As we climb up onto the White Mountains, you're rolling through one of the finest high forests in the Southwest — tall ponderosa pines whose bark smells of vanilla and butterscotch in the sun, giving way higher up to fir and aspen. And this is ELK country, some of the best in Arizona: these mountains hold thousands of Rocky Mountain elk. If you're driving in the fall, roll your window down at dawn or dusk and listen for one of the most haunting sounds in all of nature — the bugle of a bull elk, a wild, rising, whistling scream that carries across the meadows as the bulls challenge each other in the rut. Watch the forest edges and meadows closely, especially early and late, because a herd of elk crossing the road is a real hazard up here — keep your speed down. You might also spot Merriam's turkey, mule deer, and if you're lucky, the sign of a mountain lion.
Photo: Coconino National Forest · Public domain