Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Who is Schnebly?


Distant Drums RV Resort
Camp Verde, AZ
April 28, 2014

I-17 towards Flagstaff
Last Monday, Joe and I headed out to do a hike off Schnebly Hill Road. We headed out bright and early going north (from Camp Verde) on I-17 towards Flagstaff.  We have done this many times. Today, however, we were talking and drove right by exit  #298 which is Hwy 179 to Sedona.  OOPS! Not to worry though...with map in hand, we kept going. Did you know that exit #320 lands you right on Schnebly Hill Road?
 
Google says that in late 1901, T.C. Schnebly and his wife purchased an 80 acre plot near the location of the present day Tlaquepaque Arts Village and built a home.  Residents of the small settlement complained about the slow and infrequent mail service.


 T.C. filed for an application for the establishment of a post office. Suggested names for the post office were Red Rock Crossing and then Oak Creek Station, but both were turned down by the government because the names were too long to fit on the cancellation stamp. A resident submitted the name of T.C.'s wife, Sedona. Postal officials approved the name Sedona and on June 26, 1902, the post office was in business in back of the Schnebly home.






Between 1876 and 1900, settlers  had a 4 day journey to reach Flagstaff from Sedona. By 1901, a new, rough route was carved out and a $600 contract was awarded to a Civil War veteran to improve the road. The new route reduced the trip from Sedona to Flagstaff from 4 days to 2.


Schnebly first used the road in 1902 to transport lumber from Flagstaff to build his two-story, 11 room home. Once his home was completed, he used the road to transport wagonloads of produce north to Flagstaff and supplies south to his general store in Sedona. Travelers would often stop at his home which he later converted into an inn. Before long, folks associated the road with the Schnebly family and the route was given its present name.


Today, Schnebly Hill Road is an easy but rough and bumpy 4X4 trail. Most folks take a moderate climb up the west face of Schnebly Hill. But our "OOPS!" gave us a different view as we descended almost 2,000 feet.

Sights along the way...
 


 We crossed Foxboro Lake Dam...
 


 and stopped to enjoy the ducks and Canadian Geese.
American Wigeon...thank you Judy! Often seen on marshy ponds in the company of diving ducks. They wait at the surface while other birds dive, then snatch the food away when the birds reappear. The bill is pale blue.




We also spotted a Bluebird.




From start to finish, its about an eleven mile ride. And surprisingly, we only passed about 5 other vehicles.


After a bumpy, awesome ride, we had a great hike...Huckaby Trail is the 5th hike we have completed from our book... Sedona's Top 10 Hikes.



 The trailhead is located just after the pavement ends ( maybe a mile or little more) on Schnebly Hill Road if you enter SHR from Hwy 179. The trail is a 5.6 mile roundtrip hike rated moderate/longer in our book. 


This hike was lots of fun...narrow ledges, zigs and zags,  and up and downs. The great thing about these hikes is you get a good workout, but you hardly realize it. There is something to "WOW!" about around every turn.




It's a hike close to the heart of downtown Sedona, that takes you along the hillside and the creek, and thru evergreens and wilderness.







Our hike ended IN Oak Creek under the Midgley Bridge on 89A North.





It was much nicer walking around downtown Sedona than driving thru it...talk about lots of traffic.



Agave Americana...almost in bloom!

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time...
enjoy!


18 comments:

  1. While traveling south on # 17 a few months back we noticed exit 320 was still closed for the winter. We had also noticed a few days before the road was gated off right at Schnebly Hill coming from the Sedona end. Think I remember seeing that Huckaby trail. Certainly is a rough road in a few spots but that's what makes the drive memorable. Only down thing I see about Sedona is it's masses of traffic.

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    1. Good morning Al...we did discover 89A which is a little better as a lot of our hikes are in the Dry Creek Road area. I totally enjoyed your description of these 4X4 trails in your post...especially the " jarring and re-arranging one's aging bones". It does help if you do not lean back against the back of your seat, but rather sit up straight...but don't even think about getting a swallow of water! What a mess...

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  2. I enjoyed your Oops drive, which as you may already know gave some surprises along the way. Gay you are really blazing a trail for us.

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    1. Hi MonaLiza...as much as Joe and I loved hiking in Moab last year, we are thinking this might be even better. Cant believe I misspelled OOPS! I fixed it...thanks!

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  3. Very cool road isn't it! We drove this, also. Sure does rock the body but you forget about all the people not far away. We didn't hike this trail that I can remember so I have Pinned it for our next visit. Thanks for sharing:)

    Gay, make sure you try Bear Mountain. It is an awesome, climb and makes the body feel great. It's a long hike because the climbing is slow. You don't have to go all the way, the views are super all the way up. We didn't start til 2:00 so we only got about halfway.

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    1. Hi Pam...Bear Mountain is on our list...we did Doe Mesa (which shares the same parking lot) last week. It was an awesome hike too and not quite as long as Bear.

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  4. It's definitely an interesting area. Sedona is gorgeous and there's so much around there to do and see.

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    1. Good morning Jeri...can you believe we haven't even been out to eat yet?Much too tired after all hikes. It seems the great outdoors is calling our name every morning and we have yet to scratch the surface of places to explore!

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  5. Your oops moment turned out to be a stroke of good luck, otherwise you would've missed out on some beautiful scenery. Love the flowering cactus, their colors are striking. I was surprised to see how vast the town is. I had it pictured more as a sleepy little desert town. BTW, congrats on making the big time. I read about you on the Bayfield Bunch blog. I imagine you will experience a growth in readership. Kudos to you & Joe & keep those blogs coming.

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    1. Sedona is not like I had pictured either...very touristy! I do like Cottonwood which is a lot smaller and convenient for groceries. The flowering cacti come in all colors...they are so pretty Gayle!

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  6. I believe your duck is an American wigeon. :)

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    1. Thank you Judy! I looked up the American Wigeon and what a little thief he is. I wish my picture had shown the pale blue bill...so pretty! I re-wrote the caption in the post...thanks again!

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  7. Beautiful photos - thanks for sharing. I agree with Judith that the duck is an American Wigeon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Wigeon

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  8. Love the scenery in and around Sedona,awesome pictures!

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  9. I never knew the story of Sedona, thank you for the informative post. Of course the pictures are just beautiful.

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    1. Thanks JO! I love looking up the history of the places we visit.

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