Mileposts/Events

MILEPOSTS Outback Boutique

Driving the dirt road into Cochise Stronghold, immersed in the tumultuous days when the famous chief and his Chiricahua Apaches roamed this land and tangled with the bluecoats, I was jolted back to the present by a sign giving directions to the Fashion Products Gift Shop. A "boutique" way out here in the Dragoon Mountains? I'm no shopper, but this I had to see. I followed the directions and was soon chatting with Ursula Pitz, who was glad to show me her handiwork: sweatshirts and Western-style shirts decorated with colorful Southwestern designs which she sells out of a room in the house she shares with her husband, Fred. Out in the Dragoons, 80 miles southeast of Tucson, Ursula isn't overwhelmed with customers but then she has absolutely no competition, either. If you're visiting the stronghold and want to stop by the shop, watch for the sign. Otherwise, drive west on Ironwood Road from Sunsites 4.5 miles to Cochise Stronghold Road, then turn north for a half mile. — Sam Negri

Finding Fall Color

When the autumn weather cooperates, Arizona's higher elevations put on a spectacular display of color, peaking, usually, from lateSeptember to mid-October. To go out in search of fall color on your own, try some of these prime locations: near Payson or Sedona, Madera Canyon, the White Mountains, the Chiricahuas, and Hart Prairie Road near Flagstaff. Check with local chambers of commerce for color updates. Another way to find fall color is to take advantage of activities and events happening at the right time and in the right places, including: llama hikes in the Pinetop-Lakeside area, weekends, September 28October 19; (520) 368-6700. A fall festival, also in the Pinetop-Lakeside area, September 28 and 29; (520) 367-4290. Payson's Museum of the Forest trip to Oak Creek Canyon and the San Francisco Peaks, October 5; (520) 4726967. Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum tours and fall plant sale, October 18 through 27; (520) 689-2811.

A Grave Discovery

When you visit Quitobaquito Springs at Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, walk northward from the pond the equivalent of a block or so, and you will come upon a solitary concrete gravestone on a small hill. The lonely grave holds all that remains of one Jose Lorenzo Sestier, a Frenchman who died in 1900. Historians believe Sestier was one of the horde of travelers who came to this vast desert on their way to the goldfields of California. If Sestier had dreams of striking it rich, he must have given them up because he settled at the springs, working as a clerk in a general store owned by Mikul Levy. It was Levy who erected the gravestone for his faithful employee. For information about Organ Pipe, call the park visitors center, (520) 387-6849. — Sam Negri

Travel with the Zoo

A backpacking trip into the Superstition Mountains, October 18 to 20, is the last chance this year to travel with The Phoenix Zoo's Explorer's Club. (The 1997 schedule begins in January.) The club offers Nature and eco-travel trips around Arizona (as well as South Africa and Kenya) geared toward individuals, families, seniors, and active adults looking for a challenge. A Phoenix Zoo expert accompanies each outing. The cost for Arizona trips, which range in length from one to several days, starts at $65 and includes such destinations as Weavers Needle, the supposed Lost Dutchman's Mine, Havasu Canyon, Patagonia, and Sycamore Canyon. Club membership is free. For more information, including next year's schedule, call (602) 2731341, ext. 7511.

Trogon Tracking

Scientists estimate there are only about 100 to 200 elegant trogons in the United States, which puts them relatively high up on the threatened and endangered list. So popular an attraction are these colorful birds that each year up to 50,000 birders from throughinto the trogons' southeastern Arizona homeland, particularly the Chiricahua Mountains. For the past two decades, Richard Taylor has tracked the distribution and habits of the trogons, and he has cataloged his findings in a book titled Trogons of the Arizona Borderlands. Taylor spent considerable time trekking the Chiricahuas (we profiled him in our April '94 issue) in search of the mysterious birds. His discoveries you'll find in his book under the headings of: physical powers, sensory powers, ego, intelligence, habitat preferences, population, and distribution. This is a book for any birders who plan to go afield and see a trogon for themselves. Check your favorite bookstore or contact Treasure Chest Publications, 1802 W. Grant Road, Suite 101, P.O. Box 5250, Tucson, AZ 85703-0250. — Richard G. Stahl

Recipes of the Old West

Picture yourself as a wagon train cook, clumping across the West at two miles an hour behind a team of oxen. Not exactly ideal conditions for turning out culinary delights. Take bread, for example. To whip out a loaf of sourdough, cooks first needed yeast to make the bread rise. Today yeast comes in packets from the store, but in the Old West the only way to amass living yeast was by creating a "starter." One type of starter was made of potatoes, sugar, flour, and water. But the fermenting mash had to be kept warm, no small problem for wagon train cooks. One method a range cook used during cool nights was "to wrap the [starter] barrel in a blanket and tuck it into his bed, sharing his body heat with the precious batter.

So says Lon Walters in The Old West Baking Book ($14.95, Northland Publishing, P.O. Box 1389, Flagstaff, AZ 86002). The book is filled with cooking anecdotes wrapped around scores of recipes for biscuits, breads, cakes, pies, cobblers, and other old-time trail foods.

To pick up a copy, check your bookstore or contact the publisher toll-free at (800) 346-3257.

EVENTS Apache Fair and Rodeo

August 28-September 2; Whiteriver An all-Indian rodeo, a parade, concerts, Southwestern Native American ceremonial dances, and an intertribal powwow highlight the 71st annual White Mountain Apache Tribal Fair and Rodeo. Other attractions include native foods, exhibits, and intertribal arts and crafts. Overnight accommodations are available. Be sure to allow time to check out local trading posts and nearby Fort Apache, where buildings from the 1870s, including officers' row, still stand. Fair information: (520) 338-4346, ext. 316 or 323.

Navajo Nation Fair

August 31-September 8; Window Rock This is the 50th year for what's billed as the largest Indian fair in the country. The excitement includes a mix of traditional and contemporary activities: a big rodeo with bull-riding, Native American music,

Photo Workshops Learn to Take Scenic Photographs Like the Best of the Pros

If you're a camera bug, you can learn to take landscape photos like those that appear in Arizona Highways. In fact, you can learn from the same photographers who shoot for the magazine. More than 1,000 already have.

Arizona Highways photographers, through a series of on-location Photo Workshops, teach their special techniques.

For four or five days, these famous photographers will work with you at such places as the Grand Canyon while rafting the Colorado River, Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, Sedona's red rock country, at Indian ruins, and in color-splashed slot canyons.

The workshops, sponsored since 1988 by the Friends of Arizona Highways, are conducted throughout the year so there's a time convenient for everyone. For a brochure describing the 1997 workshops and other photo activities, contact the Friends at P.O. Box 6106, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6106; or, better still, call them at (602) 271-5904.

Also ask about the Photo Sampler Workshop program. These are five-day trips through either northern or southern Arizona intended to give the amateur photographer a sampling of the photography workshops at a variety of locations.

And a comedy festival, a barbecue, fry bread contest, and - new this year a chili cook-off. There will be an admission charged. Be sure to see the stone arch hereabouts that gave the capital of the Navajo Nation its name. Information: (520) 871-6478.

crafts, demonstrations, lectures, and kids' activities. Museum admission is $2 to $5. Information: (520) 774-5213.

51st Annual Dick Wick Hall Day

September 7; Salome The town named not for the Biblical dancer but a local one, supposedly Mrs. Grace Salome Pratt honors noted humorist Dick Wick Hall with a day of fun that promises a parade, pit barbecue, and outdoor dance. There will be an admission charged for the barbecue and dance. Information: (520) 859-3846.

Zuni Marketplace

September 7-8; Flagstaff The always interesting Museum of Northern Arizona hosts this indoor Indian market featuring tribal dances, Native American artists selling their

Oktoberfest '96

September 19-22; Tucson That's right. Get a jump on all your friends by attending an October festival in September. Willkommen! to Hi Corbett Field in Reid Park, the site of this celebration featuring continuous live entertainment with a German theme, German food and beverages, arts and crafts, dance groups, choral singing, a petting zoo, magicians, and clowns. Admission is $2. Information: (520) 298-6207.

Festival of Science

September 27-October 6; Flagstaff Dr. Mark Plotkin, ethnobotanist, will be the keynote speaker at this annual festival which is so big it's spread out over numerous sites, including Lowell Observatory, the Museum of Northern Arizona, Coconino National Forest, and Northern Arizona University. And there are even more activities to choose from: hands-on exhibits, open houses, lectures, scientific displays, tours, and field trips to name a few. Admission is free. Call for a detailed schedule. Information: toll-free (800) 842-7293.

Verde River Days

September 28-29; Cottonwood You can pick up fishing tips from the experts and partake of old-fashioned fun at this annual event held at Cottonwood's Dead Horse Ranch State Park. There also will be horse-shoe games, a rubber duck race, canoe rides, Nature walks, environmental games, live entertainment, and food booths. Admission is free. Information: (520) 634-7593.

Information, including dates, fees, and activities, is subject to change; telephone to confirm before planning to attend events. For a free Arizona travel kit and a calendar of events, telephone the Arizona Office of Tourism toll-free at (800) 842-8257.