An Oak Creek Canyon Celebration

The still wild heart of this canyon is a joy to residents and visitors alike. The road that traverses it has been named Arizona's first official scenic highway...

TEXT BY SUZANNE CLEMENZ PHOTOGRAPHY BY BOB CLEMENZ

Oak Creek Canyon courses deep through the heart of Arizona-and the hearts of Arizonans. Red and buff sandstone ramparts rise above slender oaks, spreading sycamores, and towering cottonwoods, creating kaleidoscope colors on the surface of the dancing creek. Intertwined with the water, trees, and stone is a ribbon road: U.S. Route 89A. I know the rhythm of its curves and have flowed along it through the changing seasons.

I've felt its bridges tremble under carloads of awestruck visitors, who will return, no doubt, to reclaim a chasm that each somehow thinks of as his own. The deep pools where lounging trout hide in summer are no secret to me. Not far away, beyond my view, throngs of visitors warm themselves on the sandstone walls after a chilling trip down Slide Rock's icy chute. Along the sun-splashed road, I've stained my fingers plucking ripe

blackberries and heard the whip-whipwhip of passing bicycle tires. Campfire smoke drifts through the trees, as it did when other peoples dwelt at what we now call Indian Gardens. The immemorial plots eventually gave way to Forest Service campsites.

In autumn a colorful banner of leaves ripples down the gorge. Though no sign marks it, at that time many make a pilgrimage to the West Fork of Oak Creek to view the maples' flaming red and willows' gold. It is Oak Creek Canyon's finest hour. Roadside stands sell fresh-pressed cider and crunchy apples, which we savor as we ride the curves and bends through a burnished canopy of foliage.

But soon the crowds, like the leaves, disappear. Then the cliffs, free of their leafy dress, seem to press in and grow in height with the arrival of the first snow. Icy patches lace the roadway's shaded curves. The creek roars and isolates the other bank for days on end. Even then I've risked the rain of boulders on the road to view the watery veils falling from the canyon's cloud-draped rim. At Slide Rock, I've made tracks in untouched snow to view bright draperies of ice below the overhanging ledges. Tall ponderosa pines whisk majestic cloaks of snow on and off repeatedly, and the creek's gray waters gush through white-capped boulders.

(RIGHT) Southern section of Oak Creek Canyon, from the Schnebly Hill Road. (BELOW: CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT) Cider, pressed from five varieties of locally grown apples, is a sure sign of autumn's arrival in the Sedona area. Red-rock enchantment awaits just off the highway. Autumn colors the wooded flanks of Oak Creek. Nathaniel Field and Lassie wait for a lunker trout.

Selected Reading

Travel Arizona, by Joseph Stocker. Arizona Highways Books, Phoenix, 1986 ($8.95). Roadside History of Arizona, by Marshall Trimble. Mountain Publishing, Missoula, Montana, 1986 ($15.95). Both books available (prices indicated include postage) from Arizona Highways, 2039 West Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009; telephone (602) 258-1000.

One day a haze of succulent green begins to show, though patches of snow that haven't yet felt the sun still linger. Traces of gravel edge the road, and snowmelt from the high plateau pours across the low-water crossings. Apple blossoms toss on nippy breezes, and residents chase the evening chill beside glowing fireplaces decked with daffodil and hyacinth. A large van pauses by a "campground closed" sign, then heads for Michigan, bearing its snowbirds homeward after a winter spent farther south. It was a chance worth checking that they might camp a day or two in Oak Creek Canyon, to hold them over until next year.

It's hard to capture the essence of this canyon on film or canvas or paper. Whatever we include seems to exclude everything else. Perhaps the secret is to leave artfulness and reason behind and experience Oak Creek Canyon heart to heart.

Only then will we know it best, in any season of the year.

Bob and Suzanne Clemenz escaped to Sedona from California ten years ago. Bob, a free-lance photographer for more than twenty years, specializes in large-format scenic work. Suzanne, a writer and photographer, also manages their stock photo business. Their credits include Reader's Digest, Time-Life Books, and National Geographic Books.