Civil War in Arizona

Central Arizona's most famous scenic byway: The Apache Trail

In earlier times, it was called the Yavapai Trail and the Tonto Trail. On today's road maps, it's officially designated State Route 88. But as a part-paved, partgravel road that in only 45 miles offers a sampling of almost all that is Arizona except urban clamor-three lakes, whispering streams, rugged mountains, rock-ribbed canyons, sprawling desert, Indian lore, untrampled wilderness—it is affection-ately known as the Apache Trail. Teddy Roosevelt once described it as “one of the most spectacular, best-worth-seeing sights in the world.”

The Apache Trail

You'll need a little patience to explore this diverse, meandering slice of central Arizona. Alertness at the wheel doesn't hurt, either. In Fish Creek Canyon, for instance, you'll crawl up or down 800 precipitous feet in a single mile.

The historic route begins in the shadow of Superstition Mountain where State 88 splits off from busy U.S. 60-89 at Apache Junction, 30 miles east of Phoenix. It ends at Theodore Roosevelt Dam, world's highest masonry dam, whose dedication on March 18, 1911, was the reason the former president was there to ogle and orate. Today it remains as a mighty linchpin of the Salt River Project, one of the state's major water and power utilities.

Since State 88 continues (and the pavement resumes) beyond Roosevelt Dam, rejoining U.S. 60 between Miami and Globe, you could drive the route as part of a longer loop across Arizona's midriff.

The early Salado (Salt) Indians had created many paths through this region about A.D. 900 as they migrated between the desert in winter and the cool Mogollon Rim country in summer. Dotted with almost impenetrable canyons and numerous hidden caves, the area was ideal, too, as a retreat and hideout for the later Coyotero and Tonto Apaches after their raids against the Pima Indians along the Salt and Gila rivers.

(OPPOSITE PAGE) If winter rains are sufficient, desert slopes near the Superstition Mountains are transformed in spring to bright fields of Mexican poppies and other wildflowers.

(FOLLOWING PANEL, PAGES 8 AND 9) Long vistas of rugged countryside compete for travelers' attention just before the steep descent into Fish Creek Canyon. Four Peaks rises in the distance.

In 1865 the United States Army established Fort McDowell near present-day Scottsdale to protect travelers from hostile Apaches. Within two years settlers were growing hay beside the Salt River to supply the fort, and the small farming community was named Phoenix. Growth was inevitable. In the 1890s, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors launched a feasibility study to determine how water and electric power could best be provided to the Salt River Valley.

Even before Arizona gained statehood, the Salt River Project was on the way to becoming a model of how a vast desert region could be made productive by irrigation and by generating power. (See Arizona Highways, August 1978.) In 1902, encouraged by President Roosevelt, Congress had passed the National Reclamation Act, appropriated funds to build a dam at the confluence of the Salt River and Tonto Creek, and thus made possible one of the nation's earliest full-scale reclamation projects.

To build Tonto Dam (its name at the outset) required a supply road. The nearest railhead was at Mesa, 65 miles away, and the dam as blueprinted would involve a massive logistical challenge. When completed, it would rise 280 feet from bedrock, stretch 723 feet from end to end at its crest, and utilize 350,000 cubic yards of native stone and 409,707 barrels of cement.

Road construction on the Apache Trail began in 1903. Before it was finished the following year, 400 men were at work on the half-million-dollar project. Men, mules, and horsepower were under the direction of Al Sieber, a former U.S. Cavalry chief of scouts. On February 19, 1907, an ironic fate befell Sieber. After surviving an adventurous and hazardous career under Brig. Gen. George Crook during the Indian wars, he was crushed by falling rock on this peacetime job.

Apache crews from the San Carlos Indian Reservation and Anglo workmen from Mesa made up the bulk of the work force. Because the route was laid out along natural contours to assure easy grades that mules could manage, it was very rugged going indeed. The road through Fish Creek Canyon, with a hair-raising, hairpin switchback at its eastern edge, was the toughest part; rare is the driver even today who won't admit to a few butterflies as he nudges his way along the mile or so of its length.

It took five years to complete the dam itself, not counting the preliminary task of punching a 480-foot-long tunnel through the canyon walls. This was done to divert the two watercourses while the dam's foundation was being laid.

There was a town of Roosevelt, too, just east of the dam. But today you'd need scuba gear to see any remaining traces. In its heyday, Roosevelt supported a workforce population of more than 400, boasted several company stores and shops, and served as a marshaling center for dam-building supplies and equipment.

It had a jail, too, mostly to house those who violated the Reclamation Bureau's very strict "no-booze" rules. During the scorch of midsummer, a newspaper of the time commented, the cells were so hot "would-be offenders...will think twice before committing a crime."

Half of Arizona, it seemed, crowded along the trail in March, 1911, to watch and hear a proud Teddy Roosevelt extol the virtues of the new dam and the monumental human undertaking responsible for it.

But it was much earlier-in 1906, in fact that the first tourists began to trickle in. The trail hasn't changed a lot since then, at least along the unpaved eastern part.

Dawdling here and there as the mood strikes, let's sample this historic road from west to east, the stops depending upon whether your bent is rock-hounding, treasure hunting, waterskiing, hiking, meeting the ghosts of history, or merely savoring some of Arizona's great natural beauty.

Just east of Apache Junction, where State Route 88 begins, the imposing Superstition Mountains rise to your right. It was in the 1890s that the legend of the fabled but misnamed Lost Dutchman Mine began to grow. Jacob Waltz, a prospector who supposedly found gold here, wasn't Dutch

The Apache Trail

but German. Regardless of ethnic origin, Waltz's legendary "treasure" has created quite a stir over the last century and has provided grist for many an adventure writer's mill. Lost Dutchman State Park is here (watch for the entrance on Route 88), nestled below the towering cliffs of the rugged mountain range.

As you begin your gradual climb along the Apache Trail, you'll see many examples of Arizona's desert plants, birds, and animals. Most impressive is the giant saguaro cactus; its blossom is Arizona's official state flower. It can grow to 50 feet and in places dominates the landscape.

Its cousins include the barrel cactus, prickly pear, and cholla.

Catclaw, ironwood, mesquite, and paloverde are here, too, most common of the desert legumes; and perhaps you'll be lucky enough to spot the clown of the desert, the roadrunner, sprinting among the greenery. Alert visitors may see other avian natives of the trail: hawks, owls, and eagles are among the raptors, while Gambel's quail and the cactus wren invite binocular inspection.

Even in daylight you'll easily see coyotes, jack-rabbits, and skunks, while the presence of javelinas, mountain lions, and bobcats testifies to the remoteness of the trail.

At an overlook at mile-post 208, you'll get a breathtaking view of the first of three exquisite artificial lakes along the trail (one of six in the Salt River Project). Formed by Mormon Flat Dam, Canyon Lake is heavily used by water enthusiasts.

There's a small marina and coffee shop, and if you don't have your own boat and don't plan to rent one, a 1½-hour lake cruise aboard the 52-foot "steam-boat" Dolly is well worth the time. The 10-mile-long lake has 28 miles of shoreline, most of it formed where sheer rock cliffs plunge almost straight down to the water. Some anglers swear that Canyon Lake's rainbow trout and largemouth bass are the plumpest in Arizona.

About two-thirds of the way up the meandering lake is Skull (or Skeleton) Cave, a grim but fascinating reminder of Arizona's wild and woolly frontier days. The only way to reach it is by boat and then a hike up from the shoreline. A free map obtainable at the marina marks its location. (This is a protected area: you may visit but may not remove anything.) In December, 1872, an Army cavalry unit under Capt. James Burns trapped a Yavapai band in the cave. Burns correctly calculated that even though the cave would be difficult for his men to reach, he could decimate the Indians by ricocheting bullets into the opening from below. Seventy of the Indians resisted surrender and died in the attack. Eighteen who gave up were taken to Fort McDowell.

Three miles east of the turnoff to the Canyon Lake marina is the Apache Trail's only town if you can call a settlement of six a town. Tortilla Flat is named not for John Steinbeck's popular novel but apparently for an array of flat-topped rocks nearby that resemble the Mexican food staple. There's a restaurant and gift shop,