Mountain Lion Rule No. 1: The White Mountains’ Canela Bistro: Southern AZ’s Never Say “Here Kitty, Kitty” Long & Winding Road Best Bet for “Locally Grown” JUNE 2009 ESCAPE. EXPLORE. EXPERIENCE summer hiking guide Our favorite places to hit the trail! plus THE ECOLOGICAL RUCKUS IN THE RestaurantsSANTA CATALINAS and 25DEAN OF OUR ARMSTRONG: FAVORITE PLACESArizona’s TO GRAB Guitar A Hero BITE BRUCE BURNHAM: This Guy Is Sitting on a Real Treasure contents 06.09 features 14 SUMMER HIKING GUIDE After photography, hiking is the thing most people write, e-mail or call us about. We get it. Hiking is a big deal in the Grand Canyon State. Thus, our annual Summer Hiking Guide. Whether you’re looking for a strenuous trek in the White Mountains or an easy stroll along the Mogollon Rim, Arizona has a trail for everyone. BY ROBERT STIEVE Grand Canyon 24 ROCK ART National Park Sanders Normally when we talk about rock art, we’re talking about Flagstaff pictographs or petroglyphs. This is different. This is photography. Horton Creek Actually, it’s more than that. According to a panel of mesmerized Alpine magazine staffers, the work of Wes Timmerman crosses into the PHOENIX Clifton Santa Catalina realm of fine art. “Paintings, sculptures, masterpieces.” Those Mountains are the words they used to describe this month’s portfolio. Tucson BY WES TIMMERMAN Sonoita 34 AIN’T THIS MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH? • POINTS OF INTEREST IN THIS ISSUE Father Kino, Wyatt Earp, Geronimo ... none of them would recog- departments nize Mount Lemmon and the Santa Catalinas today. The human 2 EDITOR’S LETTER 3 CONTRIBUTORS 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR population around them, now more than a million strong, has 5 The Journal www.arizonahighways.com profoundly altered the character of the mountain range itself. ◗ From a slick-rock knoll in Face Can- People, places and things from around the state, including TALK TO US: In this month’s cover story, we spotlight some of our favorite yon near Lake Powell, hikers survey Biology, ecology, flora, fauna … they’ve all been affected. Time the sandstone buttes of the Navajo Arizona’s classic guitar hero, the do’s and don’ts around summer hikes (see page 14). In 100 words or less, tell us about the most un- Nation. PHOTOGRAPH BY GARY LADD will tell if there’s enough mountain to absorb the changes. mountain lions, and one of the best places to get a usual thing you’ve experienced while hiking in Arizona. We can be reached BY LAWRENCE W. CHEEK PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDY PRENTICE fresh meal made with locally grown ingredients. at [email protected]. FRONT COVER Jenn Hoffman and Scott Shapiro take in spectacular views 44 Scenic Drive GET MORE ONLINE: from the General Crook Trail, which 40 THE MAN WHO SITS ON THE TREASURE follows the Mogollon Rim. Coronado Trail: It’s hard to pick the best road trip When you’re done hiking, you’re going to want to eat, and that’s where PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK BEREZENKO No. This isn’t a story about Bill Gates or the sniper who guards our Web site comes in. We have plenty of options. Just click “Dining” on in Arizona, but this one ranks right up there. BACK COVER Bright pink blooms of a the roof of Fort Knox. It’s a story about Bruce Burnham, a white our home page. New Mexico locust stand out against man who’s spent the last four decades on the Navajo Nation. 46 Hike of the Month Get details on some of this month’s biggest events, including the Grand a white and green background of Horton Creek Trail: If water is music to the ears, Canyon State Summer Games, in our “Events Calendar.” quaking aspen trees in Eastern Burnham is an Indian trader, or, as the Navajos say, Naalye’he’ ya’ Arizona’s Blue Range Primitive Area. this hike is Mozart in Bigfoot’s family room. sida’hi — “the man who sits on the treasure.” Check out some of our vintage covers by visiting “Online Extras.” PHOTOGRAPH BY JACK DYKINGA BY LISA SCHNEBLY HEIDINGER PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEFF KIDA 48 Where Is This? Photographic Prints Available Prints of some photographs in this issue are available for purchase. To view options, visit www.arizonahighwaysprints.com. For more information, call 866-962-1191. editor’s contrib- these changes — with more on the way — are letter profoundly altering the mountain’s character. utors [email protected] Biology, ecology, flora, fauna … they’ve all been JUNE 2009 VOL. 85, NO. 6 affected. Whether or not you agree with Larry’s 800-543-5432 NICK BEREZENKO www.arizonahighways.com conclusions, this story is meant to get you think- Photographer Nick Ber- Publisher ing, because every challenge, environmental or WIN HOLDEN ezenko has lived in Rim otherwise, begins with understanding. Just ask Editor Country since 1986, which ROBERT STIEVE has given him an opportu- Bruce Burnham. Senior Editor Unless you’ve been to the Navajo Nation, you RANDY SUMMERLIN nity to shoot some of the Managing Editor probably don’t know Bruce. He’s an Indian trader SALLY BENFORD most stunning scenery Editorial Administrator in the state. Among his — a white man — who’s spent the last four NIKKI KIMBEL ount Baldy is sacred to the Apaches. Especially the summit. At 11,403 feet, decades on the reservation trying to bridge a cul- Director of Photography favorite spots are West it’s a holy place that connects Mother Earth to Father Sky. In Eastern Ari- tural gap as wide as Monument Valley itself. “You PETER ENSENBERGER Clear Creek, Fossil Creek m Photography Editor JEFF KIDA zona, that’s about as close as you’re going to get to the heavens. But only if you’re an can’t become Navajo,” Burnham says, “but I’m an JEFF KIDA and the Hellsgate Wilder- Art Director Apache. If you’re not, you’re not allowed to the top without a permit. Because of the in-law to the whole tribe.” BARBARA GLYNN DENNEY ness. Although the weather was uncooperative for this month’s cover shoot, Berezenko, spiritual nature of the mountain, the peak is off-limits to all non-natives. In The Man Who Sits on the Treasure by Lisa Sch- Deputy Art Director photo editor Jeff Kida and the cover models (Jenn Hoffman and Scott Shapiro) toughed it SONDA ANDERSSON PAPPAN For the average hiker, that’s not a big deal. For “peak-baggers,” a term you’ll see nebly Heidinger, you’ll learn about a guy who Design Production Assistant out. “Toward evening, as we worked our way out to the edge of the Rim, clouds rolled in to more than once in this month’s cover story, it presents a conflict — respect versus “worked his way up from a white teenager fasci- DIANA BENZEL-RICE the west and the light turned wonderfully golden,” Berezenko says. “Everyone got into the Map Designer laying claim to one of the highest mountains in the state. The solution, of course, is nated with Navajo culture to a position of esteem KEVIN KIBSEY spirit of how wonderful everything looked in that rich, syrupy light, and we all worked at a Production Director to get a permit. If you don’t, you could be fined or have your CamelBak confiscated. and influence.” And he achieved that stature MICHAEL BIANCHI furious pace to produce a variety of different-looking shots with different backgrounds — By the way, if you are a peak-bagger, the highest point of the ridge isn’t Baldy’s sum- through assimilation. He learned the language, Webmaster but they were all shot within the space of 15 minutes. When the glorious light faded into VICTORIA J. SNOW mit, but an unnamed area (11,420 feet) on Forest Service land to the north. he learned the history and he adopted the cul- Director of Sales & Marketing night and we could shoot no more, we all high-fived each other. We knew we’d gotten Sounds complicated, but it’s not. Besides, Baldy is just one of several hikes in our ture. But more than anything, he respected the KELLY MERO something special.” Circulation Director annual Summer Hiking Guide. In all, we’ll tell you about 12 of our favorites. Some are people. Respect and understanding ... it’s a pretty NICOLE BOWMAN Finance Director simple, some are strenuous, and the rest are somewhere in between. The Sycamore simple concept, whether you’re opening a trading BOB ALLEN Rim Trail falls into that category. Located in the Kaibab National Forest, the trail post on the Navajo Nation, or climbing a moun- Information Technology CINDY BORM ANIS LISA SCHNEBLY HEIDINGER was first proposed in the ’70s to protect a unique environment of ponds, cliffs and tain that’s sacred to the Apaches. Lisa Schnebly Heidinger began writing about Arizona Corporate or Trade Sales canyons. Since then, it’s become one of those trails you hit when you’re trying to 602-712-2019 30 years ago as a cub reporter for the Green Valley Sponsorship Sales Representation impress friends from Michigan, Germany or anywhere else. It’s pretty long — 11 UPDATE: ERNIE MULHOLLAND News, and she hasn’t grown tired of it yet. She met EMM MEDIA SERVICES LLC miles round-trip — but it’s pretty easy. For something a little more challenging, PHOTO CONTEST 602-971-6260 Indian trader Bruce Burnham (The Man Who Sits on the there’s the Mount Lemmon Trail. If you’re a frequent [email protected] Treasure, page 40) five years ago, while she was work- Not only is it difficult, it’s unique.