Remembering Oklahoma!: "Oh, what a beautiful mornin' ... Oh, what a beautiful day" Plus: Patagonia lake, Sonoita Creek, Pronghorns and the Santa Rita Abbey AUGUST 2019 ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE THE GRASSLANDSof Southern Arizona Grand Canyon National Park Flagstaff Hutch Mountain Castle Hot Springs 34 WE’RE DOING OK! Payson Sixty-five years ago this summer, we sent Allen C. Reed to Southern Arizona to do a story about the filming of PHOENIX Oklahoma!, which opened to rave reviews in 1955. Today, the movie still rates a 92 percent on Rotten Sonoita Tomatoes, and a new production of the play debuted Tubac Patagonia on Broadway in April — it’s the fifth since the original production opened on March 31, 1943. It’s an old story POINTS OF INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE August 2019 that never seems to get old. By Robert Stieve Photographs by Allen C. Reed 2 EDITOR’S LETTER 42 GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD GET MORE ONLINE 3 CONTRIBUTORS Each day, the sisters at Santa Rita Abbey wake up www.arizonahighways.com 4 LETTERS early for prayer and Holy Communion. That’s followed by a daily routine that includes morning work, reflec- /azhighways 5 THE JOURNAL tion, Vespers and evening prayers. One of the sisters, People, places and things from around the state, Sister Victoria, was there when the cloister opened @arizonahighways including a look back at Castle Hot Springs, and how near Sonoita in 1972. Today, she’s the abbey’s prioress. it inspired Maxfield Parrish; a rare look at the Wrigley And there’s nowhere else she’d rather be. An adult verdin, a small songbird found in By Kelly Vaughn Mansion, circa 1931; and another Flagstaff hot spot Arizona’s southern half, clings to a Sonoran that traces its roots to Brix and Criollo. Photographs by Tim Fuller Desert saguaro. Lisa Langell CANON EOS 7D, 1/500 SEC, F/7.1, ISO 400, 18 THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER 48 PRAIRIE GHOSTS 500 MM LENS FRONT COVER: Late-afternoon monsoon Pronghorns are North America’s fastest land animal Arizona is best known for its red-colored landmarks: clouds move over Meadow Valley, a South- Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the and the second-fastest land animal in the world. ern Arizona grassland, as seen from a seg- Vermilion Cliffs. But there are other colors, too, When spooked, they’ll disappear in a flash — thus the ment of the Arizona Trail. Joel Hazelton including the White Mountains, the Blue River and nickname. Unfortunately, a more permanent disap- CANON EOS 6D, 1/25 SEC, F/14, ISO 100, the green acres of Southern Arizona. pearance threatens their survival. 100 MM LENS BACK COVER: A Sonoran pronghorn doe A Portfolio by Joel Hazelton By Matt Jaffe guards its fawn near the town of Ajo. Photographs by Bruce D. Taubert Bruce D. Taubert 32 NATURAL CHOICES CANON EOS 5D MARK IV, 1/500 SEC, F/7.1, ISO 800, 840 MM LENS Seven sites to see in Southern Arizona. 52 SCENIC DRIVE By Noah Austin Hutch Mountain: Groves of aspens and meadows are part of the allure of this scenic route, but the high point is the panorama from the top of the mountain. By Noah Austin 54 HIKE OF THE MONTH Kachina Trail: With its ancient limber pines, massive Douglas firs and groves of quaking aspens, this beautiful hike is a tree-lover’s Shangri-La. By Robert Stieve Photographs by Robert McDonald 56 WHERE IS THIS? www.arizonahighways.com 1 editor’s LETTER CONTRIBUTORS JOEL HAZELTON Joel Hazelton was feeling rest- AUGUST 2019 VOL. 95 NO. 8 to Gene, he mentioned that Brent had “boxes and less last summer, so he asked our boxes” of his father’s old photographs and letters. 800-543-5432 photo editor, Jeff Kida, ifArizona At that point, I forgot all about my headphones. www.arizonahighways.com Highways needed anything pho- I wanted to meet Brent. GIFT SHOP: 602-712-2200 tographed. The answer was more Other than the books and magazines in our than Hazelton had expected: usually don’t talk to my Uber drivers. Not archive, there aren’t many links to our storied PUBLISHER Kelly Mero We needed someone to shoot EDITOR Robert Stieve because I’m aloof. Or because I don’t think past. There’s no exclusive gathering place like the Southern Arizona grasslands SENIOR EDITOR/ they’re interesting — I suppose some are like The Explorers Club. No vintage diner where old- BOOKS EDITOR Kelly Vaughn (see The Grass Is Always Greener, bartenders, with so many stories of scandal timers meet to reminisce about the golden era. MANAGING EDITOR Noah Austin page 18). “Although I’ve hiked the and deceit. But when I get in the back seat, Most of our legendary contributors have passed, ASSOCIATE EDITOR/ ‘sky islands’ of Southern Arizona I VIDEO EDITOR Ameema Ahmed I just want to put on my headphones, turn up including Mr. Reed. His son, I thought, might be several times, I’ve always skipped the music and check out for a few minutes. I call a conduit. Like Doc Brown’s DeLorean. In par- PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jeff Kida over the grasslands and gone it “Bobby Time,” and it’s hard to come by. Like ticular, I wanted to know if any of those boxes CREATIVE DIRECTOR Barbara Glynn Denney straight for the high country,” first editions of Kerouac. Or californium. So, I don’t know how I got into a had outtakes from Oklahoma!. The wheels were ART DIRECTOR Keith Whitney Hazelton says, “so this assign- conversation with Gene. turning. MAP DESIGNER Kevin Kibsey ment was something new and “You flying out for business or pleasure?” he asked. Long before I’d gotten into Gene’s Buick PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Michael Bianchi challenging.” He made several “A river trip,” I said, thinking my cutoffs and Grateful Dead T-shirt might Enclave, I knew that our August issue would be DIRECTOR OF SALES trips down south, usually stop- AND MARKETING Karen Farugia have signaled as much. focused on the grasslands of Southern Arizona, ping first at the eastern foothills WEBMASTER Victoria Snow “Where you headed?” which is where the movie version of Oklahoma! of the Santa Rita Mountains. By CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Nicole Bowman “Wisconsin.” was filmed. And I knew that a new production of the time he was done shooting, he’d endured washed-out roads, monsoon storms and, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Matthew Bailey “Wisconsin! What’s in Wisconsin?” the play was scheduled to open on Broadway in at times, an overwhelming number of photographic options — especially at Buenos Aires OPERATIONS/ “I’m going kayaking. A place called the Kickapoo River.” April — we call that a “news peg,” a timely rea- IT MANAGER Cindy Bormanis National Wildlife Refuge. “The entire refuge gets morning and afternoon light, so The small talk went on for a few miles. And I learned a few things about son for running a story. With fresh images from I couldn’t narrow down my options based on light,” he says. “And the topography is Gene. He’s a retired businessman — he pioneered the Dreyer’s and Häagen- the father via the son, we’d have the beginnings CORPORATE OR mostly unchanging, without major features that can anchor a background. This all elimi- Dazs brands in Arizona. He lives in Paradise Valley, a high-end ZIP code in of something we could put into our August issue. TRADE SALES 602-712-2018 nated my usual planning techniques, and I was left finding images the old-fashioned metro Phoenix, and has three grown children. He seemed like a nice guy, Something to pair with Joel Hazelton’s portfolio, SPONSORSHIP SALES way: by driving around and searching for foregrounds.” You can see more of Hazelton’s REPRESENTATION On Media Publications but I was ready to put on my headphones. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. which he’d started shooting a few weeks earlier. Deidra Viberg landscape images in Arizona’s Backcountry, a recently published Arizona Highways book. Gene had more questions. On September 27, the DeLorean pulled up: 602-323-9701 “So, what do you do for a living?” “Hello Robert. My name is Brent Reed, I am the “I’m in publishing,” I said, hoping it wouldn’t trigger an attack on the media. son of Allen Reed, who did a great deal of pho- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [email protected] TIM FULLER 2039 W. Lewis Avenue “Oh, that sounds interesting. Newspaper?” tography and writing for Highways in the 1950s Phoenix, AZ 85009 In 1978, Tim Fuller photographed the nuns of the “No, I’m the editor of a magazine called Arizona Highways.” and 1960s. My friend, Gene, who provided you remote Santa Rita Abbey for Arizona Highways. With those 10 words, this issue started taking shape. with an Uber ride recently, forwarded your email When we offered him the chance to revisit the GOVERNOR Douglas A. Ducey “I love Arizona Highways, he told me. “Are you familiar with a photographer address to me. I’d be glad to assist in any way subject more than 40 years later (see Give Us DIRECTOR, named Allen Reed? His son, Brent, is a good friend of mine.” regarding my late father’s work or background, DEPARTMENT This Day Our Daily Bread, page 42), he was happy It wasn’t an unusual question, not for someone on the outside, but for for any future projects you may undertake. Feel OF TRANSPORTATION John S. Halikowski to oblige. “Getting to know the nuns and pho- someone who wanders the hallowed halls of this magazine’s world head- free to reach out if and when I can be of help.” tographing their lives in 1978 was a memorable quarters, it was like asking Ed Sheeran if he’d ever heard of The Beatles.