LETTERS & E-MAIL

{letters & e-mail} Must Have the Words

I have been getting your magazine for eons, it seems, and not always as a subscriber. When surviving as a grad student and trying to save a few dollars, I mooched Arizona Highways off all kinds of people, clubs and even doctors' offices. Now I am a legal subscriber and have been for a while.

I really enjoy your articles, especially the nature ones. John Alcock is one of my favorite authors, as is Craig Childs. Your photographs are excellent, but without the good written word they would be just pictures. They go together wonderfully.

Christine Baer, Belmont, MI The poor old editor applauds Christine's insight. She is absolutely correct. Without the right words, the photographs are just pictures.

Perfect Vacation Spot

Isabella Weiss, a 9-year-old fourth grader from Minocqua-Hazelhurst & Lake Tomahawk Elementary School in Minocqua, Wisconsin, was asked by her teacher, Marge Stein, to write about her favorite place to vacation. Here is what Isabella wrote: "Arizona smells like rosebuds with cinnamon blowing in the air. The fresh green grass and the ripples in the swimming pool make me so relaxed I could fall right asleep in the blazing sun. The birds and crickets will lullaby me to sleep, and the stars will be my night-light. The mountains will shadow me so I don't get sunburned and the purple wind will cool off my face. The soft orange sand squashes between my toes as I ran through the best place — Arizona."

This description by Isabella again demonstrates the power of words.

Deer Ghosts

Leo Banks is such a good storyteller and writer ("On the Trail of the White Ghost of Kendrick Peak," February '04). His mood-setting descriptions in his "spooky" story made me feel right there.

About four years ago, we were traveling through the back roads of Flagstaff and stopped to smell the wildflowers on a quiet country road. There was a wire-fenced green field with a wooded area. At the edge of the wooded area, about 100 feet away, a group of seven deer stood munching on fresh grass. Two of them were white. Were they perhaps grandchildren of Leo's great white ghost buck?

M. Angelica Rivadeneira-Whelan, Tucson My family has loved the mountains of Arizona from the moment we first saw them, and we look forward to each issue of Arizona Highways. Every issue is outstanding and is read and reread by our family, but I especially loved the use of sepia photographs in the article, "On the Trail of the White Ghost of Kendrick Peak." The sense of otherworldliness givenby each photograph complemented the story so well, drawing my mind to a time of legends and mountain mystery. The article fired my imagination. I am glad Leo Banks found no solid explanation for the strange occurrences in the area. His last line, "The forest remembers," was a perfect ending to a story that has no clear-cut answers or ending.

Rebecca Swearingen, Clarendon, TX

Gold Fever

Your article and pictures of gold ("Golden Anniversary: Tucson Gem and Mineral Society Celebrates its 50th Show," February '04) were outstanding, and I ordered extra copies to send to relatives and friends who do a lot of gold mining as their fathers did before them.From 1930 on, the Depression sent many families out to the desert in search of making a living from prospecting . . . until jobs became plentiful.

Marion Behrens, Seden, AK

Repeated Joke

I hope you paid Roger Rabalais $100 for his "Clowning Around" joke since you used it in both the January and February issues.

Ed Rowley, Elbert CO We thought we'd keep running the joke until someone laughed. Actually it ran a second time due to a production error.

Sunken Boat

Some years back, on a visit to Lake Powell, I had the opportunity to take a raft trip from the dam to Lee's Ferry, a pleasant afternoon's jaunt. As we approached the landing, the raft guide pointed out an object underwater near the west bank, which he described as the remains of ol' John D's ferry boat. All one could see at that time was some kind of iron tank, perhaps a boiler, underwater.

A few years later, on another tour of Glen Canyon Dam, there were only three of the turbines in operation at the time and, consequently, the river level was lower than usual. So on the way home I took a little side trip to Lee's Ferry to show a friend around. We walked the short distance upstream from the raft-launching site because I wanted to see if more of this boat might be visible. It was.

However, I was puzzled by the pointed prow, and thought that it was a peculiar design for a ferryboat. They usually have squared-off ends to facilitate the loading and unloading of vehicles.

Now Tom Dollar ("Historic Lee's Ferry," January '04) solves the mystery for me with the story of the coal barge, Charles H. Spencer, the remains of which this surely must be. I assume that much of the aft portion must have been washed away over the ensuing years.

Lee Johnson, Clarkdale

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INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION 2001, 2000, 1998, 1992, 1990 Magazine of the Year WESTERN PUBLICATIONS ASSOCIATION 2002 Best Overall Consumer Publication 2002, 2001 Best Travel & In-transit Magazine 2003, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1992 Best Regional & State Magazine SOCIETY OF AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITERS FOUNDATION 2000, 1997 Gold Awards Best Monthly Travel Magazine Arizona Highways (ISSN 0004-1521) is published monthly by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Subscription price: $21 a year in the U.S., $31 in Canada, $34 elsewhere outside the U.S. Single copy: $3.99 U.S. Send subscription correspondence and change of address information to Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. Periodical postage paid at Phoenix, AZ and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. Copyright © 2004 by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The magazine does not accept and is not responsible for unsolicited materials provided for editorial consideration.