Bootstraps and Beto

Back in the 90's sometime I can't pinpoint, a little decrepit hot dog cart showed up one day on a dusty corner of Camp Verde. A smiling Hispanic guy stood beside it waiting for somebody to buy something--anything. He had nothing except the hot dog cart and a smile. And an attitude. A VERY positive attitude born from a life of danger and adversity.

Somehow, against all odds, the people of Camp Verde began pulling their pickups onto the weed-choked lot to buy something from Beto. Maybe they spent a buck or more--nothing he sold was expensive. But they spent and they spent and then they spent even more. Maybe it was the food. But most likely it was just Beto's smile and banter and "can do" attitude." Who else could stand in the scorching sun, the dust devil winds or the humid cold of a Camp Verde riverside winter? Only Beto and his loyal family, that's for sure.

I watched this bootstrap saga unfold for several years as I drove back and forth to my day job beside the Verde River. Little by little Beto pulled and tugged on those bootstraps until he had a small shack from which to serve food. You couldn't really call it a building--it was pretty much just a lean to. Only in Camp Verde and Yavapai County could someone get away with this type of plywood contraption and call it a restaurant. But to Beto, it was a Palace and it was ALL his and his family's!

Little by little, that shack grew and grew until it stands proud today as a real restaurant with real restaurant fixtures just like real restaurants do. Watching Beto pull off that modern miracle was a real inspiration to me. It's something I will never forget. It was vivid, living proof before my very eyes that a a big smile, a positive attitude and total Faith could overcome any obstacle and reach that elusive light at the end of the tunnel.

I never knew Beto's own personal story. Little did I know what a rough life this guy had before he washed ashore in a dusty Camp Verde eddy. Now that Ace Reporter Steve Ayers has brought this man's life to press, the story burns even brighter in my mind's eye.

Thanks, Steve, "Ya dun good" once again! Keep up your great work!

Click here to read Beto's story as told by Steve.

Hopi Tribe Rescues Homol'ovi Ruins

Not far from Winslow lies a magical place called Homol'ovi.  Over 300 Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites are situated on 4,500 acres that were designated as an Arizona State Park in 1986.  On February 22 this year, Homol'ovi was closed, becoming yet another victim of Arizona's budgetary night of the long knives. 

Today, the world-at-large learned the Good News--The Hopi Tribe rode to the rescue of Homol'ovi!  They're pitching in a whopping $175,000 cash money to reopen the park full time, 12 months a year. 

Cedric Kuwaninvaya (Sipaulovi), Hopi Council Representative and member of the Hopi Land Team,undoubtedly spoke for the feelings of many Hopi when he said that after the closure, "Hopi became worried that once again, the pot hunters could start desecrating our ancient homelands"

Less than 8 months after the official closure, The Hopi Tribal Council  on October 19th voted 12-0 to approve a resolution providing funds to reopen that special place.   Shortly thereafter, State Parks Director Renee Bahl (at right in photo at left) joined resolution co-sponsor Norman Honanie to formally sign an agreement.

The news was revealed in the October 27th edition of The Navajo-Hopi Observer through a Special to the Observer submitted by Louella Nahsonhoya.  You can click here to read the entire NHO article.  We also printed the article to PDF format and have archived it in our Google Docs.  You can click here to download the PDF file.


This historic agreement is Huge News to anyone who knows about Homol'ovi and its relationship to The Hopi Tribe.  It is definitely a cause for celebration, too!  A date for re-opening of the park has not been announced.  We will follow this story closely to learn the date as soon as it is set by officials from State Parks and The Hopi Tribe.  We can guarantee you it's going to be a major occasion along The Little Colorado River and a very emotional moment as well.  We sure hope we can be there.

Our congratulations to The Hopi Tribe 
for going way beyond the extra mile 
to make history happen!  THANK YOU!


Here are some other resources:

The Wiki on Homolovi  
The Arizona State Parks Homolovi website
The Homolovi Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society. 
A 2008 article on Suvoyuki Day at Homolovi 

Valley Farmers Markets

View Valley Farmers Markets in a larger map

There are a lot of Farmers Markets in the far flung reaches of the so-called "Valley of The Sun." They convene at various days of the week and times of operations are all over the chart, too. We think we're going to have to make a custom spreadsheet to figure out when to go where if we want to visit a Farmers Market!

We've created a Page above this blog that links to a longer description of the various markets. We have already spent 4 hours making this Google Map. That's because we did our own analysis of each market.  Be forewarned, we were VERY sarcastic and downright rude in our comments about most of them!

This winter when we go to the Valley, we really want to have our options WIRED!

Kingdom of The Spiders

(Editor's Note: This is an evolving blog post. It was most recently updated about 2 pm, October 28. The latest news appears at the bottom of the post--BELOW the Spider Guy thing.)

Above is the bottom portion of a poster promoting the 1977 B-Movie entitled "Kingdom of The Spiders."  (The whole poster is thumbnailed below.) Look closely, that's an artist's rendition of Camp Verde's Main Street shown in the poster!

Anybody who knows anybody in Old Camp Verde knows someone who knows somebody who was an extra in the movie.   The movie has gained a modest new bit of notoriety since it was brought back to light early this year in DVD form.

Back in late July, the Camp Verde Bugle carried a snippet from someone who touted the idea of a "Kingdom of The Spiders Reunion" this coming Saturday out behind the Camp Verde Town Hall. We commented on the story this morning and then began enjoying a "blast from the past" today as we dug into the movie's history.  Click here for the Wiki on the movie.

We have three primary items that have tied us to this movie.  We knew one of the screenwriters for the script. In fact, Susun worked for Alan and his wife for seven years.  She became a Dear Friend of the Family and I got to go along for the ride.  Click here for the Wiki on Alan.

Secondly, for years we mistakenly believed that an piece of airplane fuselage at the McGuireville Exit was part of the movie set.  We helped perpetuate this rural legend.  McGuireville is Home of The Goat Ropers and the old dead airplane on top of a auto repair shop really added some suave and debonair ambiance to the place, especially with a backstory like Kingdom of The Spiders!

And, third, we actually watched the movie way back in the VHS tape days!   The movie isn't much.  Well, maybe that's an exaggeration.  The movie is nothing, really.  But it has a endearing quality that's common to campy films of yesteryear, especially when you can recognize the movie locations, props and sets.  Besides, the whole story line is so perfectly "Camp Weirdy" in the first place.  It kind of goes with the turf, if you know what we mean.

One of the reasons it has ticked up a few notches on the Retro Radar is because William Shatner (Remember that guy from something called Star Trek?) plays the lead role.  We embedded a YouTube of Shatner's Top Ten Ridiculous moments in the movie at the end of this blog post.  Enjoy!

Journalism Pro Steve Ayers is doing a story in tomorrow's Camp Verde Bugle about the weekend Reunion. We suspect there will be a followup story as well.  Consequently, this blog post is certain to be amended numerous times in the next few days. Click here for the original July 29th snippet in the CV Bugle.

The Camp Verde Bugle carried a great story by Reporter Steve Ayers in the Wednesday, October 27th issue. You can click here to read it. Basically, Steve Goetting, the promoter of the Spider's Reunion knows what he is doing. He's played a pivotal role in keeping alive the Camp Verde Pecan & Wine Festival. That was a tough nut to crack! (Pun intended.) So, a Spiders Reunion ought to be a piece of cake for this guy. If there's anything more then a tepid response to the first reunion, we strongly suspect it will become an respect rite of annual passage in Good Ol' Camp Weirdy. You have to realize some background perspective here. Camp Verde is pretty small TODAY. Back in the late 1970's the word "smalltown" was a classic understatement...or perhaps an exaggeration, depending on your viewpoint. Back in the last 70's there was only a hard core cadre of pioneer ancestors who still called Camp Verde home. The population then was minuscule compared to today. Chances are the number of local extras used in the movie comprised the bulk of the sleepy-eyed town's able-bodied population. If there were maybe 100 extras in use, that could have been at least 50% of Camp Verde's active adults (sic). What a hoot!  Stay tuned.

Ace Reporter Steve Ayers continues to flesh out the Spider Thing!  His latest story is all about the wild and crazy set in the middle of Camp Verde and how the airplane pilot was arrested.   It's an awesome story.  Click here to check it out. 

Nice Trail News

Anybody who spends any time someplace once called "off the beaten path" realizes just how beaten most backcountry paths have become.  The last 10+ years have seen a dramatic and appalling increase in renegade ATV trails.  Some of the most egregious of such trails are those made by bubble brained bubba boyz whose claim to fame is "high marking."  They are proud to say their machine can go higher and steeper than anyone else's machine.  It's actually a variation of the age-old male "size thing" except it is played out on your public lands.  At least the snowmobile people who engage in High Marking leave no trace of their frivolous so-called sport.  Those who practice this arcane activity in the Sonoran Desert create nasty natural resource damage what can last a lifetime or longer. 

And so it is that we read with great interest an article by one of our Journalism Faves, none other than Joanna Dodder Nellans, in the Prescott's "Daily Courier" newspaper.  There's a major trail on what we Verde Valley people call "the back side of Mingus" that's known as the Great Western Trail.  It's quite a famous trail, actually.  (Click here for the Wiki on the GWT.)

Naturally, there's a vicious High Marking spot along the GWT back behind Mingus.  No doubt this spot would have become ever more damaged if not for a rescue/intervention effort by some thoughtful and caring motorized recreationists.  Back in early October, a group of about 20 off road enthusiasts teamed up with some help from one of Smokey's Gang (AKA:  the USDA Forest Service) and installed water bars, moved boulders and otherwise did whatever they could to heal the destruction wrought by the High Markers. 

We love these kinds of stories.  The key "between-the-lines" factoid here is that it was the motor heads themselves who sought out the Forest Service to do the project.  Smokey's Gang wisely took them up on their offer.  It's interesting to note that Smokey's Gang wasn't looking for volunteers to help heal this spot--it was the motor heads themselves who got the ball rolling.  The Forest Service is usually more than willing to stand around wringing its collective hands about off road damage.  However, Smokey is typically long on talk and short on action when it comes to dealing with the often disastrous affects of unchecked off road abuse.

We sure hope more off-road people step forward to mitigate the destruction of the bad actors in their crowd.
This story represents a very positive development.  Thanks, Joanna, for your time and professional effort in featuring this vignette.  And, thanks, of course, to those 20 some people who made this nice trail news happen!

Click here for Joanna's story as it appears in The Courier.  If and when that links fails to work, you can click here for a copy we printed to PDF and archived in our Google Docs.

Our leaves aren't the only laggards

As card-carrying Snowbirds, we're now totally tuned into turning tree leaves.  Our Snowbird travel schedule is remarkably simply: "When the Leaves are gone, so are we."  The leaves in Idaho Falls are hanging on long than anyone we know can remember.  We thought it was just an Idaho phenomena until we read story in the October 19th "Arizona Daily Sun."  It seems that the area's legendary aspens are taking their sweet time turning colors, too.    The Sun doesn't allow printing of its articles so we've decided to put most of the text of the article into this blog post.  It is below. You can click here to see the original article.

"By Randy Wilson, Daily Sun Editor:

It might not be official, but it's hard to ignore the evidence. This might be one of the latest fall color seasons in Flagstaff on record.  A hike this past Saturday morning on the lower Weatherford Trail found fully-turned doghair aspen -- but bigger trees that were still entirely green.  The same reports have come in informally from hikers on the southern end of the Kachina Trail, where the big aspen have another week to go, as do the trees at so-called "Aspen Corner" on Snowbowl Road.  But others have reported a full turn in the groves lining Forest Road 794 east of Highway 180 and west of Fern Mountain.

And the big, still-green grove I reported on two weeks ago off Forest Road 418 at the Arizona Trail on the far northern slopes of the San Francisco Peaks also has nearly turned. But that still leaves much of the Kachina Trail and the aspen groves of Hart Prairie to enjoy for perhaps another week -- if there are any leaves left after this week's series of predicted storms.

Why so late a turn this year? One reason has to be the warmer daytime temperatures and the absence so far of a really hard frost that will kill all the leaves.  This past September in the Flagstaff region wound up being one of the warmest on record, and the first half of October has started out with above-average temperatures, too. All that extra sunshine and warmth seems to have kept the green chlorophyll pumping overtime.

But why are the bigger, older aspen last to turn? I haven't gotten an answer to that question -- perhaps readers will supply one."

End of quoted story

Lake Mead @ Historic low level

Lake Mead is the Grand Daddy of Colorado River reservoirs.  The heroic construction of Hoover Dam is easily one of the greatest civil engineering achievements of the early 20th Century.  As much as we loathe dams anywhere and especially on the Colorado River, we will always stand in awe of the sheer brawn and brilliant daring of those daredevils who somehow put Hoover Dam together.  Seventy-five years ago, Hoover Dam was complete and beginning to fill for the first time.

Guess what?  Two days ago--Sunday--the level of Lake Mead fell to a level last seen 75 years ago when the reservoir was filling.  Amazing but true!  The water level in Lake Mead is nearing a point at which mandatory water rationing will begin.  With a strong La Nina taking shape in the Pacific Ocean, it's highly unlikely that this winter's snowpack will do anything to rescue Lake Mead and its water users from almost certain rationing in 2011.  The only recourse water managers have to draining down Lake Powell help Lake Mead.  That's like robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Nobody really wins in that scenario.

We've archived the article about this development in our Google Docs.  You can click here to read it.  We're sure there will be a lot more coverage about "whazzup" with Lake Mead.  Stay tuned to this saga, we ain't seen the weirdest yet!

Cheers, jp

PS--About the photos:  The top photo is from July 1983 when Lake Mead reached its highest level of 1225 feet.  Luckily back then, Wayne R., myself, Bonnie F. and a female friend of Wayne's traveled over from Flagstaff to watch the water flowing over the spillway.  It was a sight none of us will ever forget!  I can still see it in my mind's eye as if it was yesterday.  The other photo shows Lake Mead near Hoover Dam with the water level down 103 feet.  Bear in mind, the water level is now down 137 feet so it's a lot lower than shown in the photo.  These are historic times!

Mid-October news roundup

As usual, there's lots going on down in The Verde.  Here's some highlights I gleaned from various newspapers this mid-October morning.

The Forest Service decided not to appeal a Magistrate's ruling that slammed the infamous Red Rock Pass.
You can read all about it by clicking here. 
If we were light enough afoot, we'd leap up and click our heels! As we said in an earlier post: Justice Prevails!

Trails are in the news elsewhere.  There's a 90+ page trails document and a related planning document making the rounds of various municipalities and gov't entities in The Verde.  It's a superb document, easily one of the best trails documents I've ever read.  It takes a logical, prudent and rational approach to planning for a comprehensive and coordinated trails system through the far flung reaches of the entire Verde Valley.  Click here to read the news article.  The Camp Verde Bugle also published an editorial promoting the trails thing.  You can click here to read it.  If you are really interested, you can click here to read the 90+ page document.
As you know, we're major fans of "all things trail" so we're highly interested in the outcome of this process.

Bald eagles are in the news once again.  You can read about the latest developments by clicking here.

Cornville has a food bank and might soon get a thrift store.  As t-store addicts, this is Big News!  Click here to read the story.

The Jerome State Park reopened this week.  It's a great story.  Click here for the news item about the reopening.  The full story of how this state park came back to life is told in more detail in another story.  Click here to read it.

Some Yavapai-Apache Youth were engaged in a Verde River cleanup effort.  That's actually pretty unusual and, therefore, a genuine news item.  Click here to check it out.

The Verde NRCD is doing some really great stuff.  We are SOOOO proud of Jodi Allen for her tenacity and dedication in sticking with this embattled organization through thick and thin.  I think the NRCD is finally "out of the woods" and back on track to great things.  Click here for the draft minutes of their October 11th meeting and you will see what I mean.

Finally, as you know, we are quite fond of following the Harry's Hideaway restaurant blog and Twitter.  It turns out that Harry cooks by prime numbers.  No kidding.  Click here to read the story.

Well, that's about all the news of interest I can find this morning.  Cheers!, jp

Diablo Burger Tops Arizona

We read Flagstaff "Arizona Daily Sun" online edition on a pretty regular basis.  Today, we spotted a story entitled "Diablo Burger garners national attention."  Huh?  So, there's this USA Today Travel feature that aired September 30, 2010, and it names Diablo Burger as THE Best Burger joint in the entire State of Arizona. Imagine that!

Well, we'd never heard of Diablo Burger so this was fresh news to us.  So we hot-footed it over to the Diablo Burger website and instantly became totally raptured by the place.  Even though we're still 750+ miles and several weeks away from our Arizona Winter Sojourn, we're practically frothing at the mouth to chow down on a Diablo Burger.  This is precisely and exactly the type of eatery we want to support and celebrate.  They are all about LOCAL and, better yet, their beef comes from a couple of legendary ranches over by Chavez Pass flanking the famed Palatkwapi Trail.  The company's website is a total hoot and a genuine delight to read.  Here's two sample snips from the website:  "Why don't you take charge cards?"  Answer: "Because banks don't serve cheeseburgers."  "...gastronomy: another word for cheeseburger."

OK, here's yer linkages:

Click here for the Daily Sun snip that alerted us to this place.
Click here for The USA Today story.
Click here for the Diablo Burger website.

As a side note, the whole USA Today article had some very personal connections.  Get this--the top burger joint listed in my home state of Indiana is West Lafayette's Triple XXX.  My Mom worked as a cap hop there in 1941!  In fact, she was walking to work there on Dec. 7th, 1941 when she got the news about Pearl Harbor.  I grew up with the Triple XXX so it was a shock to see it listed as Indiana's top burger place.

Next, Utah's top burger hot spot is in Kamas.  Kamas is a pinprick on the Utah map.  Oddly, however, five years agot to the day today, we were arriving in Kamas to do a volunteer stint with the Forest Service there.  Sadly, we never went into that hole-in-the-wall place.  Somehow, we thought it would be your typical frozen burger fare.  Nobody in Kamas ever even mentioned the place. 

And let's move on to Wyoming.  Note that La Barge is listed as having the top burger joint in the state.  La Barge is truly in the middle of nowhere.  See for yourself on Google Maps or Mapquest.  But there's a heck of a giant story hiding there in La Barge and it's all about burgers. Click here for the story. It's been on our list of places to go for several years now.

And lastly, Idaho's top burger place is in Coeur D'Lene.  We were up there for a statewide volunteer conference in February and walked right past the place and didn't go in!  It looked so incredibly non-descript that we feared it would be just another Greasy Spoon serving up the same rubbery Sysco frozen burger patties.  It all goes to tell you can't tell a book by its cover or a burger joint by it's appearance.

Congrats to Diablo Burger--it's an honor you can savor forever!

Cheers, jp

Good News for Ancient Elders

To say the Verde Valley is rich in archaeological sites is like saying the Vatican has a lot of Roman Catholics. There are at least 2,500 archaeological sites in the Verde Valley and probably far more than that. Over the generations since the Anglo conquest of Native People here, those ancient sites have been repeatedly raped and robbed of their priceless artifacts.  This pillage continues with each passing day as both the criminal and the clueless continue to cart off every ancient shard they can carry.  As this pitiful trend continues unabated and unchecked, layer upon layer of our Native Heritage disappears forever.

Anyone with a caring heart who visits any of the Verde's haunting cultural legacy sites can feel the presence of our Ancient Elders echoing on the winds.  The Spirits of the Native People are alive in these places.  Those people may have been dead for a millennia or more, but their essence remains long after their once proud stone homes have melted into rubble.  The detritus of the art and craft of their life's arduous work tells a tale of dedication, tenacity, ingenuity and, as Steven Ambrose would say, undaunted courage.

Throughout our 30 year association with the Southwest's amazing cultural legacy, we have been continually saddened and perplexed by the population's addiction to possession of ancient artifacts.  Why can't they simply leave them alone?  Why do they have to take them away?  What's wrong with leaving them alone?  Perhaps these questions have no answers.  Perhaps there is some strange primal urge that compels a vast majority of people to steal our heritage for themselves.  I, for one, will never fathom the answers to such questions.  They are for much smarter people to ponder.  However, I can guarantee you one thing--I will respect and honor the memory of our Ancient Elders by leaving every artifact I find precisely where I found it.

Now that I have finished my Sermon this morning, let's move onto to the "Good News" referred to in this blog post's title.  In a seemingly infinite cavalcade of sad news, we present here two Bright Stars of Good News!
Both stories are authored by (Surprise!) Reporter Steve Ayers whose expertise is discussed in the post below this one.

The first news item relates to the Tuzigoot National Monument in Clarkdale, Arizona.  If you've ever visited that old 1930's museum there you know what a funky throwback it is.  It's a classic example of how people once viewed (and simplified) the Life & Times of our Ancient Elders.  I've often thought Aunt Matilda could put on a loin cloth and feel right at home there in the Tuzigoot Museum.  It had a certain funky homeliness that endeared it to the Gray Hair Set.  The previous Superintendent of Tuzigoot couldn't have cared less about the place.  He was totally uninterested in bringing Tuzigoot's displays and interpretation into the late 20th Century.  The new Superintendent has had a heaping full plate dealing with the rampant neglect heaped upon all three of her properties: Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well and Tuzigoot.  It's only now after almost 8 years in charge that she's been able get some attention for Tuzigoot to the tune of almost a half million dollars!
The whole museum is going to be upgraded and the exhibits will be modernized and visitors will now be able to understand the REAL story of the place, not some fanciful, dolled up Middle American idea of what life was like there.  It's a VERY refreshing development and reported quite well by Mr. Ayers.  You can click here for the newspaper's original presentation of the story.  If this link eventually fails to work, you can click here for our archived Google Docs PDF printout of the story.

OK, let's move on to Good News Item #2.  Once again Mr. Ayers wrote this story.  That isn't much of a surprise either because he is on the Board of Directors of the very organization he is describing.  Since we've already given you some idea of his concern and deep involvement in making History Happen (in the blog post below this one), we're sure you will realize why he's writing about something he's involved in.  It's a new kid on the block called The Verde Valley Archaeology Center.  They are dedicated to the LOCAL preservation of significant physical remnants of the Verde Valley's Ancient Elders.  The formation of this group is a huge news development.  They have a tall mountain to climb but that's not the point.  The point is that they are making a statement and establishing goals and objectives and showing some real class with their efforts.  In my book, it's important to step up to the plate and take your swings in the Big Leagues.  Sure, you might strike out but, then again, you can't knock one over the centerfield fence if you didn't stand up to bat!  Somehow, I suspect that the VVAC will be a major hitter in the local leagues and, as the years pass, will become a force for the Good in terms of preserving what little is left of our cultural legacy and heritage.

Click here for the newspaper's story about VVAC.
Click here for our archived PDF of the story.
Click here for the VVAC's Most Excellent website.

Thanks, Steve, for reporting on these stories.  And Thanks to all those who are working hard to make these great things happen.  The Spirits of the Ancients Elders are Smiling!

Ayers helps history happen

Years ago we were in a very small (and the only) grocery store in Superior, Arizona.  I noticed two faded bumper stickers wedged between some paperwork in the little so-called "customer service booth."  The stickers said simply: "History Happens."  Yes, indeed, history does happen.  Actually it happens two different ways.  First, the events and people who are part and parcel of what we call "history" do their thing.  That's when History Happens for the first time.  But History Happens yet once again when thoughtful people bring it alive for future generations to ponder and enjoy.

Oftentimes as History is happening, those who doing what they do don't remotely realize they are making history.  Most people think that making history is something like giving the Gettysburg Address or cutting down a cherry tree or dying on some lonely hilltop at the Little Big Horn.  History is so much more than such iconic events--it's actually the stuff of everyday life.  How we manage to survive in our various daily worlds is actually the heart and soul of history.

The Verde Valley and especially the Lower Verde is lucky to have a bright new star on the History Horizon.  His name is Steve Ayers and his day job is as a reporter for The Camp Verde Bugle.  Every newspaper has a derogatory nickname and this one has often been the Camp Verde Bungle.  However, with Steve's professional talents now always evident, it's easy to forego the old Bungle Daze and refer to its proper, legal name.

Steve has an obvious fascination with history and how History Happens.  And he's making his own mark by bringing history back to life in an area that's quite literally dripping with significant history.  Steve's on the Board of the Camp Verde Historical Society.  (The group's acronym is the same as the high school's: CVHS)  For years, if not decades or perhaps generations, CVHS has been a rather stagnant group making little significant progress in the preservation of the history of the Lower Verde.  Bea Richmond was the group's main mover and shaker and with Bea's efforts some things did get accomplished.  Now along comes Steve and he's obviously provided a spark that's clearly jump started CVHS into new levels of enthusiasm, action, and, yes, even actual results.  History is Happening once again in the Lower Verde and it's a refreshing and exciting development.

Want some proof?  Ok, how's this?  Steve took the lead on producing a book of historical photos of Camp Verde.  That might seem like a simple task.  However, given all the intrigues and tangled family subplots in Camp Verde, we're amazed this book ever got off the ground much less got published.  Hats off to CVHS and Steve Ayers for making it happen.  You can click here to read the newspaper story about the book.  (NOTE: If the newspaper link fails to work, click here for a PDF copy of the story we've archived on our Google Docs.)

Meanwhile, Steve is helping History Happen by researching and writing professional quality newspaper stories about all sorts of historical topics.  His latest is on the pioneer photographers of the area.  Anyone who knows anything about the tedious nature of historical research will appreciate the time and effort that went into this story.  Reading Steve's "History Happens" stories are a real delight for me and we will do our best to bring them here whenever we see them.  Click here for the pioneer photographer story as it appears in the newspaper.  (NOTE: If the newspaper link failt to work, click here for a PDF copy archived on our Google Docs.)

Thanks, Steve, and keep up your GREAT Work!

Cheers, jp

Neon Lady takes final dive

(See Note added 10/25/10 below)

Mesa Arizona's Main Street is an eclectic mix of various cultural metaphors. On one hand, the congested stop-and-go thoroughfare is a throwback to the kitschy mid-century icons of pre-interstate America. On the other hand, today's Main Street reeks of all of the obnoxious, annoying detritus of urban decay. A few fading icons of the Dina Shore Daze share space on this strip with loan shark shops, Mexican tiendas and sleezy used car dealers. What were once proud, modern motels have now become fading sepia halftones of their former selves.


This week's amazing storms brought a final end to one of Mesa's most enduring and loved Main Street signs--the famous Neon Diving Lady. Yep, she's gone. Flattened amid a spray of millions of tiny glass shards. At least she went out in spectacular fashion. Pity the poor sign who's final day is dangling on a crane cable while destined for the oblivion of some forlorn scrap heap.

We've always admired the Diving Lady. There are no signs left on Main Street that come as close to the neon grandeur and prim dignity she displayed. She was tireless in her performances, always hitting the blue neon pool with such perfection. She never complained. She never sought out coveted sports endorsement contracts. Even if she never won any awards, she will always reside in the Hall of Fame of Fabled Neon Signs.


Thankfully, a few people were caring and thoughtful enough to enshrine The Diving Lady forever on YouTube. The video shown above had only a mere 50 views when I found it this morning. One can only imagine how many views it will have over the many years to come as the lore of The Diving Lady becomes yet another urban legend.


The Arizona Republic carried the story of The Diving Lady's demise in the October 9th edition. We printed it to PDF and have stored it for posterity on our Google Docs site. You can click here to read it.

NOTE added 10/25/10--The Diving Lady Sign Saga continues! Efforts are underway to restore the sign.  Click here to read all about it.

Justice Prevails!

Oh, boy, I am a Happy Camper here on the morning of October 1st!  The US Magistrate, none other than highly-regarded attorney, Mark E. Aspey, issued a blistering 33-page ruling that struck down criminal charges against a hiker for failure to pay his fine after being ticketed for not having a red Rock Pass on display in his vehicle.  Gosh, it's really a superb story and we are positively jubilant about it.  JUSTICE PREVAILS!!!!!!
Click here to read the story as it appear in today's Sedona Red Rock News.  We've archived the story in our Google Docs so we can savor and enjoy it for years to come.  WHA--WHOOO!!