Special Section INDIAN ARTS: Baskets, Horsehair Miniatures, Rugs arizonahighways.com AUGUST 2004 J apanese- style Outdoor Adventure Hike to the River’s Source {also inside} 46 DESTINATION AUGUST 2004 Meteor Crater In the early 1900s, an entrepreneur dreaming of mineral wealth tried unsuccessfully to mine the crater for its ore. 42 BACK ROAD ADVENTURE A leisurely ranch road between Show Low and Taylor reveals scenic fishing country and an old schoolhouse in eastern Arizona. 48 HIKE OF THE MONTH Well-conditioned Grand Canyon adventurers who seek challenges love the Nankoweap Trail, once described as “perfectly frightful.” Nankoweap Navajo Indian Grand Canyon Trail Reservation 2 LETTERS & National Park E-MAIL Truxton Canyon 3 TAKING THE FLAGSTAFF Meteor Crater OFF-RAMP East Verde TAYLOR River SHOW LOW 40 HUMOR Gila River Indian PHOENIX Community Santa Teresa 41 ALONG THE WAY Tohono O'odham Mountains A wise saguaro left Indian Reservation a lasting impression TUCSON on an appreciative youngster. POINTS OF INTEREST FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE {more stories online} at arizonahighways.com GENE PERRET’S WIT STOP Our author gives up a ball game to offer his wife some important input on selecting wallpaper. ONLINE EXTRA Boat Camping Along the lower Colorado River, overnighters join bighorn sheep, burros, bullfrogs and birds for an outdoor experience. COVER/PORTFOLIO SPECIAL INDIAN ARTS SECTION TRAVEL 20 36 WEEKEND GETAWAY Seeking the Water’s Source 6 Native American Originality Hideaway for Outlaws Williams A tiny mountain hamlet’s recreation opportunities make In the Japanese tradition of sawanobori, a writer There’s a quiet, unique world in Arizona where artisans and Mountain Lions it much more than a Route 66 stopping point. and photographer hike up the East Verde River go about the tedious work of making fine treasured The Santa Teresa Mountains once sheltered desperados near Payson to locate where the stream begins. items as their ancestors have done for generations. — and the rugged range still makes a good home for cougars. EXPERIENCE ARIZONA In this issue, we feature Tohono O’odham horsehair A listing of major events in the state is available online. HISTORY weavers, Pima basket makers and Navajo rug weavers. BIRDING 18 Rocks for Lunch, Anybody? 30 8 The Horsehair Weavers A Rich Avian [THIS PAGE] Bright yellow members of Through the years, Bisbee copper miners secretly After long and wearisome toil, the snapdragon family, seep-spring {arizona highways on television} monkeyflowers abound along the banks brought up bits of fluorescent campbellite in their the results are miniature marvels. Habitat Watch for this independently produced television show lunch buckets — and now the rare minerals are of the East Verde River in the Tonto With its life-sustaining National Forest northeast of Phoenix. See inspired by Arizona Highways magazine. The weekly half-hour valuable collectibles. 10 The Basket Makers water east of Kingman, story, page 20. show airs in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff in both English and As the natural materials come together Truxton Canyon harbors [FRONT COVER] With its flow condensed Spanish. in form, an ancient legacy is passed on. dozens of bird species to a slender waterfall, the East Verde Robin Sewell, a veteran television news anchor and River traverses a glade nourished by its in a hearty environment. moisture and sculpted by the current reporter, hosts the show. 14 The Rug Weavers during seasonal floods. English show times: 6:30 P.M. Saturdays on Channel 12 The work is not just about producing [BACK COVER] Dwarfed by its neighbors, in Phoenix and on Channel 2 in Flagstaff, and at 4:30 P.M. “objects” — it’s about family and life. a young Douglas fir tree tipped with Sundays on Channel 9 in Tucson. new growth celebrates regeneration and survival within the ponderosa pine The show airs in Spanish on Channel 33 in Phoenix, Channel forest of the Tonto National Forest. 52 in Tucson and Channel 13 in Flagstaff. Check the stations’ ALL BY JACK DYKINGA listings for times. {letters & e-mail} Arizona Oddities, Attractions and Pleasures {taking the off- ramp } AUGUST 2004 VOL. 80, NO. 8 Publisher WIN HOLDEN Editor ROBERT J. EARLY Advantage Arizona such as “ain’t,” certainly is beneath you. Senior Editor BETH DEVENY that the public may enter. THIS MONTH IN Managing Editor RANDY SUMMERLIN I look forward to Arizona Highways each month. One of the old, crusty, retired English teachers Research Editor MARY PRATT “This isn’t the plane that Editorial Administrator CONNIE BOCH ARIZONA Arizona has something for everyone, and I hope of seventh-grade students, Administrative Assistant NIKKI KIMBEL Johnson and Jackie Kennedy flew full-time Arizonans appreciate what they have. I Dorothy M. Jorgensen, Pinewood, MN back from Dallas on after JFK’s Director of Photography PETER ENSENBERGER know there sure are a lot of people who live in Wow! The poor old editor feels like Sister Margaret Photography Editor RICHARD MAACK assassination,” explains a guide. 1872Residents of other states, such as myself, who do realize what just whacked him across the knuckles with a ruler. Art Director BARBARA GLYNN DENNEY “That was a jet. Jet aircraft were Phoenix go without bread you have. Just keep up the good work! If you need Actually we broke three so-called cover-line rules: Deputy Art Director BILLIE JO BISHOP functional then, but most runways Art Assistant PAULY HELLER for a day after a my vote on making the magazine a semimonthly, poor grammar, repeat of the word “Arizona” and use Map Designer KEVIN KIBSEY weren’t yet equipped to handle dog spills the you have it. of a question mark. At times breaking such rules is them. Thus Kennedy and Johnson lone baker’s Arizona Highways Books yeast. Jeff St. John, Portland, IN necessary to achieve a special effect. But I also agree WitWorks® Books did much of their domestic travel Editor BOB ALBANO You can’t imagine how much the poor old editor with Ms. Jorgensen. You can’t break the rules Associate Editor EVELYN HOWELL aboard this particular plane.” would enjoy putting out two magazines a month, but effectively unless you know what the rules are. Associate Editor PK PERKIN MCMAHON Sprawled over 80 acres of desert 1878Yavapai and that’s not likely for some time. Meanwhile, you can Production Director CINDY MACKEY landscape 12 miles southeast of Mohave counties ship find extra original stories, photographs and columns Another Perspective Production Coordinator KIM ENSENBERGER downtown Tucson, the indoor- Promotions Art Director RONDA JOHNSON $160,000 in on our Web site each month at arizonahighways.com. “Who Says Arizona Ain’t Green?” from the March Webmaster VICKY SNOW outdoor Pima Air and Space Museum silver bullion to San Francisco. You also can sign up for our free monthly e-mail issue caught my eye immediately. I grew up in Circulation Director HOLLY CARNAHAN contains more than 250 historic newsletter at the same time. Arizona, and whenever people heard where I was Finance Director ROBERT M. STEELE aircraft, both military and civilian. from, their first comment would be, “It’s really But the question most asked by Fulfillment Director VALERIE J. BECKETT Air Force One — Star Attraction 1907President Outdoor Activities brown there isn’t it?” It was a great attempt at visitors entering the gate remains, Information Technology Manager Theodore Your reporting of outdoor pursuits, such as showing people that Arizona is not all brown. CINDY BORMANIS ir Force One, the presidential version of Air Force One — “Where’s Air Force One?” The self- Roosevelt announces that backpacking and kayaking, has improved greatly Naomi Duerksen, Lincoln, NE FOR CUSTOMER INQUIRIES plane, starred as the subject of the DC-6 that was the last supporting museum at 6000 E. Arizona and over the past several years. You seem to have OR TO ORDER BY PHONE: four recently published books. piston-driven aircraft used by Valencia Road (2 miles north of New Mexico Call toll-free: (800) 543-5432 A will have found some very competent people to write about Hiking to the Summit The aircraft was also the subject of a Presidents John F. Kennedy and Interstate 10, Exit 269), is open In the Phoenix area or outside the U.S., separate these topics. I recently stopped by Picacho Peak for a quick hike. Call (602) 712-2000 PBS special, and provides cliff- Lyndon B. Johnson — is a star daily (except Thanksgiving and statehood. Please don’t listen to all the old fuddy-duddies Lawrence W. Cheek (“Along the Way,” March ‘04) Or visit us online at: hanger thrills in a Harrison Ford attraction at the Pima Air and Christmas). arizonahighways.com who think only 20-somethings are doing these thought he was about 25 feet from the summit when movie still popping up on television. Space Museum in Tucson. It’s Information: (520) 574-0462; For Corporate or Trade Sales: A new ordinance sports in Arizona. I’m 51 and backpack in the Grand he decided he was not “having a good time” and Sales Manager HELEN THOMPSON So it’s no surprise that an early also the only plane on display www.pimaair.org/pasmhome.shtml. 1908 goes into effect, Canyon at least twice a year, and in other areas, turned around to go back down. I, however, couldn’t Call (602) 712-2050 and Tempe too. I also hike, backpack and mountain bike in the bear the thought of telling my Texas cohorts that I E-MAIL “LETTERS TO THE EDITOR”: experiences [email protected] its first “dry” White Mountains, where I live. stopped to climb an Arizona peak and quit within Nuggets of Dental Gold Filled Sunday Regular Mail: Living Fences . Many people I see on the trails, hiking or eyesight of the top, so I finished the hike.