TAKING THE OFF-RAMP

Mission for Art Inspired by a Legend

More than 470 years ago, legend says the Virgin Mary appeared on a lonely hill in Mexico to an Indian convert named Juan Diego. The lovely apparition demanded that a church be built on the site, once dedicated to the Aztec goddess Tonantzin. Armed only with miracles, the old Indian persuaded the bishop in Mexico City to erect a church on the hilltop. The humble church erected in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who was later named the patron saint of Mexico, welcomed religious pilgrimages for centuries. Enamored with this romantic story, the late Tucson artist Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia built the

Health Aid From Lizards and Cacti?

Gila monsters and prickly pear cacti share something besides sand, rocks and the common knowledge that careless handling can have painful if not dangerous consequences. Surprisingly, both of the desert dwellers are being studied by scientists as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects more than 18 million Americans. Gila monsters may take a bite out of diabetes. A hormone in the saliva of the poisonous lizards, exendin-4, can stimulate insulin secretion and reduce blood-sugar levels in diabetics. Recent clinical trials with a synthetic version of the hormone, called exenatide, were promising. The trials are complete, and the FDA-approved drugbrand name Byetta is available by prescription. Meanwhile, scientists at the University of Arizona are studying the effectiveness of substances found in prickly pear cactus pads and fruit in lowering the bloodsugar and cholesterol of diabetics.

handcrafted chapel known as the Mission in the Sun in Tucson in honor of early Spanish missionary Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and dedicated it to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Even though DeGrazia, still famous for his ethereal images of childlike angels, died in 1982, the adobe mission continues to stand as a tribute to the artist's heritage-a melding of Indian and Spanish cultures and traditions shared by all the Southwest. Just as Juan Diego carried the Lady's message, DeGrazia's mission brings light to all who visit. Information: (520) 299-9191; www.degrazia.org/Chapel.aspx.

EVENTS

In studies conducted in Mexico, prickly pear, or nopal, as it is called in Spanish, has been found to lower the insulin requirements of diabetics, as well as the LDL or “bad” cholesterol. Gila monsters and cacti-two ancient and classic symbols of Arizona's mysterious deserts-are paving the way for modern science and giving new hope in the fight against diabetes.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park welcomes back the buzzards returning from their annual migration to Mexico on March 25. The turkey vultures roost each summer in the eucalyptus grove of Picketpost Mountain. Information: (520) 689-2811.

Chuck Wagon Cookies circle 'round the ole campfire for a cook-off during the 16th Annual Festival of the West in Chandler, March 16-19. Authentic 1880s-era chuck wagons, cooking utensils, gear and garb offer a taste of the old West. Information: (602) 996-4387.

Rock on at the Verde Valley Gem and Mineral Show on March 18-20 in Cottonwood. Folks who dig geology enjoy instructional exhibits, lapidary and dinosaur fossils. Information: (928) 649-0745.

Wrinkles in Time

When a man destroys a work of art, we call him a vandal; when he despoils a work of nature, we call him a developer.

Arizona's Toulouse-Lautrec

When Lon Megargee, known as Arizona's cowboy artist, fell on hard times, the whole state benefited. The rancher sought and lassoed the state's first public art commission when his drought-plagued ranch went bankrupt. He promised then-Gov. George W.P. Hunt to capture "the various industries of Arizona in a pictorial, symbolic manner." He delivered.

In an article published March 26, 1914, the Tombstone Prospector observed, "Megargee uses color with a boldness that astonishes more conservative painters, but no one can deny that the colors are all in the subjects he paints. Northern Arizona scenery, cowboys and Indians are his delight."

See for yourself how Megargee's style eventually earned him the nickname of the "Southwest's Toulouse-Lautrec." The rich talent the artist tapped when his ranch went bust now lines the walls of

the historic Arizona Capitol in murals that capture the grit and glamour of an emerging state-all of it symbolic of the triumph over hardship. Information: (602) 542-4675.

EARLY PHOENIX HOME WAS SOLID AS . . . CONCRETE

In 1914, Charles Hugh Dunlap built a unique residence at 650 N. First Ave. in Phoenix-a solid concrete house. Five arches graced the dwelling with simple gentility. Beneath its red-tiled roof, wood-paneled interior walls and polished wood floors added elegance.

Dunlap ran an nice business, and his home featured a chute to slide frozen blocks from the delivery truck into the icebox. His wife, Dora, oversaw summertime meal preparation from a basement kitchen with streetlevel windows high on the walls. Hose-and-nozzle hookups throughout the house connected to a central vacuum-cleaning system. A glass-topped copper water tank on the roof predated modern solar heating.

However, Dunlap's grandson, also named Charles, says that this system-lacking today's solar collectors-"only worked well in summer."

Dunlap died in 1929, and when Dora passed away during the Depression years, the house sold for $16,000. Listed on the Phoenix Historic Property Register since 1986, the Dunlap House today functions as an office building.

Poetic Apaches

The Apache Indians were poets at heart, as evidenced by the more than 600 place-names registered on the sprawling White Mountain Apache Reservation, many of them accessible only by horseback. Nadah Nch'ii Datsilgai means “a flat open space beneath bitter mescal.”

A low cone-shaped mountain on the horizon is called Nadah. A rock formation unnamed on standard maps is known by the Apaches as Tsee Ligai Dah Sidil, meaning “a compact cluster of white rocks rests above eye level on an incline.” Information: (928) 627-1992.

Boxcar Schoolrooms

During the 1930s, northern Arizona lumberjack families wanted to make sure their children received proper academic “training,” so they sent students off to school listening for “All aboard” instead of a school bell.

In those days, lumberjacks working in the Coconino National Forest brought their families with them to live in the logging camps. Since the camps moved from time to time, a practical place to educate the lumberjacks' children was in a boxcar on the camp rail siding. The logging company would

Inner(tube) Peace

The Grand Canyon has always attracted stuntmen who brave its dangers. One of the most inexplicable and amusing of these daredevils floated down the Colorado River through the Canyon outfit a railcar with window curtains, painted walls and linoleum floors, as well as a blackboard and teaching materials. An additional railcar was remodeled as the teacher's home. As the logging camp moved, the school traveled with it to the new location, ensuring that the children's education wasn't derailed. When the logging industry started relying on trucks to move lumber from the forest and the camps became permanent, the boxcar schools were discontinued and loggers built stationary schoolhouses.

on an inner tube in 1957. Bob Billingsley of Ajo intended to float from Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch, a relatively easy trip. But instead of coming ashore at the ranch, the 39-year-old evaded his wife and brothers and kept going. His family feared the worst, but the merry inner-tuber was having a grand old time.

After he had traveled 200 miles, workmen pulled him from the water above Pearce Ferry after completing one of the wildest Canyon rides ever. Everyone expressed shock at his survival, and The Arizona Republic said “the untamed Colorado had been cheated of a victim.”

Question of the Month

A perennial herb that flourishes on the shifting sand dunes of the Paria Plateau in northern Arizona, Welsh's milkweed displays hairy oval leaves with clusters of cream-colored flowers tinged rose in the center. Found only in five locations (two in Arizona and three in Utah), the plant grows 10 to 40 inches tall by anchoring itself in sand with a vertical rootstalk and horizontal runners, helping stabilize dunes by holding sand in place.

On the endangered species list since 1987, Welsh's milkweed is threatened by increased off-road vehicle activity.