Life Among the Saguaros: Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area – Part 1

The Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area is one of my favorite places to hike, so I thought I’d post a series of places and trails I’ve hiked in the area beginning with the Metate Trail. Encompassing 2,154 acres, the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area is located north of Phoenix just outside of Cave Creek. It’s a beautiful place to hike and the trails range from the easy Metate Trail to the more challenging Elephant Mountain. One can either hike with friends or participate in the many ranger-led hikes that are offered. See here for a full listing of upcoming ranger-led hikes.

The Spur Cross Ranch Conservation area is rich in history and, in this series, I’ll be sharing the stories of Edward M. Joyce and Philip K. Lewis, the Beaubien family, and the Hohokams, as well as photos of the numerous archaeological sites, wildlife, and desert vegetation.

Metate Trail

This very easy 1.3 mile, ranger-led hike turned out to be very interesting as I learned more about the Spur Cross Ranch as it was in the 1940's and 1950's. After the hike, I did some reading and learned how the Spur Cross Ranch came to be. Very interesting story!

The Metate Trail is named for an old Native American grinding stone that is found along the trail. Also along the trail one can see large saguaro cactus and what remains of the original Spur Cross Ranch. The first of the area's guest ranches, all that is left of the old Spur Cross Ranch is the remains of a swimming pool (barely visible) and a crumbling foundation.

Spur Cross Ranch was established in 1928 under some very unusual circumstances. The owners, Edward M. Joyce and Philip K. Lewis, met while both were in the state penitentiary. Upon their release, they decided to go into the guest ranch business together. Their land adjoined the Tonto National Forest on the north and straddled both the stream of Cave Creek and Spur Cross Road, and included almost all of Elephant Butte, which is the site of ancient Indian ruins.

A few famous guests stayed at the ranch around this time, including W.H. Kellogg. After his stay in Cave Creek, and upon returning to his ranch in California, Kellogg sent Edward Joyce an Arabian stallion named Jeremiah. One of Joyce's prized possessions was Patches, a trick horse that would entertain guests with his stunts. According to legend, Joyce once rode Patches into the dining room of the upscale Westward Ho Hotel in Phoenix in an effort to publicize Spur Cross Ranch.

Warren Beaubien and his wife, Billie, owned and ran the ranch, a hustling and bustling beehive of activity, from 1945 until Warren's death in 1953 from injuries he sustained when the plane he was flying crashed approximately one mile from the ranch house. Guests would be met at Sky Harbor Airport by Warren and be driven the forty miles to the ranch in Warren's wood-paneled station wagon where they would be greeted by a strawberry-roan burro named Red. Guests (the Spur Cross Ranch could accommodate 24) found the names of the cabins - Mesquite, Palo Verde, Ocotillo, Saguaro - to be quite exotic.

Guests enjoyed hearty breakfasts, horseback rides, home cooking, parties, music by local musicians, dancing, fiddle music, and Christmas parties complete with a Christmas tree in the barn and the arrival of Santa Claus. There were also occasional trips to Nogales. The residents of Cave Creek were always welcome. (The last big party held at the Spur Cross Ranch for the residents of Cave Creek was the Lions Club picnic in 1954. It was a large social gathering where the guests enjoyed a cook out and a scavenger hunt for elaborate prizes.)

An accomplished pilot, Warren Beaubien had cleared a strip of land that was of emergency character at best and very unsafe. While on the trail, we were able to see where the landing strip was located (it had been 1,400 feet long when used by Beaubien). It was lined on either side by a row of mesquite trees, and was subject to flash flooding which would leave it gullied and strewn with boulders. There was also the danger of updrafts and gusts of wind due to the fact that the landing strip was located in a narrow canyon. (Beaubien also owned an airplane - a silver Ercoupe complete with the name of the ranch emblazoned on the fuselage with a minimum flying speed of 60 mph - but it's unclear whether this is the plane he crashed into Cave Creek. One account of the crash claims that the plane in which he was flying when he crashed was borrowed.)

According to Audrey Beaubien Woodward, her father's plane crashed against the embankment in Cave Creek Wash, just north of the ranch, after the engine cut out while he was circling to land on the afternoon of September 9, 1954. He was returning from a trip to Santa Ana, California. Badly burned in the crash, Beaubien managed to crawl to the ranch house and was later found on the front porch by his daughter, Eileen. Prior plans had been made by the two that he would buzz her house in Phoenix upon returning from California and she would go immediately to the ranch to meet him. This is exactly what happened, but she didn't expect to find her father sitting on the porch with severe burns and broken bones. He died in a Phoenix hospital three days later, surrounded by his family.

After Beaubien's death, the ranch was sold and the new owners demolished the buildings. While on the trail, we were able to see the crumbling foundation of the original ranch house. We were also able to see where the swimming pool once was. (I believe it was also around here that we saw some fresh javelina tracks!) The Metate trail is an interesting one, made even more interesting when one knows a bit of the history of the Spur Cross Ranch.

Beginning of the hike