All Aboard…Next Stop Verde Valley

(upbeat music) - [Ike] If you're not careful you could miss out on Central Arizona's Verde Valley.

(upbeat music continues) 100 Miles north of Phoenix, Verde Valley is home to scenic roads that lead to historic wonders of old mining towns and towering rock formations.

Sure, you know where Sedona is, and the red rocks that make for those amazing vistas.

But there's more to this central Arizona region, once rich for mining, now rich in culture.

(upbeat music continues) (birds chirping) (rocks crunching) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] "Trail Mixed" is made possible in part by a gift from Sue and Bill Ahearn.

(upbeat music continues) Additional support provided by, - [Narrator] SRP is staying ahead of the valley's growing energy needs.

We're investing in one of the country's largest solar battery storage projects to deliver power that is reliable as it is sustainable.

- [Narrator] Albertsons Safeway Pharmacies, and Valley nonprofit Mission of Mercy are proud to support cancer awareness.

They encourage you to talk to your doctor, get recommended screenings, and don't forget your flu vaccine.

More information at Albertsons or safeway.com.

- [Narrator] Whitfield Nursery proud to support Eight Arizona PBSS, a Valley tradition since 1946.

Over 200 acres of Arizona grown tree, citrus and palms.

Complete custom design and installation and Whitfill Nursery still does the digging, whitfillnursery.com.

- [Narrator] And by contributions to your PBS Station from viewers like you, thank you.

- I'm Ike Easley, and today all roads lead to Verde Valley.

Today, we'll not only take you on a gorgeous Red Rock trail, we'll also explore a trip through the Verde Canyon on rails.

And this trek through Central Arizona wouldn't be complete without a visit to the town of Jerome, complete with its mysteries and crooked up and down streets.

(upbeat music) You ready?

You know I'm ready.

"Trail Mix'd" starts right now.

(upbeat music) There's an Instagram post out there that says, "Happiness is not a state of mind, but a trip to Sedona."

Hikers and outdoor lovers, young and old, who come to Sedona's Red Rock State Park would have to agree.

- I love it, it's very scenic and the Red Rocks are just amazing.

- [Ike] Sedona Red Rock State Park is a 286 acre nature preserve, an environmental education center with some of the best panoramic views of Red Rock Vistas you'll see anywhere.

But perhaps one of the most underrated things about this place is the fact that it's got some fantastic hiking trails all within the park.

- Some people like to come out and hike the trails for exercise purposes, to get good views.

And then other people, I would say like myself, really do enjoy just being out here, listening to the creek, being in nature, being with the plants, and the wildlife.

It really is a magical place.

- [Ike] If you're looking to get away from the hiking crowds in Sedona, this might be a nice alternative.

- So we came because, well, one, we're actually staying for the moonlight hike tonight, so we're excited about that.

But we wanted to explore the different parks here and just look at the Red Rock formations, which are much different from what we see in Virginia, which is where we're from.

- Red Rock State Park is a very family friendly park, so we do have five miles of interconnected trails that are all ranked easy to moderate.

So it's not gonna be like Bell Rock where you're climbing.

We do not have any trails where you're climbing here.

So I think having that, having the views, having the quiet area next to the creek it's just a lot happening in one place where it's not gonna be as busy as the rest of Sedona is.

- When you first arrive at the park you'll spot Wooden King Fisher Bridge.

Now, depending on the time of year, Oak Creek might be mild, or wild.

Looking around me it's looking more mild today, which is fantastic.

- There's just such a wide variety of hiking trails here.

We can kind of find whatever we're looking for.

Since we brought small children with us we are kind of looking for the flatter, less strenuous hikes that they can do.

And there's plenty of those to find.

- Yeah, the Red Rock just there are only a few places that I can think of that we can see this much variants of color, you know the contrast, and it's really beautiful.

It sets it apart from many other place that we've been to.

- Once you cross the bridge, you'll come upon the Kisva Trail, which is located on the south side of the Oak Creek riparian corridor.

Kisva Trail connects three major loops along the Riperion River corridor, the Apache Loop, the Eagles Nest Loop, and a Coyote Ridge Trail.

The park's five mile trail network consists of interconnecting loops.

The Eagles Nest Loop where we're headed is the highest point in the park, and supposedly has some breathtaking views not to be missed.

On the day we're here on our way to Eagles Nest, you can see how recent rains have Oak Creek running along at a pretty good clip.

- So we did have a lot of flooding here at Oak Creek, and some other creeks in the area.

So what we have here, this is actually a little high here, even for us, normally.

The creek usually meanders at about 30 to 40 CFS, which is cubic feet per second.

And when it was flooding due to the snow melt and the rain, mostly to snow melt, the water was not only covering this whole area like wide, it was almost up to the bridge.

And I think it got up to over 15,000 CFUs, when it's normally between 30 and 40.

So we didn't have any structural damage.

Obviously we've had damage to some of the trails that we've been working on.

- [Ike] As we continue our trek on the trail to Eagle's Nest you can look out and see the spectacular House of Apache Fires.

- This house was built in the 1940s by Jack and Helen Frye.

Jack Frye was the president of TWA Airlines at that time.

- The house with the Hopis style pueblo exterior was built by the Fryes, who first saw the land during a flyover in the 1940s.

Construction started in 1947 and the couple divorced in 1950.

Over the years, it changed ownership, until Arizona identified the land for natural protection.

That came in the 80s when former governor, Bruce Babbitt out hiking with his family was told to get off the property.

The action inspired the governor's concern for Oak Creek Canyon and its accessibility to the public.

That led to the development of the Red Rock State Park in 1991.

The elevation along the dusty red trail to Eagle's Nest is about 300 feet in elevation.

And from everything I've heard, I'm anticipating some very red, very cool views of the Red Rocks.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Ooh wee!

Yes sir, Yes sir!

We finally made it, check out these views.

(laughs) The top of Eagle's nest is as promised, pretty spectacular.

There are views of distant formations, like Cathedral Rock, and Seven Warriors from several vantage points.

Taking the time to really explore here is definitely worth it.

And you walk away a little more informed about Oak Creek and the important riparian habitat that makes up the Red Rock State Park.

(upbeat music) Just southwest of Sedona along Highway 89A you can take a wonderfully scenic route to Jerome.

The town has steep streets that switch back up the mountainside.

You'll see the big J on the hill.

And the town sits just above a vast deposit of copper and history.

- The story of Jerome at its essence is the story of the minerals that are here.

This is arguably the richest copper vein in the world.

This used to be a volcanic ocean that created what we have here today.

And it was mined by indigenous communities, as well as the Spanish conquistadors.

When they came over in the 1500s, they were mining here.

And then after the Spanish American, or the Mexican American war, that's when the first white settlers came and made claims to the mineral wealth that's here.

- Once known as the wickedest town in the West, Jerome was legendary in its excess.

The mines, the workers, and those who sought and got wealthy in town formed Jerome's fascinating, and sometimes soared history.

(upbeat music continues) - There's also, like I said, all the different characters.

Belgian Jennie was one.

She was a very well known madam who had a brothel here in town.

There were a number of brothels, but hers comes to mind and one of the stories is that when the fires in the late 19th century, you know, she put out there that you know, if she would trade her services if they would come and take care of her property first, so that it was saved from the fire.

But a lot of characters like that.

- [Ike] As explosive as the towns folk were, the town itself was once just as combustible.

- There were three fires, 1897, 98, and 99 that leveled a large part of the town.

And in 1899, that's when Jerome actually incorporated as a town.

And one of the reasons that they wanted to incorporate was to have codes for buildings.

So the wooden construction gave way to brick and stone.

The Bartlett Hotel that we're in is a prime example of that, but it's also a prime example that fire was not the only danger to the town's existence literally, because we're on a number of fault lines here.

And so you had, well now after the mining, there's 80 miles of tunnels underneath us.

So there was explosions and opening up voids.

There's two fault lines that run through town.

And all these combined had a number of earth movements.

We refer to them as the subsidences - [Ike] Today, the town of Jerome thrives on its artist community and on thousands of tourists who come to visit from all over the world every year.

Pick a place to park and walk up and down the crooked streets and enjoy the incredible views of the Verde Valley.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music) From its perch high atop Cleopatra Hill, Jerome looks out over the entire Verde Valley.

One of the most stunning and unique treasures you can experience from Jerome's mining era is the Douglas Mansion, just off the winding road that guide you up and down the mountain.

- Douglas Mansion was built in 1916.

It was the home of the mine owner, Mr. James S. Douglas, who owned the Little Daisy Mine, or the United Verde Extension Mining Company.

This house was more or less his business home, slash party home.

So he would have some of the executives that lived on the mountain back here in Sunshine Hill.

They were permanent Jerome residents and he was not.

So he would have them here to conduct mining business, entertain them with parties and things like that.

- [Ike] Douglass built the home after his little Daisy Mine hit it big in 1914, striking a 45% copper vein.

Back then, most copper mines only pulled about eight to 10%.

- So they say today that if you equate the dollar amount from the early 1920s to now, you're looking at a close to $18 billion.

- [Ike] And because he was so rich he spared no expense making his mansion king of the hill.

- The house was built with absolute modern amenities for the time, for 1916.

It had electricity, running water, it had a central vacuum system, it had a billiard room, it had a Italian marble shower, and a huge bathroom.

It's an 8,700 square foot adobe structure, and it only costs them about $150,000 to build.

- [Ike] And that pool table is original, and the central vacuum system still works.

- So this is a central vacuum system originally installed in 1916, believe it or not, that was located of the basement of the house.

So throughout the whole house, there's a bunch of piping and the shocking thing, it still works.

- No, it doesn't.

- You wanna see it run?

- It don't work.

- You wanna see it?

- I don't believe you, so show me.

Show me that it works - All right.

Here we go.

(engine revving) - Yo.

Okay.

Okay, what something going on right there?

- Yeah, this is the suction.

You can your hand right there, just watch out.

- Oh, it really does work.

And check out this original stamp machine.

250 pound stacks crushed huge rocks and separates the copper, gold, and silver from the ore. - James Douglas was a rough and tumble working man.

He wasn't your William Clark type person who was, you know richer than Rockefeller at the time.

He was more of a working man, more of a, he would ride his horses out here on the property.

He had a corral in the back in the other structure adjacent to this one.

And he was good to his miners, he was good to the business people of the mines.

He treated them well and he was a happy gentleman.

He did enjoy the finer things in life, but also at the same time his shirts were torn, he wore holes in his jeans.

So definitely a man's man for sure.

- [Ike] This is much more than a home tour of the rich and famous.

It's a testament to Douglas's love of Arizona.

It's made of more than 80,000 adobe bricks.

And all the materials used to build the mansion were native of Arizona.

- He loved the southwest, he loved Arizona.

So he kept it in a manner that fit with the landscape.

So if you do look into the canyon here there's a big canal called the glory hole.

So they basically dug out a huge hole for overburden, which was rock and minerals and things that they didn't want.

They were digging through and they would discard it.

They were gonna fill that hole with that overburden from mining operations, but they never filled it.

The mine closed in 1938.

So the state park is the fifth state park in Arizona.

So one of the earliest in the system.

The two sons of James Douglas, and in 1962 they approached the the Arizona State Parks Board to donate it to the state as a state park.

The parks board accepted and in 1965 it became the fifth State Park, and- - [Ike] As you make your way up the mountain Jerome State Park is the perfect pit stop to learn about the areas rich mining history.

- The Douglas Mansion is a great place to start when you're coming to visit Jerome, Arizona.

It's gonna give you all the history of the town between 1876 and 1953 when the mines closed.

- [Ike] And experience the luxury that copper brought.

(soothing music) Hiking the trails within the Sedona Red Rock State Park system you're bound to run across amazing wildlife sightings.

And that's thanks to the life giving Oak Creek, a prime riparian zone.

(soothing music continues) - Obviously we need water here in the desert.

Having that amount of water here is going to bring more vegetation, which the animals need.

- [Ike] Flooding and weather doesn't stop park managers and staff from teaching and showing park hikers and visitors how important Oak Creek is this riparian habitat.

- We have what's called the Connection Program here at Red Rock State Park.

And that is a program that one of our rangers needs with help from volunteers.

And there's lessons that vary from wildlife to insects, lessons on water, tracks, animal tracks.

So that's offered mostly in the spring, but really year round.

- [Ike] One of the most abundant species at the park still manages to surprise when you catch one looking straight at you on one of the trails.

- So we have mule deer here.

It's a pretty common animal that you'll see here at the park all year round.

- [Ike] Among other species thriving at the park are javelina, the porky little critters, which you're likely to see as much as the mule deer.

And as with all wildlife encounters always make sure you give animals plenty of space and enjoy them from distance.

If you're a bird nerd, red Rock State Park has an abundance of birding trails and special guided bird walks throughout the year.

- We have a huge variety of birds.

This is a migration corridor.

- [Ike] The Audubon Society has also designated Red Rock State Park as part of the lower Oak Creek important birding area, because of the many species that live or visit here.

- So we have a variety of wildlife here at Red Rock State Park.

We have lots of reptiles, so that includes lizards, snakes, we have a huge variety of birds.

You even have a chance of seeing javelina, coyote, and even bobcat.

The animals thrive here because of Oak Creek.

- Would you look at that?

That river is moving so fast.

But the question I have, can a river move as fast as a train?

Hmm, I do think we'll get our answer in Clarkdale.

From trails to rails.

(train whistling) To check out Arizona's longest running nature show, you first have to climb aboard.

(upbeat music) This train takes you on a one of a kind trail to the Verde Canyon wilderness.

(upbeat music continues) The vintage Verde Canyon railroad train is a big blue blast from the past.

- Yeah, the FP7s were actually starting into development before World War II.

But when war broke out, all of the engine production was requisitioned for the military.

There were something like 3000 of these engines produced.

And out of those, there's only 10 left in the nation in running condition.

And we're very proud to have two of them right here.

(upbeat music continues) - [Ike] After leaving the Clarkdale station, we'll go through an area that's high desert on one side and a riparian habitat on the other.

- What makes this so special?

It's a 40 mile round trip ride through a canyon that is otherwise completely inaccessible.

There are no hiking paths, no dirt roads, no other way to see the beauty that's out there along this river.

- [Ike] We'll then pass through walls of Red Rock that reach up to the blue sky.

- [Jason] This time of year, we're early in the spring.

The leaves haven't blossomed out on the trees yet, so you're gonna have outstanding views of the rock formations that comprise the canyon walls.

And there are fewer places for the wildlife to hide.

- [Ike] Whether you choose to stay inside the climate controlled train car.

- [Jason] You get hors d'oeuvres and snacks.

You have drink service available - [Ike] Or if the scenery pull you outside.

- Everybody has the opportunity to go outside to the open air viewing cars, so that you can see the magnificent heights of the canyon walls.

And let's face it, we live in Arizona.

The weather is almost always gorgeous.

So it's a great place to be on those outdoor cars.

- [Ike] You have a front row seat like none other.

(upbeat music) - The whole canyon is alive to the wildlife, the plants, the water that flourishes and feeds everything in our state.

We're taking you past it at a slow 11 to 14 miles per hour, so you can take it all in and just enjoy being in this alive canyon.

- [Ike] You not only pass over the river and through these rugged red cliffs, you truly get to see nature's sore.

- We saw a bald eagle and it was huge.

- [Ike] Most of the access points to the canyon are closed to the public during breeding season.

So taking the train is the only way to see the bald eagles and hawks.

- It's been fantastic for my husband, because he's a total train fanboy, and he loves trains always.

He kept saying, "I'm going outside for a minute, I'm going outside."

I wouldn't see him for 20, 15 minutes.

I'm enjoying it, just the comfort of the inside, and just looking at the scenery.

It's been magnificent, I love it.

(upbeat music continues) - [Jason] 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Everybody yeah!

- Yeah!

- [Ike] The train goes dark, but the train rumbles along and through a curved 680 foot tunnel.

After going 20 miles through pristine canyon and green landscapes of cottonwood and juniper the train rolls to a brief stop to turn around in the Old Ghost Ranch of Perkinsville, where some of the scenes in the movie "How The West Was Won" were shot.

(upbeat music continues) It's here where the train engines are side tracked, and hooked to the other end of the train for our return trip to Clarkdale.

- And then Perkinsville is another little treat that you end up with.

And the highlight was having them switch the engines.

We've never seen that before, so that was pretty exciting.

So of course I had to go outside for that one.

That one was awesome.

- My favorite stretch is when you leave town, you're going across some open country, and then all of a sudden you go around a big curve and you're starting down into the canyon, and you can just see it all unfolding all the way up that canyon.

- "I had no idea how beautiful it was."

That's the most common comment.

I want them to take away that there are still so many beautiful open spaces that can be appreciated and seen but never touched.

So we never impact the life that is here.

- It's all incredible and you really can't see the whole thing on one trip.

- We're open year round and we wanna share all of our seasons with them.

- The wonderful train town of Clarkdale has given us a taste of trails on rails.

And that's what "Trail Mix'd" is all about, finding new ways to discover Arizona.

Until next time, I'm Ike Easley.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] "Trail Mix'd" is made possible in part by a gift from Sue and Bill Ahearn.

(upbeat music continues) Additional support provided by, - [Narrator] SRP is staying ahead of the valley's growing energy needs.

We're investing in one of the country's largest solar battery storage projects to deliver power that is as reliable as it is sustainable.

- [Narrator] Albertsons Safeway Pharmacies, and Valley nonprofit Mission Of Mercy are proud to support cancer awareness.

They encourage you to talk to your doctor, get recommended screenings, and don't forget your flu vaccine.

More information at Albertsons or safeway.com.

- [Narrator] Whitfield Nursery proud to support Eight Arizona PBS, a valley tradition since 1946.

Over 200 acres of Arizona grown trees, citrus, and palms.

Complete custom design and installation.

And Whitfill Nursery still does the digging, whitfillnursery.com.

- [Narrator] And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you, thank you.