MILEPOSTS/EVENTS

Join a Gold Rush, Meet a Martian, Picnic with Cochise, Cheer a Rodeo URBAN HIDEAWAY PRESERVES OLD ARIZONA STYLE

Sun-dappled stone walkways wander amid a rainbow of blossoms as birdsong fills the treetops shading clusters of casitas. For all the peace and quiet, you could be miles from civilization, but you're not. You're just off busy Camelback Road in Phoenix on the grounds of the historic and sumptuously renovated Royal Palms hotel and casitas. Reopened last year, the hotel was the winter home of Cunard Steamship executive Delos Cooke and his wife in the 1920s. Their gracious way of welcoming guests into their home, says a spokesperson, inspired the un-hotel-like atmosphere of the Royal Palms today, beginning with the understated lobby and the no-tipping policy and complimentary minibar for guests.

In addition to 116 guest rooms and individually designed casitas with private patios, the Mediterraneanstyle hotel features a rustically elegant restaurant, a bar, a library, a cigar room, meeting rooms, and a swimming pool with private cabanas.

For more information, contact the hotel, 5200 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ 85018; toll-free (800) 672-6011; (602) 8403610.

PICNIC WITH A VIEW OF COCHISE'S RESTING PLACE

Travelers on Interstate Route 10 between Tucson and New Mexico should watch for Milepost No. 320 in Texas Canyon. A rest area there offers a view to the south of the Dragoon Mountains where, legend says, the famed Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise lies buried in a hidden grave. A historic marker at the rest area gives information about a peace treaty between Cochise and the U.S. government. There also are picnic tables, vending machines, rest rooms, and a public phone.

FROM ORVILLE AND WILBUR TO MARVIN THE MARTIAN

Aviation buffs traveling in the Tucson area will want to take a look at the Pima Air Museum with its exhibits on the history of aviation technology from the early days and WWII to present day. Not to be missed is the Space Gallery, which in addition to the development of rocketry, exhibits on test pilots, a mock-up of the Mercury capsule, and astronaut memorabilia also boasts a display of space toys such as ray guns and an action figure called Marvin the Martian. The museum's open daily except Christmas and Thanksgiving from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. (no entry after 4 P.M.). Admission is $6, adults; $5, military and seniors; $3, ages 10 to 17; free, nine and under. For

PEEK INTO TUCSON'S PAST

In the early 1900s, Tucson businessman and onetime town official J. Knox Corbett built a house for his family in a tony residential area telling-ly called Snob Hollow. The Corbetts lived in the Crafts-man-style house for decades before it was taken on by the Tucson Museum of Art, which carefully restored the property and opened it to the public. A very special thing about the house today, says the museum's Laurie Swanson, is that it looks as if a family actually lived there, not like an "exhibit." The house is authentically furnished the huge sideboard in the dining room was handmade for the family books of the period fill shelves, turn-of-the-century apparel hangs in the closets, and patent nostrums popular at the time sit in the medicine cabinet. The house is at 180 N. Main Ave. Call the museum, (520) 624-2333, for hours and admission prices.

COURT'S ALWAYS IN SESSION

Imposing Court House Butte, which can be seen in the vicinity of Milepost No. 78 on Interstate Route 10 between Phoenix and Blythe, California, may have been so called because some early-day traveler thought it resembled a courthouse. Or - in a much more colorful scenario because a summary trial was held nearby after members of the Clanton family (the same one that figured in the O.K. Corral shoot-out) meted out swift justice to some outlaws who'd had the effrontery to re-rustle some cattle the Clantons had previously found before they were lost. Take a look and pick the "explanation" of your choice.

TAUT TALES OF MOUNTAIN MEN

"That's not to say life in the mountains was easy. Suffer a flesh wound? Cauterize it with a gun barrel heated redhot. Run out of food during a long desert trek? Eat your moccasins. Unable to find water?

Sit down and die." The stories of the mountain men were spun from the uniquely American experience of a nation moving westward. Although the heyday of the mountain men was brief, their legends continue to influence and entertain us today. The narratives in the Rendezvous Reader, Tall, Tangled and True Tales of the Mountain Men, 1805-1850 were culled from the best writings by and about mountain men, missionaries, and just plain rascals.

Together, the stories celebrate the lives of the mountain men. Through them we can glimpse beyond the romance of the legends to discover the voices of the men of a West that was vanishing almost before the words they used to describe it were out of their mouths.

The Rendezvous Reader is available at your favorite bookstore for $19.95 (paper) and $59.95 (cloth). Or order your copy from the publisher, University of Utah Press, 101 University Services Bldg., Salt Lake City, UT 84112.Richard G. Stahl

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! PHOENIX PUBLIC LIBRARY

The Phoenix Public Library celebrates its centennial this year, but instead of receiving presents, it's giving them: A variety of upcoming events open to the public and designed to entertain and educate include a centennial quilt and traveling photo exhibit, Native American music, a look at Japanese internment camps through the Smithsonian exhibit "Transforming Barbed Wire," living history presentations, storytelling, and a science fiction festival. For details on these and other celebratory activities, call (602) 262INFO.

EVENTS Historic Home Tour

February 7; Florence The charming town where the James Garner-Sally Field movie Murphy's Romance was filmed shows off its fascinating private homes and public buildings in the 13th Annual Tour of Historic Florence, which this year also features a "garden tour." Transportation is by trolley, and admission is $7.50. In town, watch for the courthouse with its famous "stopped" clock. If you are traveling south of town on State Route 79, look for the memorial to Tom Mix, who died in a car crash thereabouts in 1940. Information: (520) 868-5889.

Gold Rush Days

February 13-15; Wickenburg When Henry Wickenburg stumbled upon the bonanza that would become the Vulture Mine, little did he know that part of his legacy in these parts would be this annual event, now in its 50th fun-packed year. Attractions include a professional senior rodeo, a parade (Saturday morning), gold panning, Western dances, arts and crafts, a barbecue, and mining contests such as mucking and drilling. Some activities are free. Be sure to take the time to savor the Old West-style storefronts in town and to take a look at Henry's Vulture Mine. Call the local chamber of commerce for details. Information: (520) 684-5479.

stumbled upon the bonanza that would become the Vulture Mine, little did he know that part of his legacy in these parts would be this annual event, now in its 50th fun-packed year. Attractions include a professional senior rodeo, a parade (Saturday morning), gold panning, Western dances, arts and crafts, a barbecue, and mining contests such as mucking and drilling. Some activities are free. Be sure to take the time to savor the Old West-style storefronts in town and to take a look at Henry's Vulture Mine. Call the local chamber of commerce for details. Information: (520) 684-5479.

O'odham Tash — Casa Grande Indian Days

February 13-16; Casa Grande A rodeo, ceremonial dances, a powwow, parade, and arts and crafts are just some of the attractions of this all-Indian (Pimas and Tohono O'odham) event. Admission varies. Be sure to check out nearby attractions such as the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, (520) 723-3172, believed to be an ancient astronomical observatory built by the ancient Hohokam; and the Gila River Arts and Crafts Center, (520) 315-3411, with its replicated Hohokam dwellings, artifacts, and crafts. Information: (520) 836-4723.

Snowbird Jamboree

February 14; Lake Havasu City Live music and "state pride" displays highlight this annual gathering in a lakeside town known for its transplanted London Bridge and a host of shops and boutiques inspired by Merry Olde England. Admission is free.

FRIENDS FOCUS ON THE GLORY OF SPRING

Spring wildflowers and the beauty of the Sonoran Desert during sunrise photo shoots highlight a Photo Workshop sponsored by the Friends of Arizona Highways, March 23-26. Participants will visit remarkably scenic sites, including Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Saguaro National Park, and Picacho Peak State Park. A special feature will be a sunrise photo session at Mission San Xavier del Bac, the acclaimed "White Dove of the Desert," known as the finest example of Spanish-Colonial architecture in the Southwest.

For a complete schedule of trips, write the Friends of Arizona Highways, P.O. Box 6106, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6106; or call (602) 271-5904.

Here are the Photo Workshop dates for February through May.

If you want to get out on the water, consider canoeing Topock Gorge in the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, where you may spot a staggering number of birds or even see a bighorn sheep perched on a rocky crag. For information on the area, call the Lake Havasu Tourism Bureau, toll-free (800) 242-8278. Jamboree information: (520) 855-4115.

Fiesta de los Vaqueros

February 18-22; Tucson This is the largest outdoor winter rodeo in the country — and there's a good reason for that: Tucson's great weather. The 73rd annual PRCA-approved La Fiesta de los Vaqueros features all the usual cowboy vs. critter action plus arts and crafts andfood booths to browse. Admission is $8 to $14. There's plenty more to see and do in this winter vacation mecca after the last cowboy has landed in the dust or held onto his ride long enough to take home some prize money, so for general tourist information, call the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau, toll-free (800) 638-8350. For rodeo information: (520) 7412233.