Taking the Off-Ramp

taking the off-ramp THIS MONTH IN ARIZONA

The townsite for Phoenix was officially filed in the United States Land Office at Prescott.

Phoenix had 16 saloons, 4 dance halls, and 1 faro table.

The University of Arizona enrollment officially exceeded 1,000 students for the first time.

February 14Arizona admitted as 48th state.

Phoenix's first "Go-To-Church Sunday" campaign filled every church in the city.

Despite a shortage of good roads, Arizona stood ninth in per capita ownership of automobiles in the United States.Superior Court prohibited attempts to blast the "ear" off Camelback Mountain.

A family of four in Phoenix needed an income of $10,226 per year to sustain an intermediate standard of living.

Retro Dining at Reborn La Posada

If you thought you'd never have a reason to visit Winslow, east of Flagstaff, here's a great one: The refurbished La Posada Hotel, a 1930s architectural treasure designed by Mary Colter, has opened The Turquoise Room and The Martini Lounge. With china inspired by Mimbres Indian pottery designed by the prolific architect herself, and an eclectic menu creatively fabricated by English chef John Sharpe, dining in The Turquoise Room promises to delight both the palate and the eyes.

Sharpe and La Posada owner Alan Affeldt have pooled their creative talents, restoring the dining room to the elegance that once attracted such noteworthy guests as Clark Gable, John Wayne, Howard Hughes, Will Rogers and Franklin Roosevelt as they traveled crosscountry on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.

Determined to re-create the elegant dining experience of the famous Colter-designed Turquoise Room, the Santa Fe Railroad's Super Chief dining car, Sharpe designed a dual menu combining traditional American cuisine and Southwestern Santa Fe-style fare. Proud of the hotel's own herb and vegetable garden, Sharpe incorporates its red currants, grapes and nasturtiums into recipes that complement such indigenous ingredients as elk, buffalo, quail and venison. Ah, but the experience doesn't stop there. The retro-themed Martini Lounge wafts you back to the grand hotel bars of New York and Chicago in the 1930s. With a copper-topped semi-circular bar that seats eight under a low ceiling, and piano music playing in the background, the relaxed atmosphere of the Martini Lounge is the perfect place to end a long day with your favorite date. Information: (520) 289-4366.

ROMANCE IN THE ARIZONA AIR CHOCOLATE AFFAIRE

FEBRUARY 2-4 Glendale's 6th Annual Chocolate Affaire-Chocolate and Romance offers a free festival of the heart featuring horse-drawn carriage rides, delicious cuisine, wines and national entertainment. Don't miss the Cerreta's Candy Company tours. (623) 930-2299

RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL

WEEKENDS, FEBRUARY 3 MARCH 25 Whoever said chivalry was dead should take a step back in time and join in the fun and romance of a 16th-century European village at the Renaissance Festival in Apache Junction. Enjoy hearty food, games, theater, music, swordplay and knights jousting for their lady's favor. (520) 463-2700

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

FEBRUARY 9-11 Art and chocolate lovers head for the Scottsdale Fine Arts and Chocolate Festival for three free days of food, chocolates and entertainment. (480) 837-5637

MUSICFEST

FEBRUARY 9-25 Enjoy a romantic musical evening under the stars in Carefree-Cave Creek at the 10th Annual Desert Foothills Musicfest. The festival includes concerts, twilight and evening performances, educational and cultural events, music appreciation programs and chamber ensembles. (480) 488-3381

What Young Barry Goldwater Did on Statehood Day

On February 14, 1912, the first wedding was performed in the new state. Wanting to be the first couple married after statehood became official, a young Phoenix couple, Joe Melczer and Hazel Goldberg, eagerly awaited word that Arizona had become a state before they said their vows. As they waited, the restless 3-year-old ring bearer twitched and squirmed impatiently to perform his duties. When word finally came at 8:55 Α.Μ., Arizona time, little Barry Goldwater stepped forward with the rings to begin the first wedding in the new state.

A few friendly words of advice for city slickers visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Don't start sheddin' yer clothes when somebody mentions the Arizona Strip and don't git out yer long gun when you hear they're circlin' the wagons at the Bar 10 Ranch. The Arizona Strip is a little bit of far northwestern Arizona marooned since the willful Colorado River started diggin' its heels into the tallest geological tale ever told. The Bar 10, located 9 miles from the North Rim and 80 miles south of St. George, Utah, is a working cattle and guest ranch and the 13 circled Conestogas are for sleepin'. Each wagon holds a double bed, and there's room enough to stand up and change at the foot of the bed. A lantern hangs from one of the overhead arches, but at 10:30 P.M. it's "lights out" when the generators are turned off. Late-night readers will have to have a flashlight and plenty of batteries. Most folks settle in with the sounds of night creatures lulling them to blissful slumber.

Of course guests who choose the four-day horseback pack trip might have a few blisters added to the bliss. But overnight guests' biggest concerns might be whether they're going to get "horseshoe elbow" (or whether they're going to enjoy cowboy humor). Bar 10 guests often "piggyback" their stays at the ranch with river rafting tours or scenic Grand Canyon flights. Guests arrive on a 45-minute flight from Las Vegas, Page or St. George. With the nearest town 80 miles away, the ranch trading post sells river supplies, books, gifts, snacks, souvenirs and, of course - plenty of flashlights and batteries for latenight readers. Open April through November, but off-season stays may be arranged. Information: (435) 6284010; www.infowest.com/bar10.

Don't be fooled by the outside of the Kirkland Bar and Steakhouse - looks about as good as a down-at-the-heels cowboy in a hat that's been stomped on although it's not bad for being 138 years old. The inside's never seen a snobby interior decorator, either. But savvy locals sure don't let a little flaky paint come between them and the best beefsteak, fresh Mexican shrimp and lobster they've ever tasted around these parts. The mood's pure Western original tin ceiling, red oilcloth table covers and fresh cedar shavings tossed over a concrete floor. Owner Herb Carabeo personally sizzles the steaks in the dining room over an open-fire barbecue, making sure each one suits his customer's fancy.

Savoring Kirkland Junction

Officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the onetime Wells Fargo stage stop cum bordello cum restaurant serves up live music and country dancing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening. Some "regulars" travel a hundred miles for the Saturday and Sunday breakfasts. Karaoke fans flock there on Thursday evening and Sunday midafternoon. Located 22 miles southwest of Prescott on Iron Springs Road. From Phoenix: Go either to Prescott and take Iron Springs Road, or follow U.S. Route 60 to Wickenburg, wander north on State Route 89 to Kirkland Junction, turn west onto Thompson Valley Road and go 4 miles to the junction of Iron Springs Road. The steakhouse is on the northeast corner. No credit cards accepted, but ATM cards and cash are okay. Information: (520) 442-3408.

Home Sweet Home 40 miles from Wood 40 miles from Water 40 miles from Hell God Bless Our Home - sign on an Arizona Ranchhouse c. 1901 Vulture City's Residents

John and Marge Osborne know what it takes to keep a mining town in tiptop shape, and they've been doing just that at the Vulture Mine for nearly 30 years. Life runs at a slower pace in this spot 12 miles south of Wickenburg. The couple lives in the centuryold mine supervisor's house, harnessing the desert sun with solar panels and pumping water from a nearby well. John makes his daily rounds through Vulture City, checking on the buildings and capturing roving rattlesnakes that make their way into town. John keeps the venomous desperados in a makeshift wooden jail near the Vulture's Roost and has had up to three dozen rattlers confined at one time. The Roost houses a collection of mining memorabilia and ore samples as well as items the Osbornes have collected over the years, such as a photo of the couple in a Model A Ford. The touring club that owned the car promised to send a copy of the photo to the mine. "One day I heard a plane overhead and a parachute dropped out of the sky," John recalled. "We call that air mail."

LIFE IN ARIZONA 1 9 2 0 s NANCY RECALLS TRADING POST LIFE

Glen Skiles owned six trading posts in Phoenix, Chandler, Castle Hot Springs and Flagstaff during the 1920s. His daughter Nancy remembers various tribespeople bringing their goods to his Washington Street in Phoenix location in exchange for "beans, rice, flour and all kinds of dry things in sacks."

Nancy often accompanied her father on his twice-yearly trips to Indian country. Before she died last year, Nancy recorded some of her memories of those excursions. Here are a few snippets: "Much of the road was unpaved, and to travel from Phoenix to Flagstaff, we'd have a full day's trip through Wickenburg, Yarnell and Prescott. It took us another day or two to get to the reservations. "We traveled in a great big old touring car. I think it was a Packard. At the time, horses seemed a better way to travel. no concerns over flat tires, engines that refused to start after they werehand-cranked, and the things couldn't go much faster than a well-fed, healthy horse. "The snake dances were held during the summertime on the Hopi mesas. Daddy knew some Hopi Indians who lived on the Oraibi Mesa, and we had the privilege of staying at their home. It was a very plain house made out of adobe or mud, but it was so clean you could eat off the floors. What I remember most about their home was the wonderful smells of great cooking. It was there that I had the absolute best peach pie I've ever tasted. Not only did I have it for dinner, but I got up real early and beat everybody to the table so I could eat it for breakfast as well. "It was wonderful to have the privilege of getting to know the Indian people of whom history books had been written, and none too accurately reported, I might add. Randall, who worked for my father for years and became his very good friend, was like a member of our family. Randall was a beautiful dancer - an eagle dancer. "About 20 years ago, before Randall died, I went to visit him in Williams. He had gone blind since last I'd seen him. I went up to his house and knocked on the door and spoke to him. "Oh, Nancy,' he'd said with a smile, as if he had just heard my voice yesterday, 'I dreamt about your father last night.' Isn't it amazing? The day before I visited Randall, my father paid him a visit in his dreams. That was a good day, reminiscing with Randall, and it flew by, as did the days when I used to watch him dance."

Ride the Rails to the Canyon and Beyond

Passengers taking advantage of the lower winter rates on the Grand Canyon Railway beat the summer crowds and get the opportunity to enjoy the snowdusted scene of a wintry Grand Canyon. The railway offers daily first-class travel in authentically restored 1923 Harriman coach cars from Williams to the South Rim of the Canyon. Now the railway has added another stop - Las Vegas. The trips, offered in conjunction with Farwest Airlines, provide transportation from major Las Vegas hotels, round-trip air travel, lunch, a guided tour of Grand Canyon National Park, a one-way trip aboard the railway's historic train, before returning to the hotel. The Grand Canyon Railroad Company originally built the short line railroad to haul copper ore from a promising mine at Anita, 15 miles south of the Rim. The mine played out by the time the rails reached Anita, but the Santa Fe Railroad acquired the track and used it to provide access to the Canyon, which soon became a national destination for visitors. Information: (800) THE TRAIN.

See AZ by CD

Enjoy the scenery and history of eastern Arizona along the "Trail of Many Tracks." A selfguided auto tour on cassette and CD, named for the array of early trails that crisscrossed Navajo and Apache counties, covers the paved back roads of the area: From the red sandstone cliffs along the Arizona-New Mexico border, visitors climb to the forests of the White Mountains, enjoy the verdant farmlands and old homes along Silver Creek, and the stark beauty of the Painted Desert and finish in Winslow. The route covers 440 miles in a leisurely twoto four-day drive. The CD is $15.95; cassette, $9.95. Information: (520) 536-2875.

Question of the Month

So what is a snowball's chance in Phoenix?

Triple zeroes fill Western Regional Climate Center charts for monthly totals of snowfall in Phoenix and Carefree (which approximates the terrain of many newly annexed sections of north Phoenix). Month after month, year after year, measurements taken from January of 1947 through December of 1999 read: 0.00, except in March 1973 in Carefree, when 2.30 inches of the substance was recorded.

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