LETTERS & E-MAIL

{letters & e-mail} 80TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

Watch for the expanded April issue of Arizona Highways, which celebrates our 80th anniversary. In it you'll find a memorable portfolio, one you won't want to miss. Plus you'll have a chance to test your knowledge of Arizona and win a variety of valuable prizes, including a Colorado River raft trip and stays at dude ranches.

Satisfying Cider

My husband and I recently returned from a trip on Interstate 10 across Arizona and New Mexico to Texas and back. We had read an article in the June 2004 "Taking the Off-ramp" in Arizona Highways about Stout's Cider Mill ("Stout's, That Apple Place") in Willcox, and decided to stop there. It was a hot day, and it was nice and cool in the store as we looked around at all the apple products, especially the huge apple pies. We finally decided to buy their fresh apple cider after watching through a window as they squeezed the apples into juice. After the cashier gave us a sample of their cider, it was so good that we bought a gallon and drank most of it on our way.

Ed and Mary Lou Hayes, Lake Havasu City

Hawaii Wannabe

I want to let you know that Arizona Highways spends too much time writing about swamps, birds and waterfalls. What made your magazine great was focusing on the unique aspects of Arizona-cowboys, cacti, Western lore, etc. Forget trying to be Hawaii-Arizona is rocks and desert with gunfights at the saloon.

Sandra Pelosi, Laughlin, NV You will love our upcoming May issue. It's chock-full of rocks of the most interesting and photogenic kind.

Thoughts on the Arizona Trail

I very seriously considered canceling my subscription after reading "Walking the Arizona Trail" (October '04). I slept on it and decided one article wasn't worth it.

I disliked author Lawrence W. Cheek's numerous deviations from his hiking experience on the trail to insert his philosophical and political editorial paragraphs. He's talking about the trail, does a three-paragraph deviation into unrelated topics (the hunter, the overpopulation problem and how long it will take Phoenix to "engulf the state"), then goes right back to the trail as if nothing happened.

Jon Keller, Burnsville, MN Having subscribed to Arizona Highways for many years coupled with having many things that fill my time, I often only glance at the fabulous pictures and read the captions. Yet something made me hesitate and start to read Lawrence W. Cheek's account "Walking the Arizona Trail" in the October 2004 issue.

After only two paragraphs, I was hooked on reading the entire article. It really didn't matter that he was writing about one of the most diverse and loved states that I've visited; it was his style of prose laced with wit, soul and environmental consciousness that compelled me to read it all. It was like savoring candy.

Carol Watson, Bozrah, CT

Flowery Prose

I've read of other typos, but this is my first find. In the October 2004 issue, on page 42 in the "Back Road Adventure" article "Mount Ord Once Concealed Outlaws and Hosted Indian Battles" was a reference noting that agave seeds "were ground into flower."

Must have been some kind of Indian alchemy, which your "spell-Czech" didn't catch.

I really love your magazine and have been reading it for at least 30 years. Keep up the good work.

Emilie Krobath, Beltsville, MD Thanks for the good catch. In this case, our copy editors must have been distracted by the blooming countryside.

From the Real Outback

As an avid Australian reader of your magazine, I must admit that I was somewhat bemused by the use of the term "outback" to describe areas of Arizona. I have traveled both to your wonderful state and to Australia's outback on several occasions.

While areas of Arizona may be relatively isolated, they do not compare to the isolation of the true outback of Australia, where there are no highways, roads are predominantly unpaved, and the next town is a day's travel away by car.

I would agree with J.H. Amsbury ("Letters & Email," August '04), there is no outback in America. There are many words to describe your magnificent state, but outback isn't one of them. Nevertheless, I was pleased to see that our idiom was creeping into your language rather than the usual other way around.

Ian Zegenhagen, Melbourne, Australia

Bird Watch

I'm sure mine won't be the only note pointing it out, but the bird on page 48 of the October 2004 issue is a gray jay, not a Clark's nutcracker.

Kit Struthers, Idaho Falls, ID

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

MARCH 2005 VOL. 81, NO. 3

Publisher WIN HOLDEN

Senior Editor BETH DEVENY

Managing Editor RANDY SUMMERLIN

Research Editor LORI K. BAKER

Editorial Administrator CONNIE BOCH

Administrative Assistant NIKKI KIMBEL

Director of Photography PETER ENSENBERGER

Photography Editor RICHARD MAACK

Art Director BARBARA GLYNN DENNEY

Deputy Art Director BILLIE JO BISHOP

Art Assistant PAULY HELLER

Map Designer KEVIN KIBSEY

Arizona Highways Books

Editor BOB ALBANO

Associate Editor EVELYN HOWELL

Associate Editor PK PERKIN MCMAHON

Production Director KIM ENSENBERGER

Promotions Art Director RONDA JOHNSON

Webmaster VICKY SNOW

Director of Sales & Marketing KELLY MERO

Circulation Director HOLLY CARNAHAN

Finance Director BOB ALLEN

Fulfillment Director VALERIE J. BECKETT

Information Technology Manager

CINDY BORMANIS

FOR CUSTOMER INQUIRIES OR TO ORDER BY PHONE:

Call toll-free: (800) 543-5432

In the Phoenix area or outside the U.S., Call (602) 712-2000

Or visit us online at: arizonahighways.com

For Corporate or Trade Sales: DOLORES FIELD

Call (602) 712-2045

E-MAIL "LETTERS TO THE EDITOR": [email protected] Regular Mail: Editor 2039 W. Lewis Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85009

Governor Janet Napolitano

Director, Department of Transportation Victor M. Mendez

ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Chairman Bill Jeffers, Holbrook

Vice Chairman Dallas "Rusty" Gant, Wickenburg

Members Richard "Dick" Hileman,

Lake Havasu City

James W. Martin, Willcox

Joe Lane, Phoenix

S.L. Schorr, Tucson

Delbert Householder, Thatcher

INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION 2003, 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 © 2005 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.

PRODUCED IN THE USA

2 MARCH 2005