Discovering the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive – Continued
By Les Conklin
Published: Scottsdale Magazine/Summer 1996
The article is being published in three parts.
Part 3. Starts Here
Tonto and Yavapai Apaches moved into the foothills of the McDowell Mountains during the 1400s. The Apaches spent their summer and fall months moving slowly through these foothills gathering roots, stems, leaves, and fruits. The fierce Apaches prevented others from enjoying the area until the army’s all-out campaign to subdue them in 1872-73.
Looking north from Lone Mountain Road, we see the familiar site of Black Mountain looking 4,000 feet above the desert floor. Imagine a concerned Tonto Apache watching from a perch high on the mountain as Colonel George Stoneman and a small escort follow the ancient Indian trail that ran from the Verde River to the north of Pinnacle Peak, north of Black Mountain to the east bank of present day Cave Creek. Soldiers had scouted the trail before but never with wagons. This was different! Stoneman’s 1870 expedition led to the construction of a wagon road through the Cave Creek area and the first settlement in the foothills in 1873.
North of Lone Mountain Road, we encounter large forests of staghorn cholla, teddy bear cholla and chain fruit cholla. I’m sure Stoneman’s soldiers learned to tread carefully to avoid the painful consequences of a cholla’s renowned jumping ability. Bob and I inspect the nest of a cactus wren, encased by a chain fruit cholla. The cactus wren, Arizona’s state bird, likes to nest in chollas – the long, saber-like needles discourage even the hungriest of predators.
As we get closer to Black Mountain, we see the remains of an old wagon road winding up the east side of the mountain. When the Apaches lost control of the area, the prospectors swarmed in and filed claims. Gold Hill, Elizabeth, Lion, Golden Star, Wire Gold, Mormon Girl, and other mines sprung up in the desert foothills. The twisted road before us was part of the Mormon Girl Mine. The Taylor family worked on the mine during the 1890s but sold it after their secret hoard of pure gold buttons was stolen.
After the prospectors came the settlers, cattle ranchers and sheep herders. Nearly every movie of novel depicting the Old West mentions mesquites, and rightly so. The pioneers used the trees for the construction of primitive dwellings, fuel, furniture, and utensils. When barbed wire came along, mesquite was perfect for fence posts.
Ahead I can see the golden rock mass of the Boulders marking the border of Scottsdale and Carefree. Tom Darlington and K.T. Palmer bought a 400-acre goat ranch in 1955 for $44,000 and set in motion the forces that would create the town of Carefree with its laid-back street names of Ho and Hum Roads and Easy Street. In 1956, Scottsdale Road was extended through the desert and connected to Cave Creek. By 1963, the wild desert had been breached by two paved roads – Scottsdale Road and Cave Creek Road. Cave Creek residents watched, like the Apache on Black Mountain, as change approached from the south, and they created the drive to preserve the scenic corridors in the desert.
After a little more than two hours, my sons and I reach our journey’s end, the intersection of Carefree Highway and Scottsdale Road. We sit down in the shadow of Black Mountain and absorb the scenery that is enjoyed by visitors to the nearby Boulders Resort and el Pedregal. As the crow flies, we have traveled five miles, but I suspect we have covered twice that distance. Bob sums up our notes. “You will need twenty new signs: ironwood, greythorn, jojoba …, seven other signs can be repaired, and fifteen substitute plants need to be located. Not that bad!”
A restoration program ensued aided and abetted by such organizations as Del Webb, Centex Homes, the Greater Pinnacle Peak Homeowners Association, Foothills Drive Homeowners Coalition, and the City of Scottsdale. Local citizens, councilmen, and members of the original drive team lent their support to the collective effort. The Tourism Development Commission has also become an active partner in improving the drive.
Today, the Hohokams, Apaches, soldiers, prospectors, and pioneers are gone, but the plants remain. The old map helped my family and me rediscover the beauty of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive and linked us to the diverse people who once walked this incredible landscape.
Editor’s Note: Les Conklin served as the chairman of the restoration effort.
Editor’s Comment: According to our own Robert Rinehart the name Desert Foothills originated within the pages of the Carefree Enterprise. In 1964, when he and his late wife were the owners and publishers of that magazine.
Related Articles
Discovering the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive – Introduction
Discovering the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive – Part 1
Discovering the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive – Part 2
Discovering the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive – Part 3
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