T.C. Schnebly's Scenic Back Road

SCHNEBLY HILI SCENIC MOUNTAIN BYWAY

When people rave about the road my great-grandfather built as being one of the state's prettiest places in autumn, I get embarrassed.

"Pretty, yes; but T.C. was no road builder," I say. Rugged Schnebly Hill Road dusts up a car pretty thoroughly in 12 miles, and some sections need to be delicately crept across. But what T.C. and other early Sedona residents were able to do in terms of getting from Oak Creek to Flag-staff is nevertheless impressive: creating from early animal trails and determination a thoroughfare from creek side to ponderosa forest.

My father, Larry Schnebly, and I are driving north on Schnebly Hill Road, which gets the bumpiest riding out of the way first. You can start in the morning, reach Flagstaff for lunch, and feast your eyes on any of a hundred scenic vistas before returning to Sedona for dinner.

Which would have amazed T.C., my father's grandfather and the leader of the road crew that carved out Schnebly Hill Road from a sandstone bluff and hillsides tangled with growth. It remains an unimproved dirt path today.

Back in 1902 when T.C. settled on the banks of Oak Creek with his wife, Sedona, the only way to take the 80-acre homestead's apples and vegetables to Flagstaff was by traveling southeast through Big Park to a road connecting Flagstaff with Camp

Schnebly Hill Road Was Built to Haul Produce to Flagstaff, but It Has Become a Great Back Road Drive

Verde. A four-day trip! By developing a trail from Oak Creek to Munds Park outside Flagstaff, the trip could be cut in half. (See Arizona Highways, March '87.) Who gets the credit for figuring this out depends on who you ask, but county records in Northern Arizona University archives show a group of early Oak Creek residents, Schneblys and Thompsons includ-ed, putting up $300 each to obtain matching funds from Coconino County Supervisor George Babbitt to the tune of $1,800.

"Mormon scrapers, dynamite, and a lot of hard work," is how my father remembers T.C. describing the job, which was completed in 1903. A "Mormon scraper" is a wide, curved piece of metal, pulled by a horse, with handles for the driver to guide it across the roadbed.

We zero the odometer at the sign off State Route 179 announcing "Schnebly Hill Road." To our left, Daddy points out, sits what's now a fertile nest of homes and businesses next to the bridge over Oak Creek.

From what would be mile one, you see the old ribbon of Schnebly Hill Road winding across the bluff far ahead of you. Engineers rerouted that section in 1930 "because a horse can turn a lot sharper than a car," my father says. The juniper and cedar you drive through would have served as good firewood, but little else.

At about mile 1.5, Bear Wallow is on your right, a side canyon of silty sand leading back off the road.

"As a kid, I was fascinated and excited by the possibility of meeting a bear up there," says my father. Pioneer Richard Wilson was killed by a bear farther up Oak Creek; early settler Jesse Howard is better known as Bear Howard for his successful bear hunts all over Oak Creek. But Bear Wallow on Schnebly Hill Road has no grisly tales attached-just enough paw prints and folk-lore to keep kids alert while playing in the fine dust or rain runoff.

Around mile two you get a good look at "The Bench" in Oak Creek Canyon. It's between taller formations, a square structure that could be a fireplace. You couldn't always see the rounded section that makes the hearth.

T.C. was on a trip to Flagstaff when that center section calved. It had been raining, my father says, and when T.C. came back down Schnebly Hill Road, this raw red hollow was newly exposed with a wide swath of talus below showing where the rockslide had taken down trees and dirt.

About mile four, manzanita grows thick along the road. This was "cane country," my father says. T.C. would bring his grandson scouting for the straightest manzanita they could find for a new walking cane.

"Because it's such hard wood, you had to find one about the right length and pull it up," he says. "You didn't just cut through it.

"The last time we came looking, I was in college, and Ellsworth [T.C.'s son and Larry's father] came with us. We were standing about here when Ellsworth said, 'For crying out loud, Dad, what are you doing?' I looked around and there was T.C., probably 25 feet down the side of this slope, knocking around in the manzanita. He'd found a straight piece of manzanita for his cane. You're too old for that nonsense; get back up here!' is what Ellsworth didn't say."

T.C. also cut cactus up here, yucca which Sedona used to make soap, and later he harvested century plants, which he'd carve into slices and give away as pincushions. Early visitors to Sedona could often find T.C. downtown. Lonely after Sedona died in 1951, he'd tell stories about the early days and present ladies with these pincushions.

"T.C. probably made hundreds of those and burned his name in the bottom as an autograph," my father says. We can't find even one. It would have been better than a wine cellar if someone had stashed some of those original Sedona souvenirs, forerunners of the mugs and T-shirts we buy now.

Foxboro's main lodge sits to the right of the road coming up, still a stately structure, though unused today, with an empty swimming pool indicating how lavish the accommodations were for its time. Across the road is the garage, an exquisite stone structure with an arched roof. With a lava rock foundation, pine siding, and green trim, Foxboro is one with its habitat.

Back when it was a school, Navajo rugs covered the wooden floors, guests took their meals on specially designed china, and everyone selected a horse to "own" for the duration of their stay.

Fox says his parents' place was "a sort of Arizona Camelot. Like its more famous counterpart, its time was short, less than 10 years, but those who enjoyed its facilities and services will attest that it was great while it lasted."

Today cattle graze around the old homestead; the dam Frederick Fox built still holds what I think of as "Lake Bovine." We drive carefully, watching one cow and her calf close to the road. The bulls let us cross their turf, making it clear it's because of their benevolence that we pass unharmed.

From here it's only a few miles to the Interstate 17 interchange; Milepost 320. My father and I note the road is exactly 12 miles long and debate whether we'll ever realize the long-held goal of running the entire way."

"Maybe just up," he says. That's about 3,000 feet elevation.

"Maybe just down," I plead.

WHEN YOU GO

In stark contrast to the scenery along most of Schnebly Hill Road, this lake sits near Foxboro, a onetime boys school and dude ranch and something of an "Arizona Camelot," says the son of its pioneer founder.

To drive Schnebly Hill Road from bottom to top, take Interstate 17 north from Phoenix to the Sedona exit (298). State Route 179 takes you into Sedona, where you see the Schnebly Hill Road sign next to the bridge across Oak Creek. From the north, continue on 1-17 south beyond Flagstaff about 15 miles until you reach the Schnebly Hill Road exit (320).

You can find campgrounds, RV parks, bed-and-breakfasts, and numerous hotels ranging from economy lodging to world-class resorts in both Flagstaff and Sedona. The Flagstaff Visitors Center has rates and recommendations, (602) Travel Guide: To read more about Sedona, we recommend Scenic Sedona ($5.95), an Arizona Highways publication that explores the scenery, culture, history, and people of this popular getaway among the red rocks and, as well, looks at dramatic Oak Creek Canyon, historic Verde Valley, and Jerome, one of the state's liveliest "ghost towns." To inquire Slide Rock State Park, on U.S. 89A between Sedona and Flagstaff, is a favorite water park during warm weather; jeep tours offer history and geography along with wild rides through Oak Creek; Red Rock State Park is a new stroll-and-learn jewel just west of Sedona. Up on the other end of Schnebly Hill Road, Flagstaff offers the Anasazi ruins of Walnut Canyon; Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered; artifacts and arts at the Museum of Northern Arizona. South of Sedona down U.S. 89A, Cottonwood is the gateway to the Verde Valley and the town of Jerome.

or place an order, telephone Arizona Highways toll free at 1 (800) 543-5432. In the Phoenix area, call 258-1000.