An inky river of asphalt, high speed metal and gripping tires, the Black Canyon Freeway, I-17, races from desert floor to alpine country, ascending over a vertical mile from Phoenix to Flagstaff. The highway cuts a path through the lush desert hills of New River, adorned with large, green saguaros and generous palo verde, affording sunset vistas worthy of the Wild West.
It grinds upward, past Rock Spring's ever warm and crusty pies, as it makes its determined climb to Black Canyon City. Here, skirting blast cut cliffs, semis grind in low gears past guardrails and steep overhangs against a backdrop of soaring Bradshaw Mountains. A downward glance offers a glimpse of the southbound serpentine stretch of asphalt, where calculated curves replace what would otherwise have been a steeper grade.
Shooting past ominous signs of Deadman's Wash, Horse Thief Basin and Bloody Basin, to wonderfully colorful towns of Rock Springs, Crown King and Bumble Bee, the traffic churns up a final ascent to a grassy, volcanic plateau and beautiful Sunset Point where you can gaze across the Black Canyon itself and Bumble Bee far below. The straw colored grassy Black Mesa, dropping off to Black Canyon on the West, contrasts the blue green Bradshaws and gives way to Arizona's high desert, the steep grade of Copper Canyon and forests of Flagstaff.
Today's fast paced two hour ride, much like a Southwestern bullet train, was born of a two lane dirt highway, ambling across the foothills far below. Old Black Canyon Highway, descended of Native American trails and long used for sheepherding, was realigned onto the Mesa, east of Bumble and Old Cordes, in the mid-fifties. Formerly an old stage coach route from Phoenix to Prescott, the rough ride took 30 hours, making a prominent pit stop in Mayer.
Yet next time you fly past Rock Springs, peer closely and you might catch a glimpse of today's link between Black Canyon Backcountry and the Superslab: a nationally recognized 80 mile trail spanning from Carefree Highway to Mayer. Over the desert hills, in the shadow of the tempting slice of giant cherry pie, the Agua Fria makes a silvery meander among golden trees and formidable boulders of smooth aqua green rock. The trail is smooth, even and impeccably maintained. A jaunt from the Black Canyon Exit 242 to the Agua Fria and back is a bit over 3 miles round-trip.
For more scenic offshoots from the Black Canyon that harken back to simpler times, back in the high desert, take Bloody Basin road west to the ghost town of Old Cordes. The grated gravel road is fine for a two-wheel drive vehicle, but be prepared to take the especially gravely parts a bit slow. As you make your approach to Cordes you'll pass high desert grassy hills studded with prickly pear.
From Cordes, continue on to Mayer, where you won't want to miss the historic buildings on Central Avenue, many inhabitated as residential homes (including a former brothel now apartment building and post office turned private residence). The old hotel, Pioneer House and red brick school building are worth seeing as well.
Lastly, Old Black Canyon Highway fans can pick up the route where it intersects S.R. 69 just east of Costco in Prescott, where you'll find a concrete bridge, circa 1922, when automobiles gained popularity, and a touching pioneer grave and remembrance for young Angeline Hoagland.
No matter your adventure on or off the pavement, the Phoenix-Flagstaff corridor traverses time, cultures, geology and climate zones and is sure to be remembered.
Thank you for reading! Questions for you:
I-17, love it or hate it?
Rock Springs: the pie, a meal, or both?
Geologists (real and amateur): what are the aqua green rocks lining the Agua Fria riverbed?
Please answer in comments below!
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