Not Your Average Horse Buggy

Into the Outback A buggy ride exposes the rough grandeur and frontier hardship of life along the Gila River

Text by Janet Webb Farnsworth Photographs by Edward McCain Feet braced against the floorboards and hands clutching the roll bar, we prepared for the rocky road ahead. But the expected teeth-rattling ride delivered only an occasional slight bump. "Hey, this ain't half-bad," said my husband, Richard. We were searching for spectacular scenery along the remote back roads of the Gila Mountains the easy way-in guide Earl Morcomb's eight-passenger open-sided desert buggy. Made from a tubular-steel chassis and equipped with bucket seats and air-suspension, these machines make roughing it easy.

With retired fireman Dave Joyner following in his buggy, we headed for the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area, which includes a 15-mile segment of Bonita Creek and 23 miles of the Gila River, While many miles of primitive roads beckon the adventurous to the Gila Box, about 17 miles northeast of Safford in southeastern Arizona, travel is limited to designated roads.

Last winter's rain had produced a visual banquet in March -Mother Earth wore a draping of lush grass accented by purple verbenas, magenta owl clover, blue lupines and glorious fields of orange poppies. The cottonwoods along the Gila River gently waved limbs soft with new leaves. The hillsides bristled with brown ocotillo stalks waiting their turn to show off by flaunting dozens of red flowers. Mesquite bosques, thickets of tangled branches in spring, would later present a nearly unpenetrable green wall when leafed out.

Morcomb followed the dirt roads to the Bureau of Land Management's Wildlife Viewing Area, which overlooks Bonita Creek's trees. More than 250 bird species migrate into North America, and 85 percent of them stop along water sources in this part of the state looking for food and habitat. Seventy of these species, including the summer tanager, Western kingbird, yellow warbler and Swainson's hawk, stay in Bonita Creek to nest and raise young. "I bring birders and hikers out here all the time," Morcomb said. "I drop them off at one place and then pick them up in the evening at another spot. They can do what they want during the day." Prehistoric Hohokam, Spanish conquistadores, Mormon pioneers, Hispanic and Chinese settlers, Apaches, ranchers and miners all vied for the life-sustaining waters of the Gila River. About 12 miles east of Safford lies Sanchez, the site of the first Spanish-speaking Seventh-day Adventist church in North America. Here the pavement ends and the road turns to gravel and then to the rocky tracks.

At the confluence of Bonita Creek and the Gila River, Morcomb pointed out a monument commemorating Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny's expedition route. In 1846 this Army expeditionary force marched through southern Arizona on its way to California to fight in the Mexican-American War. The soldiers followed the Gila west from New Mexico until they encountered the Gila Box area, where the steep canyon walls forced them to haul their small howitzers over the mountains on the south side of the river. After traveling the 16 torturous miles they dubbed "The Devil's Turnpike," the soldiers returned to the river and camped along the banks of Bonita Creek.

Here, also, stands the Serna Cabin, a tiny stone house typical of those built along Bonita Creek, restored and preserved by the BLM. With its door locked to prevent vandalism, we explored its exterior and peered into the emptiness within. Bonita Creek, bordered by tall cottonwoods, flows between smooth colorful cobblestones forming a small, clear waterway narrow enough in places to jump across. The Sernas worked a small farm and orchard irrigated with water from a diversion dam.

As we traveled along the rim of Bonita Creek canyon, occasionally descending to the creek, we saw remnants of old homesites. BLM studies show the first settlers were Hispanics arriving in the late 1870s, followed by Anglo and Chinese newcomers in the 1880s. By the turn of the last century, about 20 homesites were scattered along 12 to 15 miles of creek banks. Repeated floods, especially several severe ones in the 1940s, washed out most of those homes.

No one lives along Bonita Creek today, but a pipeline runs 23 miles west to Safford, supplying the town with drinking water.

Back on the road after a lunch of barbecue and pasta, we caught occasional glimpses of Bonita Creek below in a steep canyon. This dark basalt area, called the Narrows, separates upper and lower Bonita Creek. Each hill offered another amazing view. The sun starting to set behind snow-topped Mount Graham signaled a return to Safford. We had covered 52 miles.

Morcomb dropped us off at the Olney House in Safford, a bed and breakfast in a three-story brick house built for George Olney, one of the early sheriffs of Graham County.

The next morning, Morcomb and Joyner arrived with different vehicles. Shorter, higher and built for only four passengers each, the desert rails are perfect for negotiating the rocky roads and hairpin turns on the way to upper Bonita Creek and Turtle Mountain.

The slopes of Turtle Mountain looked as if an artist had highlighted them with orange paint. But, closer up, the orange swath turned out to be another mass of poppies. At one point, the road-actually

Life here was as rugged as the countryside.

[OPPOSITE PAGE] Earl Morcomb ferries tourists across Bonita Creek in his eight-passenger desert buggy.

[ABOVE] Cottonwoods hug the bank of perennial Bonita Creek, a riparian refuge for a variety of plants and animals.

[FAR LEFT] The first Spanishspeaking Seventh-day Adventist congregation in North America worshiped at the old Sanchez church.

[LEFT] A restored 1920s pioneer cabin marks the confluence of Bonita Creek and the Gila River.

Just two tracks-crossed a field of the flow-ers and we were surrounded by their vivid petals waving in the breeze.

Dark basalt walls cover the sides of Tur-tle Mountain. Faulting, cracking, water and wind have eroded deep slits. The canyons appeared unyielding and black in the harsh noon sun, but closer examination revealed an artist's palette of colors. Clay patches var-ied from white to green and mauve. Rocks covered with lichens sported a chartreuse hue at the foot of red and tan cliffs. Add vibrant spring flowers, the green of yuccas, agaves and prickly pear cacti, and the area offered the kind of colorful collage worth looking for. Traveling along the side of Turtle Moun-tain required a constant up and down through canyons and arroyos. The smaller Rails, while not quite as smooth-riding as the big buggies, stilled proved comfortable and easily negotiated the rocky wash bottoms and sharp curves. At one spot, a Gambel's quail waddled unhurriedly across the road. Bears, elk, deer, lions, coyotes and sheep inhabit these mountains, but none showed themselves. We did spot a red-tailed hawk circling above us, though.

From this viewpoint, range after range of mountains line up in jagged rows, revealing the twin peaks of Dos Cabezas, southeast of Willcox, hazy and blue in the distance.

Later, at the old Toppy Johnson home-site, we found the rock fireplace and chimney still standing and, close by, a doorjamb and fallen rocks-remnants of a 15by 20-foot cabin. Mt. Graham Profiles, the collection of Ryder Ridgway's local newspaper columns, offers Larry Shiflet's bleak story of the homestead:

In the early 20th century, all supplies

The old pack trail passed by the Johnson cabin.

[ABOVE] Desert rails motor through a field of Mexican goldpoppies. Strict regulations limit off-road travel to established tracks in designated areas.

[OPPOSITE PAGE] Sunset lights Turtle Mountain at the end of a day of backcountry exploration.

Were hauled into this area by horse or mule. The old Safford-to-Morenci pack trail passed by the Johnson cabin, over Turtle Mountain at Bellmeyer Saddle, then on to Morenci. Bonita Creek settlers carried their farm produce to market along this trail. In July 1921, the Toppy Johnson place was occupied by Ed Fulcher and his family, who were trying to establish a horse business. Two cowboys, 19-year-old Putt Golding and Shorty Eaton, a young wrangler out of Texas, stopped by the cabin hoping for a free meal from Mrs. Fulcher.

When their knock failed to bring anyone to the door, the two looked inside and found the lifeless body of Mrs. Fulcher. They removed the door from the cabin and tied the body onto it, then strapped the door to a mule and headed for Morenci, the closest town. Soon it was pitch-dark, and they came to the most dangerous part of the rough trail. The only way to see was for one man to walk in front carrying a lantern while the other followed leading the mule. Traveling in that manner all night, they covered 15 miles. The local newspaper, The Clifton Clarion, reported Mrs. Fulcher had killed herself while her husband was at the Morenci Hospital taking care of his son, Sidney, who had been shot in a gunfight. Life here was as rugged as the countryside.

Late-afternoon clouds cast spotty shadows on the slopes and darkened Turtle Mountain's canyons. The shadows softened the rugged peak and the waning sun gave the buff-colored cliffs a golden glow, transforming the poppies to an even deeper orange.

Although we were still in the mountains at nightfall, it proved not a problem-the buggies have headlights. After covering 54 miles, we arrived back at the Olney House safe and sound. Richard was right. This trip wasn't "half-bad." In fact, it was a great way to see beautiful mountains, canyons, rivers and spring wildflowers while leav-ing the driving and navigating to someone else. AH LOCATION: 164 miles southeast of Phoenix.

LODGING: Olney House, toll-free (800) 814-5118. Owner Linda Welyk offers package vacations including breakfasts and trips with Gila Country Buggy Adventures.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Gila Country Buggy Adventures, (928) 428-6529. Bureau of Land Management Safford Field Office, (928) 348-4400.