Page Springs RV Resort – Cornville, AZ to Casa Grande, AZ – September 20-27, 2015

Welcome to Cornville, Arizona! Located just 10 miles south of Sedona, it’s a small bedroom community to both Sedona and nearby Cottonwood, so our location provides the perfect base for all things touristy.

We know you’ll probably just look at the photos, but I’ve included some historical information, as well, for those of you who are history buffs. We found this area to be loaded with good stuff, and very interesting.

Originally settled by the Sinagua Native Americans in the 15th century, some Hopi clans claim they’re decedents of this people group. However, the earliest record of any settlements came in the late 1500s when Spanish explorers found the area occupied by the Yavapai. By the early 1800s the white man began to arrive; by the mid-1800s the community was a mixture of Apache, Yavapai and the white man. The U.S. army arrived in 1875 and removed most of the Native Americans from this area in a tragic and brutal march, exiling them to the San Carlos Reservation in Eastern Arizona. 

From that point on relations between settlers and the indigenous peoples in this area were essentially peaceful, although there were “Indian scares” into the 1880s. In the words of settler W.A. Jordan at that time, “The settlers were in no danger from this band of hunters (that he had just met between the settlements of Clarkdale and Cornville), but they were so wrought up over the stories of massacres and murders that the Indians themselves were in the greatest danger.” There was subsequent resistance from the settlers to the return of the Native Americans from the reservation to the nearby communities of Camp Verde and Clarkdale, although they did continue to hunt throughout the Verde Valley and to gather food in traditional ways.

White settlers arriving in the spring of 1876 built irrigation ditches, and began to plant large areas of crops. They also started cattle ranching. Due to the Great Depression and a substantial decline in profits from cattle ranching, much of this area was reduced to near subsistence agriculture in the first half of the 20th century. Some families continued to ranch the surrounding grazing lands while others went to work in the mines and smelters of nearby Jerome, Clarkdale, and Cottonwood. Cornville remained almost entirely agricultural until the late 1960s when numbers of retirees and residents who commuted to work in nearby towns began to increase dramatically.

Our park was small, with only 46 sites, but it was nestled among trees by Oak Creek and Page Springs, which flows mightily into the creek. We had only 30 amp service, no sewer connection at the site (one dump station served the entire park) and no cable TV, but that worked out OK, and our new KING Dish satellite and KING Jack OTA antenna were the bomb! I did include photos last week, but here they are again.

The building is where the office, restrooms, and laundry are located.
Our site looks like it's cramped, but we had plenty of room around our camper.

Sunday we decided to visit Red Rock State Park and Sedona. To get to Red Rock State Park we needed to drive the Red Rock Loop.

Red Rock State Park is located just a few miles south of Sedona. What a beautiful area! The park incudes a 1.4-mile stretch of Oak Creek, which supports rare native fish, as well as several frog species and the threatened Sonora mud turtle. (Who knew?) in addition, there are 8 different trees and several species of birds, including 5 different hummingbirds, which we watched for quite a while at the visitor center. Pretty cool. And… there are several large animals who call this place home, including the cougar, coyote, mule deer, collared peccary (a large-sized javelina) and river otter. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any of these… Darn.

Previously part of a ranch, it was purchased by Jack Frye (then president of Trans World Airlines) as a southwestern retreat for himself and his wife Helen. They wanted a place to “get away” from the pressures of his career. They fell in love with this red rock country and set out to build a home on a bluff high above Oak Creek. Construction on the new home was begun in 1947, designed by Helen to resemble a Hopi Indian pueblo. Thin, flat red rocks were quarried nearby and used for the exterior walls, while timbers from an area west of Flagstaff were used for beams and structural support. The house was 2 stories high and nearly every room was on a different level. The upper level was to be Helen’s studio. The main floor contained a large master bedroom, 2 dressing rooms, and 2 bathrooms. Another level contained Jack’s office, and still another level was a spacious living room leading to a dining room which featured large windows offering spectacular views of the surrounding red rocks. Beyond these rooms on various levels, were a kitchen and utility rooms.

The name House of Apache Fire was suggested by the sight of Native American campfires along the creek since they preferred to camp along the creek rather than in the small ranch cabins provided them as they worked on building the home.

Before the home was completed, the Fryes were divorced in 1950. After their divorce and Jack’s untimely death in 1959, Helen maintained the property for many years. It fell into disrepair after being empty for some time, and in 1967 a heavy snowstorm collapsed the roof over much of the structure.

In the early-70s Helen sold 330 acres to a real estate development company who planned to build a resort complex; the deal fell through. In 1976 the property was transferred to a religious movement that Helen belonged to, who planned a private retreat for their members. In the fall of 1980, a group of hikers, including the then-governor of Arizona Bruce Babbitt, were informed they were trespassing on private land. Babbitt, noted its potential for a full-fledged state park, and after doing research on the area was able to put together a 3-way land exchange between the religious sect, the Anamax Mining Company, and the Arizona State Land Department. Development of the land was slowed by budget cuts (aren’t they always?), and the Red Rock State Park was opened to the public and dedicated in October 1991.

The visitor center, beautifully done with a gift shop, tons of exhibits, a butterfly and "bug" collection,
and a hummingbird viewing patio with dozens of hummingbirds. The sun was so bright it was difficult to
capture the amazing color of the rock formations. The walking bridge was over Oak Creek, connecting
the park's meadow with hiking trails and the uphill climb to The Apache Fire House.

Photos, clockwise: the 3 Sisters, Napoleon's Tomb and Cathedral Rock,
The 7 Warriors, Petroglyphs found in Red Rock State Park; and a sculpture to
commemorate our bond with nature.

Our next stop on Sunday was to Sedona, just a few miles up the highway. We had a terrible time finding a place to park our big black truck, but finally managed to do so right on the main street—surprise!

Known for its beautiful red rock cliffs and formations, Sedona has much more to offer than pho
to ops. It’s rich in indigenous American history, too.

Sedona has long been home to humans, dating back to between 11,500 and 9000 B.C.  These included the Paleo-Indians, and the Archaic people who inhabited the Verde Valley south of Sedona. These hunter-gatherers lived here longer than any other people groups, leaving by 300 A.D. An assortment of rock art or petroglyphs, left by the Archaic people is visible in nearby Palatki and Honanki.

In 650 A.D., the Sinagua people entered the Verde Valley. Known for their pottery, basketry and masonry, they left petroglyphs, pueblos, and cliff dwellings, especially during the later period of their presence. (We’ll share photos and more information on these people in Monday’s adventures.)

Over the years many different people groups entered the Verde Valley, including the Yavapai and Apache, but it wasn’t until the late 1800s when the first white settlers came to stay. By 1902 there were 55 residents in Sedona; by the mid-50s there were 155 names listed in Sedona’s first telephone directory (some parts of Sedona didn’t have electricity until the 1960s!).

By the 1950s Sedona began to become a real tourist destination, vacation home and retirement area. Most of the buildings in Sedona were constructed in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and as of 2007 no large tracts of undeveloped land remained.

As you drive through Sedona you’ll notice quite a few movie posters lining an overlook along the highway. More than 60 Hollywood productions were filmed here over 50 years, making use of the unspoiled landscape for outdoor scenes. Sedona promoted itself as “Arizona’s Little Hollywood.”

These films included Johnny Guitar, Angel and the Badman, Desert Fury, Blood on the Moon and 3:10 to Yuma. The scenes were “supposedly” shot in Texas, California, Nevada, and even Canada. Starting with the silent movies, Zane Grey’s The Call of the Canyon and Kit Carson, the Hollywood films continued with ”B westerns,” including the only Hopalong Cassidy film ever shot outside California. The most historically significant movie role, saw Sedona cast as the promised land of milk and honey in Der Kaiser von Kalifornien, a Nazie western designed to validate Adolf Hitler’s schemes of territorial expansion to the people of Germany.

When John Ford’s production of Stagecoach pulled into town in 1938, it set off 30 years of picture activity: 44 features through 1973. Sedona provided the construction of Sedona Lodge, the only permanent boarding and production facility ever built specifically for movie crews on remote location in the U.S. Many of Hollywood’s biggest names were photographed in Sedona, including: Errol Flynn, Gene Tierney, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, James Stewart, Lizabeth Scott, Robert Mitchum, and Elvis Presley.

Dick's "Blue" burger on the left and my "Cowboy" burger on the right.
They were HUGE!

We walked around for a while, then decided to have lunch at the Canyon Breeze food court in downtown Sedona. We selected our meal: burgers! Wow!

By this time (late afternoon) we were pretty tuckered out from hiking all through Red Rock State Park in temperatures reaching almost 100°, so we headed back to the campground for an evening of relaxing.

Monday we visited Montezuma Well and Castle, V-Bar-V ranch and petroglyphs. Wow, were we impressed!

Our first stop was to Montezuma Well.  (And, no, it’s not named after the Aztec emperor Montezuma.) This tranquil site was home to the Singua culture. The well itself is a limestone “sink” that measures over 386’ in diameter, and is still fed by continuously flowing springs. And even though the well annually receives less than 13” of rainfall, it contains over 15 million gallons of water (replenished by the springs every 24 hours), maintaining its volume in spite of the recent droughts in Arizona and southwestern U.S. 

However, even though the water is spring fed, all the layers of rock penetrated and eroded by this water have left a chemical signature on it. The water contains arsenic, and high amounts of carbon dioxide making it highly carbonated, meaning no fish can survive in it. So, life has evolved here that exists nowhere else on earth: the shrimp-like amphipod (the size of your smallest fingernail), non-blood sucking leeches (thousands of them!), water scorpions, and the Montezuma Well spring snail.

Ruins of several prehistoric dwellings are scattered in and around the rim of the well. Most prominent are the cliff dwellings built just beneath the limestone rim of the well. It is believed that the Sinaqua culture most recently inhabited this area. There are more than 50 countable “rooms” found inside the Montezuma Well park boundaries, some used for purposes other than living space, including food storage and religious ceremonies. The Yavapai people consider the well a deeply sacred site, as they believe it is the place through which they emerged into the world.

Numerous dives to the bottom of the well have taken place over the years, all but one authorized for scientific research.  Reports say the bottom appears as an irregular boiling surface or like white lava flowing on a suspended bottom, and full of leeches about 30’ down. Yuck!

In 2006, a team of divers from the National Park Service, Submerged Resources Centers, in Santa Fe, NM confirmed that the false bottom is caused by pressurized groundwater entering the bottom of the well. The force of the water holds a 124’ to 137’ column of “fluidized sand” in suspension, giving it its boiling appearance. The most interesting outcome of the dives was the correlation of their scientific research with the traditional stories of the Yavapai and Apache people: “there is a place at the bottom (of the well) from which once something emerged, it could never return.” The scientists can attest to this; everything they tried putting down the well, including cameras, rovers, sensors, kept being pushed back out.

The Sinagua people, and most probably earlier cultures, farmed the land surrounding the well, using its constant outflow as a reliable source of irrigation for their crops. The well’s drainage into the nearby Wet Beaver Creek was diverted into a man-made canal running parallel to the creek, segments of which still conduct the well’s outflow today. Much of the prehistoric canal is still visible in the park today, and is estimated to have been nearly 7 miles long, likely draining into a network of smaller lateral canals downstream, supplying as much as 60 acres of farmland with water. As the warm water emerged from the well, the high concentration of lime in the water was deposited along the canal walls as the water cooled downstream, causing the accumulated lime to harden into a cement-like coating, thus preserving the canal’s shape. See photo to the right.

A “pithouse” on property dates to about 1050 A.D. Partly dug into the ground and covered by a roof, the pithouse provided shelter from the weather, and may be used to store food and for cultural activities like story-telling, dancing, singing and celebrations. The holes seen in the photo are used for roof support posts, surrounding posts, and may also have been used for food storage. As many as 4 to 6 families could make this their shelter; cooking fires would be located near the entrance(s).

According to the road signs, our next stop, the V Bar V Ranch and petroglyphs, was just 5 miles away. Huh! Turned out the road was heavy washboard and gravel. We could have backtracked a bit from the well site and taken the highway to the ranch and given the black truck a break, Oh well!. Took us at least twice as long to get to our destination as it should have… Anyway…

Our destination was the largest petroglyph rock art site in the Verde Valley, with over 1,032 identified images on 13 panels. Wow!

From the parking lot to the petroglyphs we walked along a well-prepared gravel path, among trees and a meadow; it gave one the sense of what it could’ve been like so many years ago. The petroglyphs docent, Jeff Duffy, was so knowledgeable that we could’ve spent hours listening to him as he explained the history and meaning of the images. The Sinagua created these images between 900 and 1300 A.D.; some of the images may been a solar calendar to determine ceremonial and planting times. About 20% of the petroglyphs are considered “zoomorphs,” including snakes, turtles, coyotes, deer and antelope. The next most common types are “anthropomorphs” and geometric figures, such as spirals and grids, which helped identify the calendar and planting times. We included this video which shows the petroglyphs more clearly. Really cool!

Our next stop was to Montezuma Castle National Monument, which is very well-preserved puebloan cliff dwellings, built and used by the Sinagua people between approximately 1100 and 1425 A.D. The main structure comprises 5 stories and 20 rooms, built over the course of 300 years. Several Hopi and Yavapai communities trace their ancestries to these early cultures, returning to these ancestral homes for religious ceremonies. Prior to the early 1950s visitors were allowed to climb up to see the dwelling first-hand, but it was closed due to deterioration and vandalism; now we can only see it from afar.

Montezuma Castle is situated about 90’ up a sheer limestone cliff, facing adjacent Beaver Creek, and is one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America, in part because of its placement in a natural alcove that protects it from exposure to the elements. The castle covers almost 4,000 square feet of floor space across 5 stories, accessible by a series of portable ladders making it difficult for enemies to penetrate their fortress, as well as protecting their home from flooding.

The walls of the castle are excellent examples of early stone-and-mortar masonry, constructed almost entirely of chunks of limestone found at the base of the cliff, as well as mud and/or clay from the nearby creek bottom. Ceilings incorporated timbers from the native Arizona sycamore tree as a kind of roof thatching. Wow!

Tuesday was another day of visiting local historical sites, even though the temperatures hovered at or near 3-digits. This day we visited the Tuzigoot remnant of a southern Sinagua village built between 1000 and 1400 A.D., and the historical town of Jerome, AZ.

Tuzigoot National Monument is a well-preserved 2- to 3-story pueblo ruin crowning the summit of a long ridge rising 120’ above the Verde Valley. Perhaps the most beautiful site of the Sinagua people, Tuzigoot is Apache for “crooked water,” the original pueblo was 2 stories high in places, with 110 rooms. The central rooms stand higher than the other, appearing to have been used for public functions. With very few exterior doors, entry was by ladders through roof openings. The original village began as a small cluster of rooms inhabited by about 50 people, for 100 years. In the 1200s the population doubled, then doubled again as people fleeing drought in outlying areas moved here. Also at the site are the remains of pithouses, as well as petroglyphs.

Franklin D. Roosevelt designated Tuzigoot ruins as a U.S. National Monument in July 1939; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 1966. What a feeling of awe to walk among these ruins that were home to people so many years ago, seeing what they saw, and trying to visualize their lives.

All the artifacts on display were found in this area. Amazing, and quite unbelievable that they were recovered.
Some of the pottery pieces had to be carefully reconstructed.

The ceilings were just under 6' as the tallest man was only near 5'4" tall.

Next on our list was to visit the nearby historical town of Jerome. At one time Jerome was the most talked about mining camp in America, and is listed on the National Historic Register. Its population went from 15,000 in its heyday, to a “ghost town” of under 50 people, to its role today as a center for the arts with unique shops, galleries, wineries, tasting rooms, dining and lodging with just over 300 permanent residents.

We thought the history of the town was interesting. Since the United Verde ore body at Jerome was partly visible on the surface, it’s likely that indigenous peoples had long mined it for the colorful copper-bearing minerals malachite and azurite.

The first mining claims were filed in 1876, and in 1883 the United Verde Copper Company was formed. The small adjacent mining camp on Cleopatra Hill was named Jerome in honor of the company’s secretary, Eugene Jerome. A small smelter was built at Jerome, and wagon roads were constructed to Prescott. However, transport by wagon was expensive, and after the price of copper fell by 50% in 1884 the company ceased operations.

Following this, a gentleman named William A. Clark, who had made a fortune in mining and commercial ventures in Montana, bought the United Verde properties, and among other improvements enlarged the smelter. He also ordered construction of a narrow gauge railway, to a railway transfer point 27 miles to the west. As mining of ore expanded, population in Jerome grew from 250 in 1890 to more than 2,500 by 1900. The leading copper producer in Arizona Territory, the United Verde Mine employed about 800 men. Over its 77-year life, this mine produced nearly 33 million tons of copper, gold, silver, lead and zinc ore, worth more than $1 billion, amounting to some of the richest ever found on earth!

In 1898, after 4 major fires destroyed most of the business district and half of the homes, the town was incorporated in 1899, making it possible to collect taxes to build a formal firefighting system, as well as establish building codes that prohibited tents and other fire hazards within the town limits.

In addition to churches, fraternal organizations and a downtown with brick buildings, telephone service and electric lights, banks, hotels, and stores, the thriving businesses were associated with alcohol, gambling and prostitution. After all it served a population that was 78% male in 1890. In 1903, the New York Sun proclaimed Jerome as, ”the wickedest town in the West.”

In 1914 a separate company, the United Verde Extension Mining Company, discovered a 2nd ore body near Jerome that produced a bonanza. Known also as the Little Daisy Mine, it became unbelievably profitable: during 1916 alone it produced $10 million worth of copper, silver and gold, of which $7.4 million was profit! This mine eventually produced more than $125 million worth of ore and paid more than $50 million in dividends.

WWI greatly increased the demand for copper, and by 1916 the number of companies involved in mining near Jerome reached 22, employing about 3,000 miners. Jerome’s population rose to an estimated 10,000 by 1917.

After a brief post-WWI downturn, boom times returned to Jerome in the 1920s. Copper prices rose to 24 cents a pound in 1929, with the mines operating at near capacity. Wages rose, consumers spent, and the town’s businesses, including 5 automobile dealerships prospered. Disability and life insurance benefits were added for miners; a baseball field, tennis courts, swimming pools, and a public park were built. Donations from the mining companies were made to the public library, schools, churches, and hospitals. Townspeople thought this wonderful era of bounty would never end.

However, in 1930, after the start of the Great Depression, the price of copper fell to 14 cents a pound. Work forces were reduced, companies were operating at a loss, and a 3rd mine, Verde Central, closed completely. In 1932 the price of copper fell further to 5 cents a pound, leading to layoffs, temporary shut-downs, and wage reductions. In 1938 the United Verde Extension mine went out of business. In addition, dozens of buildings were lost as the earth beneath them sank away, caused by geologic faulting in the area, blast vibrations in the mines, and erosion exacerbated by vegetation-killing smelter smoke. (The jail slid 225’ down the road!)

Mining continued at a reduced level until 1953, when the United Verde Mine and related operations were shut down. Jerome’s population fell below 100. To prevent the town from disappearing completely, the town turned to tourism and retail sales, and later sought status as a National Historic Landmark. Status was granted in 1967.

During our walk-about town a thunderstorm struck, so we decided lunch was in order. Of course, the restaurant of our choice, The Mile High Café, was definitely up the hill from where we were huddled against the rain. Up we went. Of course, I ran, and Dick stopped occasionally to take snaps of the town. Good grief! Once we arrived we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch of grilled Reuben on marbled rye, huge onion rings, and a bowl of cheesy potato and bacon soup. YUM-YUM! Oh, of course we had to try their microbrews, which were pretty good, too!

Clockwise from top left: The old Connor Hotel, what's left of an abandoned hotel,
up the hill past the hotel with a park on the left, and Jerome's Grand Hotel.

The Copper Cloud Saloon (part of the abandoned hotel above), and the Mile High Cafe exterior and interior.

View of Jerome from Jerome State Park, and the facade is all that's left of what was a
grocery store; another of the parks in Jerome.

In 1962, heirs of Jimmy Douglas (who had made his fortune in the mining industry, and owned the United Verde Extension mine in Jerome) donated his 1916 mansion, which he had built above his Little Daisy Mine, to the State of Arizona, which used it to create Jerome State Historic Park.

The mansion was designated as a hotel for mining officials and investors, as well as for Douglas’ own family. It featured a wine cellar, billiard room, marbled showers, steam heat, and a central vacuum system (definitely ahead of its time!).  Constructed of adobe bricks made on site, it’s the largest adobe structure in Arizona.

Copper-rich ore on the left, and malachite and azurite on the right.

The living room's main focus is the fireplace; the library has been furnished in period pieces;
another chunk of malachite and azurite; the mansion from across the valley.

While a museum devoted to the Douglas family, it’s perhaps more devoted to the history of the Jerome area, featuring exhibits of photographs, mining artifacts and minerals, in addition to a video presentation and a 3-D model of Jerome with its underground mines. More mining artifacts are outside the home with a picnic area offering a panoramic view of the Verde Valley and the red rocks of the Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon region. Beautiful.

                    

Wednesday was a stay-at-home day, for the most part, although Dick did ride the motorcycle 50 miles around the area, with a stop at the Cornville Post Office to check on our mail delivery. Even though the morning temps were in the mid-50s every day, it didn’t take long for them to shoot to the upper 90s and low 100s.

Thursday was another quiet day, although Dick did make a trip into the Cottonwood Home Depot for supplies needed for one of our slides.

Friday was a pack-up and go day for us, as we left Cornville, heading to Casa Grande, AZ, just a bit over 125 miles away. All-in-all it was a pretty easy travel day, but I have to say I do not like city traffic! There was moderate to heavy traffic through Phoenix on I-17S, and even though it wasn’t rush hour I didn’t like it one bit. 30 mph head winds greeted us as we drove east on I-10 towards Casa Grande, but it was the heat that really got us: 108° as we drove through Phoenix. It wasn’t much better when we arrived at Casa Grande RV Resort. The thermometer read 103°. We were totally exhausted by the time we got set up. The heat is so oppressive; don’t know how people live in this!

Casa Grande RV Resort is true RV resort, with 361 sites, including about 20 cabins. Plus it has 2 huge pools (including an aerobics and water volleyball pool), spa, multiple pickle ball courts,  a computer lounge (with free printing!), a ball field, card room with real poker tables--I could go on and on. Every site is graveled (but level), has a large concrete patio, with 50 amp service, and free WiFi. Here again, there isn’t cable TV, but with our KING antenna and Dish, who cares? The park is pretty empty now, but apparently is totally filled in the winter months.

I didn't feel much like cooking that night, so dinner was at a nearby pizza place, Barro’s Pizza. Really good, and fast! (Not quite, but almost like Panjo's Pizza in Rockport, Texas!) We even had some to take home for another meal.

We woke up Saturday to temps in the low 80s already at 7:00 a.m. All we managed to do that day was take a trip to Walmart for groceries, and I finally got a haircut. Yea!!

Sunday was another hot, Hot, HOT day, with temps reaching 102°. Our poor AC unit is certainly running overtime! But, we’re so thankful for it! Dick took the big black truck to have the tires rotated and balanced, while I stayed home to write the blog.

I know this week’s blog is historically heavy, but we wanted to share this info with you, so you would have a good idea of Arizona’s history in this area, and of what we experienced. We highly recommend a trip to Arizona to experience this for yourselves—perhaps not in the heat of summer, or September… Ha!

That’s it for this week. We’re here in Casa Grande for 12 days, but the heat might deter us from doing much.

Hugs ‘til next time,

RJ and Gail