Ruby Road to Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

Becomes graded dirt, Forest Service Road 39, and passes shaded campgrounds, which thin out as the road meanders by twists of 15-million-year-old lava and ash, sporting names like Castle Rock and Thumb Butte. With good clearance, you can take a passenger car if you drive slowly over the ruts and rocks and around the narrow, winding switchbacks, but wide-body vehicles like motor homes will have difficulty. After 13 miles on this dirt road, you come to the gated turnoff to Ruby, one of Arizona's best-preserved ghost towns. Maybe that's because the owners have hired a caretaker who charges $12 per person to look around the ramshackle homes and shops and to fish in the small tree-shaded lake attended by herons and egrets. Ruby is not normally open to the public, and the caretaker doesn't post hours, but if you find him there be sure to explore this treasure from the past. Townspeople built most of the surviving buildings after 1926, when the Ruby mine's final spurt of lead, silver and zinc production drove up the little town's population to about 2,000. The Spanish first started mining north of Nogales in the 1700s, and then American prospectors started coming in the 1850s, easily pushing aside the peaceful Tohono O'odham Indians and their dreams of rain and long journeys seeking an aesthetic of thirst and exhaustion. This desert people, once called the Papagos before they reasserted the name they've always called themselves, would undertake long quests to prove worthy of dreams and to learn songs like the "Songs to Pull Down the Clouds." The Tohono O'odham's culture of scarcity and reverence left them nearly helpless before the invaders, so they retreated into a desert too harsh to sustain anyone else. However, the miners soon had to contend with the far more warlike Apaches, plus frequent raids by Mexican marauders. In its day, Ruby saw its share of violent deaths-especially in the now-collapsed general store, supposedly built on the grave of a priest. Robbers shot Alex and John Fraiser to death while they tended the store in 1920, and the next year, seven bandits murdered the new owner and his wife. The road leads on west and north from Ruby, passing spur roads to rugged trails, forgotten mines and other scattered ruins and graves. Forest shade gives way to open ranchland before the road fetches up to pavement again at the Arivaca Lake turnoff, just 5 miles southeast of Arivaca, a tiny community 35.3 miles northwest from 1-19.

When you reach Arivaca, if you're done for the day, loop 23 miles northeast on the paved Arivaca Road to Arivaca Junction and 1-19, putting you 34 miles south of Tucson. But if you're still up for more backcountry scenery, continue west from Arivaca on Arivaca Road through the grassland-dominated Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.

Established in 1985 to restore a remnant of southern Arizona's once-vast sweep of grasslands, the refuge shelters several hundred reintroduced masked bobwhite quail, plus pronghorn antelope, Aplomado falcons and many colorful bird species.

Arivaca Road connects to State Route 286 in the Altar Valley, 48 miles west of I-19. From there, you can go south 8 miles to the entrance of the refuge and the park headquarters. If you turn north on SR 286, you'll head 56 miles back to Tucson, skirting the edge of the Tohono O'odham Nation.

The snapped-off peak of the tribe's sacred mountain, Baboquivari-l'itoi's legendary home and the stub of the umbilical cord that once tied heaven and Earth-dominates the long line of mountains to the west. Here the Creator made humans, deer, fire, buzzards and other wonderful and troublesome things. They say l'itoi still looks down and sees everythingthe children skipping stones across Peña Blanca Lake, the graves of the shopkeeper and his wife, and even you, skimming the asphalt back to modern times-as the long, last light makes the grass glow where the masked bobwhite quail has come back home.

The sun children Are running westward Hand in hand, Madly singing, Running.

WARNING: Back road travel can be hazardous if you are not prepared for the unexpected. Whether traveling in the desert or in the high country, be aware of weather and road conditions, and make sure you and your vehicle are in top shape. Carry plenty of water. Don't travel alone, and let someone at home know where you're going, the route you're taking and when you plan to return. Odometer readings in the story may vary by vehicle.

TRAVEL ADVISORY: Carry a good map. Beware of flash flooding during the monsoons. Many of the spur roads are suitable only for a high-clearance vehicle.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Coronado National Forest, Nogales Ranger District, (520) 281-2296; Ruby, (520) 744-4471.

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arizona Festivals, powwows and get-togethers / by CARRIE M. MINER A LARGE LAKE CALLS FOR A LARGE CAMERA

Lake Powell, with its spectacular red rock towers and brilliant blue-green water, offers a bountiful feast of photographic opportunities. The lake's giant bays provide expansive views of water, sky and desert, while sandstone monoliths tower skyward in warm shades of red, orange and brown. To capture this area's broad vistas, it helps to have a camera large enough to handle the job. That's why we've designed this workshop especially for mediumand large-format photography. Our pace will be a gentle one to accommodate in-depth, personal attention at each site, where you'll learn how to translate this region of great natural beauty into your best photographic images. Arizona Highways photographer LeRoy DeJolie leads our group and is widely regarded as a diligent teacher with a true love of the Lake Powell area. Come immerse yourself in this awesome environment August 28-September 1, 2003. For more information or a free workshop brochure, contact Friends of Arizona Highways at (602) 712-2004, toll-free at (888) 790-7042, or visit their Web site at www.friendsofazhighways.com.

OTHER PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

June 5-13 Join us for an extraordinary expedition as Jeff Kida leads us on a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon June 25-29 An expert Nikon instructor teaches us about digital photography in the magnificent Grand Teton National Park July 19-24 Longtime Colorado resident Jim Steinberg shows us the best spots to find wildflowers in the area around Ouray September 20-25 Jim Steinberg is again our guide as we seek out fall color in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains

WINGING IT

April 9-13; Yuma The Kofa National Wildlife Refuge near Yuma protects 665,400 acres of pristine desert habitat for desert bighorn sheep, desert kit foxes, desert tortoises, cactus wrens, orange-crowned warblers and northern flickers, plus the rare Kofa Mountain barberry and the only native palm trees found in the state.

To learn more about southern Arizona's desert, check out the 3rd Annual Yuma Birding and Nature Festival. Lecture subjects range from sand dune to wetland ecology and desert bighorn sheep to venomous desert denizens. Photography workshops, guided adventures to Mexico, a wild burro search and a bat watch also are scheduled. Information: (928) 783-3061 or toll-free, (800) 293-0071.

PASSION PLAY

April 10-12, 15-19; Mesa In 1928, a Mesa choir from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performed an Easter sunrise celebration using a cotton wagon as a stage. The performance continues today as the world's largest annual outdoor Easter pageant. More than 150,000 people attend the 65th Annual Mesa Arizona Easter Pageant. A volunteer cast of more than 400 actors on a 9,600-square-foot stage presents the pageant in Spanish during the first weekend. The remaining performances are in English, with headset translations offered in Spanish and English each night. Information: (480) 964-7164.

ASIAN FESTIVAL

April 18-20; Phoenix Chinese immigrants traveled across the ocean seeking their fortunes in America, which they called Gold Mountain, as early as 1840. And by the late 1860s, tales of rich strikes led to a migration to Arizona. Celebrate the heritage of the state's Asian pioneers at the 9th Annual Arizona Asian Festival at Patriots Park. The event includes entertainment, cuisine and hands-on activities related to India, China, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and Japan. Information: (602) 788-8899.

TO THE TUNE OF MIAMI

April 25-27; Miami Local storytellers say Miami, Arizona, got its name when "Black Jack" Newman struck a rich mining claim nearby in the 1890s and named it after his wife, Mima Tune. Some stories say he just couldn't spell. Others say mining investors arrived in 1907, laid out the townsite and named it Miami, after their home in Ohio.

Miami celebrates its mining history at the 13th Annual Mining Country Boom Town Spree. The state mining championships, historic home tour, Boom Town Spree parade, and bed races highlight the event. Information: (928) 473-4403.

Other Events

Desert Landscape Painting; April 2-5; Wickenburg; (928) 684-2272. Plein air workshops, art exhibit and sale.

Pioneer Days Festival; April 3-6; Kearny; (520) 363-7607. Parade, dancing, arts and crafts and carnival.

Arizona Book Festival; April 5; Phoenix; (602) 257-0335. Author readings and signings, book sales and live entertainment at the Margaret T. Hance Park.

Heard Museum Guild Native American Student Arts and Crafts Show; April 5-9; Phoenix; (602) 252-8840. More than 1,200 artworks by Indian youths.

Juried Fine Arts Show; April 5-27; Glendale; (623) 939-5782. Artworks by Arizona artists.

Wildflower Festival; April 6; Tucson; (520) 742-6455. Recipes, music and silent auction at Tohono Chul Park.

Maricopa County Fair; April 9-13; Phoenix; (602) 252-0717. Educational exhibits, 4-H competitions, horse shows, games and rides at the state fairgrounds.

Herb Festival; April 12; Superior; (520) 689-2811. Herbal cooking demonstrations, lectures and children's games.

Rose Festival; April 12-13; Tombstone; (520) 457-3929. A rose parade, cake contest and picnic lunch raffle.

Arizona Highways Photography Exhibit: David Muench and Jack Dykinga; March 21-April 25; Window Rock; (928) 871-6675 Pima County Fair; April 17-27; Tucson; (520) 762-9100. 4-H exhibits, art displays, petting zoo, games and rides.

Arizona Outback Spring Fiddlefest; April 18-20; Salome; (928) 859-3466. Country-Western and bluegrass music.