DESTINATIONS
Arizona’s Secret Canyon
By Edie Jarolim
Serving the Community Since 2002
Looking to escape civilization and its discontents? Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, a desert oasis tucked away between Tucson and Phoenix, might just be the place. The Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) parcels out only 50 permits a day to enter the 19,410-acre preserve, thus minimizing encounters with other humans while maximizing opportunities to ogle wildlife. Bighorn sheep, mule deer, bobcats, javelina and more than 200 types of birds are among the species drawn to the year-round stream that threads its way through the dramatic 11-milelong gorge in the Galiuro Mountains. Prickly pear cacti poke out from impossible perches in sandstone cliffs that soar as high as 1,000 feet, while sycamores, willows and cottonwoods hold sway below. This is the natural universe unplugged, with no formal trails or campsites — just a streambed to follow during the day and whatever canopy of
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trees you choose to rest under at night. But maybe you’re not soothed by mysterious animal cries after dark and prefer to sleep on a mattress that doesn’t require inflating. Good news. In a pristine spread near the preserve’s western entrance, Aravaipa Farms Orchard & Inn offers abundant creature comforts while eliminating creature worries. Both canyon and inn have rich histories. Early native peoples, including the Hohokam, Mogollon, Salado and Sobaipuri, lived along the lush banks of the spring-fed stream. The Western Apaches who followed gave the region its name: Aravaipa means “land of the laughing waters.” Settlers in the early 20th century had a heavier footprint: farmers diverted the creek, miners dynamited fishing holes and ranchers hunted cattle-eating species. Concern over these depredations led Congress to protect the vast Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness in 1984. In
Photos: Foskett Creative
Remote, Lush & Diverse, Steal Away to Aravaipa Canyon
addition, the Nature Conservancy took guardianship of 9,000 acres adjacent to the BLM land. Author Edward Abbey finished “The Monkey Wrench Gang” while serving as the first manager of
the Conservancy’s preserve. Among the reasons he was sacked: skinny-dipping in Aravaipa Creek. See Arizona’s Secret Canyon, page 53
