The Ecosystem Doesn't End at the Fence

ARIZONA'S SHORTEST INTERSTATE ROUTE TRACES...

Normally, highways don't impress me. But Interstate Route 15, where it enters the Virgin River Gorge from the southwest, is different. The smoothly banked and graceful lines of the roadway seem to flow through the canyon as naturally as the Virgin River itself. Somehow, here in the far northwest corner of Arizona, man's efforts have enhanced rather than distracted from Nature's handiwork.

Almost immediately the traveler is embraced by steep walls that soar to heights of 300 to 500 feet. Remnant marks of long, vertical drill holes, which held the dynamite that blasted this route through the mountains, add a striped pattern to the canyon cliffs and testify to the difficulty of the construction. When dedicated in December, 1973, the Arizona portion of I-15 topped the list of expensive and spectacular projects of the interstate highway system. The 20 miles of road from the Littlefield interchange to the Utah border, a segment where the river had to be rechanneled 12 times, cost more than $48 million in 1973 dollars.

The Lower Gorge narrows to 150 feet in some areas, and highway turnouts are available for sightseers. Pull over and scan the rocky slope with binoculars. You may catch a glimpse of bighorn sheep, which sometimes perch on the precipitous cliffs of the Virgin Mountains on the south side of the highway as well as the Beaver Dam Mountains to the north. But you'll find the view awesome even if you don't discover any sheep. By scientists' estimate, the highway cuts through a geological time interval of almost 500 million years. The most ancient deposits are in the Lower Gorge.

Where the Middle Gorge widens into

THE VIRGIN RIVER GORCE

Text by JaNice Ott Photographs by Clint Crawley The Cedar Pockets interchange, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management have coordinated their efforts to provide a rest area and campground. The river bed below the campground is a scenic spot to start exploring the canyon. Arizona ash trees line the river, and cacti and Joshua trees dominate the ridges. In spring, feathery tamarisk blossoms give the land a lavender hue, and sand verbena, globemallow, and marigolds carpet the sandy soil. Purple torch and grizzly bear cacti add touches of their own vivid colors to the scene.

Cactus wrens are the most obvious members of this wild community, especially in springtime, when they build their nests in the cholla. But snakes and the ubiquitous lizards also share the space, while ravens and turkey vultures control the sky above. Numerous tracks in the damp riverbanks are evidence that mountain lions, deer, rabbits, and coyotes also frequent the area.

Farther upstream, the Upper Gorge is the most isolated portion of the river. Here it separates from the highway for several miles before converging again north of the Utah border. Solitude prevails. Mallard ducks float peacefully on the river, which has its beginnings well to the north in Zion National Park. Killdeers wade on the banks, while high overhead, hawks glide on cushions of rising air.

Thick stands of tamarisk trees make walking along the shore difficult. Cow trails provide alternate routes on the ridges, but hiking in the river is easier, particularly if you're lucky enough to be serenaded along the way by a canyon wren. Prehistoric Indians, too, found the Virgin River attractive. Several occupation sites situated on the path of the highway were excavated. "We found a Clovis projectile point at the campground," said Rick Malcomson, archeologist for the Arizona Strip office of the BIM. "This indicates that the ancient hunters of mammoths and bison at least traveled through the area 10,000 years ago." So far this is the only evidence that Paleo-Indians existed here.

But there are numerous projectile points, dating from 8000 B.C. to A.D.1, that identify an archaic people that occupied the river region and were hunter-gatherers. Then came the agriculturally oriented Virgin River Anasazi. Members of this culture made pottery and baskets and built granaries and shelters - mostly pit houses. Charred holes are still visible in the gorge where the Anasazi and the Paiutes roasted agave hearts for food. The latter arrived after the Anasazi disappeared around

VIRGIN RIVER GORGE

(PRECEDING PANEL, PAGES 26 AND 27) Because of the difficult terrain in the gorge, Interstate 15 when completed in 1973 was one of the most expensive stretches of highway in the interstate system. (ABOVE) Oxbow Bridge spans a bend so sharp the structure begins and ends on the same side of the river. (OPPOSITE PAGE) The waters of the Virgin River descend from Zion National Park in Utah and empty into an arm of Lake Mead.

Text continued from page 24 A.D. 1150, scientists believe.

"The largest Anasazi village, composed of 21 pit houses, was excavated at the Littlefield bridge, southwest of the gorge, where I-15 crosses the river for the last time," Malcomson explained.

The first white men to explore the area and name the river apparently were the Spanish priests Francisco Dominguez and Silvestre Escalante in 1776, according to Arizona Place Names. In the 1820s, the stream was visited by Thomas Virgin (the name was a coincidence, says Place Names) and Jedediah Smith. Anglo settlers arrived some 40 years later, selecting the same site chosen centuries before by the Anasazi. The reason is obvious; the nearby hills and mesas are barren, whereas cottonwoods and willows thrive at the confluence of Beaver Dam Creek and the Virgin River on the north side of the bridge. Culinary water also is a prize of this location; the river is heavily silted, but Beaver Dam Creek is a potable water source.

This oasis was an important way station for travelers on the Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to California. A small Mormon community was established here in 1864, but it was wiped out by the rampaging river a few years later.

The historic Beaver Dam Lodge was built on the site about 1930 and enjoyed a period of prosperity. During its heyday, lasting into the 1950s, the resort hosted such celebrities as Errol Flynn, Jack Benny, Tyrone Power, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

The removal of an agricultural inspection station and the bypassing of U.S. Route 91 by I-15 in 1973 made Beaver Dam less accessible to interstate travelers, and the lodge was left to deteriorate until, in 1980, Oral Evans of Salt Lake City had the building renovated. It remained empty until G. R. Frisby purchased the lodge in 1986 and developed a recreational-vehicle resort and golf course. Now guests can occupy the same rooms as the Hollywood elite of an earlier day, and even soak in the same bathtubs. Frisby hopes to see the restored lodge entered in the National Register of Historic Places.

Less than a mile downstream, on the south side of the bridge, the town of Littlefield huddles against the riverbank. It was settled by four families between 1875 and 1878, nearly a decade after the river defeated the Beaver Dam colonizers. To the pioneers, the river was an unpredictable and sometimes treacherous adversary; yet they were dependent on it for survival.

Although the surrounding mesa now is sprouting houses, and Beaver Dam Lodge is luring tourists, the town itself hasn't grown much in a century. Postmaster Lorna Reber easily counts the structures. Her tally: "Nine houses, a post office, and a K-6 school that serves all of this portion of the Arizona Strip." Students must travel across the Nevada border to Mesquite for their secondary education. A store and gas station can be found at Beaver Dam.

Since there are no roads leading to Littlefield from other parts of Arizona, the town's economic and social life is closely tied to neighbors in Utah and Nevada.

A short distance downstream along the river flats and on the ridges above, the Arvada Game Ranch provides a wild setting for exotic animals. The owner, Jimmie Hughes, is a direct descendant of the pioneers who settled the area.

"Arvada" is derived from the names Arizona and Nevada.

Hughes decided to supplement his farming with private hunting offered on his 1,600-acre property. "I'm really selling entertainment not hunting," he informed me as we climbed the hillsides tracking Angora goats and Rambouillet rams. Although his farm is in Arizona, Hughes lives in Mesquite, where he is the mayor.

He stocks the farm with handsome rams, elusive goats, game birds, and several imported species, such as sika deer from Japan and fallow deer from Europe. Peppermill Casino in Mesquite sponsors such entertainment packages as horseback trips and hayride-barbecues at the ranch for visitors.

From the Arvada Ranch, the river channel crosses the border and snakes through southern Nevada until it reaches Lake Mead. Interstate 15 leads travelers to Las Vegas and on to southern Californiafar from the quiet canyon of the Virgin River.