TRAVEL

Discover Flagstaff: Aspens, cheese crisps and Route 66

Roger Naylor
Special for The Republic
Aspens grow in thick clusters, often with hundreds or even thousands of trees joined underground by a single root network.

All 18-year-olds think they know everything. In my case, it actually was true.

At that age, I knew I was going to be a writer and I knew I was going to live in Arizona. Nothing else mattered. I had decided on my profession a few years earlier, the first time I read Mark Twain. I chose my home just days after arriving in Flagstaff as a wide-eyed freshman attending Northern Arizona University. It was August 1975.

Next month I celebrate 40 years of being head over heels in love with this remarkable state. And it all started in Flagstaff, a mountainous and funky little town. Flag has grown considerably in the past four decades but is still an eclectic blend of college students, cowboys, artists, river runners and ski bums. Here are a few of my favorite Arizona things I discovered in Flagstaff.

Aspen enchantment

Because I arrived from Ohio, mountains were a whole new experience for me. The San Francisco Peaks loom above the city, the hulking remains of an eroded stratovolcano. I had seen woodlands and forests before, but ponderosa pines were a welcome twist. Sticking my nose in the rough folds of the bark and getting a whiff of vanilla made every hike seem like a saunter through some enchanted cookie store.

RELATED: Chiricahua National Monument: Born in volcanic fire​

Yet the aspens intrigued me more. I had never seen anything so strikingly uniform in nature: rows of vertical trunks bunched close together to form a pale wall. They looked like they could have been plucked from the pages of a Tolkien book. And aspens have a relationship with the wind unlike other trees. They give voice to the slightest breeze. More than a forest, aspens are a symphony. Their leaves clatter happily to create a velvet crescendo, a shimmery celebration. It’s the sound your heart makes when you run into an ex-lover on a day when you just happen to look fantastic.

The first trail I remember hiking in Arizona is Veit Springs Loop. It’s still a favorite aspen hike. The 1.5-mile trail begins as a gentle climb along an old jeep road to a small preserve. This 160-acre tract was homesteaded in 1892 by Ludwig Veit. It’s now managed by Arizona Game and Fish Department and is known as the Lamar Haines Memorial Wildlife Area. The road soon narrows to a path and reaches a fork at 0.2 mile. Take the loop clockwise. Elk and deer are common sights in mornings and evenings.

Just before reaching a plaque honoring Haines, a Flagstaff educator and environmentalist, a spur trail leads to the tumbledown remains of Veit’s cabin and two small spring houses. Follow the cliff around to the left to see a few red-orange pictographs, estimated to be more than 1,000 years old.

From Flagstaff, drive 7 miles north on U.S. 180 to Snowbowl Road and turn right. Travel 4.4 miles and watch for a small parking area on the right.

If the parking lot is full, you can still get your aspen fix. Drive another 0.8 mile to Aspen Corner, marked by a split-rail fence, and stretch your legs on that path for a nice mix of forest and sprawling mountain meadows.

Details: 928-774-5045, www.azgfd.gov.

Salsa Brava has been featured on the popular television show, "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."

Say cheese

My college girlfriend was an Arizona native, born in Chandler. One afternoon we walked to a house on the edge of campus where a Mexican woman ran a small eatery out of her kitchen. There was one table. My girlfriend ordered something called a cheese crisp. It cost 50 cents.

What arrived was a rather bland-looking yellow wheel that turned out to be one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten. How could something so utterly simple — a flour tortilla swabbed with a little butter and grated cheese and baked at a volcanically high temperature — be so delectable? I lost touch with my college sweetheart some 38 years ago, but I am forever in her debt for introducing me to this culinary delicacy. It should be our official state appetizer.

RELATED:  New hiking trails at Lake Pleasant Regional Park​

One of my favorite cheese crisps can be found at Salsa Brava in Flagstaff. Served on a tortilla the size of a hubcap, baked to crispy perfection, it’s a big plate of ooey, gooey cheesy goodness. I often eat a Cheese Crisp Grande as my meal. It comes topped with black beans, green chile, tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Salsa Brava has been featured on the popular television show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

Details: 2220 E. Route 66. 928-779-5293, www.salsabravaflagstaff.com.

A pedestrian-only segment of Route 66 sits in the shadow of Mt. Elden just east of Fanning Road and parallels bustling Historic Route 66.

Kicking it on Route 66

The first time I set foot on Historic Route 66, Flagstaff’s main drag, was during college. To be honest, it only mildly sparked my interest at the time but it later became a genuine passion.

Route 66 was established in November 1926, stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles. Arizona contains the longest unbroken stretch of Route 66 still in existence, 158 miles from west of Ash Fork to the California state line. The only national park the Mother Road passes through is the Petrified Forest.

Most importantly, Arizona is the state that saved Route 66.

RELATED:   Pearl Harbor spy was detained at Triangle T Ranch

U.S. 66 was decertified in 1985. All signs were taken down and it was removed from maps. It ceased to exist. Through the work of a handful of Seligman residents, Arizona became the first state to dedicate a stretch of the old highway as Historic Route 66, beginning the preservation effort that has encompassed the entire road. Every other state followed our blueprint.

There are lots of Route 66 highlights in Flag, but one of my favorites is the most obscure. It’s a 770-foot-long slab of pavement that you can no longer drive on.

Through the years, sections of the road were realigned as needed. The city preserved part of a 1947 segment and threaded it into the Flagstaff Urban Trails System. Sitting in the shadow of Mount Elden just east of Fanning Road, the old piece of highway parallels bustling Historic Route 66 and includes three picnic tables, a ramada and informational signs. It’s open to pedestrians and bicyclists.

Best access is to park across the road in Santa Fe Plaza. If you’re in a picnic mood, grab a sandwich and homemade dessert at Jitters Lunchbox, a new cafe in the plaza, then stroll across the street and snag a table. It’s a nice place to sit and ponder the journey.

Details: 3504 E. Route 66. 928-526-3277, www.jitterslunchbox.com.

I’m looking forward to the next 40 years. If I was such a know-it-all at 18, I should be a certifiable genius at 98.

Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com.

Flagstaff

  • Flagstaff is about 144 miles north of central Phoenix. Take Interstate 17 north until it crosses under Interstate 40 and becomes Milton Road.
  • The Visitor Center is in the historical railroad depot at 1 E. Route 66. 800-379-0065, www.flagstaffarizona.org.
  • First Friday ArtWalk is a monthly street party that spreads through downtown. Shops and galleries stay open and feature artists at work, exhibitions and performances. Live music spills from open doorways, while other musicians stake out hunks of sidewalk for jam sessions. It’s a fun, vibrant scene, especially on deliciously cool summer evenings. Hours are 6-9 p.m. After 9, the action shifts to bars and restaurants. The next First Friday ArtWalk is Aug. 7. 928-779-2300, www.flagstaffartwalk.com.