TAKING THE OFF-RAMP

U-Pick 'em Season Is Ripe

Ripe cherries and strawberries in southeastern Arizona kick off the u-pick season this month. And after cherrypicking, comes a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables at farms growing everything from apples to zucchini. During the season, many of the u-pick farms hold festivals featuring petting zoos, hayrides and educational exhibits. Call the Willcox Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture for a free copy of the Fresh Farm Produce Brochure, which includes a map of participating farms and a harvest calendar. Information: toll-free (800) 2002272.

Day Cruises on Lake Powell

No time to rent a houseboat for a week to leisurely see the ethereal wonders of Lake Powell mountaintops? Wahweap Marina offers daycruises of the lake, side canyons and Rainbow Bridge. While the famous red rock arch may be the main attraction, the 2.5-hour trip to Antelope and Navajo canyons proves well worth the time and extra film. This hands-on experience introduces passengers to a close-up view of a desert's brand of "tapestry," rock walls streaked with desert varnish, while the captain navigates the boat into a canyon narrow enough to touch its walls. The 5hour tour (50 miles one-way) to Rainbow Bridge includes a quarter-mile hike to its base. At 275 feet high and 42 feet thick, the arch is not nearly as delicate as it looks from the lake. The full-day tour to the bridge (seven hours), offered only in summer season, includes lunch, two extra side canyons and a stop at Dangling Rope Marina. The shorter tours leave daily except on Christmas Day. Costs: $39 to $99 (plus tax) per person. Call ahead for departure times, which vary with the seasons: toll-free (800) 528-6154 or (520) 645-2433.

LIFE IN ARIZONA 1930s-present BREAKING CULTURAL BARRIERS

Dressed in their "Sunday best" and showing off their handcrafted woven-willow wares, this group of Hualapai Indians posed for an itinerant photographer near Seligman along Route 66 in the early 1930s. The crouching woman on the far left is Nellie Jack Mahone, grandmother of actress, model and, now, Phoenix-based talent agent Camille Nighthorse Gordon. Reared on the Hualapai Indian Reservation in Peach Springs near the Grand Canyon by her maternal grandparents, Nellie and Fred Work Mahone, Gordon views her traditional childhood home as "a blessing." When Fred became blind in the early 1960s, Nellie added his hunting responsibilities to her own seed-, nutand willow branch-gathering chores, and often included Camille on expeditions into the forest. In 1968, the Mormon church the family belonged to chose Camille to live with a white family in Garden Grove, California. Eightyear-old Camille moved away from her homeland, returning to the reservation only for summers. Fred died in 1971, and Gordon remained with her foster family for three more years. But following her summer vacation in 1974, she opted to remain in Arizona and continue her education among her Native American peers at the Phoenix Indian School, a boarding school that operated until 1990. After six years in white society, Gordon says, she feared she waslosing her identity. "I felt like I didn't belong anywhere," she recalls. On the reservation she was called "white girl" or "half-breed." But to white society, she was an Indian. She resolved her internal conflict by "turning to faith" and traveling the world with her husband, Tom, a Naval officer and a state representative. Along the way, she determined that "no one culture is superior. You have to look at everyone as if they're a brother or sister. That's what breaks down that barrier." During the couple's globe-hopping, Camille bore eight children in seven different cities from San Diego, California, to Berlin, Germany. While focusing her energy on child-rearing, Gordon maintained her lifelong interest in fine art, modeling and acting. She has appeared in a number of films, including Lethal Weapon IV and the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" television production The Lost Child. Prompted by casting directors' requests, Gordon's search for talented Indians for the entertainment industry led her to form All Natives Talent Agency in early 2000. Recent agency projects include two 16month calendars, "Native Men" and "Native Women," featuring her own photographic talent, along with works of other photographers, including frequent Arizona Highways contributor Leroy DeJolie. She is working on a couple of film projects this year.

Brian's Way

Brian Murphy has to hold his favorite magazine right up to his nose in order to make out any images. His eyes see so little, and because he cannot speak, he can't tell us what he sees. But he can show us. It is with watercolor and brushes that 32year-old Brian Murphy creates beautiful landscapes, inspired by what he sees on the pages of Arizona Highways.Brian is a student at the Valley of the Sun School and Rehabilitation Center, Phoenix' oldest agency working with the developmentally disabled.

Two years ago, the school began an art program to open a new door of communication for people like Brian. Development director Franny Glasser couldn't have imagined what she was unlocking. "The work astonished us all," Glasser says. "And Brian, a man with very limited sight and noother communication skills, who just loves Arizona Highways, is one of our most accomplished artists. Everyone who saw Brian's cacti — or Misty's flowers, or Donnie's Indian scenes — fell in love with them. With money from a local charity, Glasser opened a print shop to produce greeting cards featuring the beautiful artwork. And while she was at it, the shop became a sheltered workshop to train other disabled adults in the printing profession.

Brian, who lives with his parents, obviously enjoys his painting. "Art is now an important part of his life," Glasser says. "It is clear that he has a special gift."

All money from the sale of the greeting cards — available in a packet of 12 for $10 — goes back into the art program. They're available from Valley of the Sun School, 1142 W. Hatcher Road, Phoenix, AZ 85021; (602) 371-0806.

Flight Patterns

If that magnificent eagle you've spotted wavers on currents of air like a butterfly, hold off on sounding the alert to your traveling companions until you've got it more focused in your sights — it's probably a vulture. And in the future, to avoid the embarrassment of confusing our national emblem with a high-flying carrion feeder, here are a few tips to help you develop "soar" eyes. According to Wayne Grade, author of Vulture: Nature's Ghastly Gourmet, eagles and hawks extend their wings in an almost straight line and rarely waver or wobble in flight. Vultures crook their larger wingspans in a "v" shape, sometimes gliding for miles without using a single calorie of energy. Other times, like wily politicians, vultures seem to shilly-shally back and forth on the prevailing winds as they search for their next free lunch.

Dude Roundup

Unless you're looking for a horse with training wheels, Arizona Dude Ranch Association members probably have a getaway idea for your next vacation. From working cattle ranches to resort-type accommodations and championship golf courses, the member ranches cater to almost every inner cowboy or cowgirl. Not surprisingly, all of the dude ranches offer trail rides and most have cookouts under the stars. But some conduct "horsemanship clinics," while others refer to such training as "riding lessons." Some offer "fine dining," and others serve "home cooking, family-style." Many, like the Ironhorse Ranch near Tombstone, schedule challenging activities like barrel racing and team roping for advanced riders. But if you want to learn how to milk cows, look up Sprucedale Ranch in northeastern Arizona. The Flying E Ranch in Wickenburg has lighted tennis courts, shuffleboard and a sauna. And, the association brochure reminds, "lazy" is an acceptable activity. Whether you're looking to wind down or round up, or for fishing trips or astronomy programs, the Arizona Dude Ranch Association can help. Information: www.azdra.com, or P.O. Box 603, Cortaro, AZ 85652.

Home

Little old shack, All tar-papered black, Your chimney leans back From the north wind. Your windows are few, Your rooms only two, But yet to my view You're a Mansion.

Little old shack, There's lots that you lack, Yet still you've the knack To look home-like. My hands builded you, The wife helped me, too; I guess you will do For our Mansion.

- Robert V. Carr, Cowboy Lyrics, 1912

Question of the Month

What was unusual about the Arizona Territorial Prison at Yuma?

Despite its reputation as a "hell hole" and the harshness of its desert location, the prison, which operated from 1876 to 1909, had a name for being "humanely administered" and "a model institution of its time." It provided free schooling, housed one of the Territory's first libraries, and most inmates who served the majority of their terms received full pardons.

despite quicksand, bees and a fear of heights, two can-do women glowed as they reached the ruins

by carrie m. miner MOST OF MY LIFE I've listened to men brag, in a great rush of testosterone, about their outdoor adventures, their bravery, their cunning and their ability to tackle a mountain without even breaking a sweat. These stories can be entertaining, of course, but the tales almost make it sound as though you have to be part of a special club to join in such a great outdoor escapade - no girls allowed. So when I got the chance to take a rugged three-day hike to the mysterious ruins of a long-gone civilization, I invited a girlfriend to help me investigate the ancient and compelling myth of male conquest - sort of a girls' adventure out. Theresa Mason agreed readily enough, having also recently decided to go in search of the Wild Woman lurking beneath the lipstick. The 18.5-mile round-trip hike to the ancient Anasazi ruins at Keet Seel along a streambed on the Navajo Indian Reservation in far northeastern Arizona sounded like a plausible test of womanhood - especially with Keet Seel's well-preserved walls seem to echo with the voices of its ancient inhabitants. The stone and clay ruins are protected within the confines of Navajo National Monument, which also includes the cliff dwelling Betatakin. GEORGE H. H. HUEY

Keet SEEL QuesT