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THE WILD WEST MAYHEM'S ALL IN FUN AT Yarnell Daze SHOTS RING OUT

As the stagecoach rattles across a small creek in Yarnell. The coach lumbers to a stop as the door jerks open. "Out!" barks Jake while his partner, Snake, keeps a six-gun pointed at Darryl, the stage driver. I've just been kidnapped by the Filthy Few Gunfighters from Congress. (That's Congress, Arizona, not Washington, D.C.) Being grand marshal of the Yarnell Daze parade is providing more excitement than expected. In a bloody shoot-out, I'm rescued by Ranger and Marshall, who leave Jake and Snake sprawled in the dusty road. Yarnell boasts of being "Where the Desert Breeze Meets the Mountain Air." I think that Desert Breeze contains a lot of old-fashioned Hot Air, especially during Yarnell Daze. Small-town celebrations are fun because everybody gets involved. Each May Yarnell puts on a parade, barbecue, and car show, and hosts gold-panning fun and whatever else they dream up. As grand marshal of the parade, I sit atop a cherry-wood stagecoach drawn by a matched set of four Appaloosa horses. Definitely the best way to see a parade. Yarnell sits about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix and about halfway between Wickenburg and Prescott on State Route 89. At 4,782 feet in elevation, it avoids the severe winters of northern Arizona and the hot summers of the desert. Nestled in a gently sloping valley in the Weaver Mountains, the area teems with house-size granite boul-ders, giving the impression juvenile giants left their marbles scattered about. An an-nual 14 inches of moisture keeps the oak, hackberry, and chaparral green and inviting. Yarnell, with around 1,300 residents, ex-udes a friendly and casual atmosphere. The spectators wildly cheer each parade entry and call out comments and whistle. The Helzapoppin Wild Bunch and the Wild Women of the West are sure-fire crowd pleasers and a reminder of Yarnell's days as a mining town.

In 1863 A.H. Peeples made the richest placer gold discovery in Arizona when he found acres of gold nuggets on Rich Hill southeast of Yarnell. A few years later, Harrison Yarnell struck gold near Antelope Peak, and the town of Yarnell was on its way. Many of today's residents came for the slower-paced life-style and moderate climate.

Arizona Hi-Country A's roll along in the parade with their restored antique cars glint-ing brightly in the sun. Cars like these once chugged up notorious Yarnell Hill, the pri-mary route between northern and southern Arizona from 1933 to 1952. The road takes four miles to climb 2,500 feet up the side of Table Top Mountain, one of the most breathtaking stretch-es of highway in Ari-zona. Today the road is divided and easi-er to climb, but the scenic overlook still offers a desert vista that is hard to beat.

After the parade and, of course, the barbecue, I take a helicopter ride that gives me a bird's-eye view of the boulders domi-nating the landscape. Most of the fences and many of the houses were built with these smooth stones. A few of the scattered rocks take on the shapes of animals, some-times with a little help from a can of paint. One of these examples of "rock art," the painted head and shoulders of a white ele-phant, has been here so long, the stretch of road it graces is known as Elephant Curve.

In 1932 "Boulder Bob" Wagner's wagon broke down at Yarnell, so he set up shop selling funny-looking rocks, cattle skulls, and other novelties to tourists. He even-tually made enough money to build a store, gas station, and post office, proving there's more than one way to get gold out of rocks.

From the air, the neat fences and green pastures of the Hidden Springs Ranch ap-pear conspicuously clear of boulders. Locat-ed in Peeples Valley, three miles north of Yarnell, the ranch is the home of expensive (OPPOSITE PAGE) The Helzapoppin Wild Bunch from Buckeye re-create the free-wheeling environment of Yarnell's mining days. (ABOVE) The Phoenix Phunky Phiddlers join the festivities.

(BELOW) Members of the Glendale Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12 brought along a flag or two.

and well-kept thoroughbreds (they even have their own swimming pool).

Back on the ground, I can't resist panning for gold. After all, gold brought settlers to this area in the first place, and I want to see if there's any left. For a dollar, I get a gold pan, a trough of water, a healthy scoop of dark dirt, and a lesson. I swish water and dirt around for about five minutes until I spot two shining "nuggets" lodged in the ridge of the gold pan. My "teacher" offers me $5 for my "find," but I refuse, so he deposits my nuggets in a tiny plastic bag, and I tuck it firmly into my pocket.I plan to come back to Yarnell Daze next year. If I'm unlucky enough to get kidnapped by the Filthy Few again, I'll use those gold nuggets to buy my freedom.

Janet Webb Farnsworth lives in Snowflake. She discovered that being grand marshal is the best way to see a parade, even if you do get kidnapped. Scottsdale-based Jim Marshall finds small-town parades and their cast of colorful Western characters a timeless treat of rural Arizona.

WHEN YOU GO

Yarnell is about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix via U.S. Route 60 and State Route 89. Yarnell Daze will take place on the weekend of May 15-16, with the parade beginning at 10 A.M. on Saturday. For more information, contact the Yarnell/Peeples Valley Chamber of Commerce, (520) 427-3301.