E-MAIL AND LETTERS

Great Memories

Tom Kuhn's article that mentioned the T-Bar Ranch ("Back Road Adventure," July '02) evoked strong memories for my 88-year-old father. He lived on the T-Bar during the years his father, J.G. Van Deren, ran it for the Babbitt brothers, starting around 1915. Those were the days when itinerant cowboys, including those suspected of being outlaws, would just ride in and ask my grandfather for a job, and when hired, they would stay for a season and then ride on.I worked on the T-Bar Ranch in the 1930s for $1 a day and board. On the first snowfall, we rode the line fence between the winter and summer ranges, looking for cattle missed in the fall roundup. Our home was the log cabin you pictured. A big fireplace and large cast-iron stove in the kitchen kept us warm.

Dream Come True

As a 12-year-old boy growing up in Columbus, Ohio, I discovered Arizona Highways on a newsstand. I was so enamored with the photography that I used my hard-earned newspaper route money to subscribe to it for a year. I eagerly awaited each month's issue and would read it from cover to cover.

Now at age 61, I've moved from Washington state to a home just 10 miles west of Phoenix. I'm once again a subscriber to Arizona Highways.

Wonderful State

In April of this year, I spent two weeks traveling around Arizona and fell in love with the state - what a beautiful, fascinating place, full of fabulous, endlessly varied scenery and absorbing history. I can hardly wait to return because that wasn't nearly enough time to explore. Until that time should come, I can hardly wait for each issue of your magazine, which helps to keep alive the sense of discovery I felt every day of my stay there.

Fiction

Thank you for bringing us the fiction story called "The Life and Death of Sally Brand," (July and Aug. '02). I love Arizona Highways, but I also enjoy reading short-story Westerns and mysteries.

Please try to include more fiction in your magazine. You might be surprised how well it would be accepted.

I was unhappy to see the fiction articles in the July and August issues. Hopefully, you will not repeat this diversion from an otherwise fine magazine that I have enjoyed for many years.

Another dilemma for the poor old editor: to use fiction from time to time, or not to use it. What do our other readers think?

Hummingbirds

I wish I had read Peter Aleshire's "The Hummingbirds' Songs" (July '02) before I retired to England. Everything except our most treasured possessions had to be disposed of, and only what we could carry on the airplane came with us. This included two of my favorite hummingbird feeders. After two years of faithful watching and waiting, not a single hummingbird showed up.

I thought I must be doing something wrong with the feed here, so I asked a bird-watching neighbor for help. In a shocked voice, she told me, "There are no hummingbirds in Europe."

Your hummingbirds are beautiful, ballistic ballerinas.

Billy the Kid

"This Month in Arizona," ("Taking the Off Ramp," July '02) implies that Billy the Kid was shot and killed in Arizona. According to what I've read, the event took place in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

Although Billy bounced around Arizona for a time, getting in trouble and even escaping from jail here, he gained infamy and was killed in 1881 in New Mexico.

Wolf Picture

Were we the only ones to see the shadow of the Big Bad Wolf sneaking up on the Three Sisters on the back cover of the July 2002 issue?

Great Writing

I felt utterly swept away by Craig Childs' breathlessly vivid and keen observations of the desert in monsoon mode ("Desert Downpour," July '02).

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

Publisher WIN HOLDEN Editor ROBERT J. EARLY Senior Editor BETH DEVENY Managing Editor RANDY SUMMERLIN Research Editor MARY PRATT Editorial Administrator CONNIE BOCH Administrative Assistant NIKKI KIMBEL Director of Photography PETER ENSENBERGER Photography Editor RICHARD MAACK Art Director MARY WINKELMAN VELGOS Deputy Art Director BARBARA GLYNN DENNEY Deputy Art Director BILLIE JO BISHOP Associate Art Director BETH ANDERSON Art Assistant PAULY HELLER Map Designer KEVIN KIBSEY Arizona Highways Books WitWorks Books Editor BOB ALBANO Associate Editor EVELYN HOWELL Associate Editor PK PERKIN MCMAHON Production Director CINDY MACKEY Production Coordinator KIM ENSENBERGER Promotions Art Director RONDA JOHNSON Webmaster VICKY SNOW

Marketing Director PATRICIA POWERS-ZERMEÑO

Circulation Director LEE FRANKLIN

Finance Director ROBERT M. STEELE

Fulfillment Director VALERIE J. BECKETT FOR CUSTOMER INQUIRIES OR TO ORDER BY PHONE: Call toll-free: (800) 543-5432 In the Phoenix area or outside the U.S., Call (602) 712-2000 Or visit us online at: arizonahighways.com For Corporate or Trade Sales Call (602) 712-2050 E-MAIL "LETTERS TO THE EDITOR": [email protected] Regular Mail: Editor 2039 W. Lewis Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85009 Governor Jane Dee Hull Director, Department of Transportation Victor M. Mendez ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION BOARD Chairman Katie Dusenberry, Tucson Vice Chairman Ingo Radicke, Globe Members Dallas "Rusty" Gant, Wickenburg Richard "Dick" Hileman, Lake Havasu City Bill Jeffers, Holbrook Joe Lane, Phoenix James W. Martin, Willcox INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION 2000, 1998, 1992, 1990 Magazine of the Year WESTERN PUBLICATIONS ASSOCIATION 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1992 Best Regional &r State Magazine 2002 Best In-transit Magazine SOCIETY OF AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITERS FOUNDATION 2000, 1997 Gold Awards Best Monthly Travel Magazine Arizona Highways (ISSN 0004-1521) is published monthly by the Arizona Department of Transportation, Subscription price: $21 a year in the US., $31 in Canada, 534 elsewhere outside the U.S. Single copy: $3.99 U.S. except December, $4.99. Send subscription correspondence and change of address information to Arizona Highways, 2039 W Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. Penodical postage paid at Phoenix, AZ and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Arizona Highways, 2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. Copyright © 2002 by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The magazine does not accept and is not responsible for unsolicited materials provided for editorial consideration.