ARIZONIQUES

Something of an almanac, a sampler, a calendar, and a guide to places, events, and people unique to Arizona and the Southwest.

BOOMTOWN LUXURY

In contrast to the dangerous, brutal conditions in the mines, some aspects of life in the frontier mining towns could be surprisingly opulent. During its heyday, from the mid-1880s to the early 1920s, Jerome, the famed copper boomtown in central Arizona, grew to become the third-largest city in the state. There William Clark, the U.S. senator from Montana who owned Jerome's United Verde Mine, built the luxurious 200-room Montana Hotel with a dining room that could seat 400 people. Rooms rented for five dollars a month, and the hotel was the pride of the town until it burned in February of 1915.

Jerome, now a ghost town turned artist colony, still nestles into Cleopatra Hill overlooking the scenic Verde Valley.

HISTORY'S NEW HOME

The Arizona Historical Society has been working for a bigger and better museum in central Arizona for years, having outgrown its present museum in the historic Ellis Shackleford House on North Central Avenue, Phoenix, almost the day the doors opened. Now it appears the dream museum will soon become a reality.

Late this year or early in 1987, the Society will break ground for a new 7.5-million-dollar museum building on an eleven-acre site in Papago Park donated by the City of Tempe.

The design of the building was decided in national competition funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. The winning concept was submitted by the Garfield-Hacker Partnership of Portland, Oregon. The 75,000-square-foot museum building and surrounding grounds will include exhibit areas, classrooms, a restaurant, a multimedia theater, an auditorium, library, administration offices, and outdoor amphitheater.

Two appropriations from the Arizona Legislature totaling 1.5 million dollars, the land donation by Tempe, and generous contributions by various individuals and organizations have raised about half of the twelve million dollars needed to complete the museum complex in the next three years. For further information on the museum or where to send donations, write to Andy Masich, Division Director, Arizona Historical Society Museum, Central Arizona Division, 1242 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004; or telephone 255-4470.

SALT RIVER NATURE TRAIL: A REBIRTH

A new trail close to Phoenix offers a variety of desert terrain for fall, winter, and spring hikes. But it's more than a trail; its history is a tale of destruction and rebirth, and it serves as a shining example of what volunteers and government agencies can do when they cooperate.

The Salt River below Saguaro Lake is heavily used by people of the metropolitan Phoenix area. Some float the Salt's cool waters in inner tubes and some destroy the fragile desert riparian ecology of the shoreline with all-terrain vehicles. Not long ago, the shoreline in the Phon D. Sutton Recreation Area on Bush Highway, near the confluence of the Salt and Verde rivers, was littered with trash and crisscrossed with tire tracks.

Then, in a joint effort, the U.S. Forest Service stepped in to fence the area, and the Arizona State University Wildlife Society built the Salt River Nature Trail, restoring the damaged terrain with thousands of hours of volunteer labor and with materials and equipment

A DIFFERENT ANGLE ON WATER

No, you weren't hallucinating if you thought you saw an oil rig at the Grand Canyon's South Rim last spring. And no, oil has not been discovered there. What happened was that the National Park Service turned to the oil industry for help in solving a long-standing problem with the water supply system at Grand Canyon Village.

There is plenty of water at the Canyon, but the source is the Indian Gardens pumping station 2800 feet below the Rim. From there pipes installed in the 1930s carried water up the steep canyon walls to the Village, but the exposed system was susceptible to both freezing and rock slides. Furthermore, the amount of water it could carry was no longer adequate for the community's growing needs.

The National Park Service decided to drill a curved tunnel from the South Rim to Indian Gardens. When officials found conventional water-well-drilling technology couldn't do the job, they hired Grace, Sheursen and Moore, an Oklahoma City petroleum engineering group, to draw up plans for the angled hole. Another company, Brinkerhoff-Signal, then was brought in for the actual drilling. The bore hole curves 3800 feet from true vertical for a total distance of 5075 feet, emerging just a few feet from the targeted site. The hole was lined with casing and an eight-and-five-eighths-inch waterline was inserted. It now serves the South Rim's residents and the yearly influx of nearly three million visitors.

furnished by the Tonto National Forest, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The ASU Wildlife Society and the Maricopa County Audubon Society now maintain the area.

The result is a thing of beauty. You now can take a leisurely walk through pristine desert vegetation from riparian habitat at the edge of the Salt River to upland desert plants at elevations above the high water line. Signs along the trail explain the wide range of vegetation, including exceptionally large saguaro cacti and mesquite trees. You'll also see a variety of birds, including cactus wrens, hummingbirds, and a rare treat in the desert-such waterbirds as ducks, herons, and ospreys along the river itself.

For more information on the Salt River Nature Trail, contact the Tonto National Forest, 252-5200.

CALENDAR

October 1 through 12, Lake Havasu City. London Bridge Days. This Colorado River town celebrates a bit of England in Arizona with a fair and carnival, English costume contests, a Shakespeare costume show, plus traditional Arizona activities: water ski shows, a square dance festival, cloggers, and a grand parade. Telephone 855-4115 or 855-1001.

October 3 through 5, Kingman. Andy Devine Days. Kingman salutes its famous native son, the late actor, with a rodeo, parade, gymnastics demonstration, and a ten-kilometer run. Telephone 753-2124.

October 5, Tucson. Tucson Blues Festival. Nationally known artists and some of the state's finest talent perform a variety of blues styles under the warm autumn sun at the Reid Park band shell. Telephone 791-4079.

October 11 and 12, Camp Verde. Fort Verde Days. Step back a century or so to when the U.S. Army protected Arizona Territory from hostile Indians and celebrate the era with a parade, cavalry drills, music, and Indian dancers. Telephone 567-9294.

October 17 through 19, Tombstone. Helldorado Days. The "town too tough to die" hosts a weekend of shoot-outs, fast-draw contests, and a parade. Telephone 457-2211.

October 17 through 19, Phoenix. Greek Festival. Zorba won't be there, but you should be, for delicious Greek foods, colorful costumes, dancing, music, and more. Telephone 264-7926.

October 24 through November 9, Phoenix. Arizona State Fair. In addition to livestock shows, a huge midway filled with rides, and three stages offering continuous entertainment, your fair ticket will admit you to your choice of fifteen performances by major entertainers and two Phoenix Suns basketball games. Telephone 252-6771.

October 26 through November 2, Tucson. Seiko Tucson Match Play Championship. The nation's best golfers go one on one in tense competition. Telephone 791-4854.

For a more complete calendar, free of charge, please write the Arizona Office of Tourism, Department CE, 1480 East Bethany Home Road, Phoenix, AZ 85014. Unless otherwise noted, all telephone numbers are within area code 602.

Edited by Robert J. Farrell