arizona highlands

60
11 BEST FALL DRIVES SEDONA IN THE VORTEX RIM COUNTRY TIME TRIPPING WHITE MOUNTAINS COMEBACK TALE FLAGSTAFF LUCKY DISASTER Highlands ARIZONA Fall 2009 $2.95 Adventuring in Rim Country, White Mountains, Sedona, Flagstaff

Upload: payson-roundup

Post on 12-Mar-2016

223 views

Category:

Documents


2 download

DESCRIPTION

Arizona Highlands

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Arizona Highlands

11 BESTFALLDRIVES

SEDONA

IN THE VORTEX

RIM COUNTRY

TIMETRIPPING

WHITE MOUNTAINS

COMEBACK TALE

FLAGSTAFF

LUCKY DISASTER

HighlandsARIZONA

Fall 2009$2.95

Adventuring in Rim Country, White Mountains, Sedona, Flagstaff

Page 2: Arizona Highlands

W I R E L E S S

Getmore for your family, startingwith America’s most reliable wireless network.

Reliable.Affordable.

Unlimited MessagingText, Pix, Flix and IM to anyone on any network in the U.S.

Unlimited Mobile to Mobileto over 80 million Verizon Wireless customers

Unlimited Night & Weekendcalling to any number

Unlimited Callingto any 10 numbers on any network with Friends & Family®

After 2 lines for $119.99 monthly access on a Nationwide Select Family SharePlan.® (Activation fees, taxes and other charges apply.)**

monthly access per line$999

Get all this, plus Add lines for just

$50.00 2-year retail price - $50.00 mail-in rebate debit card

after instant rebate

With new 2 year activation.

$50.00 2-year retail price - $50.00 mail-in rebate debit card

after mail-in rebate debit card

With new 2 year activation.

UM175 USB Modem

Samsung Intensity u450

Connect on the go.

Free!

Full keyboard.

Free!

AMERICA’S LARGEST AND MOST RELIABLE WIRELESS NETWORK

**Our Surcharges (incl. Fed. Univ. Svc. of 12.9% of interstate & int’l telecom charges (varies quarterly), 7¢ Regulatory & 92¢ Administrative/line/mo. & others by area) are not taxes (details: 1-888-684-1888); gov’t taxes & our surcharges could add 5%–32% to your bill. Activation fee/line: $35 ($25 for secondary Family SharePlan lines w/ 2-yr. Agmts). IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Subject to Cust. Agmt, Calling Plan, rebate form & credit approval. Up to $175 early termination fee/line, up to 40¢/min. after allowance & add’l charges apply for data sent or received. Friends & Family®: Only domestic landline or wireless numbers (other than directory assistance, 900 numbers or customer’s own wireless or voice mail access numbers) included; all eligible lines on an account share the same Friends & Family numbers, up to account’s eligibility limits; set up & manage online. Offers & coverage, varying by svc., not available everywhere. Network details & coverage maps at vzw.com. Limited-time offers. While supplies last. Nights: 9:01 pm- 5:59 am M-F. Rebate debit card takes up to 6 wks. & exp. in 12 mos. All company names, trademarks, logos and copyrights not the property of Verizon Wireless are the property of their respective owners. In CA: Sales tax based on full retail price of phone. © 2009 Verizon Wireless.

Rim Country Wireless309 E. Hwy 260 • Safeway Shopping Center (next to Cousins Subs)

(928) 474-4744 • www.RimCountryCell.net

Page 3: Arizona Highlands
Page 4: Arizona Highlands

Personalized Care

for Health,Beauty & Function

928.474.2200

Cosmetic Dentistry ByDr. Chris Winterholler

Call Today for a Complimentary

Consultation or Exam & X-Rays

$69

Page 5: Arizona Highlands

We’re just that

AWESOME

207 E. Hwy 260 • Payson, AZ • 468-1008

Overman DesignsOverman Designs

Page 6: Arizona Highlands

ountains live. They’re born in fire, rise in glory, crumble in weariness, die in darkness— then rise again in fire. The earth has its cycles — as surely as the living things it nour-ishes. The mountains are its bones, the rivers its blood, the storms its breath. We frail,

fleeting ones live out our own brief season, utterly dependent on those cycles of the earth. We know this, because we live here among the Arizona highlands — a great sprawl of moun-

tains, rivers, lakes, vistas, cindercones, upthrust seabeds, technicolor sandstone, jagged lava,deep canyons, hidden springs, forested slopes, wavering meadows, secret paths and crystallinepools.

And here’s something else we’ve learned — you can fall in love with a mountain and witha place. We know. We’ve done it, head over heels with the highlands of Arizona, a six-million-acre expanse of forests and peaks, which extends fromFlagstaff east to New Mexico for 100 miles on each side ofthe Mogollon Rim. From its high places run most of thestate’s rivers and streams, nurturing a lush bewilderment ofwildlife. We Homo sapiens have lived on its bounty for morethan 10,000 years. Today, it shelters a happy scattering offorest communities and a weekend flood of desert escapees.

We have spent all our lives learning its moods, savoringits seasons and seeking its secret places. So now we thoughtwe’d share. Granted, it might seem like a risky time to takethe plunge and launch a new magazine. But love will do thatto you — it makes you reckless.

So here’s our guide to the place we love. If you’ll give ussome of your time, we’ll take you looking for a vortex in Se-dona, a 200-mile view from the Mogollon Rim, clues to a vi-olent mystery at Wupatki, a monster trout in Christmas TreeLake, a riffle in Tonto Creek, a bugling elk along the BlueRiver and a place to catch your breath on Bear Mountain.

Then we hope you’ll help us with our next issue by send-ing us a line or two and maybe a picture of your favorite placein the highlands by writing us at [email protected].

So come along, we want you to meet the highlands.You’ll like her — full of satisfying surprises, deep secrets andhidden wonders. She’s beautiful, adventurous, unpre-dictable, nurturing, stormy, endearing, challenging. She canthrow lightning bolts, freeze your bones, soothe you with the sound of rustling leaves and singyou to sleep in the sunlight. And try as you might, you’ll understand no more than a fractionof what glitters in her eyes — but that’s all right.

Mountains are like that — they live, just like the highlands.And if you’re lucky, you can hear her breathe as she sleeps and watch the pulse of life in

her throat.

M

We’re taking the plungeWe fell in love and had to share

John Naughton, Publisher • Tom Brossart, Managing Editor • Peter Aleshire, Senior Editor708 N. Beeline Highway • PO Box 2520 • Payson, AZ 85547 • (928) 474-5251 • [email protected]

No portion of the Arizona Highlands Magazine may be used in any manner without the expressed writtenconsent of the publisher. Arizona Highlands Magazine is published by Roundup Publishing, a division ofWorldWest Limited Liability Company. © 2009

HighlandsARIZONATo advertise in the

Arizona Highlands Magazine,call Bobby Davis, Advertising Director,

(928) 474-5251 ext. 105, or [email protected]

Page 7: Arizona Highlands

Enhance your lifestyleEnhance your lifestyle

For a limited time,Chaparral Pines

is offering family golfand country club

lifestyle memberships.

Contact Michele McDonnell at

(928) 472-1472for more information.

www.chaparralpines.com

Chaparral Pines now has non-propertyclub memberships available

Chaparral Pines features a variety of challenging holes, beautifullymanicured fairways and breathtaking views of the majestic Mogollon Rim –all of which exceed any golfer’s expectations.

• Arizona Top 25 Golf Course • Family Aquatic & Fitness Center• 29,000 sq. ft. Club House • Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball Courts• Fine Dining Restaurant & Bar • Complete Golf Shop & Locker Rooms

“Great Championship Golf brought us here. The Fitness Center, Swimmingareas and the Nature Hiking Trails help us maintain a healthy lifestyle. Thebest kept secret is the friendly, loving neighbors in the community. We are trulyliving the dream at Chaparral Pines!”

Steve and Julie Johnsonmembers since 1997

5Arizona Highlands

Page 8: Arizona Highlands

COVER STORY:

11 Great Fall DrivesFrom Sedona, to Humphreys Peak,to Rim Country and deep intothe White Mountains, we offera glimpse of our 11 favoritefall drives.Page 22

HighlandsARIZONA

Adventuring in Rim Country, White Mountains, Sedona, Flagstaff

Tom Brossart

Page 9: Arizona Highlands

RIM COUNTRY

Trip Through TimeForest Road 300 hugs theMogollon Rim and offersa view of forever. Page 8

RED ROCK COUNTRY

Bear Mountain HikeHuff and puff until you get tothe top of one of Sedona’sbest buttes. Page 14

RIM COUNTRY

Fishing HolesLunkers lurk in Tonto Creek.Page 18

WHITE MOUNTAINS

Great DrivesBlue River drive aboundsin wildlife. Page 32

HIGH COUNTRY

Blessed DisasterThe ruins of Wupatki offer aparadoxical link between disasterand a population boom. Page 38

WHITE MOUNTAINS

Comeback TaleApache Trout have eludedextinction in Christmas Tree Lake.Page 47

RED ROCK COUNTRY

Into the VortexAn intrepid skeptic sets off tosee God, fix his watch andunderstand red. Page 52

Page 10: Arizona Highlands

Tom Brossart

Page 11: Arizona Highlands

Three hours into my leisurely, rattletraptour of Arizona’s most-scenic, most historicroad, I came unexpectedly upon a glimpseof the apocalypse.

Specifically, Forest Road 300, which once supplied a chain ofmilitary posts during the Apache wars, emerged from thick forestto the barely recovering devastation wrought by the Dude Fire.

The dense forest crowded with perhaps a 1,000 trees per acre,through which I’d been meandering for several hours, yieldedabruptly to an otherworldly landscape of skeletal trees, blackenedremnants of 500-year-old giants clawing at the skyline, set against asudden, breathtaking view to the horizon.

Surprisingly, the scene proved oddly reassuring, since wild-flowers flecked the waving undulations of vivid green grass withsplashes of orange and red.

On one slope, a furry thicket of saplings had taken root, butother slopes remained wide open and covered with the returninggrassland that once graced large stretches of the ponderosa pineforest.

Forest ServiceRim Road 300

hugs theedge of the

MogollonRim (top).

The line ofcliffs marksthe edge of

the ColoradoPlateau and

faces west,which

makes forspectacular

sunsets(right).

Taking the long view on

Forest Road 300

9Arizona Highlands

by Peter Aleshire

Tom Brossart

Pete

r Ale

shir

e

Page 12: Arizona Highlands

Tom Brossart

Page 13: Arizona Highlands

For anyone interested in the health and evolution ofthe forests which now nurture Rim Country, the silent pas-sage through the slowly healing scar of one of the biggestfires in the state’s history will provide an absorbing stop onthe fascinating, 100-mile path of FR 300, which closely fol-lows the General Crook Trail, which used to linked CampVerde and Fort Apache during the Apache wars of the late1800s.

The route runs along the edge of the Mogollon Rim,a chain of 1,000-foot-high sandstone and limestone cliffsthat marks the leading edge of the Colorado Plateau —thrust upward then eroded away as a result of the same con-tinental shifts that produced the Rocky Mountains and theGrand Canyon. Along the way, the well-graded dirt road of-fers some of the most sweeping vistas in the state, lessonsin ecology, a journey through time and an access to a wholechain of trout-stocked lakes.

The route offers a perfect day-long adventure out ofPayson, with one loop starting in Payson and returningthrough Pine and Strawberry. Another day’s adventurewould start in Payson and then go east on the road,through Show Low, the White Mountain Apache Reser-vation, Salt River Canyon and back to Payson past Roo-sevelt Lake.

Forest Road 300 partially overlaps the 250-mile-longGeneral Crook Trail — a 70-mile stretch along the edge ofthe Rim. The well-maintained road, which even a passen-ger car can handle so long as the road isn’t wet or frostedwith snow, offers a fascinating glimpse of the ecology of aponderosa pine forest, especially if you head toward Pinethrough the scar of the Dude Fire.

When Crook arrived to make war on the Apaches inthe 1870s, these ponderosa pine forests were dominated bygigantic, widely-spaced, 400-year-old trees and tall grass.Low intensity ground fires burned through every five toseven years, clearing out the dead wood and seedlings.These fires merely scarred the fire-resistant, thick-barkedbases of the mature trees, whose lowest branches were 20or 30 feet above the flames.

But once Crook and his military successors broke theresistance of the Apache, settlers moved in and trans-formed the ponderosa pine ecosystem.

Loggers went to work and soon cut down most of thefire-resistant, old-growth trees, and forest managers devotedthemselves energetically to preventing fires. The resulting,densely stocked forest eventually begin producing megafires — like the massive Dude Fire.

So that stretch of road through the burn area provedthe most fascinating single stretch of the trip for me, mostlybecause it offers hope of a much healthier forest. Ecologistsmaintain that the presettlement forest was patchy — withsome thick stretches, meadows, grasslands — and averagetree densities of perhaps 50 giant trees per acre.

But Forest Road 300 also offers a route through his-tory, threading through the heart of a terrain that theApache defended against all odds for three centuries be-fore falling to Crook’s war of attrition in the 1870s.

Ironically, Crook respected and admired the Apachemore than any other commander — which made thebearded, unconventional, fearless Crook their most effec-tive enemy. He relied heavily on Apache scouts, the onlyones who could hold to the faint trail of a band of fleeingwarriors. The Crook Trail played a crucial strategic role, asit supplied the network of forts from which Crook dis-patched roving patrols of soldiers and Indian scouts thatcould remain on patrol for months at a time.

Although the Apache resisters remained expert at elud-ing the soldiers, the constant hunt kept them from accu-mulating the supplies they needed to survive. This war ofattrition eventually broke their resistance, thanks largely tothe logistics of the Crook Trail.

FR 300 leads past spots where key events in that con-flict took place.

Forest Road 300 offers a route throughhistory, threading the heart of a terrainthat the Apache defended against allodds for three centuries before fallingin the 1870s

11Arizona Highlands

This swallowtail butterfly takesa liking to the Rim Country flora.

Bear Canyon Lake (left)lies just off FR 300.

Tom Brossart

Page 14: Arizona Highlands

One such encounter took place, as Crook and CaptainJohn Bourke rode at the lead of a detachment of soldiers.Several arrows flashed suddenly past, launched by about15 Apache warriors, who immediately took flight. The sol-diers spurred their horses and cut off two of the warriors,forcing them to take shelter behind several boulders.

“There they stood; almost entirely concealed behindgreat boulders on the very edge of the precipice,” wroteBourke, “their bows drawn to a semi-circle, eyes gleamingwith a snaky black fire, long unkempt hair flowing downover their shoulders, bodies almost completely naked, facesstreaked with the juice of the baked mescal and the bloodof the deer or antelope ... with not the slightest suggestionof cowardice,” Bourke wrote.

“They seemed to know their doom, but not to fear itin the slightest degree.”

Seeing the soldiers closing on them, the warriors fired

a final volley of arrows and then seemingly jumped fromthe cliff at their backs.

“We were all so horrified at the sight, that for a mo-ment or more it did not occur to anyone to look over thecrest, but when we did it was seen that the two savages wererapidly following down the merest thread of a trail outlinedin the vertical face of the basalt, and jumping from rock torock like mountain sheep. General Crook drew bead,aimed quickly and fired; the arm of one of the fugitiveshung limp by his side, and the red stream gushing outshowed that he had been badly hurt; but he did not relaxhis speed a particle.”

Bourke and Crook rode for hundreds of miles throughthose ancient forests, with Bourke usually sitting atop his“faithful mule” Malaria, a beast he described with the blendof humor and animosity affected by anyone who hasplumbed the mind of a mule.

The late evening sun highlights the beauty ofa Rim Country meadow off Forest Road 300.

The route offers a perfect day-long adventure out of Payson with one loopstarting in Payson and returning through Pine and Strawberry

12 Arizona Highlands

Tom Brossart

Page 15: Arizona Highlands

“Malaria had been born a first-class mule,but a fairy godmother, or some other myste-rious cause, had carried the good mule away,and left in its place a lop-eared, mangy speci-men, which enjoyed the proud distinction ofbeing considered, without dissent, themeanest mule in the whole Depart ment ofArizona.”

Of course, a journey that consumeddays and led through danger in 1871 nowtakes a couple of hours — more of a jauntthan a journey.

But it still offers some of the best viewsin Arizona, with numerous stretches thatthread along the edge of the line of 1,000-foot-tall cliffs of the Mogollon Rim, the lead-ing edge of the uplift of the ColoradoPlateau — and a perfect day-long adventurein an exploration of Rim Country.

Take the Beeline Highway from Phoenixto Payson. In Payson, you can take East High-way 260, past Kohl’s Ranch to where the roadtops out on the Mogollon Rim. The well-graded gravel and dirt Forest Road 300 crossesHighway 260 here.

If you want to end up in Show Low, con-tinue on Highway 260 to Forest Lakes, thenturn right onto FR 300. You will pass aturnoff to Black Canyon Lake then hug theRim overlooking the Fort Apache IndianReservation toward Show Low — about a 40-mile distance.

If you want to take a long drive and endup near Pine, turn left onto FR 300 right afteryou top out on the Rim. You will pass turnoffsto Woods Canyon Lake, Bear Canyon Lake,Knoll Lake and several other small lakes in the

course of a scenic 35-mile drive before rejoin-ing the pavement at Highway 87 outside Pineand Strawberry.

Once back on the highway, turn north toreach the junction of Highway 87 and WestHighway 260. Turning west onto this portionof 260 you will begin dropping down into theVerde Valley. The community of Camp Verdeis the site of the Fort Verde State HistoricPark, where Crook was headquartered duringthe Indian wars in Arizona Territory. Thepark has several structures occupied by theArmy in the 1860s.

The Rim area above Payson draws a lot ofparched Phoenicians on summer weekends,but remains quiet during the week even in thesummer. The Forest Service maintains camp-grounds throughout the area, and the stateregularly stocks the lakes with trout in thesummer.

Payson has plenty of rooms, restaurantsand stores to stock up on supplies. You canalso rent cabins and rooms and get dinner inPayson, at Christopher Creek and Kohl’sRanch, nestled at the base of the Rim.

Forest Road 300 runs along the border be-tween the Tonto National Forest and both theCoconino and Apache-Sitgreaves nationalforests, so Forest Service maps of each of thoseforests are useful. Or, you can get one of theexcellent map books to plan your journeythrough time.

The Rim Road offers thebest views in Arizona, withnumerous stretches thatthread along the edge of theline of 1,000-foot-tall cliffsof the Mogollon Rim

13Arizona Highlands

LodgingPayson has plentyof rooms, restau-rants and stores tostock up on sup-plies. You can alsorent cabins androoms and get din-ner in Payson, atChristopher Creekand Kohl’s Ranch.

DirectionsTake Highway 260east from Payson30 miles to whereFR 300 crosses thehighway.

If you go left ontoFR 300, you willpass Woods CanyonLake, Bear CanyonLake, Knoll Lakeand several othersmall lakes forabout 35 miles be-fore rejoining thepavement at High-way 87 by Pine andStrawberry.

If you want to windup in Show Low,turn right off High-way 260 a little far-ther down thehighway at ForestLakes. You’ll passthe spur to BlackCanyon Lake as youmake your wayalong the Rim over-looking the WhiteMountain ApacheReservation enroute to Show Low.

Tom Brossart

Page 16: Arizona Highlands

Story and photos by Alexis Bechman

If you are looking for a hike with outstanding viewsof Sedona, look no further than Bear Mountain.

At its peak, you can see throughout the Sedona valley includ-ing the Palatki ruins to the west and the San Francisco Peaks tow-ering above Flagstaff to the north.

Best of all, the steep hike lacks the crowds drawn to the easy,popular hikes like West Fork.

But all of this glory comes with a price. You are going to have to huff up nearly 2,000 unshaded feet

to reach the summit, which is the third highest point in Sedona.Quite the workout if you are ill prepared and out of shape.

Several members in my party threatened to bail out on thehike half way through because the peak seemed to get farther andfarther away. Just when you think you have reached the top, an-other saddle emerges and you realize that peak was a false alarm —the real summit is several miles still uphill.

However, don’t give up. The picturesque view from the top isworth all of the grunts and groans.

The trail starts out easy enough in a sandy red rock valley. Itcrosses several dry riverbeds and then slowly makes its way up a

Ventureout andup inSedona

The picturesque view from atop Bear Mountain Trail is worth all of the grunts and groans.

14 Arizona Highlands

Page 17: Arizona Highlands

rocky hillside. Continue thesteep climb until you reacha rock chute. Use the wall tomake your way up until youreach a small rock overhang(a good place to stop for abreak and take in the viewover the valley).

From there, it dips into aside canyon, hugging the sideof the mountain until iteventually makes its way toseveral switchbacks. At thetop of the switchbacks, itcrosses over a mesa for aboutone-half mile.

If you look up here, youcan spot the summit straightup to the northwest.

The trail then dips down through a washand heads up again. The sandstone rockbelow is reminiscent of checkerboard mesa inZion National Park.

From there, the trail reaches a saddle,which is another good place to sit and rest.

Some of my party opted to stop here andwait. For those who continue on, the trailthen heads up, once again, eventually endingat a flat area. You may be out of breath whenyou reach the top, but you then realize it isdownhill to the car.

You can see for miles ...

Looking out northfrom Bear Mountain,a dark storm cloudbuilds.

15Arizona Highlands

Page 18: Arizona Highlands

Getting there

From the Sedona junctionof Arizona 89A and 179,go west about 3 miles on89A.Turn north (right) on DryCreek Road and proceedabout 3 miles to BoyntonPass Road. Turn west (left) andfollow the road 1.5 milesto a stop sign.At Forest Road 152C,turn west (left) and go1.3 miles to the BearMountain Trailhead,which is the secondtrailhead on the left side.Parking is shared with theDoe Mountain Hike.

Fees: $5 per day to parkin the red rock country ofCoconino National Forest.Get permits at the RedRock Ranger District Of-fice, 8375 Arizona 179(south of the Village ofOak Creek); Sedona-OakCreek Canyon Chamberof Commerce Visitor Cen-ter, 331 Forest Road;North Gateway VisitorCenter at Oak Creek Vista,off Arizona 89A north ofSedona.

Length: 4.8-mile roundtrip (About five hours).

Elevation change: About1,900 feet (challenging)

For more information:Coconino National Forest,Red Rock Ranger District(928) 282-4119.A winded writer reaps the rewards of

the steep climb to the top of Bear Mountain.

16 Arizona Highlands

Wende Bechman

Page 19: Arizona Highlands

RIM COUNTRY REGIONALCHAMBER OF COMMERCEPAYSON • PINE • STRAWBERRYSTAR VALLEY • CHRISTOPHER CREEK

Rim CountryWelcomes You!

Just a scenic, 90-minute drive from Phoenix willtake you to the majestic, mountain paradise knownas Rim Country. The communities of Rim Countryfeature friendly people and wonderful tourist andrecreation opportunities, including:

• Zane Grey’s Cabin

• Tonto Natural Bridge

• Hiking and Mountain Biking Trails

• Campgrounds

• Lakes and Rivers with year-round fishing

• Green Valley Park

• And so much more

100 W. Main Street • Payson, AZ(928) 474-4515 • www.rimcountrychamber.com

17Arizona Highlands

Page 20: Arizona Highlands

I could swim the pool and venture on into thewilderness or I could turn and work my way back up therugged tumble of Tonto Creek toward Bear Flat camp-ground and my waiting car. By nightfall I could be safelyensconced at the bar at historic Kohl’s Ranch, whereZane Grey refreshed himself between turning out thenovels that defined the myth of the West. A simplechoice: continue working the riffles, and pools and over-hangs of the upper creek for the plentiful, predictable,hatchery stupid rainbows planted by the thousands everyweek, or wander downstream, wet, cold, and uncom-fortable in hopes a wild monster would rise to my fly.

Sighing, I checked the seal on my dry bag commit-

ted myself to the chilled waters of one of Arizona’s mostbeautiful, wild, and ecologically rich streams. Thisrugged gash of a creek slices through enough life zonesto carry you from Mexico to Canada. It drains 1,000

square miles of western Gila County between the SierraAnchas and the Mazatzal Mountains as it tumbles fromthe mixed conifer forests at 6,800 feet to Sonoran desertsaguaros at its juncture with Roosevelt Lake at 2,135 feet.

Its first 10 miles provides one of the state’s busiestput-and-take trout fisheries with fish grown to pan sizeat the hatchery plunked down near where the creek orig-inates in a year-round spring welling out of the base ofthe Mogollon Rim. Zane Grey wrote the novels thathelped promote the gripping mythos of the AmericanWest in a small cabin near Tonto Creek’s headwaters.

The stream burbles past Kohl’s Ranch, down into

Looking for Lunkers on Tonto Creek

Story and photos

by

Peter Aleshire

Standing at the edge of the long,dark pool of water, my optionsfrothed past.

Spring-fed Tonto Creekgets a fresh stockingof rainbows every week

18 Arizona Highlands

Page 21: Arizona Highlands

deepening canyons, and on through abeautiful campground at Bear Flat at theend of a breathtaking dirt road. Thecreek then heads on down into one ofthe most inaccessible wilderness areas inthe state. The stream flows through theaptly named Hell’s Gate Wilderness formore than 20 miles, completely inacces-sible by road. Several difficult hikingtrails thread into the remote, craggycanyons, but anyone who wants to ex-plore this middle section must surrenderhimself to canyoneering — boulder hop-ping, swimming pools, and sometimesusing ropes to get down rock walls.

Tonto Creek eventually emergesfrom this stone wilderness near Gisela,where it levels out and begins to mean-der through less forbidding canyons.Here it makes the transition to Sonorandesert.

Tonto Creek also boasts a wealth ofnative fish. One recent, three-year winterstudy of the creek by the Arizona De-partment of Game and Fish found thatfive species of native fish constitute about 94 percent ofthe total fish in the upper sections of the creek and 86percent of the fish in the lower reaches of the creek.Those native species included the longfin dace, Sonorasucker, desert sucker, speckled dace and roundtail chub.They dramatically outnumbered the non-natives includ-ing red shiners, fathead minnows, largemouth bass, com-mon carp, rainbow trout, green sunfish, yellow bullhead,smallmouth bass, channel catfish, mosquito fish, andbrown trout. Only the bass and the trout were deliber-ately stocked in the creek for sports fishermen, the othernon-native fish made their way up the creek from LakeRoosevelt — to which Tonto Creek connects.

The presence of large numbers of native fish inTonto Creek is a testament to their survival skills andthe Creek’s varied ecology. The creek subsides to a warm,spring-fed trickle during the low-flow months of winter

and before the summer monsoons. But it carries awe-some flood flows when spring storms spur rapidsnowmelt or tropical monsoons deluge the watershed inlate summer. One such flood claimed the life of a reck-less kayaker several years ago, after he ignored warningsof the locals and put into the froth.

The native fish have evolved all sorts of tricks to dealwith the deadly whims of such desert streams. They sur-vive wild fluctuations in temperature, seek shelter fromfloods, shift food sources readily, breed during optimumtimes of the year, forage readily in clear or muddy water,boast bodies streamlined to deal with flood flows, andadapt in countless other ways. Imported fish have pum-meled the natives in places where we’ve altered naturalconditions with lakes, dams, and flood-controlled rivers,but the natives hold out in relatively unchanged envi-ronments like Tonto Creek. Although the state releases

Below Highway 260,

Tonto Creekenters arugged

wildernessthat stretchesall the way to

RooseveltLake.

19Arizona Highlands

Page 22: Arizona Highlands

Native fishdominatein thelowerreachesof TontoCreek, withlots ofrainbowsstockedabove.

more than 15,000 rainbow trout every week all summerin the upper stretches of Tonto Creek, few make it veryfar downstream, and almost none survive the vagaries ofwinter.

I’d spent many happy hours exploring the easily ac-cessible stretches — the five miles of pastel-colored boul-ders below the hatchery, and the cactus-punctuatedmeander through rugged canyons below Gisela, but theunexplored, wilderness center of the creek continued tolure me. I confess that despite my admiration for the na-tive fish, it was the rumors of giant, wild brown trout lurk-

ing in the deep pools and white riffles of that center sec-tion that set the hook. These wary descendants of escapeesfrom earlier stocking efforts populated the fishermen’stales.

So I set out with only with a fly rod, a sleeping bag,and a few things stashed in a water-proof dry bag, deter-mined to test the legends. I stumbled, splashed, and boul-der-hopped into rapidly escalating solitude downstreamfrom Bear Flat, quickly leaving even the rumor of civiliza-tion behind. For the first half mile or so, I stayed com-paratively dry — and passed two other fishermen. But the

20 Arizona Highlands

P YSOA N

A Z

85541

Having the time of mylife on the banks ofTonto Creek ... wishyou were here!!

RESERVATIONS: 800-521-3131East Highway 260, Payson, AZ 85541 • (928) 478-4211 • www.ilxresorts.com

Page 23: Arizona Highlands

first deep, sheer-walled pool that couldn’t be climbed around presented mewith my own, small, dark Rubicon.

Below the pool, I pushed on for maybe a mile downstream — although dis-tances are almost impossible to estimate while toiling over boulders, acrosspools, around thickets, and in and out of the streambed. The pools and rifflesforced me to continually stop to break out my fly rod, dipping into the surfaceof the water with my fluff of a fly like a delicately sipping dragon fly. Theimage of the giant brown trout, holding behind a boulder, hidden in the seamsof a riffle or lurking at the edge of a whirlpool at the head of a great pool drewme steadily downstream.

Finally a perfect camp site convinced me to stop where a bend of the riverhad left an old bench of grass and sand, liberally supplied with driftwood.

After stashing my stuff, I fished through the last linger of light. The mur-mur of the creek braided the silence, accentuating it like a sliver thread stitchedin black velvet. I’d seen no one since swimming that first pool, save the rocksquirrel, the cliff chipmunk, the Mantled Ground Squirrel, the deer, the tracksof raccoon, skunk, and fox, the spadefoot toad, the collared lizard, the skink,the gopher snake, the Rufous-sided Towhee, the Dark-eyed Junco, the Brown-headed Cowbird, the Pine Siskin, the Yellow-rumped Warbler, the MountainBlue bird, the jay, the raven, andthe wren — and the half dozenmysterious gleaming fish shapes.

Working my way upstream,I gradually seeped into thatdream-time state in which it nolonger mattered whether anyfish rose to my lure. The lineuncoiled, and the caddis flylanded like a sigh at the perfectedge of an eddy of water, closeup against an overhangingledge.

The water boiled suddenly:The great, gleaming, nose of ahuge trout broke the water andtook my fly, like a high priest ofwild places. The trout and myfly disappeared with a greatswirl of water. Somewheredown there in the protectivedepths of the pool he turned,twisted, and slipped off myhook.

I reeled in my line, caughtbetween emotions. Momentar-ily, I mourned the savor of themeal by firelight. But themoment was replaced by a surgeof joy, knowing that a greattrout lurked there, safe again inhis world.

21Arizona Highlands

Getting thereThe creek lies about 17 milesnortheast of Payson offHighway 260.

Lodging: Kohl's Ranch offersluxury cabins on the banks ofthe creek, plus horsebackrentals. For reservations:HC-2, Box 96K Payson, Arizona85541, or call 928-478-4211.Just up the highway, you canalso get a cabin creekside atthe Christopher Creek Lodge.

Dining: Kohl’s Ranch has agood restaurant or you can trythe nearby Christopher CreekSteakhouse. Payson has a fullrange of restaurants includingGerardo’s Italian Bistro, Fargo’sSteak House and El Rancho.

Camping: The Forest Serviceoperates several great camp-grounds in the area, includingBear Flat. Alternatively, youcan camp anywhere in the for-est — depending on fire re-strictions.

Things to do: Visit the fishhatchery at the head of TontoCreek, which stocks all theRim Country lakes andstreams, go horseback ridingat Kohl’s Ranch or hike someof the state’s most scenictrails, including Horton Creekand the Highline.

Page 24: Arizona Highlands
Page 25: Arizona Highlands

11 Great Fall Drives

We reveal 11 stunningroutes to explore themeaning of fall and

wallow in therefraction of

cottonwoods aspen, willows and walnutsStory by Peter Aleshire

Photos by Tom Brossart

Page 26: Arizona Highlands
Page 27: Arizona Highlands

drift of dead leaves rustled in the breeze thatshivered up out of the shimmer of autumn-dressed sycamores, walnuts, ashes and cot-tonwoods huddled along the banks of CherryCreek below.

My Jeep sat hidden down in the riot of color below,15 miles into my search for the deep logic of autumn.Toiling up a slope of the Sierra Anchas off Cherry CreekRoad toward the lure of a cave, I concluded my quest tolocate the 11 best fall drive in the high country was apretty dumb idea — for who could possibly winnow somuch beauty to so small a number?

More to the point, who can in a few weeks driveenough rustling backroads to make a defensible judg-ment? And who can count on the vagaries of falls? Willwe have the late, dry summer and bright, cool autumnthat produces the best display of color.? Or will we suffera cloudy fall with warm nights that dulls autumn’s pallet?Worse yet, will a quick, early freeze and a sudden windcut off the colors in their first blush?

Still, I could not resist the chance to wander throughthe six-week extravagance of fall, that starts in the cot-tonwoods of the Verde Valley at 5,000 feet and concludeson the aspen graced mountainside above Flagstaff ordeep in the White Mountains at 10,000 feet.

What is it about fall?Why does any hike or drive in the season of dying

leaves seem to yield such a perfect moments? The mys-tery seizes me every fall, compelling me to set out on aquest as persistent as the turn of the seasons.

Perhaps it’s the temperature, cold enough to makeyou aware of the air in your lungs and the great, exuber-ant heat of your blood – but not cold enough to forceyou to bundle up.

But surely it’s more than the temperature.I settled on a rock to consider the matter, taking in

the view of the creek, its undulation up the canyonmarked by the trembling yellow, gold and brown of thedeciduous trees along its course. Here and there, a mapleor some other out-of-kilter tree displayed a stunning out-

Rim CountryForest Road 300

This spectacular road hugsthe edge of the MogollonRim all the way from ShowLow to Strawberry. The roadmostly threads through pon-derosa pine forests, withpatches of aspen and de-tours to a series of lakes.Take a high-clearance vehi-cle, preferably with four-wheel-drive. The historic road crosses Highway 260 atop the Rim some 30 miles east of Payson. If you go to theeast, you’ll pass Willow Springs Lake and en route to Show Low and a junction with Highway 60. If you go west,you’ll pass Woods Canyon Lake on the way to a junction with Highway 87 north of Pine. The drive offers patches ofaspen and 100-mile vistas from the edge of the 1,000-foot-tall cliffs of the Mogollon Rim.

A

25Arizona Highlands

Page 28: Arizona Highlands

burst of red, a reproach to the restraint of the yellows and golds.Was that it — the emotional impact of color, working on my senses

like the pallet of a brilliant fashion designer? Perhaps. But then, the bi-ological basis for beauty has always baffled me.

After all, from a tree’s point of view, this annual change of costumeis all about balancing energy accounts. Fall breaks out along a certaintemperature contour, which depends on either elevation or latitude.Down low or close by the equator where snow never falls, trees need notfear the killing frost and so can spend the whole year using the greenchlorophyll in their leaves to produce energy from the fall of photonsfrom the sun.

Up high or farther north, win-ter comes so soon and lingers solong that trees must make leavesthat can withstand the constantfreeze, like the tough needles ofpines — which produce less energybut can withstand even a deep win-ter.

Trees can afford the indulgenceof fall colors only in that land be-tween low and high, which includesmuch of the great, rugged sprawl ofArizona’s highlands. Here, the sum-mer lasts long enough to reward theinvestment in big, flat, thin leavesloaded with chlorophyll, which canproduce energy that fuels rapidgrowth while the long days linger.But come winter, those big, cheap,easily grown leaves prove more trou-ble than they’re worth — so the treesshed them.

But why the hallucinogenicsplendor in the process — like an army marching to its doom with red coats, os-trich plumed helmets and regimental bands?

Just a bit of chemistry, as it turns out.In the summer, the tree loads its leaves with chlorophyll, which absorbs

and re-emits the wavelengths of light our eye sees as green. This great, bursting,life-giving vibrancy of chlorophyll overwhelms other elements in the leaves,making them all look green to us.

The cottonwoods and sycamores and aspen make their preparations to shedthose leaves from the moment they bud in the spring. All the nutrients thatflow into the leaves pass through a layer of cells at the base of the leaf called theabscission, or separation layer.

But as the hours of sunlight dwindle toward winter, the swelling of a cork-like substance seals off the passageways through the abscission, dooming theleaf.

Cut off from a supply of water, the chlorophyll breaks down, leaving behindglucose and waste products. These elements have existed in the leaf all along,but no longer overshadowed by the green chlorophyll, they turn the leaves gold,

Rim CountryFlowing Springs

This short, well-graded dirt roadjust west of Payson offers a drivealongside the East Verde River, withthick galleries of cottonwoods andwillows that turn golden starting inmid to late October. The East Verdeboasts many informal campsitesand trout-stocked fishing holes.You can also get access to the EastVerde off Houston Mesa Road,which heads north off Highway 87just west of Payson and along thepaved Houston Mesa Road, whichcrosses the East Verde twice.

26 Arizona Highlands

Page 29: Arizona Highlands

Rim CountryCherry Creek Road

The Sierra Anchas overlooking Roosevelt Lake offer severalrugged backroad drives. From Globe take State Route 288.Turn north onto Cherry Creek Road (FR 203) then drive alongthe creek, with its glory of cottonwoods, sycamores, ash andwalnut.

Best to make the drive in a high clearance vehicle, preferablywith four wheel drive. After passing through some home-steads, the road climbs the back side of the rugged SierraAnchas. Washouts have cut the road halfway up the moun-tain, well short of Young.

yellow and brown. In orange leaves, carotene dominates.In yellow leaves, xanthophyll rules. In brown leaves, it’sthe tannins.

To turn a leaf purple or red, however, involves aslightly different process. In this case, the dying leavesproduce an anti-oxidant called anthocyanin, which im-parts a red hue.

Scientists still don’t understand why the tree wouldinvest energy in producing a whole new set of com-pounds in leaves doomed to die soon. Perhaps thesecompounds ensure that the leaves remain on thebranches a little longer, to enable the tree to salvagemore useful compounds from the leaves before discard-ing them.

Some plant scientists suggest that these compoundsin the fallen leaves actually soak into the ground andprevent other plants from growing thickly around the

base of the trees, giving them a competitive advantage. On the other hand, one recent study suggested that

the anthocyanins play a role in protecting the tree frominsects.

But the sycamore cares not for beauty, having noeyes to regard itself. So why does it stir this surge of won-der in us in the course of its preparations for winter?

Shaking my head, I take a deep breath of moist, coolair scented with anthocyanins and damp earth beforeheading back up the slope through a slashing barrier ofmanzanita, oak brush and catclaw, determined to drawblood as toll for my passage. But I have a goal worth thebloodshed, an alluring overhang at the base of an 800-foot sandstone cliff that has drawn me up off the road.

Torn, panting, puffing and decidedly less ethereal inmy viewpoint, I claw my way finally to the base of thecliff and the great, cavernous overhang.

Page 30: Arizona Highlands

SedonaHwy. 87 - Oak Creek Canyon

The winding highway betweenFlagstaff and Sedona runs up theheart of Oak Creek Canyon as itclimbs from 4,240 feet to 6.900feet. The winding, 28-mile routeis paved the whole way, so it’s aneasy, obsessively scenic drive.Most of the route hugs Oak Creek,with its abundance of deciduoustrees, including apple, oak, cot-tonwood, sycamores and walnut.The lower elevation means fallstarts later than up among theaspen – let’s say from early Octo-ber through early November.

Verde Canyon Railway

All right – so it’s not a drive. Instead, you can sit in theopen air view-ing cars andstudy thebanks of theVerde River,marveling atthe huge cot-tonwoods andwillows. The3,225- to3,550-footelevationmeans the fallcolors start inOctober andoften last into November.

The 800-year-old ruins await me there, just as I’dhoped.

The ancient farmers had fitted the flat, sand-stone rocks together so skillfully that it seemed theymight at any moment emerge from the brush andstart on dinner. They left their fingerprints in themud mortar. The roof of the dwelling had partiallycollapsed, but the thatch of reeds sealed with mudremained.

The people who made these dwellings had fornearly 1,000 years built cities and great irrigationworks on along the banks of the Salt River far below.Toward the end of their long tenure, they movedaway from the river bottoms to build these fortresseshidden in remote canyons. No one knows why. Itseems likely they were reacting to conflict or invasion.

So I stand in the ruins they left, like drifts ofdead leaves after the abscission has sealed them off.They must have stood often in this same spot, mar-veling at this same senseless beauty.

Suddenly I understand my pilgrimage throughthe dead leaves as the seasons change. For we frailhumans are blessed and cursed with both the certainknowledge of winter and the replenished hope ofspring. We seek it in hope and fear — renewal amidstthe ruins. Holding at once in our minds that cold,clean breath, tasting of damp earth, and also theruins of those who came before, now smelling of dustand dry reeds.

28 Arizona Highlands

Page 31: Arizona Highlands

White MountainsSpringerville to Alpine

The paved, 26-mile-long (oneway) highway varies in eleva-tion from 6,965 to 8,030 feetand offers some of the mostbeautiful views in Arizona, notto mention intermittent doses offall color. You’ll mostly seeaspen on the flanks of EscudillaMountain, which means you’llget the most color from mid-September to mid-October.

Hannagan Meadow Loop

This drive through one of the prettiest sections of the WhiteMountains winds past lushmeadows, thick forests andstands of aspen. Drive south23 miles from Alpine toHannagan Meadow via U.S.191. Turn right (west) after4 miles on FR 576 onto FR24. Follow this road 7 milesto FR 25 and turn left to U.S.191 then left again and go 5miles back to HannaganMeadow. You can find lodg-ing in picturesque cabins atHannagan Meadow Lodgeor stay in Alpine, which is about 30 miles north. For infor-

mation, contact the Alpine Ranger District : P.O. Box 469.Alpine, AZ 85920 (520) 339-4384.

Escudilla/Terry Flat Drive

This 27-mile loop drive starts and ends in Alpine, but be-tween the stop and start lies one of the prettiest, high-ele-vation drives inthe state. FromAlpine, drive 6miles north onU.S. 191 (for-merly U.S.666). Turnwest on FR 56and follow itup and aroundTerry Flat Loopand back tothe highway.The driveshould take 1to 2 hours pasthuge mead-ows, quiveringgroves ofaspen andabundant wildlife. Best to give the trip the whole day soyou can wander down some of the hiking and biking trailsthat connect to the loop. The gravel roads will accommo-date passenger cars except during wet weather. The driveoffers vistas from the slopes the state’s third highestmountain.

29Arizona Highlands

Page 32: Arizona Highlands

30 Arizona Highlands

Lockett Meadow(FR 420 and 52 from U.S. Route 89)

The unpaved road has lots of switchbacks, soyou’re best off in a high-clearance vehicle,preferably with four-wheel drive. It’s just acouple of miles each way. The 8,560-footelevation means you’ll see mostly aspens,generally from mid-September tomid-October.

Snow Bowl Road (FR 516 northfrom U.S. Route 180)This seven-mile-long (one way)paved road winds past thickaspen groves at the upper end,providing easy access to fallcolors. The elevation rises from7,200 feet to 9,000 feet. Thatmeans you get the best colorsfrom mid-September throughmid-October.

Hart Prairie

This easy, 10-mile loop road justnorth of Flagstaff threads throughgroves of aspen and offers dra-matic views of Humphreys Peak,the highest spot in the state.From Flagstaff take SR 180 pastSnowbowl to Hart Prairie Road(FR 151). Best to avoid weekendcrowds if possible. Contactsinclude Coconino National ForestPeaks District: 928-526-0866www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino andFlagstaff Visitors 928-774-9541www.flagstaffarizona.org

Flagstaff Drives

Page 33: Arizona Highlands

Payson Care CenterP a y s o n ’ s F i r s t L o n g Te r m C a r e F a c i l i t y

WHATEVER IT TAKES AND THEN SOME

THE SUN SETTING IS NO LESS BEAUTIFUL THAN THE SUN RISING.Please call or stop by for a tour, our Admissions Director will be glad to meet with you!Located adjacent to Payson Regional Medical Center • 107 E. Lone Pine Drive • Payson, AZ 85541

(928) 474-6896 or (928) 970-1835

24 Hour Admission �

Respite Care �

Medicare/Medicaid Certified Skilled �Nursing Facility �

In/Out Patient Physical, Occupational �& Speech Therapy �

20-Passenger Wheelchair Accessible Bus �

Special Alzheimer’s Care Unit �

Daily Activities, Entertainment and �Recreation for all Preferences �

St. Paul’s Episcopal ChurchSunday Services at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.Nursery Available at the 10:00 a.m. service

Wednesday Healing and Holy Eucharist at 9:00 a.m.

1000 N. Easy Street ~ Payson ~ (928) 474-3834

31Arizona Highlands

HighlandsARIZONA

To advertise in theArizona Highlands

Magazine,call Bobby Davis,

Advertising Director,(928) 474-5251 ext. 105,

or [email protected]

Stay on top ofRim Country news.Subscribe to thePayson Roundup.Call (928) 474-5251.

Page 34: Arizona Highlands
Page 35: Arizona Highlands

Tom Brossart

Page 36: Arizona Highlands

How does one impress an Australian daugh-ter-in law accustomed to wandering wom-bats, kangaroos and parrots? Simple, takeher on the dirt-roadjourney from

Alpine to the fitful Blue Riverthrough country so remote it’s theplace biologists have reintroducedthe Mexican Grey Wolf to the wild.

Or so I hoped, at any rate. Afterall, Alpine remains one of Arizona’slargely undiscovered treasures, a tinytown nestled in the White Moun-

tains. Graced with pines, firsand trout streams, Alpineseems filched from the highpeaks of the Rockies.

Moreover, nearly everytime I’ve visited the area I’ve spotted elk — the one NorthAmerican species Karen seemed keen to glimpse. She’dseen a picture of an elk somewhere and set her heart on see-

ing one in the wild. Of course, elkare the kangaroos of Arizona —thrilling for a foreigner, but routinefor a native. But at least she didn’thave her heart set on somethinghard to find.

Like a wolf. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service has been struggling for sev-eral years to establish wolf packs inthe Blue River Wilderness Area.

The Blue River runsalong a wilderness areathat separates Arizonaand New Mexico.The wild life on

the Blue River

34 Arizona Highlands

Page 37: Arizona Highlands

Hunters and ranchers exterminated the Mexican GreyWolf in the region nearly a century ago, but now severalintroduced packs have gained a tenuous toehold. Severalyears ago, I heard the yearning call of a wolf in the darktrees near Alpine. The sound has clung to me ever since,like the memory of first love. But I knew that today we hadlittle chance of hearing that call, much less glimpsing a wolf.

We set off from Alpine on the 35-mile quest for elkand picked up the Blue River Road (Forest Road 281) justbefore the turnoff to Alpine Lake on the outskirts ofAlpine. The road turned quickly to a good dirt road suit-able for any high clearance vehicle or even passenger carsdriven carefully.

We wound through the snow-chilled forest and starteddown the steep series of switchbacks toward the river, en-joying the striking vistas on into New Mexico.

Some eight miles down, we hit the Blue River, reallyjust an ambitious stream meandering through a multi-col-ored jumble of ancient lava and ash jumbled with quartzsandstone and pastel river cobbles. We pulled over to ad-mire a beaver pond, very nearly frozen.

Beaver once dominated riparian areas in the southwest,one of a handful of “keystone species” whose activities cre-ate ecosystems. Beaver ponds control flooding, raise watertables and harbor many fish and insects. But trappers feed-ing a European passion for beaver skin hats virtually exter-

minated the beaver in the 1800s, triggering long-termchanges in many riparian areas.

So the discovery of the beaver pond seemed a blessing,a whiff of wilderness.

But Karen seemed unimpressed. “Where is thebeaver?” she asked politely.

“Ah. Well. He’s sleeping,” I said. We trundled on down the road, past jagged rock for-

mations graced by the sound of water. But no elk.After 13 miles, we came to the Upper Blue Camp-

ground set amongst a grove of oaks. It boasted log lean-toswith concrete floors built by the Civilian ConservationCorps during the Great Depression and recently restored.

Suddenly Karen exclaimed, “Oh, little bubba chick-ens.”

I braked, convinced her yearning for elk had triggeredhallucinations. Poor dear.

But right alongside the road stood a small bird with astriking black and white face. I stared, mouth agape. It wasa Montezuma’s Quail. I have tromped all over Arizonawishing for a glimpse of this rarest of quail. They live inoak woodlands and eat bulbs they dig up with long, agileclaws. Except for the vivid face paint of the males, theyblend in against the grass and duff. They freeze whenthreatened until you all but step on them. The resultingflurry from beneath the feet of hunters earned them thenickname “Fool’s Quail.” However, this strategy makes

Story by Frank Jennings

Photos by Tom Brossart

The Blue Riverruns fitfully inthe canyonbottom and thelogs of a corralframe a patchof wildflowers.

35Arizona Highlands

Page 38: Arizona Highlands

them fatally vulnerable in areas where cattle have stripped away thegrass. As a result, they survive in only a few oak woodlands with nocattle grazing.

“It’s a Montezuma’s Quail,” I said, reverently.Just then, the rest of the covey started moving away from the road

— all females who’d been standing perfectly still, perfectly invisible.“They’re cute,” said Karen.I drove on, shaking my head as we headed deep into the wild splen-

dor of the place.After 19 miles, we came to the junction between the Blue River

Road and the Red Hill Road (Forest Road 58). We turned north ontoFR 58, splashing easily across the modest flow of the Blue River. As weclimbed the steep switchbacks out of the valley, the views shifted fromstirring to spectacular.

“Oh. A peacock,” said Karen suddenly.I slammed on the brakes just in time to see a

flock of wild turkeys vanish into the underbrush.Mind you, I have spent years hoping for a glimpse ofwild turkeys, which Benjamin Franklin recom-mended as the national bird instead of the carrion-eating bald eagle.

“Wild turkeys,” I said, humbled.“They’re big.”“I’ve never seen them in the wild,” I added.

Early morningmist rises froma meadow just

off the RedMountain Roadabove the Blue

River Valley.

Pictoglyphs atthe Blue River

Camp testify tothe thousands

of years of human use. The camp-

ground wasbuilt by the

ConservationCorps during

the Great Depression.

36 Arizona Highlands

Page 39: Arizona Highlands

Getting thereBlue River is a 35-mile drive on a well-maintained dirt road, high clearancevehicle preferred.

Just east of Alpine take TURN RIGHT onBLUE RIVER ROAD (FR 281). Continue for19 miles, down to the Blue River andpast the Upper Blue River campground.TURN RIGHT on RED HILL ROAD (FR 58).Continue north to Highway 666. TURNRIGHT to return to Alpine.

37Arizona Highlands

“Hmm,” she said, deliberately not gloating. We drove on.“Elk,” cried Karen as we rounded a hairpin.I hit the brakes. Four bighorn sheep scrambled up the

hill, in defiance of at least four laws of physics. “Bighorn sheep,” I said.“Sheep?” she said, disappointed. “You can live your whole life in Arizona without seeing

wild bighorn sheep,” I explained.“Oh,” she said, mollified.A few miles later, we topped out in the snow-mantled

forest. “Snow!” cried Karen in delight. “I promised my mum

I’d send her a picture of the snow.”I hit the brakes.Karen was perfectly happy. I wandered across the snow, idly looking for tracks.

“Elk,” I yelled.Karen hit the brakes. “Elk tracks,” I said, pointing.“Lovely,” she exclaimed.I stooped and triumphantly announced, “Elk poop.”I picked up a pellet and examined it closely.Karen eyed me dubiously.Nearby, I found more tracks — melted and indistinct.

Wolves?I straightened, marveling at the day, the wonderful fail-

ure of my plan. The road led on to the junction with paved Highway

191, which led through 15 miles of streams, pines andaspen back to Alpine.

And as we hummed down the highway, I realized JohnLennon was right: Life is what happens to you while you’rebusy making other plans.

Page 40: Arizona Highlands

The blessings ofcatastrophe

Page 41: Arizona Highlands

The ruins of Wupatki just north of Flagstaffharbor clues to one of history’s great

missing person mysteries — anda surprising suggestion that links

a population boom to a natural disaster.

STORY BY

FRANK JENNINGS

PHOTOS BY

TOM BROSSART

Page 42: Arizona Highlands

his turquoise and coral beads bouncing onthe chest of his finely woven tunic. The lowwall of glowing lava rolled inexorably towardhim at a slow walk, swallowing everything inits path with a gulp of flame and smoke.

The shaman danced up to the edge of themolten rock, feeling its heat on his face. Thenhe bent down before the lava, with the graceof a bow and arranged three ears of corn infront of it — an offering, a frail prayer.

Then he danced backward, chanting — asthe lava took the corn in a gulp, then rolled on toward theholy man’s doomed village — unappeased.

Countless such scenes no doubt attended the most re-cent volcanic outpouring in the 8-million-year process ofbuilding Humphreys Peak, the tallest mountain in Arizona.Archaeologists have unearthed the ash-smothered villages,the lava-created casts of the corn placed carefully in thelava’s path and even the richly decorated burial site of theheadman or shaman they have dubbed the “Magician,” be-cause of the elaborately carved, turquoise inlaid wandsburied with him.

The 12,633-foot-tall Humphreys Peak offers a com-pelling example of the long, complex relationship betweenhuman beings and mountains. The eruptions of 1064-65,had a dramatic effect on existing civilizations and left theraw, colorful landscape of Sunset Crater National Monu-ment.

Geologists have counted some 600 volcanoes in a fieldof peaks, flows and cinder cones that covers much of north-central Arizona, from the Little Colorado River west to AshFork and from Cameron down to the 1,000-foot-high lineof the Mogollon Rim, which is the southern edge of theColorado Plateau. Geologists have laboriously dated thelayers of lava and concluded the major eruptions took placeevery 7,000 to 13,000 years.

The most recent episode in the complex mountainbuilding project came in the late fall or winter of A.D.1064-65, about the time the Normans crossed the EnglishChannel to conquer England.

At that time, a farm-based civilization had spreadthroughout the Southwest, composed of a variety of dis-tinctive cultures linked by sprawling trade routes thatstretched from the coast of California into New Mexicoand from the San Francisco Peaks deep into the complexcivilizations of Meso-America.

Some ceremonial

structures at Wupatki were

built with slotsand windowsto frame the

sun and moonat key timesof the year.

The earthshook. The rocksmoldered. Theforest burned. And the holyman danced,

40 Arizona Highlands

Page 43: Arizona Highlands

Archaeologistshave named thepeople living inthe region aroundHumphreys Peakthe Sinagua, Span-ish for withoutwater.

The Sinaguafirst settled in thearea in about A.D.600, establishingsmall villages shel-tering extendedfamily units acrossa semi-arid area ofabout 3,100 squaremiles. Settled in atransitional areabetween the moreurbanized, populous civilizations to the north and south,the Sinagua benefited from living along a major trade routeand borrowed traditions from the other cultures they con-tacted.

Lacking reliable rivers and depending on fitful streamsand springs, the Sinagua lived in the fertile areas betweenthe upper elevation ponderosa pine forests and the pinonjuniper woodlands. This ecological transition zone wassprinkled with open, grassy, park-like areas of well-devel-oped soil that would hold moisture longer than the wood-lands.

The Sinagua excavated pit houses, some 25 feet in di-ameter, for ceremonies and gatherings. Most of the settle-ments had three to 10 smaller pit houses, dug into theground with a dome-like door fashioned from logs andsaplings plastered over with mud. They also constructedgreat, walled “ball courts,” an idea perhaps borrowed fromurban civilizations in Mexico.

Renewed eruptions from 1064 to 1250 had dramaticeffects on this inventive and adaptable civilization, espe-cially the 50 villages close to the site of the first eruptions.Some archaeologists have found evidence that people la-boriously took apart their pit houses and used the preciouslogs in new villages.

They were the lucky ones.When the major eruptions finally came, the explosions

and ashfall exterminated all vegetation within a two-mileradius of the cindercone now known as Sunset Crater forthe fiery red cast of its cinders. The ash, fire, poisonousgases and acidic rains probably debilitated almost all theplant growth within about 15 miles — an effect that per-

sisted for years.Lava forced its way to the surface along a six-mile-long

fissure, first in geysers of steam, then in fountains of lava.Bubbles in the lava would have expanded explosively as themolten rock reached the surface. A broiling column of cin-ders rose thousands of feet into the atmosphere, generatinga terrifying play of lighting within the cloud of ash andmaking a howling roar.

Prevailing winds scattered the ash across 800 squaremiles, smothering the fields of hundreds of villages andreaching as far as the current Hopi Mesas. Layers of ashclogged washes, filled ponds and buried springs. Denudedof plants, the raw, ash-plagued soil eroded easily, unhingingthe ecosystems that had sustained the Sinagua for genera-tions.

This terrible rain of fire and ash persisted heavily for 25years and intermittently for about 85 years — although scat-tered eruptions continued for a full 200 years.

This violent series of explosions was but a smudge com-pared to the events that built Mount Humphreys. How-ever, the eruptions profoundly changed the lives of thepeople living in the region.

About three-fourths of the lava was converted into cin-ders that fell close to the vent and built the 1,000-foot-highSunset Crater, with a 400-foot-deep hole in the center. Therest of the lava buried nearly two square miles in a flow 100feet thick at the center, tapering off to 10 feet at the edges.

Strangely enough, as the eruptions subsided, the re-gion underwent a major population explosion, with mi-grants moving in from other regions.

What happened? How did a devastating series of vol-canic explosions provide a long-term benefit?

Sunflowers areamong the itemsgrown by parkstaff at Wupatki toshow visitors whata typical gardenmay have lookedlike when the ruinswere occupied.

41Arizona Highlands

Page 44: Arizona Highlands

The ruins of Wupatki testify to the way in which theseancient farms adapted even to disaster.

42 Arizona Highlands

Most archaeologists argue that the blanket of ash actu-ally benefited farmers by insulating the soil and extendingthe growing season. Archaeologists cite the effect of thisvolcanic mulch in the movement of people into the area.Several major settlements were established or expanded inthis post-eruption period, including the extraordinarilywell-preserved ruins of Walnut Canyon and Wupatki.

Reportedly, an estimated 1,000 Hohokam settlers mi-grated in from the south and similar numbers of settlersmoved down from the north. The effects of the in-migra-tion showed up in the culture of the Sinagua, includingthe distinctive pottery, cremation burials, shell jewelry andball courts apparently borrowed from the Hohokam in thePhoenix area -- leading to a cultural renaissance, say somearchaeologists.

However, archaeologist Peter Pilles, Jr. in “Earth Fire”argues that the volcanic mulch has been given too muchcredit for the population boom. He notes that althoughponderosa pine trees now grow 1,000 feet lower in the ash-fall zone than in other areas, they’re often smaller than nor-mal, with many crooked and bent branches. Instead of theinsulating effect of a layer of ash, Pilles points to generallyincreased rainfall in the decades after the eruptions. Theashfall may have played a role in the driest areas, but thepopulation boom affected areas outside the ashfall as well,Pilles argues.

In any case, the population boomed as the Sinaguabuilt new settlements — many more elaborate than the ear-

lier pit house villages. They left behind some of the most in-teresting and beautiful ruins in the Southwest, built atopthat seemingly catastrophic ash layer.

That includes Wupatki, protected now as a nationalmonument adjacent to Sunset Crater. The settlementhoused several hundred people, living in masterfully fittedtogether, two- and three-story buildings made from sand-stone blocks. It includes a beautifully preserved ball court.

Near the ruin is a geological blowhole, from which aconstant wind strong issues. The small fissure connects toa complex of caves and fissures in the layers of limestonebelow.

In periods of high atmospheric pressure, like winter,the blowhole sucks in air. In periods of lower atmosphericpressure, like summer — the air rushes back out of the blow-hole. The location of this probably sacred site may have in-fluenced the placement of Wupatki.

However, the Sinagua in the 1400s mysteriously aban-doned Wupatki and all the other stone villages they builtso laboriously throughout the region. Researchers haveworked for decades to understand what happened.

Some suspect conflict between different cultures. Inthe decades before the abandonment, many people with-drew from vulnerable, unwalled settlements near theirfields and built great pueblos in easily defended places. Al-though few of the ruins have any obvious signs of warfare,many archaeologists believe that only fear of attack couldhave prompted so many people to have built such obvious

Page 45: Arizona Highlands

43Arizona Highlands

D.(480) 837-2036

FLAGSTAFF

1230 S. MILTON RD.(928) 774-5273

FLAGSTAFF

4920 N. HWY 89(928) 526-3956

APPOINTMENTS AVAVV ILAA ALL BLEAA

for a location near you.STATE OR LOCAL TAXES OR SURCHARGES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WILL BE AN EXTRA CHARGE.

M-F: 8:00-6, MM SASS T.: 8:00-5TT

AMERICACC ’S LARGEST AA INDEPENDENTII TIRE TT DEDD AEE LERAA

$25offY 4Y TIRE OR WHEEL

URCHASE OF $250 OR MOREANNOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER. EXPIRES 12/31/09. PROMO CODE 87989.

LLowow PrPrriiccees,s, Moorere CChhooiicceesoon tthhe B stst BBrraanndds!

Page 46: Arizona Highlands

fortresses.However, most researchers suggest that a combination

of over population, the exhaustion of local resources andthe resulting collapse of regional trade networks might havesimply made life too hard to sustain large settlements. Al-though the abandonment in the 1400s doesn’t coincidewith a single, regionwide drought, a series of smaller-scale,sometimes severe droughts probably played a role.

So where did they go?Once again, the eruption of Sunset Crater provides a

clue.Just north of Sunset Crater, the Hopi live on a series of

high, flat-topped mesas. They had already lived on top ofthose mesas for a long time when Francisco Coronado’s ex-pedition encountered them in 1540.

The Hopi have since become master weavers and pot-ters, who cling steadfastly to ancient traditions on their 2.5-million-square-mile reservation, which includes the village ofWalpi, established in 1690 -- the oldest continuously in-habited place in North America. Some 7,000 Hopi now liveon the reservation, trying to preserve their traditional be-liefs and eke out a living from tourism, arts and farming.

The Hopi have long claimed a connection to theSinagua and the other pueblo-building people of that van-ished era. They reject all of the names archaeologists use forthose vanished cultures, referring to them all as Hisatsinom,

which means “ancient people.” The Hopi trace some oftheir clans to specific sites from that era.

The connection to that titanic series of eruptions andto the Sinagua who lived among the cinder cones comes inthe form of myths that seems to recall the time of the erup-tions.

One story holds that people living in one of the Hopivillages grew greedy and half-crazed because of their out-of-control gambling. The spiritual leader of the village saw thathis people had become koyaanisqatsi, or “crazy without re-gard to human life and values.” So he went to the super-natural beings — the Katsina spirits, also known asYaayapontsam, who lived on top of Mount Humphreys.These deities sent a firestorm racing across the desert to de-stroy the wicked village.

So the lava rose, the ash fell, the ground trembled — andnot even the offering of corn and the dance of the shamancould appease the gods.

A simpler story perhaps than the one told by geologists,but a haunting echo of the fear and trembling that musthave seized those first Arizonans the day the earth rose up.

44 Arizona Highlands

Go, See, DoLodging: Try the historic Monte Vista Hotel in Flagstaff— don’t worry, the ghosts are friendly.

Dining: Josephine’s in Flagstaff serves gourmet foodin a converted house — some say it’s the best food inArizona.

Other Attractions: Check out the ruins at WalnutCanyon, in Flagstaff take in historic Riordan MansionState Park or the Lowell Observatory, enjoy the fall col-ors on the Snow Bowl Road, take a drive out to MeteorCrater, or plan a 90-mile drive to savor fall at theGrand Canyon.

Page 47: Arizona Highlands

45Arizona Highlands

Wherever life takes you, we’ll be there, too.At Payson Regional Medical Center, we offer the diagnostic and treatment capabilities to help maintain your health throughout your life. From Mammography Services to Bone Mineral Density testing, Gynecological Procedures and Obstetrical Services, to Cardiovascular treatments, our line of Women’s Services is designed to provide you with the care you need, when you need it.

Payson Regional Medical Center cares about you. We provide Healthy Woman, a free community resource providing educational and interactive monthly programs created by women for women. As a woman, isn’t it great to know that the right care from the right people is right here? Call (928) 472-1226 or log onto www.paysonhospital.com.

23 years 25 35 50 60 65 85+

www.paysonhospital .com

(928) 474-3222

Other services include:U-Haul Rentals

and moving items,Auto/RV/Marine partsand accessory sales,

Auto/Marine/ATV/RVConsignment Sales.

501 W. Frontier St., Payson • 474-9330Located 5 Blocks West of the Payson Post Office

SERVICES:Complete Auto & Light Truck Repair, Light Diesel & RV Repairs

HOME OF YOUR FACTORY TRAINEDTOYOTA TECHNICIAN!

Your Homeof the 12 MONTH

or 12,000 MILENationwide

Peace of MindWarranty

••••• Family Owned & Operated••••• Payson’s Only AAA Approved Automotive Repair Facility••••• Payson’s Only ASE Blue Seal of Excellence Facility••••• Payson’s Only Driveline Repair / Exchange Facility••••• Payson’s Premier NAPA AutoCare Center••••• A Better Business Bureau Accredited Business

SERVINGRIM COUNTRYSINCE 1985

and DPS Impound (928) 479-2151

24 Hour TowingStorage Lot: Hwy 188 MP 262.54 PEAKS TOWINGPEAKS TOWINGPEAKS TOWINGPEAKS TOWINGPEAKS TOWING

Available Here

TONTO BASIN’S ONLY AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR FACILITY

Punkin Center, Tonto Basin • (928) 479-2221

T.M.W. is ready to service and repair yourAutomobile, Light Truck, RV, ATV, UTV

and Marine Vehicles.

Page 48: Arizona Highlands
Page 49: Arizona Highlands

Standing in the chill of dawn alongside Christmas TreeLake, I eye the bruised thunderclouds overhead warily, suddenlymissing my snug room in the White Mountain Apache HonDah Casino back in Show Low. On the opposite bank, the goldaspens quake, awaiting the immolation of dawn. Somewherebeneath the surface, the world’s largest Apache Trout awaits mynymph, my caddis, my uncoiling fly line.

If the sun will rise, if the trout will rise, if our hopes will rise,then we can savor a picture-perfect day matching wits with thecomeback-kid Apache Trout, the only fish to ever make it offthe endangered species list.

Once, the golden Apache Trout gleaned and glimmered onall the streams riffling down off sacred Mt. Baldy, the wettestplace in Arizona. The soldiers who hunted and harried theApache in the 1880s pulled piles of these unique native troutfrom the streams and pools. But a century of dams, cows andhatchery fish nearly exterminated the Apache Trout, which heldout in a few, small, high headwater streams in remote areas ofthe White Mountain Apache Reservation.

Fortunately, the Apache Tribe, Arizona Game and Fish De-partment and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department have re-turned the native trout to a dozen small streams and a handfulof White Mountain Lakes — most notably 9,000-foot Christ-mas Tree Lake, deep within the normally closed area of thereservation. Protected by its remote location and the $25-per-person-per-day permit, the lake now teems with the native trout

Writer seeks a resurgentApache Trout on a reservationlake — and comes back with atale of the one that got away

— the fish, not the day

Story and photos by Peter Aleshire

Aspen leaves make the forestfloor gleam as gold as the flankof an Apache Trout.

47Arizona Highlands

Comeback tale

Page 50: Arizona Highlands

grown here to record size. The trophy fishery lures de-vout anglers from all over the country — mostly reverent,catch-and-release fly fishermen.

Plus me — an enthusiastically inept fly fisherman, allbut unarmed in any battle of fish wits.

But this time I have insured against my fickle fishingfate by enlisting the guidance of fly fishing guru StanCunningham, once a state game and fish biologist whosays this lake remains his favorite Arizona fishing hole.

Alas, Stan hasn’t yet arrived.Nor has the sun.Nor, have the trout. Suddenly, from deep, dark woods floats the sound

of a sea serpent, yearning for his kind. Then again. Thenagain.

No doubt about it: sex-crazed elk.Immediately I forget my yen for fish. This has always

been my downfall as a fisherman: I have the attentionspan of a doodle bug.

Fifteen minutes later, I reach the top of the hill over-looking the lake and stand in a grove of aspen, the call ofthe elk everywhere and nowhere. The great, 800-poundbulls gather up their harems in the fall, then spend asleepless month defending their sexual privileges. Theyshould sound demented and exhausted, but instead theircalls waft through the trees as poetic as the rise of thetrout to ripple the boundary between water and sky.

The breeze tugs loose heart-shaped, red, gold and yel-low aspen leaves, which fall in a fluttery chromatic storm.In just that moment, the sun lances through a hole inthe clouds — transforming droplets to jewels on everybrilliant yellow leaf, infusing the woods with the vitalityof the pulse in a woman’s throat.

The cloud returns, releasing me from the spell — andreminding me of the giant fish, awaiting me so patientlyin the rain-spattered lake.

Returning, I flail the waters, casting my hairy, brownand white invocation of an insect upon the now perfectsky-mirror of Christmas Tree Lake. My fly alights lightas a fairy’s kiss on the shimmering yellow likeness of thetall, white-trunked aspen,each sensuous as a super-model.

No trout rises totrouble my fly. In fact, Isee no signs of trout any-where on the cloud-scud-ded surface of the lake.

Periodically, my linemysteriously ties itselfinto an intricate knot onmy backstroke. When Ipull the line in, I discovera puzzle of topology thatwould break the heart ofa math graduate student.I could not myself createsuch a tangle with anhour of advanced plan-ning and the help of twoelves, yet my line hasdone it while floating inmid air.

Soon, the clouds re-turn and the hail starts,attended by distant pealsof thunder, forcing me toretreat to the car.

Just as the hail lets up I look up to find a dog sittingjust in front of the truck, head cocked.

No. Not a dog. A coyote.No. Not a coyote. Too big.

Go, See, Do Call the White MountainApache Tribe’s Game andFish Office for a permit tofish at the lake. (928) 338-4385 gamefish@ wmatout-doors.com. Permits cost$25 per person.

Fishermencan try tohook the

world’sbiggestApache

Troutwith a

$25-a-daytribal

permit atChristmasTree Lake.

48 Arizona Highlands

Page 51: Arizona Highlands

2locations

to serve you!

210 E. Highway 260Payson, AZ 85541

928-474-6888

4411 S. White Mountain Rd.Show Low, AZ 85901

928-532-8383

CHINAWOK

ALL YOU CAN EAT

BuffetOVER 70 ITEMS THAT CHANGE DAILY, INCLUDING:

Appetizers • Soup • Salad • Pork • Beef • Chicken • ShrimpFish • Ribs • Vegetables • Grill • Sushi • Fresh Fruits

Desserts • Ice Cream • And Much, Much More

Eat In & Take Out

Yet, he leers like a coyote.He turns and trots off into the woods. Not a dog.

Not with that fluid, loose-hipped trot. I gulp. A wolf. AMexican Grey Wolf, reintroduced like the Apache Troutinto the deep, high forests of the White Mountains.

At this point, Stan arrives. He’s a tall, easygoing bi-ologist who considers it great fun to crawl into bear densand radio-collar mountain lions. He never mocks clumsybumblers — a quality essential in my friends.

Naturally, I have been fishing all wrong. I like dryflies for the entertainment value of watching the fly floatunmolested on the surface. But it’s October and it’s cold.The flies have fled. I need a nymph to imitate the un-derwater hatch of whatever muck dwellers loiter aboutwhen ice crusts the first puddles.

So Stan hooks me up, rigs my line, ties the nymph.We blow up his absurd little floaty things, so we can pad-dle out across the lake, casting, trolling, freezing. And sowe do — as supplicants to the mystery of the ApacheTrout, that remarkable survivor.

After thriving for millennium in small, fickle, high-altitude streams, the Apache Trout had nearly vanishedby 1950. Grazing cattle delivered a body blow, tramplingthe streams and reducing trout cover. But mostly the na-tive trout struggled to hold their own against invaders -

the browns, rainbows and brooks. Biologists aren’t surewhy non-native trout displace the Apache trout when-ever they live together. Most likely it’s because the non-native trout spawn in the fall instead of the spring. Thevoracious hatchlings of the browns and brooks gobbleup the hatching fry of the Apache Trout in the spring.Meanwhile, the hoards of stocked rainbow trout com-pete for food and habitat.

The Apache Trout hung on in only a few, highstreams, protected from the non-native trout by water-falls and from cattle by canyons. When the federal gov-ernment declared the Apache Trout threatened in 1967,

49Arizona Highlands

Page 52: Arizona Highlands

50 Arizona Highlands

GSreen

cenelarLLC

GSreen

cenelar

Smart & SimpleSOLAR SOLUTIONS

Featuring theFinest Technology

and theEasiest Installation

617 W. Main Street • Payson, AZ 85541(928) 468-6484

www.greenscenesolar.com

(928) 474-5242Web Site: www.ci.payson.az.usEmail: [email protected]

303 N. Beeline Hwy., Payson, AZ 85541

Welcome to PaysonArizona’s Cool Mountain Town

The Mayor and Town Council

the range of the natives had shrunk from 600 miles ofstream to just 30.

In the past 40 years, the tribe, state and federal gov-ernments have gradually returned the Apache Trout tomany streams. First, they learned how to grow the skittishnative trout in hatcheries. Next, the biologists identified28 streams the Apache Trout once dominated. Biologiststhen built barriers at the lower ends of many of thesestreams before poisoning out the introduced trout andreintroducing the Apaches — an effort that costs about $1million annually. It has yielded a rare conservation suc-cess story and created a nationally ranked fishing op-portunity here.

I drift across the lake for seamless hours, my fingerssoon too numb to tie on another fly. Just when I havedecided all the fish have burrowed into the bottom to hi-bernate like bears and beaver, a single, monstrous Apachetrout swims past my tube. He’s enormous: A howlermonkey could ride him, with a French poodle passenger.

Had I not been buckled into my tube, I would have top-pled over and drowned.

Off in the woods, the bull elk have resumed bugling— the monster still unrequited, but hopeful as a fisher-man in a float, a photographer in a storm or a wolf in thewoods.

And in that moment, I understand everything —even the topology of fishing line knots.

Out on the lake, Stan hollers. He has a big one. Ittakes 10 minutes to land the trout on his thread of aleader. The trout is 20 inches long — a few inches shortof an Apache Trout record. The nugget that lured the49ers had less gold in it. That trout could have swalloweda howler monkey whole — maybe the poodle too.

Stan returns the great fish to the lake, the happiestman on the planet.

So you must take my word that the trout is out therestill. And that I am now an expert fisherman, zennish,adept and knotless.

Page 53: Arizona Highlands

Lee Valley Reservoir: (Two-trout limit, artificial fly only,12-inch minimum). Take Hwy 260 to Hwy 273 andcontinue for 11 miles on unpaved road; reservoir is1/4 mile south of 273.

East Fork Black River: (Six-trout limit). Take Hwy 273 orpaved 261 to Big Lake from Hwy 260. Turn right on For-est Road 249E (unpaved), south of Big Lake, and go 1/2mile to FR 24, turn left to Buffalo Crossing where FR 276intersects. Turn left on FR 276 and fish betweenDiamond Rock and Buffalo Crossing.

West Fork Black River: (campground, six-trout limit).From FR 249E just south of Big Lake take FR 68 south toFR 68A.

Upper West Fork Black River: (No bait — catch and re-lease.) Take Hwy 260 to Hwy 273. Continue about 16

miles on 273 to FR 116. Right turn on FR 116 andcontinue six miles to river crossing.

West Fork of the Little Colorado, Sheeps Crossing:Take Hwy 260 to Hwy 273. Continue on 273 eight milesto parking area near crossing.

East and West Fork of the Little Colorado River atGreer (six-trout limit) Take Hwy 260 to Hwy 373 throughGreer on upper end off of the county road on the eastside of Greer and at end of Forest Road 575.

Silver Creek: Arizona Game & Fish owned property iscatch and release only. Take Hwy 60 east from ShowLow, 5.5 miles east of intersection with Hwys 60 and260, and turn left on Bourdon Ranch Road. Continueapproximately five miles to Hatchery Way Road, turnright on Hatchery Way and go to parking area.

Where to fish for Apache Trout

51Arizona Highlands

201 W. Main St. • Payson, AZ 85541928.468.7535

THEATRES

Go Hollywood for Private

Screenings - Call 602-377-0719

SIX STATE-OF-THE-ART THEATERS WITH STADIUM SEATING

SAWMILL

Page 54: Arizona Highlands
Page 55: Arizona Highlands

The sandstone crumbles beneath my feet on a precarious slope atthe base of Cathedral Rock in the mystic heart of Sedona. Afterhalting my slide toward the cliff edge, I reconsider my plan.

Dawn had just graced the red rock slope of a reputed psychic powercenter, able to focus strange energiesthrough a stone lens on the pliable mindsof true believers. Mind you, I’ve never be-lieved in much beyond the migration ofbirds, the power of water, and the inno-cence of children. Nonetheless, I’d left mywife and kids slumbering peacefully in thehotel room for this first-light pilgrimage toone of the three fabled vortices of Sedona.

No doubt, just froth and foolishness.These spires of 280 million-year-old sand-stone are merely ancient beach sand, weldedinto great layers of rock by their long burial.Once this area probably resembled thefloodplains of the Nile. Vast sand dunes wandered across the face of theland, great rivers emptied into inland seas, and wind and water shiftedthrough the layers of sand that would become the red rock cliffs of Se-dona.

Vortex: CathedralRock isconsideredone of sixvortex sites inSedona.

Story by Peter Aleshire

53Arizona Highlands

Into the

VORTEXWriter sets out on quest

for a mystical power center

— finds something better

Tom Brossart photos

Page 56: Arizona Highlands

Oak Creek Crossing offersa dramatic view of the

vortexted Cathedral Rock

54 Arizona Highlands

Much later, some five to seven million years, the Col-orado Plateau began to rise at a rate of up to 1,400 feetevery million years. Water clawed at the upthrust rock andthe meanders of Oak Creek crafted the landscape nowclasped to the heart of nearly 3 million visitors annually.

New Agers have developed all sorts of theories aboutSedona, impelled by rocks the color of old blood. Theselatter-day myths suggest Sedona is one of those rare placesthat resonate with strange concentrations of electrical,magnetic, and vibrational energy. They invoke magnetic

Peter Aleshire photos

Page 57: Arizona Highlands

field lines, underground crystal tuning forks, and hid-den networks of caverns, according to a summary of thephenomena penned by Jack Kutz in “Mysteries and Mir-acles of Arizona.” The Sedona area supposedly harborsthree major vortices, centered on Bell Rock, BoyntonCanyon and Cathedral Rock. Reportedly Cathedral

Rock concentrates both magneticand vibratory energies, workingon the subconscious mind, boost-ing psychic perceptions.

People swear they’ve felt inex-plicable stirrings here. The tricklies in surrendering the need forhard evidence, like a true believerclutching a sliver of the true cross.

People emerging from trances report dropping in on pastlives, watching images from the landscape’s past playedout with ghostly precision, and engaging in mental con-versations with extraterrestrials, ancient Indians andJohn Lennon. One woman reported that the energies ofBoynton Canyon repaired her dead husband’s wrist-watch. Others have been cured of colds. Some have risenfrom the meditations and strolled across hot coals.

Not that I expected to chat with Lennon upon reach-ing the base of Cathedral Rock, whose massive spiresreared several hundred feet overhead. I figured I’d becontent with some insignificant sign, adding a certainresonance to dawn.

So I sat on a boulder at the base of the cliff andstared out across Oak Creek Canyon, graced with

I STARTED BACK

DOWN THE TRAIL,UNENLIGHTENED,

SLIGHTLY STIFF AND

FEELING FAINTLY

FOOLISH.

55Arizona Highlands

CAMPINGHIKINGBIKINGTRAILS

FISHINGEVENTSFESTIVALSMUSEUMS

Page 58: Arizona Highlands

cottonwoods and sycamores greenly luminous at firstlight. A jay appeared out of nowhere, pivoted sharply,and landed on the gnarled skeletal branch of a nearbypinon pine. We regarded one another, beady-eyed. Thenhe cawed a rude observation and darted away.

Closing my eyes, I waited for a tingle of psychic en-ergy, but felt only a cool breeze swirling up from the creekbelow. Instead of voices from the past, only the distantchatter of birds straightening out their territorial claimsfloated on the breeze. At length I gave up, opened myeyes, and sat silently in the bird-punctuated silence.

Then I started back down, unenlightened, slightlystiff, and feeling faintly foolish.

At base of the red spires, a slab of sandstone turnedunderfoot. Regaining my feet, a glitter caught my eye. Inthe dirt gleamed a perfectly transparent quartz crystal thesize of a peanut. Immediately, other glimmerings in thedirt caught my eye. Eager as a sun-crazed prospector, Icombed through the dirt for perhaps half an hour untilI’d accumulated a whole pile of quartz crystals, most nobigger than a tooth filling.

Looking up, I saw a blue jay watching me skeptically,his head cocked to one side. I shrugged. He cackled someoff-color jay joke, then flitted away, leaving me to mytreasure. The Earth hummed all around me.

I could almost hear it.

56 Arizona Highlands

Tom Brossart

Full Line CRAFT SUPPLY Store... with a pet theme

Black & Tan Tales, LLC225 E. Hwy. 260, Suite 225 (Safeway Plaza)

Classes • Gifts • Porcelain Dolls • Hobbies • FlossPaints • Fabric • Floral • Military Models

Modeling Supplies • Diecast Cars • Sewing SuppliesPet Scrapbooking • Cake Decorating • Fabric PaintingArt Department • Beads • Yarn • Needleart Supplies

FOR RIM COUNTRY NEWS?HUNGRY

Satisfy your cravingwith a subscription tothe Payson Roundup!

Call (928) 474-5251 to subscribe.

Page 59: Arizona Highlands

Banner Health Center117 E. Main St., Suite A100 • Payson Professional Plaza(928) 474-1714 or (928) 474-5259 • www.BannerHealth.com

Don’t let varicose veins keep you from enjoying life.Nobody likes varicose veins. For some people, they even cause severe, aching pain. If varicoseveins are keeping you from living your life to the fullest, consider scheduling an appointment with

Luis Coppelli, MD at Banner Health Center. Treating your varicose veins is more than just acosmetic procedure, and it’s important that you have them evaluated and treated by a

medical professional. Call (928) 474-5259 to schedule an appointment today.

Banner Health Center of Paysonoffers a wide range of services for their patients, including:

Family Practice/Obstetrics • Internal MedicinePediatrics • General Surgery

57Arizona Highlands

Page 60: Arizona Highlands

• Open Daily for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner • • Voted “People’s Choice Award” Taste of Rim Country 2009 •

• Weekly Entertainment •

Kohl’s Ranch Lodge on the banks of Tonto CreekEast Highway 260, Payson, AZ • (928) 478-4211

www.ilxresorts.com

201 W Main Street, Suite J. Payson, AZLocated next to the Sawmill Theatres

928-474-7411Voted “Best of Rim Country”by the community of Payson 13 YEARS IN A ROW for Burgers, Sandwiches & Lunch

• Open Daily for Lunch & Dinner from 10am• Pets Welcome on the Patio• Great Food & Great Service

58 Arizona Highlands

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

FOR YOUR TASTE BUDS.

Sun.-Thur. 11am-9pm Fri. and Sat. 11am-10pmPayson, AZ

928-468-7036

Big Mouth® Bites

Come by Chili’s® today andlive life to the tastiest.

DiningGuideChili’s Grill and BarFamily Dining ..........................................................468-7036900 S. Beeline Highway, PaysonOpen Sunday through Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday and Saturday11am-10pm

Macky’s GrillFamily Dining ..........................................................474-7411201 W. Main St. Suite J, [email protected] dine in our recently remodeled family restaurant, homeof the Macky Burger. We now sell domestic and importedbeer and wine.Open Sunday thru Thursday 10am-8pm, Friday and Saturday10am-9pm.

Zane Grey Steakhouse & SaloonFine Dining/Steaks...........................................928-478-4211Highway 260 at Kohl’s Ranch Lodgewww.kohlsvacation.comHearty, authentic, western cuisine. Live entertainment on week-ends (call to check). Steakhouse open for Breakfast daily 7:30am-11am; Lunch, Monday thru Friday 11am-2pm, Saturday andSunday 11am-noon; Dinner, Monday thru Thursday 5pm-8pm, Fri-day and Saturday, 5pm-9pm. Saloon open Monday thru Friday5pm-8pm, Saturday and Sunday noon to closing.