TAKING THE OFF-RAMP

Horseless Carriages Star in Movie Roles

When Maureen O'Hara was filming the movie McLintock! near Tucson, she had a special transportation request.

"She'd asked for the red buggy to match her hair," says Bob Stewart of the Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum, who rented the coach to filmmakers. The burgundy coach features a maroon velvet interior with caning on the ceiling and other wood surfaces, and cost a hefty $1,200 in 1904.

O'Hara's favorite coach is one of about 125 wagons and buggies displayed at the museum. The horse-drawn vehicles are used in the La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros parade held every February. The rest of theyear, visitors can view such beauties as the coach crafted for the 1864 coronation of the Mexican Emperor Maximilian and the "surrey with the fringe on top"

Rascally Rabbits

Don't bother trying to sneak up on an antelope jackrabbit. They have oversized set-back eyes with a nearly 360-degree view. They can cover 15 feet in a single bound and bounce along at 35 mph. So your only chance of achieving surprise is to find a frolic of 20 or more jumping about in the moonlight. Watch for a pair in the throes of love, which involves a wild chase, extravagant leapfrogging and ecstatic sprays of urine.

In Oracle, north of Tucson, sculptor Jerry Parra designs unique garden art from car parts, farm tools and almost any type of recyclable metal. His collection of eclectic sculptures includes life-size kachinas, animals, plants and other unusual figures. Information: (520) 896-9200; ranchstorecenter@the river.com.

used in the filming of Oklahoma! The museum also rents vehicles for special occasions. Matching of hair color is optional. Information: (520) 591-9585.

A Passion for Purple From Four Peaks

According to legend, Spanish explorers stumbled across an amethyst lode nestled in the Four Peaks in the Mazatzal Mountains in the 18th century. Samples of these royal gems traveled across the sea and found their way into the Spanish crown jewels. While no evidence backs up the legend, there is a remote amethyst mine surrounded by the Tonto National Forest. It's the only one of its kind in North America that can be accessed only by a long hike or by helicopter. Today, Four Peaks amethyst is still pried from the ground by hand and is valued for its deep reddish purple color rivaled only by Siberian amethyst. The site, rediscovered around 1900 by prospector Jim McDaniels, has changed hands several times, but the prized gemstones continue to find their way to some of the best jewelers in the world. If you have a passion for the purple gemstone, you can see samples of Four Peaks amethyst at the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, 1502 W. Washington St., Phoenix, or at Sami Fine Jewelry, 16704 Avenue of the Fountains, Suite 100, Fountain Hills. Information: The museum at (602) 255-3795 or toll-free (800) 446-4259; www. admmr.state.az.us. Sami at (480) 837-8168; www. samifinejewelry. com.

Mine Towns Boast Bare-knuckle Past

High-tech bugging and blacklisting. Unlawful arrests and shootings. Picket lines one thousand people strong. No, this isn't the plot of a new Hollywood thriller, but the tumultuous events that unfolded during the great Arizona coppermine strike in 1983. The 18-month strike began when a consortium of labor unions stood up against the Phelps Dodge Corp., which argued for cuts in wages and benefits and

In the end to cost-of-living protection. The unions wanted a three-year wage freeze with a cost-of-living increase. Phelps Dodge refused, prompting workers in Morenci, Ajo, Bisbee and Douglas to walk off the job. Chaos ensued in Morenci when the company replaced striking miners with nonunion "scab" workers bused in past surging picket lines. The situation led to a National Guard call-up, bugged union meetings and the accidental shooting of a 3-year-old, Chandra Tallant, in Ajo. The company eventually hired the replacement workers permanently, leaving the strikers without jobs. In the end, the strategy busted the unions, ending decades of union representation. Phelps Dodge remains union-free in its Arizona operations to this day.

Arizona Oddities, Attractions & Pleasures {taking the off-ramp} Zane Grey's Cabin Replica Completed

Zane Grey fans can rejoice. The Zane Grey Cabin Foundation recently completed construction of a historically authentic replica of Zane Grey's cabin in Payson. The famous author's original cabin, built in the 1920s near Kohl's Ranch, burned down in the 1990 "Dude" fire. The new cabin's dedication and opening ceremony will take place on October 15 at 10 A.M., in conjunction with a Western Heritage Festival at Green Valley Park. Known as the "father of theWestern novel," Grey wrote more than 60 Westerns, 24 set in Arizona, with half of these in the Mogollon Rim area. The replica is a new exhibit of the Rim Country Museum, 700 Green Valley Parkway. Operated by the Northern Gila County Historical Society, the museum also displays an extensive collection of Zane Grey memorabilia. The cabin is open Wednesday through Monday from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. Information: (928) 474-3483. www.zanegreycabin.org.

LIFE IN ARIZONA CLEAN GETAWAY, A 'CLOTHES CALL'

On a balmy April 1894 afternoon, a Mrs. Kirlew of Tombstone hung out her family's clean, wet laundry as usual, expecting it to dry by morning. But the next day she woke to find the laundry gone. A strange set of footprints beneath the clothesline provided the only clue to the larceny of the family linen. Mrs. Kirlew's intrepid husband and son traced the tracks west to Fairbank, 8 milesaway, where the trail grew cold. The amateur detectives speculated that the thief wore sacks wrapped around his feet to disguise his tracks as he walked the first few miles. At a safer distance, he freed his footwear, revealing the prints of new boots with crosses on the heels. Sadly, despite a father and son's dogged detective work, the laundry lifter made a clean getaway.

Question of the Month

What Arizona town is identified in the game of Trivial Pursuit as the town that first formalized the "rough-andtumble Western sport" of rodeo?

Prescott, which held the first "cowboy tournament" on July 4, 1888. In 1924, the tournament was dubbed a "rodeo," the Spanish word meaning "to round up."

Glory and Toil in Ash Canyon

Huffing hiker loses the trail but finds hidden sycamores and glorious cottonwoods while seeking an imposing peak text by Peter Aleshire photographs by Paul Gill