TAKING THE OFF-RAMP

Verkamp Family Tradition

Until the Santa Fe Railroad built a rail to the South Rim in 1901, the spectacle of the Grand Canyon remained a veritable secret, cracked only by those adventurers willing to make the arduous overland trek. But a few pioneering families set up camp on the South Rim, including the Verkamps. The Verkamp family pitched a tent in 1896 and by 1905 when the El Tovar Hotel opened, these prominent entrepreneurs moved their souvenir and curio shop into its permanent location at Grand Canyon Village. John and Steven were the last of the Verkamp boys to grow up in the Verkamp cabin, but the store still operates much as it did in its early days-catering to crowds seeking a bit of nature's splendor. Nowadays, John Verkamp serves as an Arizona state senator, and Steven metes out justice in the state's north country as a federal magistrate.Five of Megargee's murals hang in the north hallway of the second floor of the capitol in Phoenix. The first work Megargee did for HuntThe Prospector-shown here, hangs in the re-creation of Hunt's office on the second floor. The remaining nine of the original 15 paintings will probably be re-hung after completion of renovation work. Another exhibit of Megargee's life and work opens this month at Wickenburg's Desert Caballeros Western Museum, 21 N. Frontier St. Information: State Capitol Museum, (602) 542-4675; Desert Caballeros Western Museum, (928) 684-2272.

Lon Magargee: A Capitol Cowboy

Lon Megargee was a member of a small but select group, a cowboy artist who actually was a cowboy. At age 12, he took a ranch job north of Phoenix, eventually becoming a champion bronc rider. After his own ranch went bankrupt in 1909, Megargee said it was the best thing that could've happened to him because he then turned to painting. Although he took art classes, he claimed he was a self-taught painter.

His big break came in 1912 when Gov. George W.P. Hunt commissioned the Philadelphiaborn artist to produce 15 murals for the new state's capitol. These include some of the first representations of now well-known Arizona images, including the Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, Camelback Mountain, a Hopi Snake Dance andMission San Xavier del Bac. Critics panned Magargee's work, but regular Arizonans loved it. “Megargee uses color with a boldness that astonished more conservative painters,” said The Tombstone Prospector. “His work has a faithfulness to life and natures which even Frederic Remington never approached.”

Vulture Love— Why the Turkeys Make Good Valentines

"For turkey vultures, the conjugal compact is permanent; they mate for life. [But] divorce is not uncommon in black vultures."

Heard the One About the Arizona Shrimp Farmer?

Now hold on to your chaps before you decide this one is a tall talethe latest cash crop coming out of the Arizona desert is fish. It's true; desert farmers are branching out into fish and shrimp. They don't even need to trade in their tractors for shrimp boats to get started, and raising fish and shrimp in the desert saves them water and money. Farmers pay money for irrigation water. If they can manage a little fish farming in that water before they irrigate the crops, they make money on the fish to offset the cost of the water. Then they save money on fertilizer thanks to the fish doing what they do in the water. It turns out the fish water effluent is safer and better for the soil than commercial fertilizers, so the crops prosper.

In 1999, Arizona farmers produced 217,000 pounds of shrimp valued at more than $1 million. If you include the cold-water fish from hatcheries located in the state's higher elevations, Arizona produced almost a million pounds of shrimp and fish that year. One Arizona fish farmer is looking into raising Atlantic salmon.

Heck, when the word gets out, cattle ranchers will want to get in on the act. Just think: No more cattle drives or round-ups. No more branding or calving. It might be a hard sell getting people interested in a shrimp rodeo, though.

Plan a Sleepover at Kartchner Caverns

Kartchner Caverns State Park recently opened its 60-space campground for visitors eager to camp out under the stars. Located just south of Benson at an elevation of 5,000 feet, the 550-acre park offers views of the low rolling Whetstone Mountains, named for deposits of novaculite, a hard rock that's excellent as a sharpener. Reservations to visit the famous Kartchner Caverns, hailed as one of the top 10 caves in the world, are booked months in advance. But even without a ticket to walk the living cave, campers can enjoy the park's hiking trails, hummingbird garden and visitor center. The park is open daily and reservations for camping are not required. Camping fees are $20 with a limit of 14 days. No open fires are allowed. A limited number of same-day cave tour tickets are available for those without reservations. Information: (520) 586-4100.

off-ramp Roll on in to the Tumbleweed Hotel

If you're tooling around Cave Creek north of Phoenix and decide to make it a weekend event, pull up to the hitchin' post of the Tumbleweed Hotel, the town's only accommodations. Although the Tumbleweed wasn't built until 1973, its rustic splendor alludes to real Western hospitality and days when cowboys and gunslingers upheld the image of the Old West. Open year-round except July, the hotel looks like something from an old Western movie set. Its casita-style suites. come complete with king-size beds, kitchens and living rooms with views of the Black Mountains. Information: (480) 488-3668.

LIFE IN ARIZONA 1 800 HOW SELIGMAN GOT ITS NAME

This story comes straight from the mouth of Dr. Randolph Seligman, an 86-year-old physician in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Apparently, as a youngster, he was mighty impressed by Will Keleher, a man with no formal education who apprenticed to a lawyer, learned the law and spawned a family of lawyers in Albuquerque. One day in the 1950s, Seligman strolled into the Albuquerque Country Club and there sat the much-esteemed Will Keleher.

"Dr. Seligman," began Keleher, "does anyone ever ask you about Seligman, Arizona, and how it got its name?" "Yes, people ask me all the time," answered Seligman, "but I don't know the answer." "Then let me tell you how that name came to be," offered Keleher. Keleher explained that in the late 1800s, the transcontinental railroads were being built and the southern branches traveled through Arizona. A financial crash in the rail industry in 1893 left the crew in the middle of Arizona, building a railroad that was supposed to go all the way to the West Coast. Everything screeched to a halt with the financial collapse. The owners of the railroad decided to go to New York to speak to private financiers. After a lot of nays, they finally got a yea from the J and W Seligman banking company. Joseph and William Seligman were sympathetic to the plight of the railroaders, and they decided to finance the remainder of the construction. In their honor, at the place where the construction was stopped and then resumed, the name "Seligman" was given to the town.

Question of the Month

How much of Arizona land is privately owned?

As fast as Arizona is growing and with the number of homes being built, still less than 20 percent of the land in Arizona is privately owned. More than 80 percent of Arizona lands are either public, like national parks and state forests, or are Indian territories.

Canyons of the Catalinas

DISCOVERING POOLS, WILDLIFE AND CHASMS IN TUCSON'S SIGNATURE MOUNTAIN RANGE