it as a kid, normal levels. But, like any bat, leptos are not without mystery. head, it’s not nearly as unpleasant as you second group by far the larger of the two cohorts. By any mea- and those nature films were really influential. So I said, ‘Yeah, “There’s still a lot we don’t know about the basic biology of might think. sure, Fleming is a bat man. A native of Michigan, he was a it sounds cool. I’ll give it a try.’ Boy, I never looked back.” lesser long-nosed bats. Which makes them fascinating,” That’s a sentence I never expected to write, self-described “snake chaser” with an interest in reptiles and Fleming says. probably because it was a sensation I never amphibians. “As a kid, I liked nature right from the start,” FOR MOST OF MY LIFE, I HAVE BEEN bat agnostic — that is, expected to experience. But as waves of lesser he explains. until hummingbirds proved to be my gateway pollinator to SINCE 2007, A NETWORK of “citizen scientists” in the Tucson long-nosed bats wing through the darkness While in graduate school at the University of Michigan, leptos. A few years ago, while in Southeastern Arizona, I heard area has helped add to the data that experts like Fleming draw and feed at nectar dispensers within inches Fleming traveled to Panama to research rodent populations and several hummingbird experts describe how bats drained their upon in trying to understand leptos’ behavior. Bats foraging of where you’re sitting, the chances of rain, if also began working with bats. Intrigued by his findings, the feeders during the night. That didn’t square with my under- at hummingbird feeders in Southeastern Arizona, including you will, are pretty high. And in fairness, Ted National Science Foundation offered to support his bat studies, standing of what bats ate. Bugs, certainly; fruit, too, and, noto- eastern sections of Tucson, was nothing new. But after a poor Fleming, a world-renowned bat expert, did and soon Fleming shifted his emphasis to these flying mam- riously, blood for the world’s three kinds of vampire bats (none season for agave flowers in 2006, leptos started to visit feeders warn me of this professional peril seconds mals. “I wasn’t born to work with bats, necessarily, but bats of which live in Arizona). But along with the birds and the throughout the Tucson area. ahead of time. became very interesting to me,” he says. “Just the diversity and bees, there were also, apparently, bats. Under the auspices of the Arizona Game and Fish Depart- “Don’t worry; it will actually be kind of abundance. Man, in some places I could stand under a fruiting At first it was difficult to picture bats, those denizens of the ment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the town of sweet,” Fleming said. He was right, too. fig tree and watch all of these bats swarming. It was amazing dark, flitting among the flowers. After all, plenty of the world’s Marana, locals were enlisted to keep track of bat behavior and Fleming was staked out in the backyard of to see them in action.” more than 1,300 kinds of bats (about a quarter of all mammal feeding patterns in their backyards. Now, this network of citi- a house in the Tucson Country Club area along with Meghan At the time, not many biologists focused on tropical bats, species) resemble gargoyles come to life, as if they flew straight zen scientists has grown to around 100, says Janine Spencer, Murphy, a graduate student at the University of out of a closet of nightmares. Some — like ghost-faced bats, environmental-projects manager in Marana. Western Ontario. She had set up video cameras whose range includes Arizona — are just plain weird. “Our volunteers love watching the bats and want to be the andW a microphone array to record the bats in three The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum’s website gamely tries first ones to report them at the feeders at the start of the sea- dimensions as they came in to eat at hummingbird to capture the appearance of ghost-faced bats: “They probably son,” she says. “It’s so much fun to go out on the back porch feeders. It was part of a study on echolocation, get their name from their unusual-looking face. Their large ears and see them zooming all around. With all of the bats in the the ability to identify and find objects by using are rounded and join at their forehead. This makes their small air, it’s like swimming in the ocean among fish.” reflected sound. Echolocation is not part of my eyes look like they are actually in their ears. They also have Spencer says the bats at her house go through about a quart skill set, so I stumbled through the blackness in of nectar per night. One participant, however, search of a place to sit, unable to see Fleming’s face quit the program when the bats’ appetites even though he was just a few feet away. Leptos are Smurfs with wings. Unlike ghost bats, leptos have became too much. “He was putting out a gallon It didn’t take long to realize that the three of of sugar water every night,” she says. “He just us were hardly alone. Before getting drizzled, I defined features: bright, alert eyes; mouths that curve up into kept trying to keep the feeders filled until one felt rushes of air as squadrons of three or four bats day he finally said, ‘I give up.’ ” flew to the feeders, lighting on them for just an what we perceive as smiles; and long snouts tipped with upturned In 2013, program participants first reported instant. Then there was the soft swish of beating bats feeding west of Interstate 10, and radio- wings, kind of a fwww fwww fwww sound, as the nose leaves that give them an impish, Pixar-ready quality. telemetry tracking has revealed a new day roost bats quickly disappeared back into the night. in the Santa Catalina Mountains. But some basic Bats don’t usually approach humans so closely, questions remain unanswered, Fleming says. but “leptos” (derived from their scientific name, leaf-like skin flaps protruding from their chin.” For one thing, virtually all the leptos that visit feeders are juve- Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) are not your average bat. By comparison, leptos are Smurfs with wings. Unlike ghost nile or yearling females. Of Arizona’s 28 bat species, the lesser long-nosed bats, leptos have defined features: bright, alert eyes; mouths “When we started looking at the feeders, I would have bat is one of only two (the other is the Mexican Two lesser long-nosed bats approach a hummingbird feeder. The bats have become that curve up into what we perceive as smiles; and long snouts expected that adults would be as common as juveniles,” Flem- long-tongued bat) that rely primarily on nectar more common at Tucson feeders in the past decade. tipped with upturned nose leaves that give them an impish, ing says. “But apparently the youngsters are finding these feed- and pollen. Pixar-ready quality. They are great athletes, too, muscular little ers in the absence of teaching by adults. And it’s not like the After migrating north from southwestern Mexico along what and because the animals’ lives were so dependent on specific creatures that fly 25 miles from their day roosts to stop at feed- juveniles are roosting around the corner and these feeders are are called nectar corridors, timing their journeys with the peak plant species, Fleming had to become an expert in both. “The ing areas. their closest food sources. They’re foraging over huge areas.” blooming season of columnar cactuses, these bats arrive in hours were tough,” he says. “I routinely did 18-hour days. I Although they boast 14-inch wingspans, leptos weigh only Another question that arises: Why are leptos expanding Arizona by spring to feed from saguaro and organ pipe cactus worked on plants during the day and the bats at night.” about 0.8 ounces. While similarly sized mammals, such as their activities in urban areas? Fleming says it’s unclear flowers and, as the summer progresses, agaves at higher eleva- Every summer for 16 years while he was at the University rodents, have short life spans, leptos routinely live six or seven whether the rate of agave blooms has been fluctuating. “There’s tions. During May, they give birth in maternity caves in South- of Missouri and the University of Miami (where he now is an years. They don’t reach sexual maturity for two or three years, something driving the bats into the city more and more western Arizona and typically remain in Southern Arizona emeritus professor of biology), Fleming traveled to Costa Rica and then they give birth to only one pup annually, a reproduc- because there’s something changing outside the city,” he says. through mid-October before returning to Mexico. to study fruit-eating bats. He also spent time in Australia, tive strategy more typical of much larger mammals. “But who knows what it is.” Leptos transport pollen from flower to flower as they eat, where he and his wife, Marcia, adopted a trio of orphaned With enormously long tongues featuring brushy tips and After a couple of hours, the leptos appeared to be done for so in the world of Arizona pollinators, avian mixed metaphors black flying foxes — that continent’s largest bat, with wing- small teeth, leptos are well adapted to their nectar-and-pollen the night, and I said my goodbyes to Fleming and Murphy notwithstanding, the nectar-eating bats are the ugly duckling spans of more than 4 feet. diet, which is supplemented by cactus fruit and insects. Con- before making my way through the darkness. I drove back to to the hummingbirds’ swan. Not that everyone agrees with Then, in 1988, Merlin Tuttle, the founder of Bat Conserva- sidering the high sugar content of what they eat, leptos are my sister’s house in the Catalina Foothills. It was two nights that assessment. tion International, asked Fleming if he wanted to trade the remarkably resistant to diabetes and tooth decay, Fleming says. before the new moon. Bolts of lightning split the September “I actually think they’re quite beautiful,” Fleming says. rainforest for the Sonoran Desert and study leptos, which had They’re the main pollinators of cardon cactuses, a prominent sky, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Perfect bat weather, “Their coats are a nice tawny brown, sometimes almost a been newly listed as an endangered species, as pollinators of columnar species in Mexico with nectar three times more sug- I figured, before settling in on the deck next to the humming- honey color. They’re also quite gentle to work with. I’m able to columnar cactuses. “I thought about all of the cool things that ary than Coca-Cola. Fleming says that even though blood-sugar bird feeders, hoping that some unannounced guests would pop handle them without gloves.” might be going on in the desert, based in part on my memories readings do spike while leptos eat, they quickly drop back to by, hungry for a midnight snack.

40 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 41 THERE IS ANOTHER WAY

To the millions of travelers who make the drive to Summerhaven every year, the Catalina Highway is the way to go. There was a time, however, when the only way up was on Forest Road 38. That old mountain road is still an option, but it takes time and a high-clearance vehicle.

BY ANNETTE McGIVNEY // PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDY PRENTICE

A few miles above Peppersauce Campground, the rugged Forest Road 38 climbs the north side of the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson.

42 OCTOBER 2015 HERE’S THE HIGHWAY UP TO MOUNT LEMMON. AND THERE’S THE BACK WAY. Both routes are winding and scenic, but one offers all the conveniences of smooth asphalt and modern engineering, while the other is bumpy, dusty and slow. Chuck Sternberg much prefers the back way. And the longer it takes, the better. “You can’t be in a hurry on this road,” he says. “With all the rocks and switchbacks and amazing views, you have to take your time.” The generic name of Sternberg’s beloved road can be deceiving. Officially, it’s Forest Road 38. But FR 38 is nothing like any other numbered dirt track in Southern Arizona’s Coronado National Forest. From 1920 until the late 1940s, FR 38 was the only vehicle route between the sizzling desert floor and the cool high country of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Before the days of air conditioning, what then was called the Mount Lemmon Road (or the Control Road) was the best way for desert dwell- ers in Tucson to escape the summer heat. The 25-mile trip on the rough road from

ABOVE: Motorists driving the desert outpost of Oracle to the mountaintop village of Summerhaven — perched a Buick stop for a photo at an elevation of 8,000 feet — wasn’t just a drive; it was a pilgrimage to paradise. on Forest Road 38 in July Sternberg is grinning from ear to ear. If his lanky, 6-foot-4 body weren’t folded 1920, just after the road’s into the cramped passenger seat of my small truck cab, he would probably be jumping up and completion. Because down with excitement. He has lived in Oracle for 47 of his 70 years and is the resident histo- parts of the road were rianT for the Oracle Historical Society. Sternberg recently compiled an exhibit at the historical too narrow for cars to pass, traffic could go up society’s Acadia Ranch Museum about the history of the Mount Lemmon Road. He estimates or down only at certain it’s been 10 years — far too long — since he last drove the entire route. On this warm, cloudless times of the day. day in early April, he can’t wait to get into the mountains. ORACLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Joining us is Bill Gillespie, 63, who has been working as an archaeologist for the national OPPOSITE PAGE: A spot forest for 26 years. FR 38 is special to Gillespie and Sternberg not only for the sprawling panora- near the winding road mas and ecological life zones the road passes through, but also for the rich human history that offers a view of the harks back to Arizona’s rowdy frontier days. Galiuro Mountains to the east. After leaving the pavement just outside Oracle, our first stop is American Flag Ranch. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now owned by the historical society, the adobe structure is one of the oldest surviving post office buildings in Arizona. Built around 1877 by

44 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 45 The gradient becomes steeper and the track narrows as we climb a staircase of switchbacks into the grass-covered foothills of the Catalinas.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Mesquites and oaks blanket hills near Stratton Canyon, named for a 19th century homesteader. Mounds of turpentine bushes (Ericameria laricifolia) produce intense orange and yellow hues along Forest Road 38. Towering sycamores are scattered about Pep- persauce Campground, which got its name from a prospector’s favorite condiment. Pine forests mark the top of FR 38 as it inter- sects the Catalina Highway in Summerhaven.

Isaac Lorraine, who discovered the American Flag gold and sil- Depew forgot his pepper sauce, a condiment he sprinkled on geoning Phoenix to attract business and become Arizona’s spreading the construction costs between two counties and ver mine, the home was a bustling headquarters for the region’s everything, and threw such a fit that his friends named the urban center. What Tucson had that Phoenix didn’t were the several mining companies. The crux of the project was the last ranching and mining operations in the late 19th century. It was place in honor of his obsession. Santa Catalinas, with summer temperatures atop Mount Lem- 6 miles to the top, where no road existed because it was seem- designated a post office in 1880, but as the area’s population After Peppersauce Campground, the mountain road begins mon 25 degrees lower than those on the desert floor. The prob- ingly impossible to build one. Over several years, a construc- shifted toward Oracle, the post office was moved to Acadia in earnest. The gradient becomes steeper and the track nar- lem was getting there. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tion crew comprising Mexican nationals carved switchbacks Ranch in 1885. rows as we climb a staircase of switchbacks into the grass-cov- only the hardiest of Anglo travelers ventured into the upper out of the steep mountain, but the road was so narrow that it From American Flag, the road is wide and gentle for several ered foothills of the Catalinas. Yellow road signs warn drivers reaches of the mountains by way of an arduous 10-hour horse- was barely wide enough for one vehicle. This 6-mile section miles as it winds toward Peppersauce Campground. Straight of a host of potential hazards ahead: limited maintenance, back ride or an even tougher hike. became the “control” segment of the road, where traffic was ahead, the northern flank of the Santa Catalinas rises up thou- winding road, debris falling, flash floods. A roadrunner darts Tucson business leaders lobbied government officials for regulated to one lane and cars could drive up or down only at sands of feet, and along the roadside, the red tips of ocotillo in front of the car as I shift into a lower gear. construction of a road up the south side of the Catalinas, one certain times of the day. blooms radiate in the late-morning sun. By the time we reach “This road was built by connecting the dots and linking that would be easily accessible from town. They argued that In 1920, the Mount Lemmon Road from Oracle to Sum- Peppersauce Wash, we’ve climbed out of the desert basin and existing mining roads,” Gillespie explains as the truck bobs Tucson was losing revenue as city residents spent their sum- merhaven was completed. The following year, the Mariposa into a lush ravine filled with towering sycamores. Weekend over rock ledges like a small boat riding waves on the open sea. mers on the California coast to escape the desert heat. How- Lodge in Summerhaven opened, and around the same time, campers are setting up their tents beneath the broad canopies But in some places, the steep geography defied human attempts ever, the cost of building a road up the rocky southern face work accelerated on a complex of U.S. Forest Service cabins at of the largest trees, and the smell of barbecue lingers in the to create a navigable route. “This section right here was a very was estimated to be $271,000 — in those days, an exorbitant Soldier Camp, giving summer pleasure-seekers various options air. According to local lore, the wash got its name in the 1880s unreliable place for a road,” he says. “It was not a natural path.” amount that local taxpayers were not willing to shoulder. The for a comfortable place to stay. This dovetailed nicely with the when Louie Depew, one of the developers of the Old Hat Mine, Tucson grew from 7,531 residents in 1900 to 20,292 citizens compromise came in a plan to build a road on the mountain advent of affordable automobiles like the Ford Model T, which stopped in the shady ravine with his mining buddies for lunch. by 1920. And after World War I, Tucson competed with bur- range’s north side by improving existing mining roads and Tucson car dealers advertised as being able to uneventfully

46 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 47 visiting with each other about weekend plans. Water from nearby Stratton Camp Spring was available for making coffee and cooling cars with overheated radiators. From 1920 until the Oracle late 1940s, waiting at the bottom or the top of the Control Road 79 77 was part of the summertime ritual in the Catalinas. “After a string of cars came down, we started up, rattly- FR 38 bump-bump-bumping along, the road so rocky that it nearly shook us to pieces,” writes Mary Ellen Barnes in her book The Road to Mount Lemmon. When Barnes was a young girl, she and MOUNT LEMMON her sister often traveled from Tucson to Summerhaven with 77 their father, who was involved in various businesses there. Her Summerhaven first trip on the Control Road, in 1943, was an unforgettable adventure: “[It was] not just a washboard; with its deep pot- CORONADO NATIONAL FOREST holes it was more like craters of the moon. Breathtaking hair- pin curves seemed short and steep enough to allow us to spit on our own taillights.” 10 Although the Control Road section is slightly wider than it was 50 years ago, it’s still a white-knuckle drive, though it’s TUCSON softened by the blue lupines blooming along the road. As I inch up the switchbacks at about 5 miles per hour, I hope that no cars approach in the opposite direction. But my need to keep TOUR GUIDE my eyes on the road is constantly challenged by the spectacu- LENGTH: 25 miles one way lar “sky island” view. I periodically steal a glance to the east, where the San Pedro Valley disappears into a smoky haze and DIRECTIONS: From Oracle, go southeast on Old Mount Lemmon Road, which later becomes Forest Road 38, for 25 miles to the the jagged peaks of the Galiuro and Pinaleño mountains frame road’s intersection with the Catalina Highway in Summerhaven. the horizon. VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: A high-clearance, four-wheel-drive “This is one of the coolest roads anywhere,” Sternberg says vehicle is recommended. as he takes in a panorama that’s like looking out an airplane WARNING: Back-road travel can be hazardous, so be aware of window. “You get the sense of being in wild country. And it Sunset silhouettes yuccas along Forest Road 38, which retains its rugged character nearly a century after its completion. weather and road conditions. Carry plenty of water. Don’t travel is rough enough to keep people away.” Indeed, on this Friday alone, and let someone know where you are going and when over Easter weekend, we pass only a few other vehicles — you plan to return. FR 38 may be closed during winter due to make it up the Mount Lemmon Road in five hours. And in 1923, migration north for the summer. thankfully, none driving in the opposite direction on the con- snow or ice. Elmer Staggs started a Tucson-to-Summerhaven shuttle service As we gain elevation, we move into an ecological zone domi- trol section of the road. INFORMATION: Santa Catalina Ranger District, 520-749-8700 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino that ferried passengers and supplies two times a week in an nated by oak trees. It also was the territory of Emerson Oliver Then, suddenly, we are in the pines. The rocky switchbacks Travelers in Arizona can visit www.az511.gov or dial 511 to Stratton, one of the region’s most dedicated homesteaders. In REO Speed Wagon. level out, and a carpet of brown needles covers the road. Stern- get infor­ma­tion on road closures, construc­tion, delays, weather “The road to Mount Lemmon completely revived Oracle,” 1875, Stratton moved to Arizona from California; in 1880, he berg rolls down his passenger-side window, sticks his head out and more. Sternberg says. “After World War I, the place was dead, with found his way to the Catalinas and built a camp for his fam- and, with a deep sigh, breathes the crisp mountain air. no mining business, and it was no longer a resort for recovering ily at the base of Marble Peak, in a canyon that now bears his Our mixture of relief and excitement at reaching the top tuberculosis patients. The road saved the town.” name. Stratton and his wife eked out an existence in the early is much like what Barnes recalls in her memoir. Little has As FR 38 winds around boulder-strewn gullies, we come to days by hunting game and gathering wild honey, grapes and changed on this road since her 1943 journey. “As we wound a deep bend in the road that’s fortified by a symmetrical, rock- mulberries in the area. around the curves of the rough and narrow Control Road, mated by the 2003 Aspen Fire. After stretching our legs at the masonry box culvert. “This is the coolest masonry feature on In 1881, botanists Sara and John Lemmon dropped in on we eventually reached the top gate,” she writes. “The air had Summerhaven visitors center, we enjoy lunch in the Marshall the road,” Gillespie says as we get out of the truck. It was built Stratton. They were on their honeymoon and sought to dis- cooled, and I began to experience the mountain with all my Gulch Picnic Area under towering ponderosa pines spared in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration. “It is classic cover new plants atop the Catalinas. They had failed to reach senses. ... And at that moment Mount Lemmon spoke to my by the blaze. On our way back through the village, I consider Depression-era rock work,” he adds, “and so good that it has the crest from the south and sought help from Stratton on a heart, just as it did to my father’s, who found it a paradise.” our options. Maybe Sternberg and Gillespie are tired of all the never needed any repair.” Just uphill from the culvert is Pep- northern route. Stratton guided the couple on a grueling hike In October 1948, a few years after Barnes took that first bumps and have pressing plans for the afternoon. Maybe they persauce Cave, which features more than a mile of subterra- up the 9,157-foot peak and named it Mount Lemmon, after the childhood trip up the Control Road, the Catalina Highway would prefer to take the smooth route driven by millions of nean chambers that have been attracting spelunkers for nearly first Anglo woman to reach the summit. While Stratton’s min- (also called the General Hitchcock Highway, for the man who travelers each year. a century. ing claims never amounted to much, he made a decent living secured the funding) was officially dedicated, and Tucson As we idle at an intersection, I ask my guides if they would At about the halfway point of our journey, we emerge atop a from ranching in the foothills until 1895, when he and his wife finally had a paved, convenient way up the south side of the rather go back via the highway. broad mesa that’s flat as a tabletop and gives us a reprieve from moved back to California. mountain. The highway took 18 years and $1.25 million to “Nah,” says Sternberg, without hesitation. “We’ve got all the rocky switchbacks. “Look at all this beauty,” Sternberg Just beyond the cone-shaped pinnacle of Marble Peak, and build, although the cost would have been much higher if not day.” says. “It couldn’t get any prettier than this.” near a jumble of ruins that are remnants of Stratton’s home- for the labor of nearly 8,000 federal-prison inmates. It was an And Gillespie points out that there’s “a really cool desert From this mezzanine level, the crest of the Catalinas appears stead, we reach the place that used to be the lower end of the engineering marvel that rocketed summer recreationists to the road” on which we could detour at the bottom of the Control closer and we can see the radio towers atop Mount Bigelow. Control Road. Large signs and gateways once were erected top of the mountain in just one hour. Road section. Rolling hills sprawl below us, dotted with mesquite trees here and at the top of the road; they listed the times when cars We hit the pavement in Summerhaven four and a half hours So I hang a left at the sign for Oracle that warns of “primitive brimming with just-sprouted, neon-green leaves. Gillespie were permitted to travel up or down. On Saturdays, there often after leaving Oracle. Continuing our leisurely drive, we cruise road conditions.” As with most things in life, the highway may points to turkey vultures riding thermals overhead on their was a long line of people at the bottom waiting their turn while through the village, which has been rebuilt since it was deci- be faster, but the back way is more exciting.

48 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 49 By Molly Bilker Photograph by Dawn Kish

STarting from scratch There’s irony in the fact that one of Arizona’s the torch with a burst of fire. most renowned custom-bicycle makers is “That’s the hottest flame humans can make,” he says. “Sixty-four partially paralyzed from the waist down. “It hundred degrees Fahrenheit. bears mentioning,” Steve Garro says. “At the Steel melts at 2,200.” same time, I don’t let it define who I am.” A machine cuts pipe precisely at the angle Garro needs. Then, he welds the pieces together by melting brass around the joint. This is fillet-brazing, an early hen you get dropped off on a Flag- welding technique Garro says is rarely staff street corner at 16, having left used today. Then comes smoothing the home with only $20, a duffel bag and brass with sandpaper, which can take a Wa boombox, it pays to be resourceful. Tired of walking every- couple of days — about the same time it where? Better buy a bicycle. takes to build the frame. So begins the story of Steve Garro, Flagstaff’s resident “bike There are at least 30 bike orders on guy.” Garro runs his custom-bicycle company, Coconino Cycles, Garro’s list — an 18-month backlog. In from his garage. He starts with a life-size blueprint, lengths 2013, he took orders for only two weeks. of steel pipe and thin brass rods. He finishes with a glossy, A Coconino Cycles frame costs $2,200; smooth mountain bike built to the dimensions of its owner. a complete bike is $4,000 and up. And Garro, rosy-cheeked and animated, is intimate with starting there’s no knowing how long building from scratch. A child of the ’80s and the do-it-yourself move- one will take. ment, he’s biked all over the Americas — the western United “Sometimes you get done and you States, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Mexico. He slept by the throw it away,” Garro says. “It just wasn’t right. Just didn’t and eat tacos, and live like a king.” skeleton together to the point that I didn’t explode like a water road and went days between towns. He built Coconino Cycles’ work. ‘Almost’ is not good enough.” It’s also painful. Ten-hour rides on dirt roads wear out both balloon.” shop. He makes his own salsa, sometimes quarts and quarts of Garro, 47, started working on bikes and endurance-racing bike and rider. For Garro, exercise relieved the pain then. On Christmas Day two and a half months later, he returned the stuff. more than 25 years ago. The shop’s walls are evidence: tacked- Staying busy relieves it now. If he’s not active, Garro’s nerves to work. “In digging deeper and harder, you come up with more up numbers from 12-hour, 24-hour and 100-mile races; the first run on autopilot. His legs kick and twitch. Constant pain is Today, Garro perseveres by metering out energy, working interesting stuff,” he says. “If you fly from here to there, you’re bike piece Garro ever made, on a nail beside the door; a post- like living by a train track, Garro says — you adjust to the daily until the pain’s too great. It doesn’t stop him from stay- there. But, man, if you took the chicken buses all the way? Way card photograph of Garro riding on sheer slick-rock. noise. Until someone points it out, you forget it’s there. ing active. He goes on trips with his wife, Denise, and his wiry better stories.” He’d venture to secret slick-rock spots regularly in the ’80s In October 2005, Garro was hit by a pickup truck as he was brown dog, Osa, who keeps him company in the shop. He Garro’s stories include the one about having to rebuild him- and ’90s with Team Mutant, a group of ragtag mountain-bike bicycling to a friend’s house in Flagstaff for dinner. For 10 days, mountain-bikes with his hand-powered tricycle. He rafts and self, too, after a biking accident left his legs almost entirely par- racers no other racing team wanted. Every other winter, Garro he was comatose at Flagstaff Medical Center. When he awoke, sea-kayaks, which he likes because it levels the playing field. alyzed. “It bears mentioning,” he says, “because it’s a blatant, bike-toured with team members through South America or Cen- he could move only his index fingers; the hospital had artifi- “He’s a lot stronger than me,” Denise says. “I can’t really obvious fact. At the same time, I don’t let it define who I am.” tral America. In 1995, they rode 1,257 miles on dirt roads in cially paralyzed his body because his lungs and heart were so keep up if we’re in single boats.” 18 days, from the U.S.-Mexico border to the tip of Baja California strong, they fought the heart-lung machine for control. Garro met Denise in a bike shop in 2000 — just one of many Sur. “That was one of my best years, and it was also the year that He was a mess: a broken neck and back, a femur in 25 pieces, turns his life has taken because of bikes. “Where was this thing WHEN GARRO SAWS THROUGH STEEL PIPE, THERE’S I made the least,” Garro says. “On my taxes, I claimed $2,488.” shattered ribs, a torn liver, split kidneys, a torn ureter, a punc- going to take you the day you bought your bicycle?” Garro asks. SO MUCH FRICTION, SMOKE RISES. On a brisk October Bike-touring is a cheap hobby. You spend lots of time tured lung, ripped adrenal glands and almost-complete blood “It’s going to introduce you to your wife. It’s going to put you in day, he maneuvers expertly between workbenches and a weld- between towns and don’t have to pay rent. loss. He weighed 115 pounds. a wheelchair. Crazy. It’s going to be your living.” ing station while punk-rock band Screaming Females blasts on “It’s an easy choice,” Garro says. “I could stay here, freeze “All the doctors were like, ‘See that guy? If he was anybody the stereo. He clamps a pipe into the welding brace and starts and barely work, or I could go bike-tour Baja, be on the beach else, he’d be dead,’ ” Garro says. “My musculature had held my For more information about Coconino Cycles, visit www.coconinocycles.com.

50 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 51 scenic drive

This scenic drive in Northern Arizona cuts through a Bill Williams beautiful ponderosa-pine forest and past Coleman Lake as it loops around the area’s tallest mountain. Mountain Loop BY KATHY MONTGOMERY | PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM BEAN

he Bill Williams Mountain Loop remain, as does a freight scale. low that well-worn path is Interstate 40. makes a short, easy drive through Most people think of Williams as a Williams was the last town to have its T some of the most beautiful pon- Historic Route 66 town or the southern section of Route 66 bypassed, thanks to derosa-pine forest in Northern Arizona, terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway. lawsuits that kept the last section of I-40 with opportunities to see wildlife and The exhibits in the small museum tell from being built around the town. The learn a little area history. Beginning in the larger story of an area at the center suits were dropped after the state agreed the center of Williams, the drive circles of a well-traveled crossroads, beginning to include three exits for Williams. That Bill Williams Mountain, which rises to with ancient Indian trade routes. Using portion of the interstate opened in 1984, an elevation of 9,170 feet. The 30-mile loop these trails, Edward Fitzgerald Beale built and Route 66 was decommissioned the can be completed in an hour or two. his wagon road across the West in the following year. The drive begins at the Williams and mid-19th century. Portions of that road From the visitors center, we head west Forest Service Visitor Center on Railroad became Route 66. In between, the Atlantic on Railroad Avenue and turn left onto Road. Leaving town, we pass the Santa onto Forest Road 108, the Bill Williams ABOVE, LEFT: Elk are a common sight along the loop. Avenue. The center is located in the his- and Pacific Railroad followed roughly Fourth Street, which becomes Perkinsville Fe Dam, built in the early 1890s by the Loop. The wide, well-maintained red-cin- ABOVE: Coleman Lake, a highlight of the drive, is ideal for wildlife-watching. toric Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail- the same course, bringing ranching and railroad. Until the advent of the diesel der road winds through a lovely stretch of BELOW: The wide and well-maintained Bill way freight depot, built in 1901. It’s worth timbering. Williams Mountain Loop Road winds through locomotive, the reservoir created by the ponderosa-pine forest. Tall, well-spaced a visit. Many of the architectural features Of course, the most recent road to fol- a ponderosa-pine forest. dam held water for steam engines travel- pines punctuate a lush carpet of grass, mannered, it looks almost park-like. ing through Williams. These days, it’s a giving way to expansive, high-mountain After 2 miles, we come to Coleman popular fishing and picnic spot. meadows and occasional rocky outcrop- Lake. Caution signs warn of areas of deep After about 6.5 miles, we turn right pings. The effect is so serene and well- water, but the drought has left the lake looking like little more than marshland. Even so, it’s a great place for wildlife- watching. Elk, deer and Merriam’s turkeys are common, and bald eagles winter here. A few miles down the road, a few mule deer run across the road ahead of us. They stop just up the hill to watch us pass. It’s likely that we disturbed their visit to MC Tank, a small stock pond at the side of the road that reflects a swimming-pool-blue sky and cotton-ball clouds. After about 8 miles, we see the turnoff to the Stage Station Trailhead. The 7.9-mile mountain-biking loop winds along a prim- itive road past a structure that marked a water and rest stop along an old stage route between Williams and Prescott. Moving on, the forest dips occasionally into juniper grasslands, opening up views of Bill Williams Mountain. After a little more than 18 miles, we hit the pavement and take I-40 back to Williams. KEVIN KIBSEY tour guide Note: Mileages are approximate. Loop Road and continue 18.3 miles to Interstate 40. Turn SCENIC right onto I-40 and continue 5 miles back to Williams. DRIVES of Arizona’s LENGTH: 30-mile loop Best Back VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: None in good weather. 40 Roads ADDITIONAL READING: DIRECTIONS: From the Williams Visitor Center (200 INFORMATION: Williams Ranger District, 928-635-5600 For more adventure, pick up a W. Railroad Avenue), go west on Railroad Avenue for or www.fs.usda.gov/kaibab copy of our book Scenic Drives, 0.1 miles to Fourth Street. Turn left onto Fourth Street, which features 40 of the state’s which turns into Perkinsville Road (County Road 73), and Travelers in Arizona can visit www.az511.gov or dial most beautiful back roads. To continue 6.6 miles to Bill Williams Mountain Loop Road 511 to get infor­ma­tion on road closures, construc­tion, order, visit www.shoparizona Edited by Robert Stieve (Forest Road 108). Turn right onto Bill Williams Mountain delays, weather and more. and Kelly Vaughn Kramer highways.com/books.

52 OCTOBER 2015 www.arizonahighways.com 53 hike of the month

of young 10-foot ponderosas. The lush meadow that leads to yet another Dense forests, lush meadows, a spring-fed stream ... there spruce could hold its own at Rocke- restoration area. Ten minutes later, you’ll Houston feller Center. It’s followed by a cou- arrive at Aspen Springs, a grassy area are many things to like about this trail. And this time of year, ple more ravines, which get steeper punctuated with several boulders and Brothers Trail the autumn leaves make it even better. BY ROBERT STIEVE and deeper along the way. Eventu- large rock outcroppings. The area also ally, you’ll arrive at Forest Road 139A, includes the remains of a log cabin with which parallels Telephone Canyon. a rusted corrugated-steel roof. Expect to t’s dangerous to dole out superlatives ponderosa pines. There are a few aspens, a small forest road and drops down once Look left about 50 feet to see where see a few tents, too. when writing about hikes in Arizona. As too, but most of the fall color on this again. The forest here smells like a forest the trail picks up on the other side of From the old homestead, the HBT I soon as you do, you’ll discover one that’s trail comes from the oaks and maples, should smell. Like a balsam sachet, but the road. continues for 1.5 miles to Pinchot Cabin, even better than the supposed best. That which you’ll see about five minutes later more natural. It’s the firs that make it From there, you’ll drop into the which is located at what used to be the said, the Houston Brothers Trail might be when the trail drops into a lush ravine. so. Beyond the dirt road you’ll cross one Houston Draw, a lush little val- summer camp of the Houston Brothers as good as it gets on the Mogollon Rim. As quickly as it drops, it climbs back of several small creeks that nourish the ley fed by a perennial stream that Ranch outfit. The cabin was built in the It doesn’t come with the awe of a Grand out again. That’s a recurring theme on area. Ten minutes later, you’ll come to a makes everything brilliant green 1930s and is named for former Forest Canyon hike, and there aren’t any peaks the first half of the HBT: gentle ups and short spur that leads to the Barbershop in the summer. In October, it’s the Service Chief Gifford Pinchot, who once to bag, but it does offer an incredible downs that reveal bold changes in vege- Trail, another great fall hike. color of Monet’s Autumn Effect at visited the area. combination of dense forests, lush mead- tation. There are a lot of trails on the Mogol- Argenteuil. The trickling water adds This is the turnaround point for the ows and a spring-fed stream that attracts After the second up and down, you’ll lon Rim. The HBT is part of what’s a soundtrack that draws elk, mule hike. There’s still another 7 miles to go. all kinds of wildlife. And this time of arrive at a cluster of aspens protected known as the Cabin Loop Trail, which deer and black bears out of the However, if you’re short on time, you year, all of the above are accentuated by by a high fence. It’s the first of several woods and beyond. can do the trail with friends and use a autumn leaves. revegetation areas designed to keep BELOW: A ponderosa-pine forest emerges The water is one of the many high- car-shuttle system: Take two vehicles, From the southern trailhead (there’s a elk and cattle out. This is elk country, amid ferns near Houston Draw. | TOM BEAN lights of the trail. And so is the spec- park at opposite trailheads and trade RIGHT: Maple, oak and aspen leaves don their counterpart 7 miles to the north), a rocky and elk love eating aspens. So do cows. autumn colors along the Houston Brothers Trail. tacular meadow of ferns you’ll see in keys when you meet in the middle. path winds uphill through a woodland of About 30 minutes in, the trail intersects | TOM BROWNOLD links the General Springs, Pinchot and the valley. It looks almost too perfect for Whichever way you do it, there’s a good Buck Springs fire-guard stations. In the nature, as if the Royal Horticultural Soci- chance you’ll drive away thinking: This last century, the U.S. Forest Service used ety had a hand in things. Past the ferns is might be the best hike on the Mogollon Rim. the trails as a way of getting rangers to another elk-free zone called the Houston the isolated cabins they called home Draw Riparian Exclosure. According to ADDITIONAL READING: during fire season. In addition, the the relic sign, the exclosure “was con- For more hikes, pick up a copy Houston boys used the trails to move structed to see what effects the exclusion of Arizona Highways Hiking Guide, which features 52 of the their livestock from one range to another. of wildlife and livestock will have on the state’s best trails — one for each Today, they’re used primarily by hikers. area.” You be the judge. weekend of the year, sorted by seasons. To order a copy, visit Continuing north, you’ll pass an old Although the stream isn’t always visi- www.shoparizonahighways. Engelmann spruce surrounded by dozens ble, you can hear it as you enter another com/books.

trail guide LENGTH: 14 miles round-trip DIFFICULTY: Moderate ELEVATION: 7,732 to 7,170 feet TRAILHEAD GPS: N 34˚25.153’, W 111˚12.962’ DIRECTIONS: From Payson, go east on State Route 260 for 29.2 miles to the turnoff for Woods Canyon Lake. Turn left and continue on the paved road for 3.1 miles to Forest Road 300. Turn left onto FR 300 and continue 23.8 miles to a dirt parking lot on the left. The trailhead is located just beyond the parking lot, on the right. VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: A high-clearance vehicle is recommended. DOGS ALLOWED: Yes (on a leash) HORSES ALLOWED: Yes USGS MAP: Dane Canyon INFORMATION: Mogollon Rim Ranger District, 928-477- 2225 or www.fs.usda.gov/coconino

LEAVE-NO-TRACE PRINCIPLES: • Plan ahead and be out all of your trash. prepared. • Leave what you find. • Travel and camp on • Respect wildlife. durable surfaces. • Minimize campfire • Dispose of waste impact.

KEVIN KIBSEY properly and pack • Be considerate of others.

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