Scenic Drive Heritage Timeline

Special Recognition, 2014 Summer Fun Photo Contest, “Horned Lizard” by Kevin Spatt

In a 1966 report to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the late Vince Thelander hoped that the effort related to creating the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive might serve as “an inspiration to other communities to take ACTION IN THE PRESERVATION OF natural beauties in their respective areas.” He continued, “almost everyone in the Cave Creek-Carefree area became involved in this civic enterprise. Included were grade school and high school boys and girls who assisted in painting, several business men who worked often and long in routing, sawing, constructing the signs, installation along the route, cleaning of the plant types and sites around them, the local lumber company that provided material at cost, and the many individuals who gave financial assistance. This is truly an outstanding example of a community doing things for itself with a minimum of government assistance. It is an example that lives on because Scottsdale residents continue to take action.”

Scenic Drive plant exhibit created by volunteer “plant parents”

Here is a timeline of actions that comprise the Scenic Drive’s story.

It’s a story that many people can take pride in.

Setting

In 1955, the tiny communities of Cave Creek and Carefree were separated from Scottsdale and Phoenix by a vast expanse of mostly vacant, saguaro-studded desert. In 1956, Scottsdale Road was extended north from Scottsdale to Cave Creek Road. Carefree, one of Arizona’s first planned communities, was established in 1957. Cave Creek Road was paved in 1961, easing the trip from Phoenix to the once remote communities. The same year the Pinal Pioneer Parkway (US 89) was opened by the Arizona Highway Department as a scenic drive through a relatively untouched expanse of desert between Florence and Oracle Junction. The highway department acquired scenic easements along the parkway to create a highway nature preserve. Small brown plant identification signs were used to identify various species of fauna next to the road and roadside rest areas were established.

Early 1963. Cave Creek resident Corki Cockburn has an idea. “It was a moonlit evening. My husband and I and another couple were making the lonely, quiet drive home through the tall saguaros and thickets of jumping cholla. We spoke of our fear that the roadside would become lined with neon-lit gas stations and motels like Apache Boulevard in Mesa where we had been earlier in the day. Creating the Scenic Drive was our way of preserving the desert. Corki brought her idea to the Cave Creek Improvement Association (CCIA). From 1963 to 1964, The Black Mountain News, covered the Scenic Drive activities summarized below. Corki Cockburn was the editor of the publication.

Scenic Drive plant exhibits have always been maintained by volunteers

August 1963. Vince Thelander, chairman of CCIA’s road committee, states the main objective of the Cave Creek-Carefree group is to preserve and enhance a section of living desert that is particularly endowed with a variety of native Arizona fauna. K.T. Palmer, developer of Carefree, emphasizes that property values will increase along the scenic route.

March 1963. CCIA petitions Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to take action to preserve scenic right-of-way along Scottsdale and Cave Creek Roads.

October 1963. The Black Mountain News states that if businesses are allowed to border the proposed scenic routes, tourism will suffer. The newspaper says there is already ample commercial frontage to meet future demand.

November 1963. The Maricopa County Planning & Zoning Committee votes to forward their report favoring a scenic setback ordinance to the board of supervisors. Residents speaking in favor of the measure included Carefree founders K.T. Palmer and Tom Darlington. Scottsdale resident Orian Steen Jr. presents a petition signed by 12 property owners along Scottsdale Road requesting help in preserving natural desert beauty.

Late 1963. The County Board of Supervisors approves larger setbacks for the scenic route. In ensuing months, residents meet with federal land management departments and the county parks commission and develop agreement for leasing two-five acre sites as roadside parks and entrances to the drive. It is hoped that additional turnoffs and special viewpoints can be acquired. July 1964. Maricopa County Boardear of Supervisors approves 19 mile Desert Foothills Scenic Drive along Scottsdale and Cave Creek Roads. A botanist selects plants along the route to be used as exhibits. The Black Mountain News announces that work on plant identification signs has begun “and it is hoped when the call goes out for volunteers to help paint and set them in place,” residents will respond. They did.

Diagram identifying location of Scenic Scenic Drive plant exhibit created by volunteers (Click to enlarge)

December 1964. The Black Mountain News states that “work is progressing on signs for the Scenic Drive. At the time of this writing, large “Entering the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive” signs are about ready to be installed. Residents are urged to volunteer their time to work on signs at Cave Creek Building Supply.”

May 1966. The Maricopa County Planning Department issues a report describing regional benefits of the Scenic Drive, calling for large entry signs at entry points on Scottsdale and Cave Creek Roads. The monument signs are built.  

1968. Picnic tables and bathroom facilities are installed near the Scenic Drive monument sign on the east side of Scottsdale Road, just south of Jomax Road, and tour busses begin stopping at the area.

1964 – 1969. CCIA volunteers, called “plant parents,” maintain the plant exhibits. Several travel magazines publish stories about the Scenic Drive.

1970-1979. Volunteers continue to maintain plant exhibits. Tour busses regularly stop at the monument area just south of Jomax. Postcards tout the Scenic Drive to tourists.

Volunteer Horst Berkner created replica of original Scenic Drive entry sign and other volunteers created visitor exhibits

1984 – 1986. Phoenix and Scottsdale annex the areas in Maricopa County that contain the Scenic Drive, and as a result the interest of Cave Creek/Carefree residents in maintaining plant identification signs diminishes. Residents living near Scottsdale Road vote in favor of being annexed into Scottsdale. The City of Phoenix designates the northern part of Cave Creek Road as a “scenic corridor”. City of Scottsdale designates northern part of Scottsdale Road a “scenic corridor.” As a result of the annexations, speculation and land values increase. Scottsdale residents living near the Scenic Drive organize to stop the development of a motion picture production studio, two hotels, and high-density housing on 600 acres on the southwest corner of Scottsdale Road and Dynamite Boulevard on the Scenic Drive.  Residents obtain three legal petitions (the only time it’s been done in Scottsdale history) causing a developer to withdraw his application.  In a show of support for the  protection of the rural desert character, the Scottsdale council downzones the one small piece of the parcel that has commercial zoning. Residents learn about the  existence of the Scenic Drive. The annexation of the area adjacent to the Scenic Drive by Scottsdale ushers in a period of fairly intense development. As neighborhoods, which had been planned when the land was under the jurisdiction of Maricopa County, begin to be built. Bent Tree Estates and Terravita were among the first.

1990.  Jo Walker, CCIA President who championed the Scenic Drive for years, publishes a comprehensive report about the area’s scenic corridors.

1993-1994. Scottsdale residents successfully oppose efforts to change zoning of a parcel at Dynamite Boulevard and Scottsdale Road and the owner of the property withdraws his application to build a gas station. Resident Les Conklin suggests restoring and promoting the Scenic Drive as a community amenity and as a way of protecting 6 1/2 miles of roadway. At neighborhood meeting about the gas station, City Manager Dick Bowers indicates initial interest in the Scenic Drive idea and says he will discuss it with Mayor Herb Drinkwater the following week. Bowers suggests that Conklin do research on the Scenic Drive’s history. Drinkwater later pledges whole-hearted support for the idea.

December 1994. Acting upon the request of the mayor, the Desert Foothills Homeowners Coalition, which later incorporated as Friends of the Scenic Drive, proposes a plan for Scenic Drive restoration and enhancement. Mayor Drinkwater assigns a staff member, Ed Villa, to work with the group to help steer the plan through the city departments and commissions. Friends, with the support of the Scottsdale Pride Commission, launches litter cleanups along the Scenic Drive. Friends submits a successful proposal to the City of Scottsdale Tourism Commission for Scenic Drive enhancements. Using funds from the city, GPPA, and businesses, the enhancement project begins.

February 1995. Friends holds a celebration to mark restoration of plant identification signs, and the posting of small metal “Scenic Drive” signs along Scottsdale Road. Corki Cockburn, drive founder, and Mayor Drinkwater attend.

November 1995. The monument sign, located south of Jomax, is enhanced and the original wooden entry sign is donated to the Cave Creek Museum.

June 1996. Friends, with the help of the Scottsdale Pride Committee and Outback Steakhouse, organizes the first Cookout at the Ranch at MacDonald’s Ranch. The City of Scottsdale, working through Ed Villa, provides a truck to help with setup and 9′ tables for exhibits.

Summer 1996. Scottsdale Magazine publishes the article “Discovering Desert Foothills Scenic Drive” by Les Conklin. The article describes the origins of the Scenic Drive, scenery, and local history. Discovering Scenic Drive Article

As more homes were built in the area, and the population and traffic increased, the need to provide supporting infrastructure grew. The City of Scottsdale and Friends of the Scenic Drive worked together to ensure that while infrastructure needs were met, the heritage of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive was preserved. Residents living near the Scenic Drive push to have proposed above-ground high voltage lines buried. In a subsequent action, property owners, who live in homes near the Scenic Drive, vote in favor of paying assessments to help bury lines. As a result, the first and only successful improvement district in Scottsdale.s history is adopted. The project, which stretched from Jomax Road to Dixeleta Drive on Scottsdale Road, was completed in 1998.

Poles before property owners near Scenic Drive voted to assess themselves to help pay for undergrounding of poles and lines

February 1997. Friends re-submitted its application for non-profit status to the IRS with an expanded description of its activities. This document provides information on the group’s activities and plans at that time. Development makes it necessary for the city to widen Scottsdale Road to four lanes. Volunteers shift the location of plant identification signs to accommodate road widening. The city relocated larger exhibit trees and cacti to their new locations along the Scenic Drive. This Web site is expanded to educate the public about Scenic Drive’s history and to promote it’s preservation and enhancement.  It was one of the first nonprofit Web sites in the Valley of the Sun.

October 1997.  Residents celebrate a $30,000 donation from Del Webb Company, the developers of Terravita, for the creation of the Scenic Drive’s exhibit area and installation of new drive entry signs.

1997. Friends helps to lead a prolonged, successful effort, to eliminate real estate signs that blanket area roadsides every weekend.

October 1998. Scottsdale’s preserve commission approves Scenic Corridor Guidelines and Scottsdale City Council directs staff to implement recommendations. Friends and residents, with the support of the Scottsdale City Council, initiate a voluntary ban of political signs along the Scenic Drive. Years later, this action is reflected in revision of city’s sign ordinance. New Scenic Drive entry signs and exhibit are installed.

Political signs on Scenic Drive before Friends initiated and policed voluntary ban supported by Scottsdale City Council

Friends, residents, and the city cooperate in an effort to hydro-seed and re-vegetate roadside areas where the power lines were buried.

February 1999. Mayor Sam Campagna and Scottsdale City Council honor Scenic Drive as “Scottsdale Place.”

Scottsdale voters pass $27 million Bond 2000 program for enhancement of Scottsdale Road and Scottsdale Road Scenic Corridor. The intention is to have enhancements serve as examples for other scenic corridors. Friends introduces, organizes, funds, and completes a project to paint all utility boxes along the Scenic Drive dark brown (a first in Scottsdale history). This approach is later adopted for other projects, such as DC Ranch.

Utility boxes before Friends painted them to blend into environment

2000. Developers of The Summit donate native trees, cacti, and small plants valued at $25,000, which residents use to begin re-vegetating the corners of major intersections along the scenic drive. Friends introduces, organizes, funds, and completes a project to paint the posts and backs of traffic signs dark brown. Friends works with the city to have traffic light stamdards painted the same color.

June 2001. Cookout at the Ranch VI is held at MacDonald’s Ranch in support of Scenic Drive and community preservation efforts, 475 guests attend the cookout. The City of Scottsdale supports the event.

May 2002. Friends marks the 40^th anniversary of the Scenic Drive by adding “Plant Parent” plaques, identifying supporters, at the exhibit area. Friends undertakes a campaign to reduce the number of off-site development signs on the Scenic Drive. Several years later, the city’s ordinance is revised accordingly. Friends receives Community Leadership Governor’s Pride in Arizona Award.

Traffic poles and sign backs before Friends painted them to blend into environment

– Friends of the Scenic Drive becomes a division of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association, a nonprofit 501 c (3) corporation. The merger makes donations to Friends tax-deductible and facilitates promotion of the Scenic Drive in GPPA’s A Peek at the Peak magazine. Merger effective March 2004.- Friends works with the city to install a turn lane into exhibit area.

– Friends works with the city to complete two projects: 1) trees are transplanted to block access to a desert area that is located east of exhibit area and is used for illegal dumping 2) some plant exhibits are shifted to accommodate the city’s new water line.

– Friends funds replacement of plaques that are “ripped off” Scenic Drive exhibits by an unknown vandal (s).

– Friends donates a replica of the original wooden drive entry sign to Cave Creek Museum to replace the original that had been destroyed by a wind gust during a monsoon storm.

– Friends supports Proposition 106 to protect land on Scenic Drive that voters have indicated they want included in Scottsdale’s preserve.

– Scottsdale unveils draft streetscape master plan and design guidelines for enhancements that address the entire 27-mile length of Scottsdale Road. The guidelines divide Scottsdale Road into six districts. The northernmost district, from Happy Valley Road to Carefree Highway, is designated as the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive.

New exhibits planned for Scenic Drive exhibit area

– Friends organizes Cookout at the Ranch XII, more than 400 guests attend, including Mayor Mary Manross, the Scottsdale City Council, and Congressman Mitchell.

– Friends conducts regular schedule of litter pickups along Scenic Drive for 12^th consecutive year.

– Friends proposes a series of exhibits along Scottsdale Road (Memory Parks) to provide information about local history. Friends project to create new history-related exhibits for Scenic Drive.

– Friends continues to maintain plant exhibits as Scenic Drives nears 50^th birthday.

– Friends anticipates utilizing Bond 2000 funds and donations input from residents to realize the Scenic Drive’s promise.

2007. Friends proposed “memory parks” along Scottsdale Road to capture historical record for enjoyment by tourists and visitors. Learn More.

2008. Friends creates initial design and exhibit description for Desert Foothills Scenic Drive Memory Park. Friends retains Douglas Sydnor Architect and Associates, Inc. to develop conceptual design of Desert Foothills Scenic Drive Memory Park. Interestingly, in 2000, Doug Sydnor has proposed to the City of Scottsdale that it create a series of historical markers and exhibits along Scottsdale Road. Sydnor and Friends were unaware of each other’s proposal. The architect completed the conceptual design in late February.

– Friends organizes Cookout at the Ranch XV for 15th consecutive year and continues annual program of roadside litter pickups.

– Friends continues to meet with City of Scottsdale staff to ensure Bond 2000 funds for Scenic Drive are still available and to discuss Memory Park and other enhancements.

– Friends continues annual program of roadside litter pickups. Due to the slow economy, Cookout at the Ranch is not held.

2009. City of Scottsdale publishes Desert Foothills Scenic Drive Scenic Corridor & Trails Analysis, Executive Summary.

2012. Friends announces that Cookout at the Ranch XVI will be held on September 29, 2012.

– Meetings with city regarding Bond 2000 continue.

– Friends conducts program of litter pickups.

2013.  Scottsdale Celebrates Scenic Drive’s 50th Birthday.

-GPPA-Friends conducts Mystery Car Rally as part of Bond 2000 implementation

-GPPA-Friends organizes Great Western Cookout Adventure, April

-The Peak online magazine rolled out. Scenic Drive and GPPA websites are incorporated into the new magazine.

-GPPA Friends of the Scenic Drive oppose state’s request to place commercial and resort/tourism zoning on the Scenic Drive between Happy Valley and Jomax Roads as part of Preserve transaction. Peak articles initiate opposition to proposed request.

-GPPA-Friends organize Great Western Cookout Adventure at MacDonald’s Ranch (April).

-Friends conducts program of litter pickups.

2015. GPPPA-Friends conduct Save the Scenic Drive campaign in opposition to proposed new commercial and resort/tourism zoning on Scenic Drive as part of state-city Preserve deal. To support campaign, three videos are produced, Peak articles are published, and emails are sent.

-Bond 2000 Scenic Drive enhancements continue. Program to re-vegetate and strengthen existing roadside vegetation is started by city.

-Friends conducts litter pickup campaign.

2016. GPPA-Friends of the Scenic Drive hold Great Western Cookout Adventure in March

-GPPA-Friends supports city-state agreement to place 38 acres of new resort/tourism on Scenic Drive between Happy Valley and Jomax Roads, in the vicinity of the current exhibit area. Commercial zoning that was originally proposed for that area as part of the arrangement is placed elsewhere.

-Friends of the Scenic Drive enforces decade-old voluntary ban of political signs along Scenic Drive. Candidates comply.

-Friends conducts program of litter pickups.

-Improvements are made to major cross streets on Scenic Drive as part of Bond 2000 program, including installation of rails, benches, re-vegetation, and use of colored pavement on crosswalks.

2019. Scottsdale honored the coordinators of the Adopt-A-Road Program. Scottsdale Mayor W.J. “Jim” Lane presented awards to coordinators who have organized cleanups for sections of roadside assigned to their group. Among award recipients was Les Conklin, Les, one of the two founding cleanup organizers of Scottsdale’s Adopt-A-Road Program.the

2020. Friends continues to support Scottsdale’s Adopt-A-Road Program after city makes participation optional and fewer than 50 percent of groups participate. Friends encourages participation by pre-packaging pickup supplies, bags, pickup sticks, water, etc. to promote social distancing and volunteer contact. .