MILEPOSTS

MILEPOSTS BACCHANALIA, ARIZONA-STYLE ORGAN PIPE SCENIC DRIVE

A festival saluting the state's growing wine industry our potables are capturing medals in prestigious international competitions will be held August 3-4 in Elgin, a hamlet on the banks of the Babocomari River in the rolling grasslands near the Mexican border.

Vineyards and wineries in this 5,000-foot-high "border wine belt" include the 19th century European-style Arizona Vineyards, lauded by wine expert Pamela Stovall as "one ofday and will feature wine tasting, a winery tour, seminars, music, and lunch. Bacchus would be proud! Admission is $12, a bargain as the event also introduces visitors to some of the most temperate summer weather and scenic country to be found in the state. Close by are a host of attractions, such as the picturesque town of Patagonia, the PatagoniaSonoita Creek Preserve, one of the nation's prime birding spots; and Parker Lake, a water-sports mecca.

The most popular drive in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southwestern Arizona is open to the public again after extensive repairs. Ajo Mountain Drive was severely damaged by torrential rains last year, and repair efforts were slowed by equipment breakdowns and more storms. Superintendent Harold Smith, a National Park Service spokesman, advises that the road still is rough, and visitors should drive carefully and slowly.

The five best winery tours in the country; nearby Sonoita Vineyards, which produces the only estate-bottled wine in Arizona (oenophiles will appreciate this distinction); and the R. W. Webb Winery, which opened in 1980 as the first bonded winery in the state since Prohibition. For information about the wine festival and attractions, contact the Sonoita-Elgin Chamber of Commerce, Box 607, Sonoita, AZ 85637; (602) 455-5613; and Arizona Office of Tourism, 1100 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007; (602) 542-8687.

SPACE-AGE TOURS

Daily tours offer a look at one of the most talkedabout environmental experiments of the 1990s: the Biosphere 2 project near Oracle Junction about 30 miles north of Tucson. The miniature world of Biosphere 2, containing seven ecological systems in a controlled atmosphere, is designed to help increase man's ability to live in harmony with the Earth or among the stars. An eight-person crew is scheduled to enter the biosphere this year to live and work in it for two years. Reservations are a must for the popular tours, which include a slide presentation, an exploration of a Biosphere 2 model, a view of the real thing from observation areas, and a walk through the research and development center. For information, call 1 (900) 737-5700 (there is a flat charge of $1.95 for the call) or write Biosphere 2 Tour Office, P.O. Box 689, Oracle, AZ 85623. For reservations, call (602) 896-2108.

The festival will run from 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. each persons who reportedly located the Dutchman's gold died shortly thereafter, giving rise to tales of curses.

LOOKING FOR LOST GOLD

Visitors to Flagstaff should stop by the Riordan Mansion, a restored American Craftsman-style home near the Northern Arizona University campus. Built in 1904 for a family of lumber barons and open daily for tours, the house is an example of gracious living in a small frontier logging town.

COOL COUNTRY BONUS

No other mystery in Arizona has so captivated the imagination of treasure seekers throughout the world as the Lost Dutchman's gold mine in the Superstition Mountains.

Now a new book, The Curse of the Dutchman's Gold, attempts to put the lost-mine mystery into perspective. Its author is Helen Corbin, an accomplished writer and wife of Bob Corbin, a longtime Arizona prosecutor and former state attorney general, himself an aficionado of the Lost Dutchman hunt. This book deals with the history, the prospectors, the maps, and the stories associated with the lost treasure. It is a must for the gold seeker and good reading for those who love a mystery.

Listed on both the state and national historic registers, the 40-room mansion has a rustic exterior, but its interior boasts the elegance of a formal ballroom.

Tales of the lost mine have immersed the vast mountain range in intrigue for more than 100 years, and death has been its steady companion. No one knows how many have died in the Superstitions, but there are more than 60 unexplained deaths since the turn of the century. Eleven The book (softcover, $12.95) is available through Arizona Highways. For information or to place an order call 1 (800) 543-5432. In the Phoenix area, telephone 258-1000.

For information, call the Riordan State Historic Park, (602) 779-4395.

DESERT TALES

“These folks were driving from Boston to San Diego. They stopped at a gas station in Gila Bend. The attendant was tanned to welldone and wrinkled like a prune. His eyes were faded, and his hair looked just like strands of white straw. But boy, was he spry! He hopped around the car, cleaning bugs off the windshield. He checked the oil and water, kicked the tires, and even cleaned the back window.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Our friend, historian Budge Ruffner, suggests a picker-upper for the next conversational lull: make a friendly wager with your companions that Benjamin Franklin once was governor of Arizona. (Ruffner swears he knows of two young men who put themselves through law school with this tidbit.) Of course, it wasn't that Ben Franklin, and it wasn't the state of Arizona he was governor of. Benjamin Joseph Franklin, who is said to be a direct descendant of the kite-flyer, was the 12th territorial governor of Arizona, serving briefly in 1896-97.

Before coming to Arizona, Benjamin Joseph employed his ready wit to win another prestigious position as United States Consul at Hangchow, China. It seems that when President Grover Cleveland told him that it was policy to appoint only those who spoke the necessary language, the quick-thinking future governor responded that the president could ask any question he wished in Chinese and he would respond in Chinese. Cleveland promptly assured Benjamin Joseph he'd have the job he wanted by the next day, if not sooner.

Well, the city dude was indeed impressed. How could this shriveled-up old man be so energetic in the 120° F. heat? “This climate must be really good for your health,” he said to the attendant.

“Guess so,” the fellow replied.

“Do you mind if I ask how old you are?” “Nope,” said the fellow.

“Thirty-two.” This anecdote, which is attributed to former Phoenix newspaper columnist Paul Dean, is one of the “Outrageous Stories” in David L. Eppele's collection of writings titled On the Desert. The 72-page book by the Bisbee-based author and botanical-garden director contains the best of Eppele's weekly newspaper columns, (which are syndicated in 23 Western papers) and reflects the wisdom and humor characteristic of his musings about the people, plants, animals, and ways of the desert. On the Desert is available from Tortilla Press, 8 Mulberry Lane, Bisbee, AZ 85603 for $6.00, including postage.

FUN IN THE SUN AND SAND

There's a suntan and sand-castle building contest set for August 17 in Lake Havasu City at the Nautical Inn's beach. Planned activities also include volleyball games and a tug-of-war.

If you're attracted to this event, be sure to allow time to indulge in the recreational opportunities offered by the 45-mile long Lake Havasu and the Colorado River. And you won't want to miss a stroll across the town's famous London Bridge brought over from England in 1971 and reassembled at a cost of $7.5 million or browsing in the shops, boutiques, and restaurants the span overlooks.

To inquire about the contest, telephone (602) 855-1051. For information about area attractions, contact the Lake Havasu Area Visitors & Convention Bureau, 1930 Mesquite Avenue, Suite #3, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403; or call (602) 453-3444 or 1 (800) 2-HAVASU.

SHORTCUTS

Working cowboys and others will meet in Williams, the gateway to the Grand Canyon, August 2-4 to participate in the Cowpuncher's Reunion Rodeo, in which spectators can also win prize money by bidding on competing teams; (602) 635-4061.

Congratulations to the Grand Canyon for joining Yosemite and a handful of other national parks in setting up trash recycling bins . . .

Shoot-outs, a street dance, and a Country-Western concert will highlight Tombstone's Vigilante Days, August 9-11; (602) 457-2211 . . .

The Barry M. Goldwater Terminal 4 at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport is expected ultimately to handle 25 million passengers annually, so the facility's “moving sidewalks” (picture horizontal escalators) will come in very handy . . .

Traditional Native American song and dance, a barbecue, a carnival, and a rodeo, will highlight the Central Navajo Fair August 29-September 1 in Chinle: (602) 674-5877 . . .

The Springerville/Eagar area in the White Mountains where desert dwellers flee to escape the summer heat tops a big month of statewide community celebrations with Valle Redondo Days August 2931, featuring a country fair, historical displays, theatricals, a fiddlers contest, and the $1.98 Beauty Pageant (for men dressed up as the fairer sex); (602) 333-2123.

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