MILEPOSTS

Walk into a Volcano, Saddle Up for a Cowgirl Experience, Spend a Day with Shakespeare CALLING ALL COWGIRLS

Women will arrive from all over for a cityslicker cowgirl roundup July 9 to 11 at Merv Griffin's Wickenburg Inn and Dude Ranch, located just an hour northwest of Phoenix. Catering to riders of all ages and skill levels, the adventure-packed gathering includes horseback riding lessons, a desert cattle drive with real wranglers, and horseback games such as team roping. The itinerary also offers nature hikes with resident naturalists, hayrides, cookouts, cowboy poetry, swimming, arts and crafts, and tennis.

For rates, other information, and reservations call (520) 6844225; or toll-free (800) 942-5362.

HIKING IN CIRCLES

Hikers can enjoy 180 miles of loop trails of varying difficulty in the White Mountains area around Pinetop-Lakeside, where summer temperatures generally hover in the 70s.

The White Mountain TrailSystem includes around a dozen loop trails, which meander through aspen, oak, pine, and juniper stands; and along the General Crook Trail, which played a key role in the Apache wars.

A trail map is available at the Lakeside Ranger District for $2. For more information, call (520) 368-5111.

DWELLING CLIFFSIDE

Hike to White House Ruin in the Canyon de Chelly National Monument provides an up-close look at the cliff dwelling inhabited by the ancestral Puebloans from A.D. 1060 to A.D. 1275. Portions of 60 rooms and four kivas remain in the upper and lower sections of the village.

The White House Ruin Trail leads from the overlook on a 2.5-mile round-trip that dead-ends 30 feet from the ruin.

Admission to the park is free; however, donations are accepted. To inquire, call (520) 6745500.

ON THE LOOKOUT

The Arizona Wildlife Viewing Guide, put out by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, will lead you to 90 of Arizona's premier wildlife viewing areas over five geographic regions: the Canyonlands, Sky Island Mountains, Central Mountains, Rivers and Deserts, and the White Mountains.

Travel to the Canyonlands north of Flagstaff to the Raymond Buffalo Ranch, where 85 bison roam; or head south of Tucson to the Sky Island Mountains where the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge established to recover the endangered masked bobwhite quail offers eye-catching views of mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and neo-tropical migrant songbirds. Other choices abound.

The Arizona Wildlife Viewing Guide (95 pages; $8.95) is available at local bookstores or from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2221 W. Greenway Road, Phoenix, AZ 85023-4399; (602) 942-3000.

VISIONS OF WRIGHT

Veteran photographer Farrell Grehan pays homage to Frank Lloyd Wright in a book that captures the appearance today of the famed architect's greatest buildings, structures that have become an indelible part of the American landscape.

Visions of Wright covers 48 buildings, focusing on the interaction of the designs with the light and space of their natural surroundings.

Visions of Wright (160 pages; $34) is available at your favorite bookstore or directly from BullFinch Press-Little, Brown, and Company, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020; toll-free (800) 7590190. Richard G. Stahl

FISH THE NORTH FORK

The White River on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation offers prime fishing opportunities for rainbow, brook, and Apache trout. Regularly stocked by the Alchesay National Fish Hatchery, the river boasts trout with an average size of six to eight inches.

The river roughly parallels State Route 260 from A-1 Lake to Hon Dah and then runs along State 73 to Fort Apache.

Day permits for fishing are $5 for adults and $2.50 for ages 10 to 14. Children under 10 fish for free. To inquire, call the White Mountain Apache Tribe Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation Division, (520) 3384385.

HEAD NORTH

If you're determined to see the Grand Canyon but would rather avoid the crowds at the South Rim, head north - way north. The always less crowded North Rim of the Canyon also is 1,000 to 1,500 feet higher than the South Rim, and some of the state's last intact oldgrowth ponderosa pine forests flourish there. The area offers some of the best wildlife-viewing opportunities in the state. Visit the lodge and trailheads at Bright Angel Point, a 45-mile drive south on State Route 67 from Jacob Lake. The paved road to Point Imperial (elevation 8,803 feet), 11 miles from Grand Canyon Lodge, offers the highest viewpoint on either Rim.

Long, steep trails lead down into the Canyon from several points, and scenic roads run along the Rim.

Admission to Grand Canyon National Park is $20 per private vehicle. For more information, call (520) 6387888.

CLIMBING A VOLCANO

An easy trek up the cinder cone of an extinct volcano near Flagstaff rewards hikers with great views and the opportunity to spot a variety of raptors, including red-tailed hawks and kestrels.

The cinder cone of Red Mountain, part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field, rises gently 33 miles north of Flagstaff. A narrow canyon leads to the heart of the volcano between towering black cinder pinnacles, and a basalt lava flow drapes the mountain's south side. Red Mountain can be reached via U.S. Route 180, taking the Red Mountain Geologic Area turnoff, which is about 25 miles