Mileposts/Events

Join a Cattle Drive • Greet the Sandhill Cranes Get a Free Indian Events Calendar. Go to a Fiddle Fest JOHN WAYNE FOR A DAY

If you hanker to play cowboy long enough to get a taste of the Old West, but not long enough to develop bowed legs or a meaningful relationship with a range cow, Rocky Mountain Cattle Moo-vers may be just your ride.Operating in the Tortolita Mountains north of Tucson, the company offers cowboy wannabes the chance to join day-long cattle drives with horseback riding, steer-roping lessons, rib-sticking vittles on the trail, Western entertainment around the campfire, and a passel of Technicolor sunsets to boot. Little dogies and dyed-in-the-wool dudes can share the experience from the comfort of a hay wagon. Jeep tours also are available.

The company's cattle drive season runs mid-October to midMay; outings cost $80 to $190. Contact them at 7501 N. Wade Road, Tucson, AZ 85743; or toll-tree (800) 826-9666.

HONORED TRAILS

Pinetop-Lakeside, on the edge of the Mogollon Rim in far east-central Arizona, ranks among the top trail towns in the country, says the American Hiking Society. The group put Pinetop-Lakeside at No. 3, right behind Jefferson County (Denver), Colorado, and Anchorage, Alaska. The ranking recognizes the efforts of towns to make trails more accessible. To find out about the trails that earned Pinetop-Lakeside this kudo, contact its chamber of commerce, 592 W. White Mountain Blvd., Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ 85929; (520) 367-4290. Or call the Parks and Recreation Department, (520) 368-6700.

send a priority mail $3 selfaddressed stamped envelope (9 inches by 12 inches) to Indian Calendar, North American Native American Indian Information and Trade Center (NAIITC), P.O. Box 27626, Tucson, AZ 85726-7626. For delivery outside the U.S., send $9 U.S. funds for postage. To inquire, call Fred Synder, NAIITC, (520) 622-4900.

GETTING TO KNOW THE AK-CHIN

Anyone who's ever left an Indian reservation wanting to know more about the people who live there will like the Ak-Chin HimDak Museum, and there's a bonus for those who arrive as part of a group.The small but in-formative museum of the tiny Ak-Chin Indian commun-ity - about 600 people - sits 30 miles southwest of Phoenix. It exhibits artifacts used by the Hohokam, ancestors of the AkChin, as well as contemporary baskets woven from beargrass and decorated with devil's claw. There also are exhibits on AkChin farming operations and their ritual harvesting of saguaro cactus fruit. Visiting groups of five to 30 may take an excursion to the Ak-Chin village to meet the people and see their farming techniques.

For other information, including hours and driving directions, call (520) 568-9480.

OLD-FASHIONED TIME TRAVEL

They may not cruise down the highway anymore, but the unusual rentals at the Shady Dell RV Park and Campground in Bisbee take guests a few decades back in time.

The park is the permanent domicile of some classic restored trailers from the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Nostalgic guests can spend the night in an El Rey, a Silver Streak, a Crown, or even a Kit - just big enough for two. Those with their own pre-1960 trailers can park them in premium spots reserved to showcase the antique homes-on-wheels. For more information, call the park at (520) 432-3567.

MAPPING APACHE LAKE

An updated map aimed at those who want to fish and boat on Apache Lake in the Tonto National Forest shows the latest changes to the waterway's access and surrounding facilities as well as water-level depths, landforms, and navigation markers. The map was produced by Phoenix Mapping Service, a division of Wide World of Maps, Inc. It costs $4.95 and is available at sporting goods stores, marinas, bait and tackle shops, and map outlets. If you can't find it, call toll-free (800) 279-7654 or (602) 279-2323.

DISCOVER DISCOVERY PARK

The first phase of Safford's Discovery Park is open, and it is a treasure. This initial stage deals with astronomy, and among its exhibits are a 20-inch telescope, a 12-passenger space shuttle which takes visitors on a "ride" through the cosmos, and a computer system that will eventually be hooked up to a telescope on Mount Graham.

Discovery Park is a first-class production, carefully planned and partially designed by engineers who worked on the Epcot Center at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. Future attractions will include exhibits on mining and agriculture, a wildlife habitat, a "time tunnel," and the Discovery Theater Complex, which will feature a 50foot dome and laser projections. For information, call (520) 4286260.

LOOKING FOR COATIS

Its Latin name, Nasua narica, means "the nosy one" - a reference to its long snout, the perfect appendage for exploring treasures on the forest floor.

INDIAN EVENTS CALENDAR

To obtain a free quarterly calendar of Indian powwows, rodeos, and other Native American celebrations across the United States, But to visitors at southeastern Arizona's Muleshoe Ranch Preserve, where coatimundis can be spotted in large groups in winter, the small ring-tailed mammal is as cute as it is curious.

The rugged 49,000-acre Muleshoe Ranch encompasses perennial streams, lush cotton-woods and willows, and a wide variety of birds and other wildlife, as well as five species of native fish. In addition to coati-watching, visitors can hike, backpack, camp, bird-watch, and ride horseback. The preserve is 30 miles north-west of Willcox via a dirt road. For hours, road conditions, and accommodations, call (520) 586-7072.

EVENTS Arizona Stock Show and Rodeo

December 27-January 5; Phoenix There will be livestock exhibits a-plenty at this 49th annual event, but there's a bunch of other activities also: a PRCA rodeo, the Li'l Buckaroo Rodeo, a Western art and gear show with workshops and demonstrations, a tractor pull, and chili cookoff. Admission's free except for the PRCA rodeo - $7 and $10. Information: (602) 258-8568.

Old-time Fiddlers Jam, Bazaar and Car Show

January 3-5; Casa Grande Toe-tapping tunes are the focus of the Annual Arizona Old-time Fiddlers Jam, Country Store Bazaar and Car Show, but you can tell by its name there's more going on than fine

Photo Workshops MONTANA WOMAN WINS PHOTO COMPETITION

This fresh view of Rainbow Bridge on Lake Powell by Mary G. Smith of Billings, Montana, is the winner of the first "Chance of a Lifetime" photo competition sponsored by the Friends of Arizona Highways. Participants in all Photo Workshops can submit their best photographs from each workshop they attend. The best image from each year's workshops will be selected by the editors for publication in the magazine.

Mary attended the Lake Powell workshop led by Arizona Highways photographer Gary Ladd in February, 1996. Congratulations, Mary! For details about upcoming workshops, contact the Friends at (602) 271-5904.

Fiddling. The fun takes place at the Pinal County Fairgrounds, and admission is $1 per person. Information: (520) 723-5242.

Barrett-Jackson Auction

January 16-19; Scottsdale Car aficionados wait all year for this extravaganza billed as "the largest and most prestigious antique/ classic car auction in the world." Prepare to spend the day at Westworld salivating over more than 900 American and European classic, sport, and racing cars. And there'll be plenty of folks to share cartalk with: Last year's show attracted people from 47 states and nine other countries. Buyers come prepared to shell out big money for dream cars, but "lookyloos" need only the cost of admission, which is $12, adults; $6, seniors and teens; $3, ages six to 12. Information: (602) 273-0791.

Wings Over Willcox

January 17-19; Willcox Their trumpeting call can be heard from a mile away, and with 73-inch wingspans the sandhill cranes are hard to miss. Especially when they swoop in by the thousands, abandoning northern climes for the balmier comforts of Willcox Playa, a mostly dry 60-square-mile lake bed that turns into a huge shallow pond with the winter rains. This event salutes the cranes' visit with a host of activities including guided tours of the playa, Cochise Lake, Ash Pond, Muleshoe Ranch, and Chiricahua National Monument as well as a birding tour led by Rick Taylor and visits to the Amerind Foundation and historic Fort Bowie. Other activities are seminars, workshops, field trips, a trade show, kids' programs, and a "Hawk Stalk." There is a charge for some events. Information: (520) 384-2272 or toll-free (800) 200-2272.

Tastefest and Art Show

January 18; Pinetop-Lakeside This happening at the Pinetop-Lakes Golf and Country Club offers food for the soul as well as the body with local artists exhibiting their works and local restaurants offering their specialties.

There will be an admission charge. Information: (520) 368-6700.

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, (602) 230-7733.