GREEN VALLEY’S ASARCO DISCOVERY MINE TOUR SHOWS THE BEST AND WORST OF COPPER MINES AND THE ART OF HARDROCK MINING
Where ever hard rock miners scratched the Arizona soil, they found mineral wealth, like gold, silver and copper, now-days low grade rare earths are needed for plasma TV’s and the demand for minerals, right now, is roaring. The insatiable appetite of China and the entire Pacific Rim has Arizona Copper Mines working hard to extract low grade ores for big dollar returns, jobs are being created and the trickle down economy will benefit us all. The first copper mine creation in 65 years happened in Safford, Arizona. Rosemont Mine wants to start up in the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains and its creation is extremely controversial. “It’s the environmentalists” said Roger Stokes who leads Mine Tours for ASARCO Discovery Center in Sahuarita, Az. Stokes leds tours of snowbirds and tourists to viewpoints, to the crusher facilities and educates them with facts and figures about copper mining.
Many prefer this view to that of the Grand Canyon say tour leaders at the ASARCO Mineral Discovery Center six miles south of Green Valley, Az
Stokes meets hundreds of people who appreciate the awe, the scale and the grand color which the setting sun brings out of the wall of the open pit. Some folks say it is almost as beautiful as the Grand Canyon says Stokes of the ASARCO Pit whose 100 plus years of mining has left a hole 2 miles across by 1.75 mile and a half mile deep. The tailing stretch for almost twenty miles.
Next spot that will be completely covered by copper mine tailing.
“Pecans use lots more water than we do!”, offers Stokes, aware of the ever present push and pull of politics in Southern Arizona. It is no secret Farmer’s Investment Co.(Fico) is opposing both a new pipeline from ASARCO’s CAP tap to the proposed Rosemont Mine. Pecan groves are among the largest water users in the area, largest Pecan Orchard in the United States and locals says the region is undergoing notable ground subsidence due to the pumping of groundwater. Estimates suggest a mine the size of ASARCO’s Mission Mine and the proposed Rosemont Mine would both require the water needed for a town of 25,000-30,000 people.
Right next to the ASARCO Mine which has held water rights since 1898.
The Federal Bureau Of Reclamation concluded that “plans for taking and using the CAP entitlement will not result in significant environmental impacts to the Green Valley/Sahuarita area, Upper Santa Cruz Sub basin of the Tucson Basin Aquifer, or the human environment in the vicinity.” As long as the CAP delivers water to Southern Arizona, the mines have been promised water.
Aerial view of one of three southern Arizona Open Pit Copper Mines, this is the ASARCO Mission Mine
The Mission Mine dates back to the 1898 Mineral Hill Mine which grandfathers water rights for this ever-increasing footprint of a copper mine. The proposed Resolution Mine in Superior plans to use CAP Water, as does the proposed Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita foothills near Tucson. One theory is the pipeline from Pima Mine Road to Rosemont would be paid by Rosemont Mine owners Augusta Resources, another possibility is that it will be paid for by the next 25,000 residents who move to the valley and hook up, Green Valley Water will simply pass the cost along to new customers.
Lots of ore must be moved, crushed and separated for pure copper ore to be made.
Spinning cages with ball bearing that wear down the ore to small pure concentrations.
The ASARCO Pit is pure efficiency, everything is hooked to the grid. It produces about 1000 jobs. The trucks, crusher, tumblers all run on electricity, the monthly Tucson Electric Power bill amounts to about $1 Million. They use pine oil to separate copper and silver during the floatation process before pouring off the waste and adding to the miles and miles of tailing. The tumblers begin with boulders up to 5 feet, mixed with 8 inch steel balls, and reduced until mixed with 3 inch steel balls, more tumbling, until a 28 per cent pure copper powder is produced. Ten pounds of 28% pure copper ore is produced from one ton of copper ore and ASARCO produces 130,000 tons of copper a year.
Twenty five trucks haul 28% pure ore every day 90 miles north to Hayden, AZ Smelter where other mines also ship their concentrated ore and have for more than a 100 years-smelted ore into 99% pure 750 pound anode which is then shipped to Amarillo where a refinery takes all the 99% pure ore and takes it to 99.999% purity making it electrically conductive. This process was once handled by a century old smelter in El Paso, Texas has now shut down and the courts have negotiated a $50 billion plus cleanup required of ASARCO.
MORE COPPER COUNTRY PHOTOS SEE SOUTHWEST PHOTOBANK GALLERY … CLICK HERE
ASARCO Discovery Center
1421 West Pima Mine Road
(520) 625-8233
For Mine Tours and gift shop
The multi-colored pit wall reveals the varied ore content.
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
SUPERIOR COPPER MINE TO USE ROBOTS ON WORLD-CLASS ORE BODY, SAN CARLOS APACHE VOW FIGHT TO SAVE RESERVATION WATER FROM IRANIANS
Jo Holt, candidate for Senate LD26 speaks with Adam Hawkins,lobbyist for Resolution Mine with a backdrop of Apache Leap Mountain’s mantle top. 
APACHE LEAP Mountain, when mining begins robots will extract 4,000’of ore, subsidence will drop the roof of the mountain and the surface will become unstable, foot traffic will not be allowed to traverse the Oak Flat Campground area.
Highway 60 traffic splits Superior in half and leads you on top of Apache Leap Mt.
Arizona’s Copper Triangle for a hundred years developed huge mining complexes which produced small company towns that served the worker, educated the children and hospitalized and doctored the sick. Many believed the mines were GOD sent, since it fed, clothed the family and many felt it had their back, and made every difference in their lives. Others knew if you worked hard, did what you were asked, got-along by going-along, the mine was your friend. If you talked back, got into trouble or made waves the mine was not there for you. Mexicans were discriminated against; from the jobs they could have, to where they could live and where they could drink or eat. Whites made more money for the same work and corrupt supervisors extorted kickbacks from Hispanic workers to keep their jobs. The Unions fought to enter the mines and won numerous concessions, an hourly wage for everyone and for Mexican-Americans the right to train for the better jobs.
Faded mural on a downtown wall showing a smelter and miners.
Over time lives were built, copper was mined, families grew up and the youth left for college, or to work or find opportunity anywhere but Superior, Hayden or Globe-Miami, most leave to join the military, to see the world, many come home, some find a better life. Small town fever is nothing new, but copper towns in Arizona have seen the boom and bust cycle that rolls up the sidewalks in a place like Superior, Globe, Hayden, Jerome, Bisbee, Douglas, Clifton-Morenci, Tombstone, Kentucky Camp, Rosemont, San Manuel, Silverbell and Ajo–all great Arizona Copper company towns who peaked and busted when the money left, most have water problems and health concerns left behind like in the smelter towns like Hayden, Ajo, or Douglas. The $6 billion mining project near Superior, is the third-largest undeveloped copper resource in the world and the largest and most accessible ore body in North America.
CONGRESS PASSES LAND SWAP, MINE BEGINS TO BUILD AND TEAR UP SACRED APACHE LAND…CLICK HERE
APACHE REACT TO NEWS OF LAND SWAP….CLICK HERE
PREHISTORIC SITES THREATENED, INDIAN BURIALS FOUND, MINE THREATENS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SENSITIVE SITES
More than $352 million has been spent sinking and restoring shafts nine and ten for the deep mine.
Resolution Copper says their project will create at least 1,400 jobs on site and more than 3,700 related jobs at full production when the project could produce a billion pounds of copper per year, representing 25% of the U.S. annual demand for copper. It could become one of the largest copper mines in North America. In 1937 Magma built the Superior Hospital which served the community until 1983, in 1973 the hospital had 22 beds and 35 doctors, nurses and the lowest semi-private room rates in the state. The building then sat empty for 20 years following the Magma closure in 1996. When Resolution Mining started reclamation on the old Magma Mine it thought to tear down the hospital since it was almost a century old, but many residents began and ended their lives there, the mine chose to restore it in a good faith effort to show support for Superior. Restoration crews reported hearing voices, tapping on walls, lights turning on and other “ghostly” appearances.
For decades miners were born and many died in this hospital...
A developer has said he will pump more than $3 million into restoring the Magma Hotel...
“The streets of Superior should be paved in gold,” says ex-mayor Roy Chavez about the billions of dollars taken from this “mining camp” during the past century. Instead of prosperity-paint peels in the hot sun, the faces of miners flake off boarded up buildings downtown. New red “Discover Superior” banners line Highway 60 as traffic wind through town and straight up 2000’ to the Oak Flat Campground, where a simmering battle is mounting between Resolution Copper, a global mining company and “the people” folks who have visited there for centuries, the San Carlos Indian Tribe and others who believe their “Home Tree” is endangered. Not unlike the battle in Avatar, the Apache fear mining will destroy their water source and render their land uninhabitable. Meanwhile, “people are scared” Chavez says. “We’re dying on the vine. As for the mine “you are either on one side or the other, folks watch what they say for fear of being blacklisted, you are either for the mine or you are against it, if you speak out you might be negatively impacted. All of us (mining towns in the copper triangle) have lost people.” Superior’s population in 2010 was 2800, a constant decline from 7,000 since the 1996 mine closing. Roy Chavez Sr.’s High School class in 1950 Superior had 100 graduates, his grandson Josh, four years ago graduated in a class of twenty-four.
“Visionaries say the Phoenix growth wave will eventually sweep up Superior but others believe most miners will commute to the mine from the East Valley instead of bringing new life to Superior.”]
REP. RAUL GRIJALVA vs JOHN McCAIN …. McCain wants Iran and China to get the World’s largest deposit of Copper FREE, and Raul Grijalva thinks they should have to pay for it. The Apache’s say Go away!
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and other Democrats have complained that under current law, the mining company does not have to pay any royalties to the U.S. government (or Arizona) for lucrative mineral rights that could be worth tens of billions of dollars and called the mine proposal one of the most significant issues facing Congress this year. “A foreign-owned company (Canadian and Australian) doing business on U.S. public lands which is getting a blank check on extraction (of copper) and a green light from Congress to go ahead and begin this without any return on the money,” he said.
JOHN McCAIN SCHILLS FOR IRANIAN MINE OWNERS, SANCTION QUESTIONS ABOUND….CLICK HERE
MOST OF THE U.S. COPPER MINES ARE IN ARIZONA.
Jon Cherry, a vice president of Resolution Copper, said he is optimistic that over the life of the project, the mine could generate as much as $61 billion in economic benefit for Arizona “without the need for one dollar of federal stimulus,” Cherry said. “We will mine out of this mine in the first year more than they took out of [the old Magma Mine] in its nearly (1912-1996) century of life,” David Salisbury, Resolution Copper’s chief executive. “That’s the difference in the scale of this mine.” Salisbury believes the lifetime of the mine could produce $140 Billion for the total project. Using robotics, not copper workers, working below the surface at 7,000 feet, block cave mining, which strips out large pillars of rock, one pillar at a time, collapsing the rock into ore cars surrounded by temperatures of 175 degrees. Working in this much heat has never been attempted before and special suits will be needed for repairmen working at this depth, to install, maintain and repair, there are many unknowns. As the robots strip out these 200′-300′ high columns, the rock will collapse, as Apache Leap Mountain is undermined, the surface will begin to collapse just like the devastation from a large earthquake.
Highway 60 traffic jets through the spires and pinnacles jutting up on both sides of the roadway.
Shows the impact crater in cross section
Mining studies suggest the Oak Flat Campground will be undermined and made unsafe for the public. What assurance does the state have that the main east-west route through central Arizona will not be severed?
Driving Hwy 60 east from Phoenix, through the vastness of the Sonoran Desert, the heat and glare beats down on the windshield, Apache Leap Mountain stands above the Sonoran Desert just five minutes past Superior via Highway 60 up 1000 feet to Oak Flat Campground in the Shrub Oak-Pine Habitat. The name, Apache Leap, comes from an Apache band, so the story goes, who refused to surrender its land and move to the reservation. Instead the tribe jumped to its death here when finally surrounded by federal soldiers. So today Apache Leap is considered an ancient burial ground by the San Carlos Tribe, it’s the Tribes long-time summertime home where they have collected acorns for centuries and today use it as a sacred spot to minister their Apache Manhood ceremonies.
Oak Flat Campground, its serenity and unique rock formations stands out against the sky and has been called one of the best climbing rock in the United States, bringing in climbers year round. This riparian habitat helps water the land held by theSan Carlos Tribe who fears for its water supply based on the track record of all copper mines. Many miners have offered the amount of explosive necessary to collapse a solid mountain of copper will certainly alter the water aquifer. For backup, Resolution has identified CAP Water from half empty Lake Mead and Roosevelt Lake, as their secondary water source.
Charlie Brush is one of many Americans who lives on the road-he and his Navajo-Zuni wife Debbie for the past 5 or 6 years, have blown into Oak Flat Campground for two week stays, four times a year. Brush is a prospector who once sold enough gold for a tank of gas, but principally he makes and sells jewelry for the little cash he needs to get on down the road. An early riser, he often finds himself tracking deer or coyotes in their Oak Flat habitat. Brush reports finding occasional bear scat as he strolls through the national campground set aside by special proclamation by two American presidents, Nixon and Eisenhower, both protected this spot because they knew it would be threatened. We should respect that. For Charlie and Debbie, Oak Flat was home, a comfortable spot that embraced them both while they were on the road, one of three places they knew on their wide swing from Yuma to South Dakota. Charlies wife died recently and now he finds a special closeness here with the land he once walked with his wife, Debbie.
Apache Leap Mountain
Campground host Wayne Brasher struggles with a silt blockage in a runoff channel in Oak Flat Campground. Brasher finds himself "in the middle" over the campground controversy, he strives to find out the facts from both sides of the fight.
The boulder strewn landscape is the big draw for climbers looking for a challenge.
Superior residents setup camp at Oak Flat Campground two weeks before Easter weekend to lock in their campsite. Meanwhile they locked out everyone else the two weeks prior. "Not very fair!" says the campground host.
“Over regulation is never the problem”, says Adam Hawkins, a Resolution Mine spokesman and state lobbyist for Rio Tinto, who oversees much of the permitting process. Tell us exactly what we have to do and we will do it for the permits needed to mine, instead Resolution will spend $5 billion he says and ten years before they make a penny, on courts and the lack of regularity clarity. In return the Resolution mine expects to extract ore for the next 40-50 years, and says it will produce 3700 jobs with a payroll of $220 million, bringing $60 billion plus economic impact to Arizona plus an additional $20 billion in tax revenue.
After all the money is spent, “We have no guarantee in developing this mine, Hawkins says, “Who else is going to do that.” “Mining has a high impact on a place,” Hawkins said. “Anyone who tells you differently is full of beans. But things are better when we leave.”
Resolution Copper is buying up flat land between Gonzales Pass and Florence Junction, for twelve miles west from Pickettpost (below) along Highway 60. In a fifty year plan, tailing will be deposited along the busy state roadway roadside for 12 miles stacking tailing up to 500 feet high in one view of the plan but another view believes the tailing could reach 2000 feet in height...
Working in the San Manuel Underground in the 1970’s miners push ore from the shaft in ore cars moving copper to the surface and eventually the smelter. Superior miners developed San Manuel as a “sister Magma mine and the town San Manuel was laid out and designed by Del Webb.
The view from the "Top of the World" has a spectacular view in all directions.
Tourists stop along Queek Creek for photos of funny rock
One of eight jobs in Arizona is supported by the Copper Industry says the Arizona Mining Association, as of today there are 12 producing copper mines in Arizona who directly employ nearly 10,000 workers, not including contractors and sub-contractors. Half of Arizona’s copper is mined in Morenci. An additional nine copper mines are expected to begin production in the coming years. The Resolution Copper Project, near Superior, is expected to provide 25% of the U.S. demand for copper after it begins production. Other potential new copper mines are the Carlota project (owned by Quadra FNX Mining) in Pinal County and expected to start in 2008, and the Rosemont project (owned by Augusta Resources) in Pima County.
“Mining is the cornerstone of our region, without the mine, we would not be here, says ex-mayor and miner Rudy Chavez. He realizes however this is 2012 and not 1912 we need to look into the future, see how mining technology will change and the reality of the job market. Will the good jobs, be high-tech jobs where hiring won’t be done locally? We can only imagine the technology ten years from now say Chavez who believes “talk is cheap” without a mining operation plan from Resolution spelling out how the mine will work and outlining precautions they are planning to protect the environment. Mining websites show a new driverless technologies, capable of ore delivery, blasting and excavation without people. These copper mines are now reaching their “highest point of profit” says Chavez as new technology replaces people and jobs. Chavez believes the Superior could be run remotely from Magma, Utah, the Australian counterpart is 900 miles away from the mine site. Still Chavez says he wants the mine. “I’d love to see it”. “We want it with some parameters, we need the environmental concerns to be hashed out, prior to being given permission to mine. If the mine was really responsible, regulation would not be necessary. I’m not a fan of government intervention but who else will regulate it. With the proper studies and mandated laws, what complaint would we have? Compliance with existing law is stressed by the Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition.
Picnic and Rally April 20-21 Oak Flat Campground…EVERYONE IS INVITED
Mining has changed considerably from the days when all employees were local and they supported their families and the town. Easter weekend Oak Flat Campground was full by Thursday and jammed pack on Sunday as a 1000 people came and went while they barbequed, visited, drank and napped in the cool air. This is the place they come to cool off during the hot summers. For the people of Superior this campground means a whole lot, the place you go for a six pack after work, on birthdays, spot to get snow and it is sacred to the San Carlos Apache, White Mountain Apache, Zuni, Fort Dowell, Apache-Yavapai Arizona Indian Tribes. Roy Chavez believes townsfolk take the campground “for granted and will miss it when its gone”, he worries Jobs are one thing, what good is a job if you live with no water.” Likewise, Chavez believes if the pending land swap is allowed before an operation plan is submitted, most believe, fixing environmental concerns later-would be impossible, particularly if mines don’t have to report any of their environmental failings forgiven by a recent law just sent to Jan Brewer for her signature.
MORE COPPER COUNTRY PHOTOS SEE SOUTHWEST PHOTOBANK GALLERY … CLICK HERE
ROSEMONT COPPER ATTEMPTS TO SQUEEZE CONGRESS FOR LAND EXCHANGE
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
RELIGION IN CUBA; POPE BENEDICT PARTIES WITH 300,000 FAITHFUL PUSHES CASTRO ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS AND U.S. ABOUT EMBARGO
POPE BENEDICT XVI PARTIES WITH 300,000 FAITHFUL, CALLS FOR AN END TO CUBAN ISOLATION AND RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE so read this week's headlines
This week hundreds of Cuban-Americans have made the 40 minute flight to Havana to spend the week with Pope Benedict XVI, to attend mass at the Cathedral of Havana in Revolution Square and to close the gap caused by decades of exile from their homeland. Cubans hope the attention of the Pope’s visit will bring them greater freedom and open their door to America. Closing his visit the pontiff meet with Fidel Castro and 300,000 Cuban faithful who turned out for the mass at Revolution Plaza. Alongside the large face of Che’ filling the side of a highrise were huge banners proclaimed CHARITY UNITES US…
My visit last year to Havana (a professional researcher license to attend a literary tour was my ticket in) allowed me to walk the streets of downtown Havana for almost two weeks. The locals soon greeted me daily as “Hemingway” since I have a long white beard and hair. Everyone was very friendly and open to my photography. Never was I challenged or chased off, I found getting access to photograph in a local school, easier than anything I have experienced in Arizona. After ten days, my tour returned to the U.S. and I moved in with a local family in the shadow of the Capitol building in downtown Havana. Each day, I moved through the streets never being asked for papers or being quizzed, police officers stood on every corner and I never felt threatened or endangered. I did fall in love with the Cuban people who love Americans and who have suffered most from the Cuban embargo. It needs to end, it is pointless now, and exists still for the Cuban-Americans exiled by Castro fifty years ago. Cuba is Kansas fifth largest wheat buyer, many other cracks exist in the U.S. blockade. America needs the Cuban customer and they need us.
Cathedral of Saint Christopher of Havana near the harbor in the historic distric
Cuban faithful attend mass mid-day in Havana.
Since I was a tourist, churches, cathedrals were big draws and Cuba realizes they serve visitors on many levels and act accordingly, all were open, accessible, but a weak draw for the Cuban. Today Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski held mass in the Cathedral of Saint Christopher of Havana in the Historic district for Cubans and 300 Cuban-Americans pilgrims from Miami. In the sermon the Archbishop called for Cuba to abandon Marxism without embracing the materialism of the West. Many attending had left Cuba as young children or are the sons and daughters of exiles. In Spanish the archbishop called for dignity for all Cubans.
Pope Benedict and the Vatican have set the stage for the Church to raise a voice with a sizable voting block and escalate the possibility of reduced sanctions. Since December a dozen U.S. cities have been cleared for direct flights to Cuba, while not all have ramped up yet. At least five international airports, DC, NY, LA, Miama and Denver all presently have flights making the short hop and landing at the new San Jose International Airport that Cuba built a year ago to handle their increasing need.
I visited the Cathedral of Saint Christopher of Havana at different times during my visit, Revolution Square is a big tourist stop and a local band has a permanent spot in the square and probably offered up a tune for “Papa” while the Archbishop delivered his sermon inside.
Tourists enjoy the Cuban winter sun in Regla a suburb of Havana
Some come each day, some once a week, all take counsel from the saints and light a candle.
Another day, we took a water taxi to Regla Cuba, a suburb and home to a beautiful small Catholic Church adorned by statues of the Saints, many whom, drew in regulars who relied on their help and they lit candles in thanks. The same day we passed in the harbor, the new Russian Orthodox Church, built by Russia during the “special period” (the collapse of the Soviet Union). Walking the historic Barrio Chino we saw and entered a district Catholic church which was celebrating the 500th year of Cuba. Barrio Chino, reached 40,000 Chinese who arrived in Havana in three waves. But after 1959, most left after Fidel outlawed private property. There are 500 Chinese-Cubans left in Cuba today it is reported that many are lawyers and doctors but few live in the Barrio. Barrio residents often report hearing ghostly voices, akin to a crowd of Chinese speakers in a morning market.
The Regla Catholic Church had a steady flow of folks visiting saints and this couple came in with a new infant and took photos inside the church with their saints.
All pretty tame stuff, until we got hooked-up with a Santeria New Year’s celebration, complete with dead chickens and blood. A variety of slave religions exist in Cuba mostly of African cultural origin. According to a US State Department report, some estimate 80 percent of the population consults with practitioners of West African religions, like Santeria. The hour long ceremony held openly in a city park, consisted of singing, drumming and dancing until flowers are tossed into the stream and they flow downstream to the sea. It was a beautiful performance of singing and drums. Brought to the New World by slaves imported to the Caribbean to work the sugar plantations combines with Roman Catholic and Native Indian traditions. These slaves had a religious custom, including a trance for communicating with their ancestors and deities, using animal sacrifice and sacred drumming.
Personal business licenses allow Cubans to open their doors and sell food out of their homes.
Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba has spotlighted the Communist Island and his pleas for reform–begging for more freedom for the Cuban people many hope the Pope’s influence will bring change to Cubans lives on this Caribbean Isle. Increased freedoms were known following the historic visit of John Paul in 1998, and over the years the Communist lock down on people’s lives has slowly been lessened. In the past year, Cubans have been allowed to sell private property; houses and cars, and thousands of personal business licenses have been issued so individuals can provide paid services, like selling pizza slices on the street. Many Cubans set up restaurants in their homes, or rent out rooms to tourists, collecting about $25 for two people for the night.
SENORA RAUDELINA RODRIGUEZ LEYVA WAS MY MOST GRACIOUS HOST IN HAVANA, A BIG FAN OF BARACK OBAMA…EMAIL raudelinaleyva@yahoo.es.
Held at a local night club this Santeria performance blesses the crowd ....
LOCAL BAND AT REVOLUTION SQUARE SEE VIDEO CLICK HERE
FOR MORE CUBA PHOTOS…CLICK HERE
Inscribed artwork inside a monument along the seawall of Havana showing the Church's role once.
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
CONFEDERATES SCARE OFF YANKEES PICACHO PEAK PARK SALUTES 150th ANNIVERSARY OF ARIZONA VICTORY
Johnny Rebs teeth rattle from the firing of a 6 pound gun during the 150 Anniversary of the Skirmish at Picacho Peak.
FORT HUACUHUA's historic and ceremonial regiment empty their pistols before turning their horses and beating a hasty retreat from advancing Confederates.
Visiting spectators at the wire, many re-enactors, like Robert Guyton, enjoy sharing their knowledge of the Civil War with the hundreds of spectators.
Great crowds turned out for the Civil War in the South West to watch more than 200 re-enactors battle out the great Civil War engagements of the South West. Two were fought in New Mexico, Valverde and Glorieta Pass, is often called the Gettsyburg of the West. The third battle, Picacho Peak is fought near the actual battle spot, just across I-10, lies the unmarked grave of a Union trooper who died, buried where he fell at the skirmish known as the Battle of Picacho Peak. Today hundreds turned out to relive those days of the the Confederate Territory of Arizona, and the 150th Anniversary is on everyone mind. “This is a rare thing,”! “A 150th anniversary”! says VJ Audegis and Annette who have been coming for 12 years to this contest between the blue and grey. “This is a really special year”, “this anniversary preceded by the statehood celebration has made it a very exciting year” say Baldy Cervantes and his thirteen year old son Elvis. Both had attended the Civil War in the South West Weekend before and wanted to become re-enactors so they both joined on the spot.
Gaining battlefield experience in 2012, next year, both will be able to bare arms in the battle, firing against the Yankees and be promoted to corporals.
Both father and son are reveling in the anniversary this April 15, the 150th year, of that chance encounter at Picacho Peak, called the most western battle of the Civil War. This summer Cervantes and Elvis are taking off three weeks and driving back to Gettsyburg for the 150th anniversary and re-enactment, a four day event that will see more boots on the ground this July, than has trampled those grounds since the original battle when 133,000 men battled and died in the most desperate fight of the Civil War. Cervantes is proud of his Arizona roots and his Hispanic culture, so when the recruiter mentioned the First Texas were made up of a number of Texacans, and their reenacted force was lily white now. “They needed us”, he said, “We fit right in”.
“We know that few people understand what was happening during the Civil War in the Southwest and these battles offer the public a glimpse into history and how the battles were fought,” says Rob Young, Picacho Peak State Park Manager. “This is also a popular camping park for RVers because it is just off the highway and surrounding Sonoran Desert habitat is so unusual, especially when there are magnificent poppies.” The Mexican Poppy were looking good about three weeks ago but warm days and hot wind frazzled this year’s crop into a less than an average display with pockets of opportunity if you catch them at the right place, at the right time, that spot won’t be Picacho Peak this year.
Lots of color, some clashing, but rebels were just that. Able to rebel against conventional uniforms and able to pursue their own look on the battlefield.
Today Confederate hats are flying out the tent door and Gerald Durbin, owner of the Coon River merchantile, can hardly keep up with the line at cash out. Confederate hats out sell Union all day long. Pausing for a breathe, between checkouts of hardtack, hats of blue and gray, uniforms, flags and dresses he reasons the Johnny Reb look allows variety enough to let its owner change his persona, “those Yankee troops never change”, he explained. “Like cookie-cutters, everyone looks just alike.” Fifteen year old Taylor Horrid, chose the Confederate side and dressed in period clothes to came with his uncle. He was having fun learning about the Civil War.
Moving troops skillfully was artfully demonstrated by the officers and the troops ability to follow commands.
For Taylor, learning how to load, fire, clean a black powder musket has been great and military drilling is something he learned and now loves. He looks forward to learning more about the United States and its history.
Seventeen year old Heather Jones, Mesa accompanied by her Johnny Reb brother, fourteen year old Bryson both have shared their love for history with their friends, "It's fun to be part of something that made our country great".
California re-enactors hung together at camp and enjoyed the desert setting.
Back at camp, Larry Hammack (left) and Robert Guyton pose for a filmless image
Rebels overrun the Union artillery taking over the cannon and turning it on their owners firing grapeshot till the North left the battlefield.
Heavy musket firing with black powder, was grimy and dirty work and after the 6th round, many found it difficult to ramrod the shot or simply clean the barrel.
"Members of the storied 4th Cavalry Regiment, one of the most famous and most decorated regiments in the US Army. Ft Huacuhua was in the middle of the Apache Indian War"
Since 1855, the 4th Cavalry has continuously served the United States of America in the Indian Wars, the Civil War, the Philippine Insurrection, World War II, Vietnam and the Gulf War. Today the 4th Cavalry is a historic and ceremonial regiment stationed at Fort Huachuca and its Troopers are active duty and retired military who care for their horses and drill weekly.
Rod Preuss USA (Ret.) Executive Officer of the storied 4th Cavalry Regiment Ceremonial Unit ...
SLIDE SHOW FROM 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVIL WAR IN THE SOUTHWEST CLICK HERE
SLIDE SHOW OF PICTURES FROM EARLIER YEARS OF PICACHO PEAK RE-ENACTMENTS CLICK HERE …
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
HAYDEN’S SMELTER TURNS 100 YEARS, POLLUTION ISSUES WORRY RESIDENTS BUT QUIET LIFE, GOOD JOB, A BIG PLUS
This conveyer belt carries ore from the crusher to the smelter
On Nov. 10, 2011 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved against ASARCO for six years of illegal emissions of arsenic, lead, chromium and seven other dangerous compounds from the smelter. The EPA issued an unpublicized administrative action that could result in millions of dollars in fines for allegedly being in “continuous violation” of the Clean Air Act since June 2005. The action is a slap at both the company and the state for their failure to act.
DUST AND SMOKE fills the Air with particulates from the Smelter
Hard Rock Mining has deep roots in Arizona soil. For 300 years miners have walked this state looking for minerals that they can dig and sell. In 1849 gold and silver was the big draw, today both are byproducts of Copper mining, taken from the earth in amazing small concentrations, leached from the soil by chemicals. Copper is the big dog now, and since it brings jobs, salaries, community development and opportunity to small town Arizona for over a hundred years it has ruled the state. The Army and State Troopers have broken strikes, busted heads, all in the name of Copper Corporations. The famous 1917 Bisbee deportation when 2000 vigilantes rounded over a 1300 strikers, herded them to box cars, loaded them up and dumped them in Hermanas, New Mexico, without money or transportation, told not to return to Bisbee. Today Arizona copper mines are largely self-regulating or watched by the state, the 100 year old Hayden Smelter is locked in debate between state and federal agencies declaring the air pollutions emulating from the mine stacks are outside the federal limits for safe air. The state says those particulates are within limits, however heavy metals like arsenic, lead and sulfur dioxide all have been found in the air and soil surrounding the mining community. Residents filed suit, cancer cluster have been reported and ASARCO have performed extensive testing and has cleaned the soil where warranted. Two homes were bought and condemned, they were downwind of the crusher conveyer belt and several other houses had their topsoil removed down to 18 inches, rocked over and dirt replaced. Residents have received $8-9,000 payment for damages, in retribution from the mine. Not enough say some and others whose homes were downwind but apparently safe, shrug their shoulders when they eye-ball the diagrams and pie charts on paperwork they were given, it must be so they smile.
“Old Valley National Bank is now the home to Hayden Police Dept”
Why are some homes so polluted and others not so? One long-time Hayden observer Chris Martinez who was born here then spent 25 years in the Army seeing the world and now has retired to Hayden. Why we wondered? My wife, he says who is also a Hayden girl and besides “I like the quiet”, Martinez says while flashing on the traffic and commotion seen in Asian and European cities and then his quiet life in Hayden. “The smoke and dust bring a lot of environmental concerns”, he says while playing in the park with his grand-daughter, Elda.
CHRIS MARTINEZ AND GRAND-DAUGHTER ELDA GIANAH play in the park next to their house. Martinez served in the Army for 25 years and retired to Hayden.
Contrerras buffs “Black Snow” Spots
Roy Contrerras has “done everything” for mines in the middle Arizona mining communities, he worked for the Christmas Mine, ASARCO, Kennecott. Father and son are polishing Dad’s newly-painted 1957 Chevy, and Roy Sr pauses over a couple spots on the hood he claims are left by acid-rain. “You can’t see it”, he says, but it appears “like black snow” and flakes paint on cars not kept in a garage. Some folks in Hayden paint their vehicle every few years. Contrerras says they received a payment “not enough” from the mine for their polluted soil and the lawn was removed and replaced. Now his lawn and the mine’s tailing across the valley constantly blows through his yard and deposits dust in his home. Still “life gets faster” in the city, says Roy Sr and “I don’t like it.” “I like the quiet here, no ambulances or sirens”. He lost his wife to Mesa, she needed more he says, his 32 year old son Roy Jr, tried living in Mesa a few years and but came home. Roy Jr found a job with a mine contractor on the graveyard shift and has a shiny new truck, a flashy new pickup, which “cost a lot of money” young Roy reports as he leaves for work. “I think I will die right here” says his father, Roy Sr. “If the mines don’t throw us out first”, he adds. Without the mines this town wouldn’t be here he continues. Copper is the only reason this place got going-without the mine-nothing would be here.”
ONE THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE CITY OF HAYDEN THIS ASARCO STACK IS SUPPOSED TO LIFT THE POLLUTION ABOVE THE CITY...BUT DOES IT?
Hayden, Arizona, is 100 miles southeast of Phoenix on State Highway 177, it sits on a hillside beneath the smelter. The entire town covers less than one square mile, and with 365 homes below the confluence of the Gila and San Pedro Rivers. The town built in 1912 to provide housing for Ray open pit mine workers and those working at the copper smelter. The town has a population of 900, and it shares a school district, with Winkleman whose population 600 is located one mile south. The towns share a history with the several smelters and their emissions discharged over the towns since 1909.
Hayden Concentrator was built in 1911 it is one of the oldest building in town
Historically emissions contained large quantities of lead, arsenic, sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter. These contaminants drifted over the entire region and many of these emissions fell out of the atmosphere and settled on the ground. The first air controls placed on the smelters were installed in 1920. These electrostatic filters removed particulate matter from the stack. The smelters had minimal emission control til 1969, when the Clean Air Act of 1970 required controls be installed to limit SO2 emission, controls were added in 1984, to further reduce SO2 emissions. The smelter stack height was designed to elevate the emissions above the valley air shed for optimum dispersion.
Some residents complained it made them feel sick to go outside on bad air days in Hayden said the AZ Health Dept Assessment.
Regardless of design many residents told the state Public Health workers of “not being able to have a barbeque at night, because going outside makes you sick”. Still in the public Health Assessment of the Hayden community most residents accepted the fact that the smelter produced air pollution, and that by working and living in the area they would be exposed to whatever was being emitted from the smelter. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality maintains a particulate sampler at the Hayden Jail. This collects particulate samples including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and zinc and samples collected over the past several years have shown arsenic and SO2 present in concentrations that exceed limits in air. Water delivered to Hayden and Winkleman contains measurable arsenic. Drinking water obtained from several wells located in the area, show arsenic present in many groundwater aquifers. Urine samples for arsenic were obtained in late 1999, seven children from 6–36 months of age were tested, blood lead concentrations ranged below detectable limits but no cases of lead poisoning in children were found. According to a study by the Arizona Department of Health Services under cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Vehicles left sitting beneath the open sky exposed to sulfuric acid
ASARCO AT 100 YEARS
MORE PHOTOS OF ARIZONA COPPER COUNTRY SEE SOUTHWESTPHOTOBANK.COM PHOTO GALLERIES….
REGION NINE; SUPERFUND HAYDEN SMELTER
YOU ARE HERE
ARIZONA HEALTH ASSESSMENT ON HAYDEN SMELTER (PDF)
The Ray Mine 20 miles north runs a railroad to the smelter in Hayden
The Copper Railroad runs between the Ray Mine and Hayden
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
STATEHOOD SNAPSHOT: SAN XAVIER ARIZONA TOPS SAY MISSION SCHOOL FOURTH GRADERS ON BIRTHDAY
FRONT ROW FROM LEFT: JOSETTE NUNEZ, TONY LEVARIO, JAZZMYN JOSE, LAMASI LEWIS, NATALIE, BURREAL, YESLIE PEREZ, JUAN GARCIA 2ND ROW FROM LEFT:4TH GRADER TEACHER VICTORIA McLELLAN, KEION LOPEZ, SARAH SALVICIO, DAKOT HOGAN, VICTORIA VALENZUELA, JAEDEN JOHNSON
Here are the students responses to the question…
What do you like about living in Arizona?
Dakota
When I wake up in the morning, I like to seeing the sun come up behind the mountains.
Victoria
What I love about living in the South West and Arizona is our school, which is a wonder to see!
Keion
What I love about living in Tucson is the mission and all of the roadrunners!
Sarah
Living in the desert is fun because the temperature is warm enough and we don’t have to worry about earthquakes.
Yeslie
I like Arizona because I get to see a lot of wild animals everyday of my life!
Juan
I love Arizona because there is water and desert and trees in Arizona.
Josette
If you go to the mountaintops, you will get a good view!
Nataly
I love Arizona because I have family and friends here. I get to see them whenever. I love our school and our teachers are the best, especially our 4th grade teacher.
Jazmynn
I love living in Arizona because a lot of my family members live here, and the summer is really warm. There are a lot of things to do like swimming, climbing mountains, and see animals, like coyotes, prairie dogs, and rabbits.
Tony
The things I like about living in the Southwest and Arizona are the fact that we don’t have to worry about things such as, earthquakes, tornadoes, or tsunamis, and we have a lot of cacti.
Lamasi
I like to look at the beautiful sunsets.
Jaeden
I like the smell of the desert when it rains.
Thank you so much! Victoria
ARIZONA’S 2012 BIRTHDAY was the 100th anniversary of Statehood for this western territory who in 1912 was the last link for the lower 48 and finally forged the United States into the geographical formation it enjoys today. Just 9 miles south of Tucson off I-19, lies the San Xavier Del Bac Mission which still ministers to the Tohono O’odham, who built the mission from sun-dried brick. A National Historic Landmark, San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. It stands as one of the oldest building in the United States.
I had the opportunity to visit San Xavier’s Mission School Fourth Grade class on Arizona’s birthday February 14th or Valentine’s Day. Teacher Victoria McLellan had solicited help from her sister-in-law and relatives to bake a birthday cake for Arizona’s 100 anniversary and they decorated it beautifully for her students to enjoy and celebrate the day.
San Xavier fourth grader Josette Nunez reads Valentines from Jazmynn Jose (left)
and Keion Lopez
San Xavier 4th Graders line up for a piece of Arizona's 100 years Cake being dished out by Teacher Victoria McLellan
Close to final bell, the 4th graders took the opportunity to finish up their Valentines and pass them out to their fellow students. While enjoying their good wishes from each other, McLellan led them in singing Happy Birthday Arizona and cut the cake and began to nibble on their piece of history and enjoy their celebration of the past.
The San Xavier Mission School has provided an education for grades K-8, since 1864 for the Tohono O’odham people. More recently the school opened enrollment to all. In 2002 the school added new wing that doubled the size of the school. Now they have four more classrooms, a computer lab, an art room, a meeting room that doubles as a music room.
Since 1864 Tohono Oodham students have been taught at the San Xavier Mission School
Mission school students visit San Xavier daily, learning a Catholic education, and a religious lifestyle
CLICK HERE FOR SOUTHWESTPHOTOBANK.COM PHOTOS MADE ON ARIZONA STATEHOOD
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
INDIAN RODEOS ARE WHERE YOU FIND THE ACTION and TRIBAL FAIRS OFFER A RICH VIEW OF TRADITIONAL LIFE
RICKY JACKSON CLINGS TO LIFE AND BLUE SKY, HIS HORSE.
Unable to free his hand, Shane Hardy was dragged all over and taken away by ambulence.
The typical Small Town in Arizona can be a sleepy place. Dust Devils rake the land and the dust brings a tear to your eye! Almost always the rule except on that one day or weekend when a whole community comes together and celebrates with each other, over who they are and why they live together as a community. In many places, locals celebrate history but in Arizona where there are 21 federally recognized American Indian tribes and almost 250,000 American Indians living on their reservations, Small Town Arizona is often the Capitol of a sovereign nation, places like Sells, San Carlos, Sacaton, White River, Peach Springs and Window Rock, represent the Tohono Oodham, San Carlos Apache, Gila River Indian Communities, White Mountain Apache, Hualapai and Navajo Tribes; each celebrates their own special weekend with fairs, rodeos, dancing, music, eating and pow wows, it brings everyone out to party.
Tohono O'odham youth gather with friends to enjoy carnival rides and food.
The Tohono Midway delights these youth as its twists and turns.
I find this is a great time to visit the reservation with my camera because all the action is concentrated in one place for two or three days and pictures come fast and furious. I recently spent a Saturday afternoon at the 74th Tohono O’odham Nation’s Rodeo and Fair, this nation’s biggest annual event and Arizona’s longest running All-Indian Rodeo. The Junior Wild Horse Stampede and Junior Rodeos offers a younger level of competition that fosters the cowboy lifestyle which ushers in the difference between the Tucson Rodeo and the Sells Rodeo, it’s all Indian, most competitors are from Arizona tribes from all over Arizona, some events might not fill, this year there were three bareback entries and one saddle bronc and rodeo slack is filled with team roping which is the big pastime here on the Sells Reservation, second largest reservation in the U.S. and historically it straddles the U.S.-Mexico Border.
While there may be fewer competitors in some events, the first two bareback riders at Saturday’s performance were hospitalized. Picked up and carted off in an ambulance. Action you don’t normally see at the big events, Indian Rodeo competitors, don’t get bogged down with all the rules, regulations. They frequently hammer their gloved hand, locking it onto the beast they have drawn to ride. Since their hand can’t come loose, and if they keep their feet beneath them they have a shot at the money. In both cases Saturday, their feet flew out beneath them and they were beaten badly.
Early Saturday, there had been a parade with floats and grand marshals, and marching school kids. (the whole event is accessed from one parking lot and one entry fee, $5 general admission, $2 seniors (55 and over)
Women's singing group performs a wake dance depicting the creator's tale
Nani Reina performs with her dance group Bird singing by the River
After I left the rodeo I dropped by the traditional dancing being lead by the Maricopa Dance and Sing Group, “Bird Singing by the River”, for a Piman Tribe and Tohono Oodham cousin whose roots live along the Salt River. Their dance was most frequently sung at wakes, it was the Maricopa Creator Tale and allowed participants a glimpse into a tribal tradition not often seen in public.
Just women, no guys, all ages battle it out like they have for centuries.
Toka player goes down at the goal trying to score.
Moving on I visited the Toka Tournament where a dozen teams had come together for an afternoon of Toka, a Tohono O’odham traditional game only for women which is a cross between lacrosse and hockey without the ice. Each team of eleven face off until the leather wood puck is dropped and like hockey, the action begins. Men are not allowed on the Toka field and traditionally, each match would be wagered on by the teams, today that might be Gatorade or a shell necklace. Next I toured the mid-way, over 14,000 Tohono O’odham are registered tribal members, three or four thousand where there enjoying the carnival rides, cotton candy and slurpies.
Kids grow up fast and the Sells Rodeo is an opportunity to get new pictures.
The photo booth is a big draw for moms wanting a baby picture of junior while he is still so cute. That changes fast, for many years I noticed the Goth movement had a huge foot hold on many reservations and specifically the Tohono O’odham, waves of black tee shirts, tribal signs and skulls. That seems to be passing, everything was extremely bright and colorful and great days for digital photography. I noticed a handful of old white guys, with expensive camera gear, hanging on the edges working with long lenses keeping a low profile.
The Apache Clown takes a Tohono prisoner for a dance
The San Carlos Apache Crown Dancers paint during the daylight and the White Mountain Apache Crown Dancers only paint the girl at night.
I dropped back by the traditional dancers and I found a real treat, the San Carlos Apache Crown Dancers were entertaining and the Clown took a pretty Tohono prisoner and forced her to dance with him. Finally I headed across the parking lot to the Pow Wow area, where the drums were competing for the top tier, and pow wow dancers from many walks of life, including ring dancers, gourd dancers from both the plains tribe and northern nations. The sun was starting to get lower now and I was able to get some back-lighting on the amazing feather displays found on these families of competitors who follow the Pow Wow circuit much like the Rodeo competitors, both of which find themselves on the All-Indian Rodeo Circuit.
FOR MORE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 2012 SELLS COMPETITION CLICK HERE
These fancy style dancers bring a lot of variety to the competition.
Four Native American drum teams beat out their songs
Eagle feathers gather great strength for their owners, if they are cared for.
TRIBAL RODEOS AND FAIRS
MUL-CHA-THA for the Gila River Indian Community March 16-18th 2012
Community gathering very much like the Sells Fair and Rodeo, however, the Piman Tribe has a very strong “Chicken Scratch” bent and numerous CS bands will compete there for the title.
CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
Eating roast corn off the cob is an age old Indian diet and still quite popular
One unique Day is the IRA HAYES PARADE held in Sacaton, AZ on February 25th at 8:30 am with a jet flyovers
The IRA HAYES IWO JIMA MEMORIAL PARADE held the third week of February each year. Ira was one of the five flag raisers on the Japanese Island of Iwo Jima where the Marine took the island. Tribes send color guards and participants every year and this is the biggest patriotic event in the state each year where veterans turn out each year to appreciated as warriors.
CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW FROM A PREVIOUS YEAR.
CASA GRANDE INDIAN DAYS RODEO
Casa Grande, AZ
February 17-19, 2012
Performances: 2/18/2012; 2/19/2012 1:00 pm daily
Slack 2/17/2012 10:00 am
46th annual
O’ODHAM TASH ALL INDIAN RODEO
Florence, AZ
March 2-4 2012
The Tohono Sells Rodeo has long been a tribal favorite.
11/17/2011-11/20/2011 Orme Dam Victory Days (INFR Tour) Fort McDowell
12/03/2011 Parker All Indian Rodeo Parker, AZ
2/17/2012-2/19/2012 Cowboy Indian Days All Indian Rodeo Casa Grande, AZ
3/02/2012-3/04/2012 O’odham Tash All Indian Rodeo Florence, AZ
3/31/2012 Mt. Turnbull All Indian Rodeo Bylas, AZ
4/01/2012 Mt. Turnbull All Indian Rodeo Bylas, AZ
10/06/2012-10/07/2012 SWIRA Regional Finals (Tentative) Parker, AZ
87th White Mountain Apache Fair and Rodeo, 1st weekend in September White River
44th Annual Western Navajo Fair
October 11-14, 2012 To’Nanees’Dizi Dine’ Fair” enjoy Inter-tribal dances, Carnival, All Indian Open Rodeo, Parade, Pageantry, Youth concerts, Elderly activities, Concessions, the popular Yeii bi cheii Ceremony, Arts and Crafts.Contact: Phone: 928-283-3415 http://www.DineFair.com
66th Annual Navajo Nation Fair
September 2nd – 9th, 2012
Window Rock, AZ
The Navajo Nation Fair was established in 1938 to stimulate livestock improvements and management through exhibits for the Navajo people. The Navajo Nation Fair has become a world-renowned event that showcases Navajo Agriculture, Fine Arts and Crafts, with the promotion and preservation of the Navajo heritage by providing cultural entertainment.For more information please visit the website: www.NavajoNationFair.com
9th Annual Page Lake Powell Hot Air Balloon Regatta November 2-4, 2012 Contact: Page Tourism Bureau Phone: 928-645-2741 www.PageLakePowellTourism.com Watch balloons lift off and float over the Lake Powell area, also a Balloon Glow and Street Fair.
Colorful tastes enrich shaved ice, always a hit in the middle of the desert.
PERIDOT Plans are underway for the San Carlos Apache Tribe’s 46th Annual Veteran’s Fair; Rodeo to be held at the Peridot Rodeo grounds in Peridot, Ariz. Nov. 11-14, 2012 are the scheduled dates for the annual honoring of veterans on the San Carlos Apache reservation.
2012 Native American Feast Days and Events in New Mexico
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
LITTLE PICACHO WILDERNESS OPENS DOOR TO CALIFORNIA CHOCOLATE MOUNTAINS AND WINTER ADVENTURE
More than 38,000 acres are included in the Picacho Wildreness
In the American South West there are many “Picachos” or big peaks as translated in Spanish, Arizonans have long appreciated Picacho Peak, that marked the most western battle of the Civil War and more than halfway mark between Phoenix and Tucson. The California Little Picacho Wilderness and Recreation area is less well known, winter camping is great there. California fisherman, hunters, hikers and campers all know Picacho Peak on the Colorado River, a standout at 1947′, and a great spot for outdoor recreation only a three hour drive from San Diego. It stands about 30 miles north of Yuma on dirt roads first traveled in 1780 by Spanish gold miners who began dry placer gold claims there because of the dry conditions which exceed 100 plus degrees mid-summer, and lack of water. Miners would shovel sand and gravel on a blanket, shake it until only the heavier gold remained. Soon a Picacho town site sprung up with 2500 residents served by three stores, several saloons, three elementary schools and it was connected by the Colorado River with paddle wheelers who stopped there for wood to fuel their steam boilers. The mine payroll peaked at 700 men. Poor ore quality and mine accidents ended most organized efforts there by around 1910. That town now lies behind the Imperial Dam at 33°01′23″N 114°36′40″W flooding what was left of the original townsite in 1938. The Dam ended cheap ore transport by boat which was the last nail in Picacho’s industrial coffin.
At roads end, the California Campground offers boat launch, campsites, out houses, warm temps and mosquitoes in April.
Today Picacho is a State Park on the lower Colorado River on the eastern border of California, offering a diverse scenery, with cactus, burros, bighorn sheep and thousands of waterfowl. Take the mile dirt road north from Winterhaven, off Interstate 8 West of Yuma. The road is paved only a few miles, then becomes graded dirt. The last 18 miles is over a desert road that is passable for passenger cars and motor homes. In the summer months thunderstorms can cause flash flooding in the washes, making sections of the road impassable. Check weather forecasts before traveling into this region of the desert.
Flash flooding area next to the Picacho roadside ....
Fishing is a favorite activity for many Arizona and California residents and visitors. Anglers that are 14 years old or older will require a fishing license. If you plan to fish the Colorado River waters from any sort of boat or float, or you fish from the California banks of the river, you will also need a Colorado River Stamp. See Arizona Game and Fish for rules and to purchase licenses online.
Numerous species of water fowl and birds frequent the Picacho Wilderness during the snowbird season
Little Picacho is a hot spot in the summer and this bird and his buddies look for the unprepared.
The Little Picacho Wilderness is a 38,214-acre wilderness area under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and is a southeast extension of the Chocolate Mountains adjacent to the Colorado River. The wilderness is home to the Picacho wild horse herd, that roams the northwestern part of the wilderness, as do wild burro, desert tortoise, the spotted bat and about 25 desert bighorn sheep.
Keep your dog away from these docile appearing creatures. They have spent a lifetime repeling coyotes and will kick the life from a domestic animal.
General Things to Consider When Planning a Trip to Any Wilderness
VISIT COLORADO RIVER COUNTRY ON SOUTHWESTPHOTOBANK.COM
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
PISTOLERO JOHNNY RINGO A LOWLIFE NO GOOD BACKSHOOTIN SCUMSUCKER IS BURIED IN WEST TURKEY CREEK
Johnny Ringo was buried here 5 yards from where his body was found.
The history of the Old West can find little reason why Johnny Ringo is remembered as a gunfighter in Tombstone Arizona except for the fact, he crossed the path of Wyatt Earp and his friend, Doc Holiday. Other than that, he was a lowlife from Texas (is that redundant?) who preferred to shoot unarmed folks in the back. According to Louis L’Amour, Ringo was a surly, bad-tempered man who was worse when he was drinking, and that his main claim to fame was shooting the unarmed Louis Hancock in December 1879. The drunk Ringo shot Hancock in a Safford Arizona saloon when Hancock refused a complimentary drink of whiskey, stating he preferred beer, Hancock survived his wound.
On July 14, 1882, Johnny Ringo was found dead in the crotch of a large tree in West Turkey Creek Valley, near Chiricahua Peak, with a bullet hole in his right temple and an exit wound at the back of his head. A single shot had been heard by a neighbor late in the evening the day before on July 13. The property owner found Ringo sitting on the low-leaning trunk and fork of a large tree by the river (a fallen trunk next to which Ringo is now buried). Ringo’s revolver had one round expended and was found hanging by one finger in his hand.
According to Wikipedia the coroner ruled the death a suicide.
Historic accounts suggest four possible men who might have shot Ringo, including Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, gambler Mike O’Rourke, and Buckskin Frank Leslie whose name was given to the next canyon south of Turkey Creek Canyon where Ringo’s body was found next to the creek. One theory that supports the coroner’s finding that Ringo committed suicide is that a few weeks before Ringo’s death, a large fire in Tombstone had wiped out most of the downtown area. The silver mines were producing less, and demand for beef was down. Many of Ringo’s friends were gone, while his way of life was quickly becoming a thing of the past. Ringo was depressed after being rejected by his remaining family members in California and the recent deaths of his outlaw friends. Stoked by a period of binge drinking, Ringo was preparing to camp in an isolated spot, far from the city. He tied his boots to his saddle, a common practice in Arizona to keep scorpions out of them, but the horse got loose and ran off. Ringo tied pieces of his undershirt to his feet to protect them, and crawled into the fork of a large tree to spend the night. As evening came on, despondent over his overall state, Ringo shot himself.
Scene of Johnny Ringo Suicide Spot in West Turkey Creek
Still over the years Ringo’s name has surfaced in a dozen movies and TV shows, played in the 1939 movie STAGECOACH by John Wayne as the “Ringo Kid” and in the GUNFIGHTER by Gregory Peck in 1950 as Jimmy Ringo.
Ringo was born in Indiana and moved to Missouri where he grew up. When he was fourteen his father moved West but never reached California, accidently shooting himself in transit much like one in four who attempted that journey. Ringo went to Texas, where he became a backshooter in the Mason County War (Hoodoo War) and slithered into Arizona via Tombstone.
Big Nose Kate notes Johnny visited her one night while Doc Holliday was sitting in jail for the Shoot Out at the O.K. Corral, a fact that fueled their blood feud. Johnny Ringo was not at the Shoot Out at the O.K. Corral, probably because everyone stood toe-to-toe and blasted away. Ringo was more accustomed to sneaking up on the unarmed.
Johnny Ringo is buried close to where his body was found in the Chiricahua Mountains in West Turkey Creek Canyon (31°51′49″N 109°20′16″W) at the base of the tree in which he was found. The grave is on private land where an open gate provides access and a sign cites the following rules for visiting. Sign on private land, one mile before Sunglow Ranch on the north side of the road. Sunglow has fantastic RV hookups, rooms and a cafe and Turkey Creek is a great camping place” />
Sign on private property allowing visitors to Johnny Ringo's Grave
I'M YOUR HUCKLEBERRY
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
GABBY GIFFORDS COMES HOME TO TUCSON ON JANUARY 8TH SHOOTING VICTIMS NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN
A smiling Gabby Giffords looks over the thousands of friends and supporters who turned out to greet Gabby and welcome her home.
GABBIE GIFFORDS CAME HOME TONIGHT. Gabby climbed a stage and waved to friends, fans and thousands of supporters who turned out on a cool desert evening to see the night lite up by her smile. They were not disappointed. Gabby Giffords did just that and everybody loved it. The Candlelight Ceremony held on the University of Arizona Mall began by lighting a candle for each shooting victim and then thousands of Tucsonans waved glow sticks as a choir entertained and soon the Congress women’s favorite band Calexico took the stage and gave the glow sticks a south of the border beat. Sunday night’s ceremony concluded several weeks of memorials, the dedication of the Gabe Zimmerman Trails in Davidson Canyon was Saturday and earlier Sunday afternoon there was a memorial ceremony at Centennial Hall to remember each of the six deaths. The Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding held the REFLECTIONS Ceremony .
One year after the mass shooting at a Tucson Safeway Gabby Giffords came home to Tucson AZ
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- Gabby Giffords rock to the South of the Border Beat as glo stiks wave back and forth on the dark UA mall.
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- Family and Friends of the shooting victims lite candles until 19 were lighted.
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- Serenity Hammrich and Jamie Stone speak for their best friend Christina-Taylor Green
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- Ron Barber, shooting victim and founder of the Fund for Civility and Respect and Und
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- One year after the mass shooting at a Tucson Safeway Gabby Giffords came home to Tucson AZ
Family and Friends of the shooting victims lite candles until 19 were lighted.
Gabby takes to her feet and waves to friends in the crowd
Gabby Giffords rock to the South of the Border Beat as glo stiks wave back and forth on the dark UA mall.
Ron Barber, shooting victim and founder of the Fund for Civility and Respect and Understanding organized the Reflections Ceremony at Centennial Hall.
Serenity Hammrich and Jamie Stone for Christina-Taylor Green spoke for their best friend Christina-Taylor Green the eight year old shot at the Congress on Your Corner gathering January 8th 2011 with eighteen other people.
CHASING FALL IS A ELUSIVE TASK WAITING FOR THE BEST TIME TAKES PATIENCE AND SOME HELP!
ASPENS in the Flagstaff area indicate fire recovery generations ago.
FALL became an obsession last September when the desert glare had taken its toll on me since early April, so two weeks into September I headed to Missouri to wrap up some family business and hoped to miss some heat. Missouri was enjoying an Indian Summer, the Amish reported sleeping on their front porches in July and August when the humidity turns deadly, fall started with one leaf and then another. The first weekend in October the leaves started changing but most of the locals complained the lack of rain had muted the color and it was a sleeper at best. I kept hoping so I decided to take a road trip to the Missouri River thinking that might give me more of a overall picture of the beginnings of fall in the Midwest. I found more and brighter colors in a region where more rain had fallen over the summer.
Rich display of treed forest that characterize the mid west United States
The beauty of the Mid West is its forests, lots of different trees, walnuts, oaks, maples, birches, spruce and a rainbow of color. As a photographer moves west the altitudes and species of trees, change vary and flat out disappear. The pioneers used to cut extra axles for the trip west mid-Kansas, cause they knew trees where going to thin out. When I hit Flagstaff, Arizona mid-October, it was still warm but within a couple days the weather changed.
Navajo and Hopi are battling Flagstaff over the plan to use effluent to make snow.
The Aspen around the peaks had started probably the week before but the next layer up the mountain was picture perfect. There is some Oak in the Flagstaff area but Oak Creek Canyon would be best if it wasn’t choked with Phoenicians looking for color. Instead try the old army supply road from Williams to Jerome via Perkinsville, before you drop down to the river, many roads lead off to richer views. Fall comes first to the desert the last weekend in November, places like Maple Camp near Portal, New Mexico in the Chirichuas is a great place to find Maple reds. Tucson won’t see fall until year end, the historic row of Cottonwoods at Old Fort Lowell on Tucson’s eastside, has colored every year just before New Years…FALL finally arrived three and a half months later.
This Fall Color Hot Line can give you and idea of how soon color is beginning to show, where and what altitudes and give yourself a sense of where it is heading and when it will be starting in specific areas. There was a photographer who carried self-addressed post cards, pre-stamped so when he got an idea. He would write it down on the postcard and then ask the farmer to stick it in the mail when he ready to harvest his field, so the photographer would have a good chance of a fall treeline with a farmer working in his field in the background. He had cards arriving all the time and an idea attached to each one.
Beautiful cottonwood leaves show up with the new year, the river air currents affect the turning of the leaves.
FALL COLOR HOTLINE…..click here
STATE by STATE GUIDE OF FALL THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES ….
BEST PLACES TO SEE FALL FOLIAGE……CLick here
<a href=" SPANISH TRANSLATIONS:
“I FELT WATERBOARDED” ARIZONA GOVERNOR JAN BREWER SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HER PAIN IN WRITING MEMOIR ‘SCORPIONS FOR BREAKFAST’
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signs her new book "Scorpions for Breakfast"
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signs her new book, Scorpions for Breakfast
Jan speaking with the local supporters who came out on a dark, wet and stormy evening.
Amazon.com has 31 reviewers whose comments on reading SCORPIONS FOR BREAKFAST vary, here is my edit;
Scorpions for Breakfast gives a personal look at her political journey and the decision-making process to critical issues of the day. The subtitle for this book clarifies the focus of this book, “My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure America’s Borders.” Call it “editorial license” or “dramatization”, but Gov. Brewers recounting of her Jan 09, 2011 State of the State address is certainly not factual. She did not lead the joint legislature in a moment of silent prayer, then look up defiantly and quote Isiah as she claims in the book. Following a standing ovation from her colleagues in response to her previous remark, she returns to her teleprompter and then makes her statement.
Jan really understood the issues, but did not seem to realize the amount of emotions SB1070 would instigate. The founded and unfounded emotions generated were obvious a surprise when one state tried to regain control of a growing problem.
Wonderful book about an absolutely incredible public servant and her fight to bring Arizona back from its abyss after the Napolitano administration and stop illegal immigration, which is one of the worst problems that our nation has ever faced. I admire Governor Brewer so much for her tough, can-do attitude. She always seems to do the right thing
I would strongly urge the people of America to read this powerful book written by a stand-up lady who sense of right and wrong is nothing short of admirable – quite unusual in a politician.
I ordered two of these books one for me and one for a friend. Both of us are members of The Tea Party. I have read this book and really enjoy what was wrote in it. It did open my eyes to some things I didn’t know.
Brewer states the case of her critics more or less accurately but then offer almost nothing on point to rebut them. An example is her sloppy sleight of hand on page 101: “National Public Radio would falsely report [SB 1070] had been hatched in a 2009 meeting between Arizona legislators and representatives of the private prison industry (who presumably, the story noted, would benefit from the law). In fact, Arizona senator Russell Pearce, the original sponsor of the bill, had introduced similar legislation almost every year since 2003.” Satisfied with correcting NPR’s error in chronology, Brewer makes no attempt to deny anyone’s ties to the private prison industry, or the private prison industry’s backing of the bill. Incidentally, it’s curious that she finds it such a novel idea that the private prison industry would benefit from an increase in demand for detention space; perhaps the principles of supply and demand were omitted in whatever economics lessons she’s had.
The governor’s kvetching comes as she pats herself on the back for having the gumption to sign Senate Bill 1070, Arizona’s notorious “papers please” law, which alienated more than a third of Arizonans (the brown folk and those allied with them), turned Arizona into a national laughingstock, and most significantly for Brewer secured her win over then-Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard in the 2010 gubernatorial contest.
In Scorpions, Brewer likens the criticism she took over signing 1070 to “water-boarding,” takes umbrage at getting called a “racist,” “Hitler’s daughter,” and “Satan’s whore,” and expresses annoyance at the protesters who dared harangue her at the state Capitol. Oh, and she really hated the drums that some anti-1070 protesters utilized. “They were there every day: marching, chanting, and beating drums,” she notes in Scorpions. “Always beating drums.”
I’m a big fan of Governor Brewer, but this book has really disappointed me. I expected her to dive deeply into her personal philosophies and thought processes, but these were touched upon only superficially. Unfortunately, this book is more like a campaign ad for her next election. I’m sorry I spent my time and money on this book.
Jan Brewer plays the role of ‘strong conservative,’ evidenced by her signing S.B. 1070. She waffled and delayed on signing, then finally did so when it became clear that Sheriff Joe would run against her in the primary, and win – if she didn’t. I like that she finally did sign it, but despise her having also pushed for a sales-tax increase recently to support local schools – the biggest ‘special interest’ and cause of high taxes in Arizona. Usually these books are written to boost support for higher office, but Brewer is going nowhere after this term is completed – I have no idea why this was written. It is simply a lot of puffery and hot air.
The night Jan came to town was a dark and stormy night and still a dozen people took the time to come to Republican Headquarters and say hello to the Governor of the State. It’s Christmas time, lots of Xmas Parties, cheer and good will, so maybe Jan thought her new read would make nice stocking-stuffers…Scorpions for Breakfast sells for $15.94 on Amazon.com priceded down from $25.99 and with free shipping. In comparison, Michelle Bachmann’s My Story is $17.51 and My Journey to the White House by Hermann Cain is marked down to $14.17. In comparison GABBY: A story of Courage and Hope hardcover sells for $17.81 but the kindle edition is $12.99 and thousands of folks filled Centennial Hall on the University of Arizona campus December 6th standing in line to hear Gabby’s husband Mark Kelly talk about writing their new book. The weather was also much better.
Jan laughs with bookbuyer.
SOUTHWEST PHOTO JOURNAL 