TAKING THE OFF-RAMP

taking the off-ramp THIS MONTH IN ARIZONA

1878 Ed Schiefflin discovered several new rich silver deposits near his previous Tombstone claim and named them the Lucky Cuss Mine, Tough Nut Mine, Grand Central Mine and Contention Mine.

1879 A.P.K. Safford, James S. Clark and J.H Palmer bought a tract of land known as Goose Flat, laid out a town and named it Tombstone, in honor of Schiefflin's first mining claim.

1910 Street-paving began in Phoenix.

1911 Theodore Roosevelt dedicated the Roosevelt Dam.

1942 Due to WWII, tires and inner tubes became so scarce they often were the object of price-gouging and theft. Secondhand tires with several thousand miles on them could cost as much as $50. Used tubes went for $10.

Ties to the Past

Runaway imagination couldn't be more appropriate than in the Arizona Railway Museum in Chandler, where you will feel the nostalgic tug of a sentimental journey for just about every taste. If you're not riveted in your tracks by the headlamps looming just inside the doorway of the unassuming cinderblock building, follow the decades of railway history displayed floor-to-ceiling as you wend your way through the museum. You might see yourself in another era, listening to the rhythmic sound of miles and time speeding by as you lounge in a well-appointed dining car with crisp white linens and elegant china. You might peruse the finely lettered menu, jolting back to the present when you see the paltry prices of sumptuous meals. Outside, train your sights on a charming collection of vintage rail cars in various stages of restoration. Here, every locomotive, every passenger car and every caboose is on time, every time, to carry visitors back in time. Located at 399 Ν. Delaware St., Chandler, the volunteer-operated museum is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons, Labor Day to Memorial Day. Information: (480) 821-1108.

If you have a hummingbird feeder in your yard and keep it filled with sugar water, you're probably seeing as many bees as hummingbirds. And if you're allergic to bee stings or just don't get enough entertainment out of that particular experience, you may find this information from avid bird-watchers useful: An Avon product called Skin So Soft has been found effective in keeping bees away from hummingbird feeders. Just wipe some of it around each of the holes on the feeder. Bees seem to hate the stuff, though the hummers don't mind it at all.

We've heard that the same lotion, though not intended as a mosquito repellant for humans, turned out to be good for that, too.

Art of the People

What do a 7-foot metal ostrich, a giant solar calendar made of 12 aluminum-coated steel monoliths, a 3-D chalk drawing of a naked giant breaking through a concrete plaza and a bicycle rack in the form of a bicycle-built-for-four have in common? They're all examples of art everyone can enjoy without paying a penny for admission. Beginning in the 1980s, many Arizona cities passed an ordinance to fund the purchase and placement of commissioned artwork for public buildings, parks and roadways. Whimsical black cutout human figures guard the trees along Dunlap Avenue in Phoenix, while Stephen Farley's larger-than-life reproductions of mid-century photographs line the underpass at Broadway Boulevard and Barraza-Aviation Parkway in Tucson. Decorative transit shelters and highway noise barriers result from the cooperative effort of municipal art commissions, corporations, artists and students. Contact these cities to learn locations of their public art: Chandler, (480) 917-6859; Flagstaff, (800) 842-7293; Glendale, (623) 930-2040; Mesa, (480) 644-4892; Phoenix, (602) 262-4637; Scottsdale, (480) 8744645; Tempe, (480) 350-5149; and Tucson, (520) 624-0595, ext. 21.

Images of Arizona

If you've ever wanted to raft the Colorado's white-water rapids but never wanted to get wet if imagining clouds of broncchurned dust is the only thing that's kept you from attending the nation's largest all-Indian rodeo here's a chance to get up close and stay comfortable: Watch Images of Arizona. The hour-long documentary, produced by KAET-TV Public Television (Channel 8), premieres on Monday, March 5, at 7 P.M. and airs several times during the station's March pledge drive. Accompanying three of Arizona Highways' most celebrated photographers as they conducted Friends of Arizona Highways photo workshops, the KAET filmmakers documented the award-winning artists as they taught their craft to experts and beginners amidst some of the state's most famous landscapes. Images of Arizona follows David Muench, one of America's greatest landscape photographers, on a desert workshop. The film also explores the Grand Canyon's hidden waterfalls and delicate riparian ecosystem as Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga leads a Colorado River rafting session. Navajo photographer Leroy DeJolie demonstrates his award-winning techniques in his workshop, which includes a tour of Canyon de Chelly and the vibrant excitement of the rodeo at the Navajo Nation Fair. Readers who enjoy the excellent photographs in Arizona Highways won't want to miss KAET Channel 8's dramatic showcasing of the artists who capture them.

SKULL VALLEY Rock 'n' Role Call

"Most of the old settlers told it like it was, rough and rocky. They named their towns Rimrock, Rough Rock, Round Rock, Wide Ruins, Skull Valley, Bitter Springs, Wolf Hole, Tombstone. It's tough country. The names of Arizona towns tell you all you need to know."

THE INFAMOUS PERALTA FORGERIES

The man with the muttonchop whiskers and intense gaze thought he was looking into a gilded future as an Arizona land baron. Instead, in June 1896, he found himself facing two years in a federal penitentiary and a $5,000 fine, small punishment by today's standards for the gigantic swindle he almost pulled off. During his days as a Confederate infantryman in the Civil War, James Addison Reavis discovered and capitalized on his talent for forgery, faking furlough passes and requisition forms for himself and fellow soldiers. Following the war, Reavis expanded his repertoire to include real estate documents in St. Louis. When a Dr. George M. Willing Jr. approached him with papers giving Willing dubious title to a large portion of land in Arizona and New Mexico, Reavis, Intrigued, agreed to pursue Willing's right to the land. However, Willing died shortly after. Over the next few years, Reavis concocted a Spanish family named Peralta, whose "claim" to the land supposedly came through a 1748 gift of King Ferdinand VI of Spain, and whose reversal of fortune caused the last heir to deed the land to Dr. Willing. Furthermore, Reavis breathed royal life into an unwitting Cinderella, a teenage illiterate dressmaker whom he dubbed Doña Sofia Loreta Micaela Masoy Peralta de la Cordoba, Baroness de Arizonac y de los Colorados, heiress to this huge tract of land. After educating her in European manners, he conveniently married the young lady to become the Baron of Arizona. Finally, in 1887 the couple arrived in Tucson with their documents and set about extracting quitclaims and various forms of payment from the ranchers and farmers settled in Arizona Territory. Small land owners caved in to Reavis' demands easily after he convinced the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Silver King Mine Company to pay for their use of land on the Peralta Grant. James and Sofia enjoyed 10 years of wealth and social recognition in America and Europe before his clever forgeries were uncovered by a team of detectives and document analysts. Although Reavis' documents appeared genuine, under magnification his handwriting proved to have been applied to paper with steel pens rather than the quills used during the 18th century. Other anachronisms, such as papers and inks supposedly used before they were invented, contributed to Reavis' undoing. Poor Sofia, left penniless with twin boys while her husband went to jail, divorced him, moved to Denver and slipped into history's shadows. After his release, the ruined Reavis wandered the streets of Phoenix and frequented local libraries - perusing old newspaper stories of the days of his notoriety - until his death in 1914.

Parking in Paradise

Maybe you remember when you could park your car by the two-lane bridge that spanned Oak Creek near Slide Rock and clamber down to the water on one of the little paths joining it to State Route 89A. Or perhaps you recall when Red Rock Country was one of Arizona's secret places.

Well, those days are gone forever. The millions of visitors who come each year to experience Sedona's natural splendors have necessitated the construction of improved roads, bridges, park paths, parking lots, picnic tables, toilet facilities and so on.

To underwrite the costs of stewarding this valuable natural resource, the Forest Service recently instituted a fee schedule called the Red Rock Pass Program. This users' fee is charged for cars parked on designated Coconino National Forest land. It features four "gateway centers" at strategic entrance points to the Sedona-Oak Creek area at which visitors may purchase any of four passes based on their planned activities and length of stay: $5 per vehicle Daily Pass, $15 per vehicle Weekly Pass, $20 per vehicle Annual Pass, or $40 per vehicle Grand Annual Pass (includes five entrances into private day-use sites, where overnight camping is not allowed).

Senior and disabled citizens who hold Golden Age and Golden Access Passports are eligible for 50 percent discounts on all Red Rock Passports. No passes are required for driving through Red Rock Country or brief parking for pic-ture-taking. For details, call (520) 282-4119.

Extreme Horseback Riding

"It's not for the fainthearted," says equestrian Paula Guthery after following John and Trixie Garrett on their Extreme Adventure horseback ride up Mount Graham near Safford. "The trick is to trust that your horse is smarter than you and knows his way."

Riding the edge of one-horse trails alongside 800-foot cliffs is only part of the thrill, however. The Garretts, owners of Pioneer Stables, test the mettle of the bravest on "The Potholes," a 60foot water slide down centuries-smoothed rocks, through tiny pools and off 30-foot drops. Participants rock-climb, learn cowboy rappelling, then grit their teeth against icy water and earn a special name by diving under a gorgeous waterfall and passing the bravery test. They cool off with a swim in a hidden lake before descending (using a whole new set of muscles). Views of the Gila Valley easily rate as spectacular - if riders can trust their horse to step in all the right places to allow them to look up and enjoy them.

off-ramp

their teeth against icy water and earn a special name by diving under a gorgeous waterfall and passing the bravery test. They cool off with a swim in a hidden lake before descending (using a whole new set of muscles). Views of the Gila Valley easily rate as spectacular - if riders can trust their horse to step in all the right places to allow them to look up and enjoy them.

Cost is $84 per person including lunch. Reservations are required: Pioneer Stables, (520) 428-7441.

Question of the Month

What's the difference between a buffalo and a bison?

There is no difference, at least not in this country. The woolly animal embossed on our old nickels smells as sweet by either name. But don't call him a buffalo in Europe, or they'll think of water buffalo or Cape buffalo, which are not the same. Two herds of bison or buffalo - roam Arizona today.

Look Westward for Natural Treasures

Searching for hidden treasure? Try the grounds of Tucson's famous Westward Look Resort. Built in 1912, the city's oldest resort offers a pair of nature trails free of charge to anyone who wants to walk the two-thirds-mile loop of each path.

Stop at the front desk for a brochure mapping the Saguaro and Hummingbird trails. Instead of X marking the spots, hummingbirds or saguaros show the location of benches and ramadas from which you may see a wide variety of natural treasures if you sit quietly for a spell. The resort has labeled scores of plants from the stately saguaro cactus to the gray-green triangleleaf bursage shrub.

The Hummingbird Trail loops around four specialty gardens, which grow vegetables and herbs used by the hotel and its health spa. Guests and the public alike may attend Saturday morning garden sessions hosted by a chef describing Executive Chef Jason Jonilonis' use of native plants in his "new American Sonoran cuisine." The Westward Look is at 245 E. Ina Road. Information: (520) 2971151 or toll-free (800) 722-2500. Al