TAKING THE OFF-RAMP

taking the off-ramp Arizona oddities, attractions and pleasures Dillinger Tour of Tucson

Quick, name Tucson's most notorious winter visitor. Would you believe John Dillinger? He and three gang members were arrested in Tucson in January of 1934.

Visitors can relive that famous capture with a self-guided Dillinger walking tour of the Old Pueblo.

First stop: Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., downtown. A fire forces guests Russell Clark and Charles Makley into street. Next day, firemen recognize Clark from photo in True Detective magazine; pair's baggage is traced.

Second stop: 927 N. Second Ave., west of the University of Arizona campus. Cops wrestle Clark down in bedroom. Later, police emerge from bushes outside house and stop Dillinger as he strolls sidewalk. Says he's Frank Sullivan.

Third Stop: 26 E. Congress St., Downtown. Cops trail Makley's Studebaker to Grabe Electric Company store and arrest him. He was buying a radio to monitor police transmissions.

Fourth Stop: 1304 E. Fifth St., midtown. Dillinger tells police he rented this house for himself.

Police nab fourth mobster, triggerman Harry Pierpont, at South Sixth Avenue "tourist court." Newspapers don't publish address.

Best Dillinger quote: "I'll be the laughingstock of the country. How could a hick town police force ever suspect us?"

THIS MONTH IN ARIZONA

1867 Twenty drunk and armed soldiers from Camp Lowell shot up Tucson, wounding one citizen.

1871 The Arizona Miner newspaper begged for protection from the Apache Indians by printing a three-column list of the names of pioneers known to have been slaughtered in the previous seven years.

1880 The first train reached Tucson and was greeted with celebration and the firing of cannons.

1882 Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and their party rode out of Tombstone never to return again.

True-blue Books

An image of the old Arizona cowboy: Wild, half-sober, riding his horse through saloon doors, then dragging his knuckles on the floor when he ankled to the bar for a drink.

Truth was, many early cowpunchers were thoughtful men, eager for self-improvement. They spent nights curled up on their bunkhouse cots reading Little Blue, Books, published by the E. HaldemanJulius Company of Girard, Kansas. These palm-sized tomes, first released in 1919, changed America's reading habits in the first half of the 20th century. Topics ranged from sex education to self-help books on punctuation and public speaking, to condensed literary classics. Imagine a bronc twister settling in with Blue Book No. 610, Life of Martin Luther.

The library of Prescott's Sharlot Hall Museum has a handful of Blue Books, and they make fun reading. Some samples from No. 1093, A Book of Interesting and Amusing Puns, and No. 59, Epigrams of Wit, Wisdom and Wickedness:

1890 Andrew Carnegie endowed Tucson with $25,000 to build a library.

1895 Thousands celebrated the arrival of the first train in Phoenix, 15 years after the railroad appeared in Tucson.

Point of View

"... each man sees himself in the Grand Canyon."

AZ's West Wing Riordan Mansion

The long-awaited public opening of the West Wing at Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff has arrived. The 13,000-square-foot home was built in 1904 by brothers Timothy and Michael Riordan, who married sisters Caroline and Elizabeth Metz. The startlingly luxurious structure with a rustic exterior contains two wings, one for each family, connected by a large billiard room, known as the Cabin Room.

The East Wing has been open for guided tours, but with the donation of the West Wing by Blanche Riordan Chambers, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Riordan, it, too, now serves as a museum.

A tour of the Riordan Mansion, designed by Charles Whittlesey in Arts and Crafts style, takes you back to the turn of the last century, when elegant living could be found-even in Territorial Arizona. Park Manager Rick Knotts says, "Perhaps the most interesting thing we discovered while refurbishing the West Wing was the original 1904 wallpaper. We left a section of it exposed for everyone to see, and then we bought reproduction wallpaper to match. We've had custom curtains made for the windows."

The newly opened wing houses interpretive displays about the Riordan family, their Arizona Lumber and Timber Company and the Arts and Crafts movement.

Also notable are the East Wing's oval dining room and table, and the Tiffany-like glass in the 1,000square-foot Cabin Room. Information: (928) 7794395, or Arizona State Parks, www.pr.state.az.us.

Desert Ducks Swim in Hot Water

Troy P. Drachman-Agua Caliente ("hot water") Park, you can see an array of wood ducks, as well as such unexpected riparian and aquatic wildlife as great blue herons, snowy egrets and exotic tilapia fish. A lush 101-acre natural habitat in the extreme northeast corner of Tucson, Agua Caliente Parknamed for the perennial warm spring that feeds three large ponds on the grounds-stands on the former site of a ranch and health resort that promoted curative properties of the water. The original ranch bunkhouse and a 200-yearold giant velvet mesquite tree, included in the annual "Great Trees

A Museum Full of Fun

Anyone of any age in search of a day of fun may find themselves immersed in the interactive displays at Tucson Children's Museum.

The little and the not-so-little can see a Tyrannosaurus rex up close in Dinosaur Canyon, take a virtual ride in a submarine in the Sea of Cortes or visit a bubble fac-tory. Tykes of all ages will want to take a walk inside the giant mouth in the Greatest Choice on Earth exhibit, create electricity and videotape a weather forecast in the museum's TV studio.

Goal-oriented youngsters can discover which career path to head down when they see what it's like to be a doctor, a grocery store manager or a firefighter. Younger kids can cross a river, climb into a treehouse and see a puppet show all in the same spot.

Tucson Children's Museum occupies the old Carnegie Library building in downtown Tucson at 200 S. Sixth Ave. Information: (520) 884-7511.

"Glimpses of the Old Pueblo" tour, reminds of the area's history.

Visitors are invited to stroll the walking trails with interpretive signs, picnic under a canopy of mature palms and enjoy the serenity of this unique park in the desert. Open daily from 7 A.M. to sunset. Agua Caliente Park is at 12325 E. Roger Road and the corner of Soldier Trail. Information: (520) 740-2690.

Remembering Navajo Veterans

One of the nicest settings for picnics in northeast Arizona is the Window Rock Tribal Park and Navajo Nation Veterans Memorial. Located beneath the monumental window rock formation, the 4-acre site blends Navajo philosophy and U.S. military traditions in honoring Navajo veterans A hogan medicine wheel with an eternal flame sits at the center of the park's bisecting paths. To the east of the wheel stand 16 sculpted steel soldiers. Nearby glass panels bear the names of Navajo veterans killed or missing in action in U.S. military efforts. To the west, a fountain flows, creating a place of quiet reflection. The park is near tribal headquarters in Window Rock. Drive north on Navajo Route 12 about a half-mile from its intersection with State Route 264. Information: (928) 871-6413.

Pampered campers soak in their own stone-lined hot mineral bath at eastern Arizona's picturesque Roper Lake, a state park that lies minutes from the base of Mount Graham on the south, with a delightful view of the Gila Mountains to the north. In addition to 32-acre Roper Lake, the park offers campgrounds with rest rooms, showers and water. There's also a boat launch and an RV dumping station. Everything in the campground is geared to be family-friendly.

Camping Like the Stars

Nearly every noteworthy person-including Native Americans, scientists, explorers, presidents and painters-who traveled through northern Arizona during the late 1800s stopped at the Hubbell Trading Post. At any one time, a half-dozen or more languages could be heard around the family home at the trading post. In this atmosphere of free exchange, artist Elbridge Ayer (E.A.) Burbank became fast friends with John Lorenzo Hubbell and, while there, created an extraordinary collection of more than 100 Native American portraits that still hang in the family home. Colored in conte crayon, a chalklike medium, they are known as the "Redheads" because of the predominant red tones in each

LIFE IN ARIZONA 1 8 8 0 s E.A. BURBANK'S 'REDHEADS'

portrait. Unlike other painters who romanticized the Indian, Burbank was exacting, to the smallest detail, in painting his subjects in ceremonial and everyday attire. Visitors to the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site who choose to skip the guided tour of the family home not only miss an opportunity to view the extraordinary Burbank collection-including an original oil of Geronimo-but also a glimpse into the life of a man who helped to shape Southwestern history. Hubbell's Southwestern Indian baskets hang from the ceiling and original oils and drawings cover the walls. Admission to the trading post and grounds is free. Tour: $2 per person. Information: (928) 7553475; www.nps.gov/hutr.Maintained nature trails offer excellent hikes for supervised children. The park features three day-use picnic areas, one of which is an attractive, shaded island with an inviting sandy beach. An Arizona fishing license allows you to fish the lake from the bank or a boat, but boats must use oar power or a small electric trolling motor. The park offers reserved level sites for campers with physical disabilities, and wheelchair-accessible showers and rest rooms. And soaking in the hot springs? That's free-on a first-come basis - but limited to 15 minutes per soak when others are waiting. Information and reservations: (928) 428-6760.

Question of the Month

How old is a saguaro cactus when its first blossoms appear?

19 years old, the saguaro cactus stands only about 6 inches tall. Around the age of 20, the saguaro experiences a growth spurt and gains about 2 inches a year. And this mighty cactus giant is between 30 and 50 years old when it first flowers. Talk about your late bloomer....