ARIZONIQUES

MUSICAL MOMENT

Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite premiered in Chicago on November 22, 1931. The fivemovement work was first performed by the Paul Whiteman orchestra, with whom Grofé had worked between 1919 and 1924. Grofé had run away from home at 14 when his family opposed his desire for a musical career; he became a composer who wrote music at once enormously popular and highly distinctive.

UP, UP, AND AWAY

Free as a fistful of toy balloons released by a child, more than a hundred brightly colored hot-air balloons will ascend into the northwest Phoenix sky during the AT&T Thunderbird Classic November 12 and 13 at the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale.

compete for cash prizes and bragging rights in two days of hareand-hound competition. The contest is one of precision, with pilots chasing a guide balloon that drops a target their markers must hit. The contestants take off in three flights: Saturday at 7:30 A.M. and 8:15 A.M. and Sunday at 7:30 A.M. The mass ascension, or Balloon Meisters' Event, fills the Sunday sky at 3:00 P.M.

Another contest begins when 10 gas balloons (more subject to the influence of the wind than their hot-air counterparts) depart the Saturday afternoon festivities and take to the sky for a 15-hour odyssey. Prior to this competition, pilots study weather conditions and submit a goal that predicts how far they will travel and where they will

Unique to Arizona and the Southwest.

land. The craft that comes closest on both counts wins. Day-long celebrations accompanying the races feature live music and entertainment, 60 arts and crafts booths, and the classic's biggest on-the-ground crowd pleaser: food booths manned by American Graduate School's international students selling authentic cuisine of their home countries. For more information, telephone 978-7208.

DESERT CABALLEROS PARK

Artist Joe Beeler will be on hand November 26 for the dedication of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum's new park in Wickenburg. (See pages 9 and 10.) The park, at the intersection of Center and Tegner streets, features Beeler's nine-foot bronze sculpture "Thanks for the Rain." The statue's theme, says Beeler, is meant to "remind us that the earth and grass are not man-made," and emphasizes the cowboy's dependence on nature's bounty. Also in commemoration of the park, which honors the museum's volunteers, Beeler has completed a special oil painting. Five hundred prints are offered for purchase, including 100 signed and numbered by the artist. Meanwhile, the museum's Fine Arts Gallery is presenting a retrospective exhibit of the work of this renowned member of the Cowboy Artists of America. Dates are October 15 through December 15. A full day's celebration will mark the park's opening. Horsehair braiders, a saddlemaker, and other Western craftsmen will demonstrate their skills. For more information, call the Desert Caballeros Western Museum, 684-2272.

THE MOUNTIES ARE COMING

Mounted park rangers now ride to the rescue in the 25,083 acres of Phoenix Mountain Preserve parks. When they're not on patrol, the rangers lead organized trail rides and direct nature tours. Since March, under a $160,000 start-up appropriation, five uniformed rangers on horseback have provided security in the city's South Mountain, North Mountain, and Papago Park preserves. "People seem more willing to approach someone on a horse than in a ranger vehicle," says Phoenix Public Information Officer Patricia Johnson. Already the program has shown positive results. Vandalism has declined sharply in the heavily used mountain parks, while the public's awareness of safety considerations and the environment has increased. Ranger Stanley C. McDonald helped convince city officials to put rangers on horseback. He started riding the Squaw Peak Preserve three years ago on horses rented from nearby stables. Mounted rangers wear Western hats and a uniform of brown trousers, tan shirt, and brown cowboy boots. They are prepared for such emergencies as heart attack and snakebite and offer general assistance to hikers and tourists. They carry extra water, and in their saddlebags are police radios, first-aid kits, needle-nose pliers for extracting cactus spinesand a pad of tickets for destroyers of the parks' protected plants and wildlife. Ranger-led nature talks and horseback rides can be arranged by writing or telephoning the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, 2333 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004; 262-7660.

FRIENDS' TRAVEL

Telephone the Friends of Arizona Highways Travel Desk, (602) 258-6641, for detailed information about our auxiliary organization's Scenic Tours and Photo Adventures.

Tucson-Tubac Art and History Tour, November 17. Day trip to Tucson's Kyle art studio and Tubac's Spanish presidio, galleries, and shops.

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge Photo Adventure, January 12-15. James Tallon and Wesley Holden guide a 20-person expedition to view and photograph waterfowl and other wildlife. Side trips to petroglyphs, mine ruins.

Cross-Country Ski Trip, February 4. Tour Forest Lakes, near Payson. Novices or experienced skiers; children 10 and older welcome with parents.

CALENDAR

November 4 through 6, Mesa. The fourth annual Fine Folk Festival kicks off with the Navy's jazz band. Three days of music, arts and crafts, bicycling, skateboard performances, and international cuisine in the Mesa Town Center. Telephone 890-2613.

November 19, Tucson. El Tour de Tucson VI, America's largest perimeter bicycling event, attracts more than 2,500 riders and is expected to raise nearly $250,000 for the American Diabetes Association. Riders range in age from 8 to 72. Telephone 745-2033.

November 26 and 27, Bisbee. View elegantly decorated Victorian homes in the old mining town's Historic Home Tour. Telephone 432-2141. Also in Bisbee, don't miss the Christkindl Markt, November 25 through 27, where you can purchase hand-crafted holiday gifts. Telephone 432-3376. For a more complete calendar of events, free of charge, write to the Arizona Office of Tourism, 1100 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007. Unless otherwise noted, telephone numbers are area code 602.