Our AZ Finale: Sedona

There is nothing quite like a desert sunrise! What a way to begin our last full day of being tourists in Arizona.


The Red Rock Scenic Byway was our gateway to the world-famous Red Rock Country of Sedona. This picturesque road begins on the southwest edge of the Colorado Plateau, the largest plateau in the United States. It is comprised of iron-infused red rocks and fascinating geological features, which includes hoodoos, natural bridges and canyons. This short drive is packed with adventure — from hiking, biking, golfing and the sheer majesty of the scenery. Since we were in a hurry to get home, we enjoyed as much of the majesty of the scenery as possible.
There were a lot of audible oohs and ahs on this drive.






Below is the famous Snoopy rock (picture Schulz's loveable character lying on his dog house). Next to it was this formation which Steve thinks looks like the silhouette of Lucy, Charlie Brown's nemesis. Funny stuff.

How did Sedona get its name? By the turn of the century, about 15 homesteading families called this area home. T. C. Schnebly was an enterprising young man from Gorin, Missouri who had married Sedona Miller. T.C.’s brother, Ellsworth, had moved to Arizona for health reasons, and convinced T. C. and Sedona to join him in red rock country. The Schneblys built a large two-story home that also served as the area's first hotel and general store. T.C. saw a need for regular mail service, and organized the little village’s first post office. T. C. suggested the names, Oak Creek Crossing and Schnebly Station, to Washington, D.C., but the Postmaster General at the time had a prejudice for one-word names for postmarks. Ellsworth advised him, "Why don't you name it after your wife?" Hence the town was born. Interesting, right?
We tried to visit this amazing monument but there was no parking for our vehicle. The Chapel of the Holy Cross was inspired and commissioned by local rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude. In 1932 she was inspired to build such a church by the construction of the Empire State Building. Staude initially attempted to do this in Budapest, Hungary with the help of Lloyd Wright, son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. However, their attempt was aborted due to the outbreak of World War II.

With this unfortunate turn of events, she decided to build the church in her native home land, Arizona. It is built on Coconino National Forest land. The late Senator Barry Goldwater assisted Staude in obtaining a special-use permit. The chapel was completed in 18 months at a cost of US$300,000, in 1956.



For a brief, though very interesting, history lesson, we visited the Sedona Heritage Museum, whose focus is on ‘modern’ history from 1876 to the present. Our first stop was at the Telegraph Office to learn about the Golden Age of Western Movies. Almost 100 feature films and countless video productions and commercials have been shot either in full or in part in the Sedona area. For three decades, Westerns were the most popular movies in America. From shoot'em-ups to romance, dramas, and the singing cowboy films, they attracted audiences around the world.
Moviemaking in Sedona began in 1923, with Zane Grey's silent film the Call of the Canyon. In 1945, John Wayne came to town for his first stint as producer. For his Angel and the Badman film, a western town street set, a sound stage, and a motel were built. That area is now the Sedona West residential subdivision where the streets are named after movies made there, like Johnny Guitar, Pony Soldier, and Gun Fury. During its heyday of film-making, almost every major studio and every major star worked there, including James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Sterling Hayden, Joan Crawford, Glenn Ford, Robert DeNiro, Robert Young, Hopalong Cassidy, Tyrone Power, Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, and hundreds of others.
At the Walter Jordan home we learned about, among many things, agriculture. In the beginning it was for home consumption, or for a limited seasonal market in Flagstaff and the boom town of Jerome. Using water from Oak Creek, both the Native Americans and the first Anglo settlers irrigated small patches of ground to raise food for their families. Every homestead had a vegetable garden and a collection of chickens, turkeys and pigs. Cattle provided beef as well as milk and butter. But it was fruit growing -- particularly apples and peaches -- which played the most significant part in the early Sedona economy.
After farmers learned to channel the water of Oak Creek for irrigation, they planted larger orchards. The Schuermans planted a vineyard, growing grapes for wine and finding a ready market with local cowboys, Jerome miners and Flagstaff loggers. The Jordans, Pendleys and others blasted out irrigation routes and moved the water through ditches, flumes and pipelines. Fruit was driven to markets in Jerome, Prescott, Flagstaff and Phoenix. Oak Creek Canyon fruit was so popular, that people from Phoenix drove here just to purchase fruit at fruit stands. Commercial orcharding all but disappeared from this area by the 1970s-1980s.
While Sedona’s red rock formations and pinion-juniper landscape made an ideal setting for Hollywood’s cowboys, the real cowboys were hard at work riding, roping and branding. These were not just rodeo sports to these hardy men — and yes, women, too. Ranchers moved their cattle from their winter ranges around Sedona to the tall grassy meadows of the Mogollon Rim in summer. Families moved with their herds, putting their children in area schools during the winter months. The U.S. Forest Service managed then, and still manages today, a grazing permit program for ranchers.


So why the turquoise arch at the museum? When McDonald’s representatives approached the city of Sedona about opening a location in a new shopping center, they engaged in discussions with all the city officials. Unlike the typical McDonald’s design with its trademark large arches and red and yellow palette, the West Sedona plans were designed to ensure consistency with the Pueblo-revival style of the shopping center without taking away from the surrounding area’s natural beauty.
Whether they knew it or not, their collaboration would lead to building one more attraction for visitors to Sedona. Today, tourists from all over the world stop at the roadside restaurant not only to grab a bite to eat but to snap a picture with the only turquoise arches in the world. While we didn't stop at McDonald's we enjoyed seeing the arches at the museum. The one on display was replaced as it faded to a color that was no longer accepted as true turquoise. Wild right?!
This desert escape was five days of some pretty amazing vistas, unique experiences, and unbelievable memory making.

"Arizona’s history is as layered as its landscapes,
every road a path to a piece of the past.”
– David McCullough

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Ghost Towns & Cliff Dwellings

Our next Arizona history lesson was learned at the historic copper mining town of Jerome. Once known as the wickedest town in the west, Jerome was born a copper mining camp, growing from a settlement of tents into a roaring mining community.

After its founding in 1876, Jerome was at one time the fourth largest city in Arizona with the population peaking at around 15,000 in the 1920s. The Great Depression slowed the mining operation and the claim eventually went to Phelps Dodge, who still holds the claim to this day. World War II greatly increased the demand for copper, but after the war demand decreased dramatically. With Jerome’s economy completely dependent upon the demand for copper, Phelps Dodge Mine closed in 1953. The remaining population of around 50 to 100 people promoted the town as a historic ghost town. In 1967, Jerome was designated a National Historic District by the federal government.

"Today Jerome is a thriving tourist and artist hub with a population of around 450 people. The town resides above what was once the largest copper mine in Arizona which was producing an astonishing 3 million pounds of copper per month. Men and women from all over the world made their way to Arizona to find work and perhaps a new way of life. Today the mines may be silent, but Jerome has found new life as the largest ghost town in America. Once a thriving mining camp full of miners, bootleggers, gamblers, and prostitutes, now a bustling tourist destination full of artists, musicians, and gift shop proprietors."


We skipped the tourist area and headed to the Jerome State Historical Park located in and around the James S. Douglas Mansion. This spectacular home was built on the hill just above Mr. Douglas' Little Daisy Mine in 1916. Douglas designed the house as a hotel for mining officials and investors as well as for his own family. It featured a wine cellar, billiard room, marble shower, steam heat, and, much ahead of its time, a central vacuum system. Douglas was most proud of the fact that the house was constructed of adobe bricks that were made on the site. It truly is something to be proud of.

The museum is devoted to history of the Jerome area and the Douglas family. It features extensive historical exhibits of photographs, artifacts, and minerals in addition to a video presentation and a 3-D model of the town with its underground mines. One room, the Douglas library, is restored in fabulous period pieces. There are more displays outside along with a picnic area offering a beautiful panoramic view of the Verde Valley.












It the same year that he built his home, 1916, Mr. Douglas commissioned a Phoenix-based architecture firm to design The Little Daisy hotel to serve as lodging for his employees. Construction was completed in 1918 and over 600 people gathered on New Year’s Day to celebrate it’s grand opening. They admired it’s ultra-modern fixtures and dazzling lights over music, cigars, and a lavish feast. It is difficult to fathom the fanciness of it all for the time and the location. Wow.
Today, it is privately owned and is an event center.


Such interesting history!
"The working of mines has always exerted
such a deep influence on the evolution
of science and civilization
that one might compare the importance of mines
in the history of science
with that of temples in the history of art."
— George Sarton (1916)
Our final history lesson, at Montezuma Castle, is a bit older.
Over 600 years ago, Sinagua Indians lived in this cliff dwelling. Early settlers to the area assumed that the imposing structure was associated with the Aztec emperor Montezuma, but the castle was abandoned almost a century before Montezuma was born.
Its 'modern' history intrigues me. In December 1895, a group of concerned citizens organized the Arizona Antiquarian Association in response to the increasing loss of prehistoric relics and the destruction of archeological ruins. Within two years the Association had raised sufficient funds for repair work to the Montezuma Castle ruins. The site was withdrawn from the public domain by the General Land Office in 1901 as a provisional and protective measure until more permanent action could be taken.
On August 24, 1906, a few months after signing the Antiquities Act into law, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a draft proclamation for Montezuma Castle National Monument. It was noted for being “of the greatest ethnological value and scientific interest” and later as having “prehistoric ruins and ancient dwellings ... of great interest to the public”. The Monument was officially established on December 8 to include 160 acres. In 1917, the National Park Service began repairs and improvements that included new securely-attached ladders, ruins cleaning, damage repair, and scrubbing of graffiti. The first professional excavation took place in the spring of 1927.
Early visitors to the monument were allowed access to the structure by climbing a series of ladders up the side of the limestone cliffs. However, due to extensive damage to this valuable cultural landmark, public access of the ruins was discontinued in 1951.


Now the approximately 750,000 visitors every year enjoy the 1,658 acres of Montezuma Castle National Monument, one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the Southwest, by meandering on well defined trails. Informative plaques are everywhere, including next to foliage.
Catclaw Mimosa cracked us up because its nickname, the "wait-a-minute bush". It has the ability to hold up unwary hikers by catching their clothing in its dense, hook-shaped spines.
This kiosk, located along our meandering path, was very interesting for more than one reason. Surprisingly, early visitors to the monument were allowed access to the structure by climbing a series of ladders up the side of the limestone cliffs. However, due to extensive damage to this valuable cultural landmark, public access of the ruins was discontinued in 1951. No surprise there.
According to its signage, "It is no coincidence that this diorama made its debut at the same time ladders were removed and access to the cliff dwelling ended. Before the official end of guided tours of the cliff dwelling on October 1, 1951, park rangers had long been aware of and considered what to do about the impacts of so many people walking through the fragile site. If the Castle was going to be off-limits, a model was needed to show and interpret what the structure looked like inside. Created by the National Park Service's Museum Laboratory in Washington, DC, this diorama offered a look at the interior of the Castle and ended damage caused by visitation and vandalism."

Today the model still serves its initial purpose and acts as an artifact of the park's history. It reminds us of the continual work to balance a meaningful experience for today's visitors with preserving this place for people in the future. Plus, who doesn't love a diorama?!
I've always said that history can be found almost anywhere. What diversity and so close to one another.

Arizona's state motto is Ditat Deus, which is Latin for God Enriches. It seems He enriched this area with some truly spectacular gifts. Tomorrow promises us even more.

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