TAKING THE OFF-RAMP

Apache Rain Song

A cloud on top of Evergreen Mountain is singing, A cloud on top of Evergreen Mountain is standing still. It is raining and thundering up there, It is raining here. Under the mountain the corn tassels are shaking, Under the mountain the slender spikes of child corn are glistening.

Pistachio Panache

The first experimental crops of pistachios brought to the United States were planted in California and Texas as early as 1854. But it wasn't until 1970 that pistachios began their claim to fame as a prominent Arizona crop. Today Arizona farmers harvest more than 5 million pounds of pistachios in August and September, 90 percent of which isprocessed by The Arizona Pistachio Co. in the tiny community of Bowie. The state comes in second in U.S. production of this humble little nut, and the pistachios coming out of southern Arizona are gaining recognition worldwide for their sweetness and dark-green coloration.

"We're very proud of our pistachios," said Dean Garrett, president of The Arizona Pistachio Co. "The altitude at 3,700 feet, the dry, hot summers and the cold winters are ideal conditions for pistachio trees."

The trees - native to Western Asia and Asia Minor - can now be found in growing numbers with more than 125,000 trees on more than 1,000 acres at the company's orchards alone.

Information: toll-free (800) 333-8575; www.azpistachio.com.

Buckle Up for a Probe Into Space

Next time you're in Flagstaff, take the short drive up Mars Hill to Lowell Observatory, the location from which a diligent astronomer discovered Pluto in 1930. The observatory continues to be a leader in astronomical research while providing innovative opportunities for the public to learn about astronomy-and we're not talking stargazing here. "Discover the Universe" is the theme for the newly opened exhibits in the visitors center exhibition hall.

Through interactive computer stations at the "Explore the Universe" exhibit, you can launch a virtual spaceship from Earth and select its traveling speed. The ship takes off on a tour of the solar system, the Milky Way galaxy and other galaxies.

At the fastest speed selection, 10,000 light-years per day, the ship will zoom by Saturn and its moon Titan in 4 seconds, but it will take 15 years to get to distant galaxies and to reach the observable limit of the universe-375,000 years. Since you probably can't stay that long, you can come back in a few weeks or a few years and check on your ship or one launched by someone else, and find where it is on its way to some faraway galaxy.

Information: (928) 774-3358, www.lowell.edu.

Current view from fictional spacecraft Enterprise 1 Launched 1/28/2004, 8:56 PM, traveling at 0.1 light years per day Now 767.6 million miles from Earth Arriving at Saturn in 4 seconds

Mad About Meteorites

Travelers along Interstate 40, 35 miles east of Flagstaff, might mistake a strange rock tower for an ancient Indian pueblo, but it was the dream of Dr. Harvey Nininger, real-life meteorite detective.

Nininger, a biology professor in Kansas when the meteorite bug bit him, spent his next 50 years traveling the world collecting meteorites. He found many of his specimens near Meteor Crater, and eventually made a deal with the Barringer family, owners of Meteor Crater, to pick up meteorites and give half of his finds to the family.

By the 1930s, Nininger had leased a small building on U.S. Route 66 (now I-40) where he opened the American Meteorite Museum. After adding a 25-foot tower, he charged visitors a quarter to view his collection, climb the tower and gaze at the rim of Meteor Crater, 5 miles away.

When visitors wanted a closer view of the crater, Nininger would say "go ahead," giving the impression this, too, was included in the admission price. After a rough drive, the unlucky visitor found Meteor Crater privately owned and paid another quarter to see it up close.

Nininger closed his tower and museum after 15 years, but kept hunting for meteorites until he died in 1986 at the age of 99. Part of his collection of some 6,000 specimens from at least 690 meteorite falls is now in the Museum of Natural History in London, while the rest is in Arizona State University's Center for Meteorite Studies.

See related story on page 46 of this issue.

Revisit Casablanca in Flagstaff

Who can forget the dramatic finale of the movie Casablanca? At the fogwrapped airport, Humphrey Bogart consoles Ingrid Bergman with those memorable words, “We'll always have Flagstaff.” Maybe that's not exactly how it went, but it could have. Some of the cinematic classic was filmed in Flagstaff's historic Hotel Monte Vista.

“Several scenes in Bogart's apartment were actually rooms in the hotel,” says Chris Hartzog, front desk manager at the Monte Vista. “We don't know which ones specifically because documentation was lost, but you can sleep in Bogart's old room.” Or guests can saw logs where Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard or Bob Hope stayed. Opened in 1927, Hotel Monte Vista was frequented by Hollywood A-listers filming in Sedona. And like all historic hotels worth their linens, the Monte V is haunted. Restless spirits include a phantom bellboy and a rocking woman. No reports of a hangdog-faced ghost urging Sam to play it again. Information: (928) 779-6971 or toll-free (800) 545-3068; www.hotelmontevista.com.

{taking the off-ramp} A Feast Like No Other

Billy Cook, a resident of Nogales during the 1890s, was quite a generous man. He went hunting and came home with enough meat to share with his neighbors.

The neighbors were impressed with his hunting skills. He left a small piece of the pelt on his front porch, and by the look and feel of the fur the neighbors decided that it had to be a silvertip grizzly bear, and that would explain the abundance of meat.

The generous distributions were consumed and compliments passed on how tender and delicious the bear had been.

It wasn't until later that neighbors spotted the entire hide of the animal bunched up and hanging on Cook's fence. Unable to control their curiosity, they spread the hide out to get a look at the creature Cook had killed.

Imagine their surprise to find that the “silvertip grizzly” had four long legs, hooves and very long ears.

Their delectable gift horse was a burro.

Question of the Month

Arizona has become synonymous with cotton production, but which nonplant fiber also keeps the state in the record books?

Angora goat herds in Arizona rank second only to Texas in the production of domestic mohair. The goats' long, fluffy hair, otherwise known as mohair, gets clipped twice a year and can be spun into luxurious threads and yarns. Last year alone, Arizona produced 140,000 pounds of the desirable fiber.

LIFE IN ARIZONA 1 8 8 0 s ELECTION ANTICS HAD THE TERRITORY WAGERING

Although denizens of Arizona Territory couldn't vote for president, election fever fueled a wave of wager mania in 1888.

Bisbee resident Charlie Hammond had so much faith in Benjamin Harrison that he challenged a man named Perkins, the town druggist and a staunch Grover Cleveland supporter, to a bet with hair-raising terms.

Whoever backed the losing candidate would have one side of his mustache shaved off in the local barber's chair.

On November 16, a crowd assembled to witness Perkins' shearing. The spectators then cheered the half-shorn Perkins for not reneging on his bet.

Meanwhile, up the road in Tombstone, another Cleveland booster and bettor, George Atkins, paid his lost wager by steering a gloating Joe Curby through the town in a wheelbarrow. Curby rubbed his victory in even more by wearing a suit of red, white and blue stripes. A stovepipe hat, festooned with patriotic colors and bearing a picture of President-elect Harrison, graced his head.

Not one for subtlety, Curby also stuck a medium-sized American flag in each lapel of his coat. A three-piece band accompanied the parade procession of winner, loser and gleeful onlookers.

It seems election-time circuses are nothing new after all.

INDIAN ART The Tradition Lives On

TO PARAPHRASE ONE TRADITIONAL NAVAJO RUG WEAVER, the act of creating a fine, authentic piece of native art is not just work, it's an expression of family and life. Indeed, for many Indian artisans in Arizona, making objects as their ancestors have done for centuries is a way of conveying deep spirituality. The seemingly endless hours - sometimes weeks or months - that go into a single crafted item enable some Indian artists to earn a living and continue the legacy of creating. Many family elders pass their skills and designs on to their children and grandchildren. The artists seem to have certain things in common: They toil slowly, and tedious handwork is the norm. Modern technologies rarely apply. And while most work to earn a living, many also “live to work” - keeping the old ways intact. In this issue, we explore the quiet worlds of Tohono O'odham horsehair weavers, Pima basket makers and Navajo rug weavers. They pursue their art in fast-paced modern society, which sometimes brings high prices, but also threatens cherished traditions with fierce competition from imitators.