TAKING THE OFF-RAMP

taking the off-ramp THIS MONTH IN ARIZONA

1886 Because the town had no waterworks and no fire department, a Phoenix blaze destroyed a full block of business buildings.

1889 The first orange grove was planted in Phoenix.

1896 Castle Hot Springs, the state's first hotel to serve winter visitors, opened southeast of Wickenburg.

1905 Nineteen inches of rain caused the Salt River to overflow and flood Phoenix streets and destroy the Santa Fe Railroad bridge.

1909 Tucson police ordered motorists to observe a city speed limit of 7 miles per hour.

1911 Phoenix voted to become a "wet" town, but Maricopa County voted to remain "dry" - no liquor allowed.

1931 The State Supreme Court declared invalid an ordinance that prohibited drunken driving.

You'll Know You're in Bouse When You See Huge Tanks by the Road

Are you interested in World War II memorabilia? We know just the place to send you. Forget about asking a travel agent; it's a safe bet few have heard of Bouse or its tiny museum. Bouse sits on State Route 72, southeast of Parker and northwest of Vicksburg. That means Bouse lies in the middle of a very spartan, isolated chunk of the Mohave Desert, about two hours west of Phoenix. Barren it may be, but Gen. George Patton thought it was just perfect for training tank battalions for combat in World War II. You'll know you're at Bouse when you see a couple of tanks alongside the road in front of some huge boulders. A plaque on one of the boulders says: "Camp Bouse was established in Butler Valley 30 miles behind this monument in Sept. of 1943. It was one of 12 such camps built in the Southwestern deserts to harden and train United States troops for service on the battlefields of World War II. The Desert Training Center was a simulated theater of operations that included portions of California and Arizona..." The 740th Tank Battalion trained at Camp Bouse from October 1943 to April 1944. On November 1, 1944, it landed on Utah Beach during the Normandy campaign. There's more historical information at the site, and a chance to register if you are a veteran of one of the tank battalions. A small museum across the railroad tracks, a block north of the tanks, is housed in a former assay office that looks like a wooden shack.

The Land of 100,000 Irises

Thirty-five years ago, Don and Bobbie Shepard's neighbor gave them a gift - two tall bearded iris plants. They saw their first blooms in 1969, and their newfound passion blossomed into a flowering business the Shepard Iris Farm which now distributes its showy flowers all over the world as the only commercial iris farm in Arizona. The Shepards grow more than 100,000 plants on 2.5 acres in west Phoenix. They nurture 2,000 varieties of irises hundreds of which they bred themselves including both bearded and spuria (non-bearded) irises which require full sun, as well as the Louisiana variety which grows in shady, swampy areas. Currently the Shepards have the world's largest collection of spurias. Hues include traditional purple, exotic reds such as Arizona Redhead and Fire Breather and the pure whites including Griffin's Pride, the largest specimen in the garden. Each April the garden, at 3342 W. Orangewood Ave., is open daily from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., allowing iris lovers the opportunity to wander through kaleidoscopic fields of flowers. Information: (602) 841-1231.

How Sarah Got a Canyon Named for Her

LIFE'S MOST EMBARRASSING moments seem to happen at the most inopportune times, but sometimes fate can turn a red-faced instant into enduring fame. Sarah Deming knows. Back in 1923, Deming visited Arizona and joined a sightseeing group to view what is now Chiricahua National Monument. Gazing at the geometric rock formations rather than the trail she walked along, Deming took an unusual turn. Unlike the object of her attention, the Chiricahuas' famous Balanced Rock, Deming momentarily lost her equilibrium and fell, splitting the seat of her pants wide open. A faithful pioneer woman in the group pulled off her apron and hastily handed it to Sarah, who just as hastily, tied it on backward. Whether out of sympathy or sport, the opening in the seat of Deming's pants and the opening of the canyon she explored were forever linked when someone in the party dubbed the site of her mishap "Sarah Deming Canyon."

Map Gender Gap

"May I draw you a map?"

Women are more likely than men to answer "yes" to that question, according to a Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown/Yankelovich study of travelers renting a car. Eighty-four percent of women compared with 76 percent of men believed a customized map to a destination was extremely or very desirable.

But the map gender gap is closing: A year earlier, the same study reported that 87 percent of women wanted the map compared with 72 percent of men. The firm claims it cannot determine whether women are feeling more confident about getting where they are going or if men are just accustomed to being late.

Picture It: Vista Point

If you're in the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, in the Chiricahua Mountains, you'll find yourself on a road with towering orange-colored cliffs rising on both sides. The trouble is, this canyon in southeastern Arizona is so narrow and densely wooded with sycamore and cypress trees that you can't see much from the road, whether you're walking or driving. However, Vista Point - although often ignoredprovides a stunning view of the cliffs and dramatic caves and other rock formations in South Fork. You'll have to walk the equivalent of a city block to get up to the overlook, but once you arrive you'll find a bench, a telescope and eye-opening scenery.

The spot we're talking about is in the eastern end of the Chiricahuas near Portal. The best way to get there is to drive 137 miles east from Tucson on Interstate 10 to Road Forks, New Mexico, then travel 23 miles south on State Route 80 to Rodeo. At Rodeo, turn right onto Portal Road. The town's only store sits 7 miles west of Rodeo. Go 2.9 miles beyond the store, and the paved road will veer to the right as the unpaved road to South Fork veers to the left. Stay on the pavement about 30 feet beyond the dirt cutoff, and watch on the left for the Vista Point parking area.

from Tucson on Interstate 10 to Road Forks, New Mexico, then travel 23 miles south on State Route 80 to Rodeo. At Rodeo, turn right onto Portal Road. The town's only store sits 7 miles west of Rodeo. Go 2.9 miles beyond the store, and the paved road will veer to the right as the unpaved road to South Fork veers to the left. Stay on the pavement about 30 feet beyond the dirt cutoff, and watch on the left for the Vista Point parking area.

From your perch above South Fork, you may see peregrine falcons, elegant trogons, deer, javelinas and many other creatures. Go late in the afternoon or early in the morning and take a camera. You won't be disappointed.

SIXTY-TWO-YEAR-OLD Nedra Solomon opened her exterminating business in 1968, never realizing that 32 years later she'd be displaying her victims in her very own museum. The Katydid Insect Museum opened last June next door to Solomon's insecticide business at 5060 W. Bethany Home Road in Glendale.

Solomon caught 90 percent of the collection herself. Her exterminators carry alcoholfilled pill containers for unusual finds, and her friends and family contribute to the collection by giving Solomon bugs on holidays. Former pets an emperor scorpion and a 6-inch centipede - are displayed. Like any proud grandmother, Solomon has included her grandchildren in her project by naming parts of the museum in their honorJenny's Giants, Jessica's Invaders and Dustin's Demons. The museum is named for her eldest granddaughter, Kate. "The katydid is the only insect named for the sound it makes," she adds.

Solomon encourages an appreciation of bugs - battling entomophobia with education. She has no fear of the many insects roaming the Earth, but admits that pigeons will put her in a panic. "I'm afraid of birds, but not any kind of bug," she says. Information: (623) 931-8718.

The Time It 'Snowed' in Peoria

Priscilla Cook of the Peoria Historical Society remembers when cotton gins processed The economic mainstay of the town west of Phoenix. "When they were running, they would put so much lint into the air it would look like it was snowing," she says. The society's museum houses relics from the town's cotton days including scales, hooks and even a mini cotton bale. Cook takes visitors on guided tours through the old two-room schoolhouse built in 1906, illustrating the exhibits with the memories and experiences she's gathered since she moved to Peoria in 1929. Exhibits include a schoolroom complete with scarred wooden desks, a kitchen with a cast-ironstove, and displays of mementos of Peoria's founding families. Cook's reminiscences include children getting caught swimming in the water tank, seeing a movie at the Peoria Theatre for a dime and skating down Peoria Avenue in midday. The water tower has long since been torn down, the theater is now a fire station and the buildings along busy Peoria Avenue have new names and faces. But Cook keeps a careful watch over those times long past, when false snowflakes would fall to the tune of rumbling cotton gins. Free tours are available on Saturdays or by appointment. Information: (623) 972-3587.

Hotel U

Most travelers don't consider a college campus when making overnight reservations, but the Inn at NAU in Flagstaff stands out as an intimateand inexpensive getaway. Located on the Northern Arizona University campus in a charming stone manse, once the home of university President J. Lawrence Walkup, the AAA three diamond-rated inn offers 19 guest rooms, a restaurant, bar and small conference room. It operates under the university's School of Hotel and Restaurant Management and is open to the public. Full-time staff includes a manager, an executive housekeeper, an executive gourmet chef and a sous-chef, who supervise baccalaureate students practicing their hospitality skills. Because the inn must adapt to students' class schedules, be prepared for the somewhat limited hours of the restaurant and bar.

The Golden Terrace restaurant and the tiny 15-patron Golden Eagle Lounge serve lunch Monday through Friday; the lounge also offers a full bar, and remains open later. The Golden Terrace overlooks the patio garden (open to diners in good weather), serving dinner Tuesday through Friday. Count on an informal menu on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, when the homemade pizza, ice cream and French-American luncheon selections qualify as bargains. Wear your best bib and tucker Fridays, however, as the students serve a six-course gourmet spread. Recent seasonal selections have included a savory slice of roasted buffalo, Thai shrimp or rack of lamb, accompanied by wild rice with forest mushrooms and black cherry sorbet; worth every penny at about $20 (reservations required). Room rates run from $54 to $79 per night ($89 for the Regent Suite with living room), and include a full breakfast of made-to-order eggs and a variety of meats, fruits and breads. And, because it's run by a state institution, guests pay no tax. All rooms feature two queen beds or one king with a sofa bed, a safe, refrigerator and in-room coffee. Families or friends who share a room appreciate the privacy wall between queen beds, and those with disabilities find specially equipped rooms as well. We think the students deserve extra credit for thinking of everything. Information: (520) 523-1616.

Question of the Month

What is Arizona's top crop?

While it's still the reigning field crop, cotton has been knocked off as the top commercial crop for Arizona. Let us acknowledge lettuce as the new leader in Arizona commercial vegetable crops. Other top veggies include head lettuce and leaf lettuce, holding slots 1 and 5, respectively, with an interloper, cantaloupe (counted with vegetables by the USDA), taking second place just ahead of romaine in the number 3 slot. Broccoli finished fourth in sales to round out the top five. The top fruit sales come from lemons, grapes, apples, tangerines and oranges, in that order. Bet those apples are a surprise. Look out Washington state.

LIFE IN ARIZONA 1 8 7 0 RULES OF STAGECOACH TRAVEL

The code of the Old West included rules of etiquette for stagecoach passengers, according to the Omaha Herald in 1877. Some examples:

Food Chain THE ARIZONA HEDGEHOG makes a tasty morsel for a hungry javelinabut weep not for a furry little creature's demise: The Arizona hedgehog is a species of cactus. You could shed a tear for the poor, bristly javelina, however, as it is a particular delicacy to mountain lions and black bears.