MILEPOSTS

MILEPOSTS GOLD RUSH DAYS

There's one sure-fire Arizona locale to find authentic Old West atmosphere February 8-10: join the jamboree at Wickenburg's 43rd Annual Gold Rush Days Celebration, one of the state's oldest and happiest festivals. Wickenburg was founded in 1863 when Henry Wickenburg discovered gold nearby and started digging the famous Vulture Mine. (According to legend, he noticed glittering gold nuggets on the ground when he reached down for a rock to throw at a vulture.) Soon there were more than 80 gold mines operating in the area. Now, Wickenburg recalls those wild and woolly gold rush days with this annual celebration. Events include a National Old-Timers Rodeo, a gem and mineral show, gold panning contests (with real gold), and a large parade. More than 45,000 persons attended last year's shindig. For information, telephone (602) 684-5479. And while you're visiting Wickenburg, you'll want to take time to stop by the Hassayampa River Preserve(telephone 602-684-2772), just three miles southeast of town on U.S. Route 60-89. This beautiful Nature Conservancy sanctuary protects a rare cottonwoodwillow stand and many Arizona native plant and animal species. The preserve entrance is on the west side of the highway at milepost 114. Winter hours are 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 Р.М.

FIELD OF GREENS

Port Parker is one of a vanishing breed of old time cowboys on the Arizona scene. He's rodeoed in some of the fanciest arenas in this country and spent his early days punching cows around Sedona, back when it was so small folks put the "Entering Town" and "Leaving Town" notices on the same signpost. Back then you could dial a wrong number and still wind up talking to someone for 15 minutes. Recently, developers spent millions of dollars to create the elegant Robert Trent Jones Golf Course on the very fields Port spent much of his life clearing and making suitable for grazing cattle.

CLIFTON WALKING TOUR

Going to Clifton? Well, even if you hadn't planned to, this could be worth a day trip. Charles A. Spezia, Cliftonite and passionate town booster, has put together a self-guided walking tour of historic Chase Creek, the mining town's old business street. Packed with details, his informative four-page brochure reveals the secrets of homes and offices that date to the 1890s. You can see, for example, the site of Arizona's first railroad, and visit a cave like the ones the locals once used as warehouses, jails, and bars. For a copy, visit or write to the Greenlee County Chamber of Commerce, 251 Chase Creek, Box 1237, Clifton, AZ 85533; telephone (602) 865-3313. Spezia's "Walking Tour" brochure is also available at the Greenlee County Historical Society Museum, 315 Chase Creek;open 2:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

CHEAP DIGS FOR THE YOUNG

The American Youth Hostels 1990-91 handbook lists several accommodations in Arizona and neighboring Southwestern states. The low-cost dormitory-style facilities, which provide separate sleeping quarters for men and women, are licensed by AYH and available for the organization's members. For information and a copy of the directory, write to American Youth Hostels, Box 37613, Washington, D.C. 20013-7613, or telephone (202) 783-6161.

AND NEWS FOR GROWN-UPS

Arizona Senior World Newspapers will sponsor three big shindigs this month, called "Lovin' Life Senior Expositions." The expos feature products, services, and activities catering to those of us who have passed the youth hostel stage of our lives. First expo takes place February 13-14 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix; the second, February 22-23, at the Tucson Convention Center; and the third, February 26-27 at Mesa Centennial Hall. Telephone (602) 438-1566 for more information.

SPIKE'S CACTUS CLUB

In Bisbee the botanical garden of Arizona Cactus and Succulent Research has a new member: Spike, the desert-dwelling brother of Peanuts star pooch, Snoopy. Spike, says David L. Eppele, director of Arizona Cactus, is the garden's only "honorary" member.

Eppele reports that Spike,

'PORT' GRANT

Jim Schreier, the talented history buff whose stories about Arizona cavalrymen, cowboys, and Indians often appear in these pages, says it's amazing how the military can ignore little facts. In 1908, for example, Arizona hadn't lain under an ocean for several million years. But that didn't bother Washington. In April, Col. William F. Stewart of the Coast Artillery was assigned

Using smoke signals and mirrors, has sent a proposed list of bylaws, starting with a new name for the garden: Spike's Cactus Club. Among the bylaws being considered by the general membership are: to Arizona's Fort Grant, thus making that famous Indian wars fort an official Coast Artillery post.

"For five proud months," says Jim, "Arizona joined other coastal sites in protecting the nation against potential marine hostilities. The military never explained its action nor has Arizona since been asked to help guard the nation's seacoast."

YOU'RE INVITED

The annual meeting of the Friends of Arizona Highways Magazine Foundation will be held at 10:30 A.M. February 23 at the Arizona Hall of Fame Museum, 1101 W. Washington St. in Phoenix. The Friends are volunteers who assist the magazine by conducting photo and scenic

UP FROM THE ASHES

During the teens and twenties of this century, Zane Grey frequented his cabin hideaway near Tonto Creek, beneath central Arizona's Mogollon Rim. He went there to interview oldtimers, to write his books on a lapboard in longhand, and to hunt bear, deer, and cougar. But after a dispute with the game department, Grey left Arizona forever. The cabin fell into disrepair. Then the late Bill Goettl gained possession in order to restore it as his gift to the public. Filled with Grey books and memorabilia, the cabin prospered as a major tourist attraction until June, 1990, when the so-called Dude Fire sprang from a lightning bolt and consumed 28,000 acres of Tonto National Forest. Along with the lives of six fire fighters and 50 structures, Zane Grey's cabin was lost. Owners of the land hope to re-create the cabin.

tours; helping at the spring sale of Arizona Highways books and other products, and speaking to groups on behalf of the magazine.

All subscribers are invited. If you're interested in being an active Friends' member, this would be a great opportunity to get started.

SHORTCUTS

The Arizona Theatre Company and the city of Tucson have opened the historic Temple of Music and Art, freshly renovated and restored. To see a performance there, telephone (602) 6222823. Another new theater, the Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center, 2206 N. 60th St., Cave Creek, hosts the 90-member Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra on February 6. Telephone (602) 488-1090. Burl Ives performs at the Chandler Center for the Arts February 23. Telephone (602) 7863954. A comedy to catch is the Actors Theater of Phoenix's presentation of Italian American Reconciliation by John Patrick Shanley from January 26 through February 10 at the Herberger Theater Center; telephone (602) 252-8497. Drama's not your bag? On February 23, the Caledonian Society of Arizona is sponsoring the 26th Annual Arizona Highland Gathering and Games at Tempe Diablo Stadium Soccer Fields. Telephone (602) 258-7904.

For a more complete calendar of events, free of charge, write to the Arizona Office of Tourism, 1100 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007.