Arizoniques

A Guide to Places, Events, and People Out of Africa

H. G. Saginaw prowls his desert home, looking powerful enough to shred any man or woman.

But when Bobbi Harrison scratches him behind his ears, the muscular, 650-pound Siberian tiger melts into a pussycat and sucks on Bobbi's thumb.

Caleb, a lean, tan cougar whose top speed is 45 miles an hour, doesn't mind traveling the lazy way: piggyback on Dean Harrison's shoulders.

"Happy Guy" Saginaw and Caleb are two of the 14 exotic cats the Harrisons live with. "They came into our world, and we entered theirs. We've met in the middle," Dean says.

The husband and wife team have been trying for almost seven years to change the way people treat wild animals. So far they have focused on the cats, making a family of lions, tigers, and cougars. "We've broken all the rules," Dean says, explaining that they turn their backs on the cats, get below them, and even mix the species. "Experts from all over the worldcome here and say, 'You can't do that,'" Bobbi adds. "But we have." The Harrisons have accomplished this by literally living with the cats, developing a familylike relationship with them.

This is the theme of the couple's animal park in Fountain Hills, east of Phoenix, called "Out of Africa." On a little more than two acres, they share their home with the cats and the public. Visitors can watch the older cats perform, pet the cubs, eat in a safari cafe featuring an authentic African chef, or play on a "primitive" children's playground equipped with rocks for climbing and vine ropes for swinging.

Out of Africa is on State Route 87, the Beeline Highway, about two miles north of Shea Boulevard. For information, telephone 837-7779.

-Laura Plachecki

Arizona's Registry

The spectacular Casa Grande Ruins National Monument attracts visitors from all over the world. And no wonder. The multistory prehistoric structure touches any curious and imaginative person with its mystery.

But the picturesque ruins also preserve a part of Arizona's more recent past. Although the great adobe house was miles from the main overland routes used by Arizona Territory's early miners and settlers a century ago, many took time to visit the site. About a thousand visitors scratched their initials or laboriously carved their names on inner walls of the ruin's five rooms. Many names are at eye level, but others peer down from near the ancient roof. Apparently some pioneers rode their horses into the ruin and, standing on their saddles or climbing old beams, took unusual risks to preserve their identity for history.

Unique to Arizona and the Southwest.

Today, of course, the ruins are protected by the National Park Service. But preserved inside remains an incised record from a time when the ancient Casa Grande served as a registry of Arizona's desert travelers.

-Jim Schreier

Sandy Art

"It's just sand and water," says Bill Rounds, sculptor-in-residence at Chris-Town Shopping Center in Phoenix. But when Rounds creates his delightful fairy-tale figures, using as much as 20 tons of sand, the result seems like magic.

Rounds was a member of Sand Sculptors International when they created Chris-Town's first sculpture, "Old King Cole's Castle," in the fall of 1988. The public so enjoyed the 17-foot-high castle that Chris-Town hired Rounds as the mall's staff sculptor.

During the last year, Rounds and his associate, Alan Rogerson, have completed "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe," "The Queen of Hearts," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and many other storybook characters. They have also constructed another sand sculpture, "Salute to Hollywood," with neon lights incorporated into the design. The salute includes figures of famous motion picture actors and characters (from Marilyn Monroe to King Kong), a replica of Grauman's Chinese Theater, and a boardwalk with handprints of Arizona celebrities.

Rounds considers sculpture a performing art, and the public is invited to watch him at work during mall hours. The giant sand castle is wheelchair-accessible, and Rounds provides hand-guided tours for visitors who are visually impaired.

The sculptures will remain on display through April. For further information, telephone Nancy Fikes, (602) 249-0670. Jill Welch

Calendar

Because this column will not appear in April, we include events scheduled for next month.

March 1-April 9, Flagstaff. The Museum of Northern Arizona's comprehensive exhibit of Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni silverwork continues. Telephone 774-5211.

March 7, Flagstaff. The Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra presents Charles Way and John Eder in a performance of Franz Joseph Haydn's "Trumpet Concerto." Telephone 774-5107.

March 17-18, Prescott. The 1990 Gun Show takes place at Yavapai Community College, 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Telephone 445-2000.

March 18, Tucson. The Arizona Early Music Society hosts Concerto Amabile-a string quartet noted for its European Baroque repertoireat the Church of St. Philip's in the Hills. Telephone 323-7915.

April 7, Phoenix. Events leading up to the Compas XII auctions to raise funds for the arts and sciences begin with a black-tie dinner at the Phoenician Resort. Another dinner and an art walk through downtown Phoenix take place April 14; the annual television auction is scheduled on KPHO April 20 and 21; and the community auction is set for Greyhound Park on May 12. Telephone 274-1371.

April 7-8, Tucson. Fiesta del Presidio celebrates Tucson's Hispanic heritage-from food to art, from charros to lowriders in a Mexican street fair atmosphere. Telephone 622-6911.

April 27-29, Phoenix. The Arizona Heritage Fair, featuring exhibits and demonstrations of folk art from around the world, takes place at Patriots Square. Preview April 15-27 at the Valley Bank Center Concourse. Telephone 953-9778. -Edited by Vicky Hay