The River of Kings

"The River of Kings, A History of Arizona's Verde River" is more than a mere book authored by Steve Ayers.  It is a Dream Come True!

Steve first started dreaming about such a book over 20 years ago.  The power of Steve's dream grew stronger over the years until he finally sat down and spent two years putting his dream together.  Now Steve's Dream is available all of us to enjoy and learn from.  It is also a truly superb Life Milestone achievement by The Verde Virtuoso--Steve Ayers.

When Steve first washed ashore on the old dry lake bed sediments of The Verde Valley, little did he realize that he would someday play a starring role in preserving, interpreting and celebrating so many aspects of Verde Valley and Verde River history and legacy.

Steve and his wife Susan moved to The Verde while Steve was working toward the end of his 25 year career as a sales rep for C.W. Carter, a heavy equipment parts vendor in Phoenix.  During his studies with Old Dominion University, Steve researched and wrote an in-depth, eight-part series for Yavapai County on many key aspects of Verde River controversies, constraints and challenges. 

Upon receipt of his communiations degree, Steve went to work for Western Newspapers as a reporter for the "Camp Verde Bugle" newspaper.  Many of Steve's reporting assignments further whetted his appetite for "all things Verde River".

After toiling eight years as a newspaper reporter, Steve moved on in 2013 to become the Town of Camp Verde's Economic Development Director.  By 2016, Steve was named "Economic Developer of the Year".  Much of Steve's acclaim stemmed from his ardent and persausive inclusion of The Verde River into the Town's economic development plans.

And so it was upon Steve's 2023 retirement that he embarked on bringing his 20+ year Dream to reality in the form of a book on the History of The Verde River.

Behind his easy-going, affable manner Steve Ayers is filled with a passionate dedication to preserve and celebrate the history and pre-history of Camp Verde and the Verde River. 

The 228 page book is a testimony to Steve Ayers' dogged determination to "git 'er dun"!

The book is available for sale through Friends Of The Verde River here:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/TTVQM5V1K2NMM/checkout/U7V6IXDVCGTZZEUPD5JZEM4T

Using his broad background in writing and reporting, Steve Ayers was able to synthesize a diverse variety of historic and modern resources to craft a highly readable, entertaining journey through the history of Arizona's Verde River.

Readers will find each of the book's chapters to be remarkably stirring standalone stories that bring forward unique levels of engagement, entertainment and education.

Steve Ayers is certainly no stranger to putting a book together.  His first effort recounts the History of Camp Verde through succinct narratives which accompany a cavalcade of old photos.  Steve has served as President of both the Camp Verde Historical Society and the Verde Valley Archaeological Center.

One of Steve Ayers signature long-term efforts was pinpointing the geograpical center of Arizona.
Steve is shown here (standing in back in blue shirt) on a 2012 wilderness Journey To The Center Of The State. Blog Author John Parsons is kneeling in front of Arizona Flag.  

When Steve began his position as Town of Camp Verde Economic Development Director in 2013, he immediately set out to parley Camp Verde's proximity to Arizona's geographical center as a promotional tool.

Camp Verde rightfully became "The Center of It All".  Steve Ayers' relentless promotion of Camp Verde as a vibrant, attractive "center" really helped put the town on the map.

Steve Ayers was quick to recognize any activity that could help promote Town of Camp Verde Economic Development whether it was pickleball or paddling The Verde River.  Here Steve (at left with paddle) attends the very first session of Camp Verde Pickleball on December 1, 2016.  Others pictured are (l-r) Susun McCulla, John Parsons, Shawna Figy, Esther "Babe" Daley and Sebra Choe.

Steve Ayers is a truly thoughtful person who ponders all perspectives before moving forward with the best plan to address anything from economic development to interpeting hazy historical contexts.

In his retirement from 25 years as a sales rep; 8 years as a newspaper reporter and 10 years as an Economic Development Director Steve Ayers jumped full force into researching and writing his book, "The River of Kings, A History of Arizona's Verde River".  Steve Ayers has also used his deep knowledge of history to help people understand little known aspects of the area's past.  In the photo above, Steve Ayers describes how the Spanish interacted with the Verde Valley and River.

We first met Steve Ayers during his "Reporter Phase".  Steve came to our house adjacent to Montezuma Well National Monument in the Fall of 2011 to record an interview about our relationship with the Verde River.  He wrote a wonderful article which was published on December 14, 2011.  Over the years, we have been quite proud of that fine article and have shared it in many ways.

You can read the full text of the article here:
https://myarizonatales.blogspot.com/2019/09/steve-ayers-article-12132011.html

Ironically, Steve said he struggled with his book's final chapter, "It took me three months to write the last chapter...just couldn't get it right...then I discovered my transcript of the interview we did in your back yard...and it all came together. Thanks again for all you have done for the river. Your efforts will live on!"

Indeed, Steve featured me in a portion of the book's final chapter and used one of my quotes as the books's final words.  I am deeply honored by Steve's kind hospitality and thoughtfulness!

As Parsons was fond of saying, the river had spoken, "I always viewed myself as the middleman, helping people get introduced to the rivert so the river could speak to them and tell its story in its own way, in its own time, straight to their hearts," Parsons said, “Once it does, then that person has a personal relationship with the river that never goes away. It works. I have seen it happen so many times, and its really cool to see."

All of the photos used in this blog post can be viewed in a Google Photo album here:

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/NEL9U9YYGrohfKja8

Idaho Falls Power of Love

First you have to know I despised Idaho Falls from the git go.  Each time we passed through the city in 2004 and 2005 I despised it even more.

When we left Bowery Guard Station in October of 2005, we knew we had to go through Idaho Falls to get to our next volunteer gig.  I dreaded heading to Idaho Falls.  Sure enough, as we passed through the heart of the city, my fear and loathing took center stage.  After much cussing I swore I'd never set foot in the city again.

And then we proceeded on to our next camp less than an hour east of the city.  The campground was perched on the banks of the Snake River just below Palisades Dam.  As luck would have it we pulled into a truly sweet camp site surrounded by old growth cottonwood trees.  It was a feeling of pure bliss as we set up for the night in that lovely site.

Of course, we reclined in our folding chairs to enjoy a beer with each other.  And that's when we got to talking about Idaho Falls.  I was SO relieved to be "on the other side" of that dreaded place.  And, of course, Dear Sweetie Susun had some nice things to say about the city.  In fact, she had a downright litany of nice things to say about things she saw that she liked.

One thing led to another and the evening beer softened my hard stance.  By and by I said, "Well, if you think you like that place so much, why don't we just drive back in there tomorrow in the Suzuki and give it another look."

And that's how it all started right there in the shade of those stately cottonwood trees beside the banks of the Snake River just below Palisades Dam.

The next day we headed west on US 26 putt-putting along in our little four cylinder Suzuki Samurai.  We drove around town with no agenda just looking at the city and its various neighborhoods.  Sweetie Susun was right.  If I hadn't been so focused on the confusing streets and traffic, I too would have noticed some appealing sights.

As we drove back to camp we both chattered about how maybe we had been all wrong about Idaho Falls.  Maybe we should "give it a chance".  So that evening over beers we decided to drive back into the city again the next day--only this time armed with a list of questions to investigate.

Right at the top of the list was the question: "Was is Idaho Falls Power?"  Of course, we knew nothing about Idaho Falls Power (IFP).  The next question was the obligatory, "What is the library like?"  We've always believed a that libraries are like that age-old adage: "Human Eyes are the window to the soul."  Our spin translates that to "Libraries are the eyes to the soul of a community."

So, the next day, off we trundled back into the city--about a 45 minute drive for the slow going Samurai.  And we went straight to IFP.  OH! MY! GOSH!  What an eye opening visit that was.  In fact, if there was one single vignette that hooked me on Idaho Falls, it was our first visit to IFP.  The people there treated us so nicely it was almost like we were like long lost Family returning home.  They enthusiastically shared so much information about IFP and how proud they were of IFP.  I'd never had any experience like that.

The Staff heaped us high with brochures, booklets and a complete history of IFP.  Next, we crossed the street to the Library.  Yes, the Library and IFP are adjacent to one another.   And, of course, walking into the Idaho Falls Library for the first time was an experience neither of us will ever forget.  The Library captivated us like no other library had ever done.  From the golden koi fish swimming slowly in the ponds of their little Japanese Zen garden to the curving promenade leading up and away we looked around in abject happiness.  WOW!  Did this place REALLY exist or were we dreaming?

We visited other important pieces of the Idaho Falls puzzle that day.  Then we went back to camp and tried to digest everything we had seen and learned.  By that time we were very excited about Idaho Falls.  We eagerly made a new list and headed back into the city for a third day to get new questions answered.  Every where we went, all of the answers to our questions kept popping up like green lights.

We repeated this process day after day, ultimately going into Idaho Falls for 10 straight days.  On one of our last trips into the city I HAD to go back to IFP to see if they would give us a tour of the control room for the City's downtown hydro plant.  Sure enough, they didn't even blink and within minutes we were inside the control room chatting with the operator and inspecting all the great dials, gauges and colored switches.

When we went back to camp that night we both agreed we were SOLD on Idaho Falls and wanted to move and live there as soon as possible.  On our last day in the city, we retained a Realtor to help us find a house and gave her a spreadsheet of all the various aspects and features we wanted in a home there.

It would take two full years to finally buy a house and settle down in Idaho Falls in the Fall of 2007.
We've been here more than 18 years now and love it just as much as we did when we "discovered" the city in October 2005.

On December 4, 2025, IFP dedicated a new peaking power plant.  It has seven GIANT 20 cylinder engines powering generators that can produce 17.5 megawatts of power.  As the dedication ceremony wound down, I sat off quietly by myself peering at the whole totality of the power plant.  I reflected back to October 2005 and all the realities of Idaho Falls Power that caused me to immediately fall in love with the city.  OH!  So many memories came flooding back as I sat there pondering the power plant.  

I know I must have had a very happy and probably very goofy smile on my face because an official came over and asked me "How are you doing?"  He turned out to be an courteous and attentive individual and I recounted the whole 20-year-old story of how the Idaho Falls Power of Love brought about such a huge change in our lives.  It was quite fun retelling the story to him.

This rendition is a tad bit tame compared to the hyperbole I heaped into my verbal version December 4th.  I'm happy the power plant dedication finally sparked the motivation to tell this story.

We'd love to go on and On and ON telling you about Idaho Falls Power but this post is already too long.  It's time to sign off and say once again, "Thanks for reading!"

For an account of the Peaking Power Plant Dedication see:

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2025/12/idaho-falls-power-celebrates-completion-of-new-peaking-plant-and-125-years-of-service/

For a history of the first 100 years of Idaho Falls Power see:

https://www.ifpower.org/gopower/resources/content/idaho-falls-power-history-pdf.pdf

New Year's Resolution

Howdy!  It's December First and THAT's the DAY to announce New Year's Resolutions!  That's right!  NO NEED to wait until the first of the New Year.  If you haven't figured out your New Year's Plan by now well...we won't go there.

We're ALL IN on Year 2025 and FAR BEYOND!  Yessirrie, our 2025 PLAN extends out to 2028 when we would be 80.  That's EIGHTY!

Here's our Plan for Year 80;  We want to be a Pickleball Gold Medal Champion!

It's going to take a heck of a lot to achieve that goal in 3 years.  First, we have to get reconstructed.  Our lower spine will have to be redone.  Then the left knee.  And then the right shoulder.  Yeah, it's a tall order but we're ALL IN on it.

It's TIME to stand up and make this happen!

I am determined to be an 80-something Pickleball Champion!

Susun's Bowery Memories 2004

Twenty years ago we were "makin' memories" at Bowery Guard Station on the East Fork of The Salmon River in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.  When the time neared for us to depart Bowery in October 2004, Dear Susun wrote this amazing "Ode To Bowery".  She encapsulated everything we were experiencing 20 years ago today.  THANK YOU, Susun, "Ya Dun Good!"

NOTE: We have reproduced the scan in two formats.  The lower format might be easier to read for phone and tablet users.

 

 

Verde River Day 2019 Editorial

Photo by Diane Joens.

Here is an Editorial by Editor-Emeritus Dan Engler that appears in the "Verde Independent" newspaper in Cottonwood, Arizona in early August 2019.  We're quite proud of Dan's comments about our Legacy regarding The Verde River.

"The announcement that John Parsons will be the keynote speaker for the 30th annual Verde River Day in September is a fitting tribute to the man known locally as “Mr. Verde River.”

It’s also an opportunity to pause and look back at Parsons’ incredible political legacy in the Verde Valley.

What’s most interesting about Parsons is that he was never elected to public office. He ran four times between 1986 and ’92 and did so as both an Independent and Democrat.

That in itself speaks volumes on how preoccupied Parsons was of actually winning any of these elections.

An Independent getting elected in a partisan race in the GOP stronghold otherwise known as Yavapai County in the 1980s and ‘90s was highly unlikely. A Democrat did not stand a chance.

Coming up on the short end of an election does not in any way diminish the political clout Parsons had during that era. Further, it should serve as a template for local leaders as the model for how to effect meaningful and lasting change.

One only had to live in the Verde Valley during the 1980s to understand the mammoth political battle Parsons pursued to re-shape public policy on the value and purpose of a Southwest desert river.

In Parsons’ case, it is most important to emphasize that this was not a battle he “fought.” Rather, it was one he nurtured through education and relationship building.

Much of it was done from the seat of a canoe he always had strapped to the top of his old four-wheel drive.

Any time. Any place. Parsons would take just about anyone willing on a canoe ride down the Verde River. These trips provided a first-hand look at a potential treasure being destroyed because of industrial mining use and misguided environmental policy.

Political forums were a natural battle ground for Parsons. An eloquent public speaker, Parsons went on the campaign trail four times – once as a “Land, Water, Legacy” candidate – and used the political process as an ends to a means. It wasn’t so much to get elected as it was to provide listening audiences with a well-rehearsed verbal treatise on land, water and river use public policy.

John Parsons taught us that we had it all wrong. The Verde River was not a resource to be used, but a treasure to be protected.

The political process further allowed Parsons to build relationships with key shakers and movers at the county, state and federal levels.

He took full advantage of the friendships he established by serving on most every committee and group he could find to eventually fit the puzzle pieces of public policy change together.

Ultimately, Parsons affected some of the most meaningful changes the Verde Valley will ever see by fighting a battle based on building friendships.

He turned enemies into allies. Education was his sword. Relationship building was his shield.

What’s most amazing about John Parsons is that for a guy who finished last in just about every election he ever ran in, he very well could be the most effective politician we’ve ever had in the Verde Valley.

When you measure results, John Parsons’ long-term contributions to the Verde Valley are the high-bar marks every local political leader should aspire to reach.

There is much we can all learn from his methods."

The Dr. Baker Positive Post

 This post is in honor of and prepared for Dr. Wallace Baker from Idaho Falls.  Dr. Baker has heaped high praise on the idea of finding positive news to post here.  NOTE that there are three stories in this post so "Keep CALM and Scroll ON".

So, how do we find such positive material?  Good question!

First we start with a "Random Point Generator".  Then we select a starting point and have the app generate five random points within a 250 mile radius from that point.  We quickly eyeball the resulting map and pick a city or town near one of the random points.  Then we check online to see if that city or town has a newspaper. For today's positive news, we used St. Louis as the central point.  Sure enuf, it turned up that Hannibal, Missouri, was near one of the points generated.  And that's how we found:

Top ten finalists selected for 2024-25 Tom and Becky program

Seriously, what could be more positive than having a bunch of young people vie for their home town's Tom and Becky contest.  Here's what the "Hannibal Courier Post" had to say about it:

"HANNIBAL — Ten finalists for the Tom and Becky program have been named by the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.

Twenty-four semifinalists completed a written exam on the history of Hannibal, Mark Twain, and Twain's writings on Thursday at Hannibal Middle School. On Friday, the 12 boys and 12 girls were scored in personal interviews at Hannibal LaGrange University by two panels of five judges.

Once the scores of both the tests and the interviews were tallied, the top five boys and top five girls were selected to represent the city as goodwill ambassadors for one year. The final two stages of the competition — a two-day orientation with three judges familiar with the program in June and a final judging on July 3 — will culminate in the naming of the office 2024-25 Tom and Becky during National Tom Sawyer days."

Hannibal is, of course, Mark Twain's boyhood home.  And, yep, there's even a Boyhood Home Museum in Hannibal  Viking Cruise Lines now makes Hannibal a primary stop on the company Mississippi River excursions.  Each year visitors from all 50 states and over 60 countries make their way to Hannibal to see the places that inspired Mark Twain’s stories.  You can read all about the Museum here:

https://marktwainmuseum.org/

And, if you feel so inclined, here's a free online 1884 first edition of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer":

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/74/74-h/74-h.htm

Goin' Baroque in Cody

We consider this a VERY positive story because it proves beyond ALL doubt that there is more to Wyoming than Cowboys!  And that's a Good Thing.  We chose Billings, Montana, as our center point and one of the random points generated was near Cody so it was a no-brainer to find and read the latest online edition of "The Cody Enterprise" founded by Big Man Buffalo Bill himself in 1899. Cody is nothing if not a gi-normous living memorial to The Big Man.  If you haven't been to the iconic Buffalo Bill Center of The West, you're really, REALLY missing out!  It's the Smithsonian of The West.

OK, let's get back to goin' Baroque, shall we? "The Cody Enterprise" reports:

"In the 17th and early 18th centuries, composers invented a new, expressive musical style designed to stir the listener’s emotions. Later called “Baroque,” this musical language spread internationally and is sometimes referred to as the first global genre of music.

Musicians who specialize in this genre will perform Friday, May 3, at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in the Kuyper Dining Pavillion. The evening will begin with appetizers, a cash bar and an Italian dinner at 6 p.m., followed by the classical concert at 7 p.m.  Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

The Wyoming Baroque ensemble, of Sheridan, will present its program “Consort of Nations,” which showcases 18th-century composers from Europe, Africa, North America and South America and their unique musical language.

Mark Elliot Bergman, PhD, will direct the concert, which features Baroque music as it was originally composed. The performers will play reproduction Baroque instruments–two violins, a viola, a cello, a double bass and a harpsichord.

Tickets are $75 per person general admission, and $65 per person for BBCW members, available at tickets.centerofthewest.org/Selection.aspx?item.

The dinner menu offers Mediterranean chicken, pasta primavera, roasted broccolini, Caesar salad, Tuscan bacci rolls, and Tiramisu or limon cake.

Wyoming Baroque promotes, performs and advocates for music and music education in Wyoming and beyond, with particular attention to historically informed performance practice. The ensemble features artists specializing in presenting 17th and 18th century repertoire and contemporary compositions.

The ensemble is in residence at Sheridan College. Committed to education and arts advocacy, Wyoming Baroque also presents master classes at schools and community centers throughout the region. The musicians play reproductions of 17th and 18th century instruments and use baroque tuning. They’re accompanied by a soprano. Learn more at www.wyomingbaroque.org.

The program includes compositions by Henry Purcell of England (1655-1695); an anonymous composer telling the story of Sephardi fleeing the Inquisition;  \Accramar Mareycoo (1746–1826), of Africa; Manuel de Zumaya (1678–1755), of Mexico; Ephrata Cloister, founded in 1732, a celibate, ascetic, German-speaking, Sabbatarian commune in rural Pennsylvania; and anonymous, indigenous Peruvian composers  of late 18th-century musical scores reflecting dances and customs of the region and era."

And for item Number 3, we chose Knoxville, Tennessee, as our center point and reduced the random range to 125 miles.  That brought up Dayton, Tennessee.  We could hardly believe Dayton has a newspaper but they DO.  And that's where we learned of their love for a tree.  See:

https://www.rheaheraldnews.com/news/image_0b33aac6-026c-11ef-963f-13a3ad8d3f19.html

"A southern red oak located near Main Street has called Dayton home for over 100 years. With the opening of BlueCross Healthy Place at Pendergrass Park, the city is employing an arborist to evaluate the historic oak located at the edge of the parking area. Observations of the tree include considerable damage to the roots along with multiple broken branches. In an effort to maintain and care for this beautiful tree, the city is consulting a professional arborist as an important step to ensuring proper care and addressing present concerns. This expert will provide critical information, insight and professional suggestions per arborist standards about the health and maintenance of the tree. City officials said they hope these efforts will keep this aged oak with us for years to come."

Chores

Each phase of Snow Bird Life has its chores.  Coming back to our Idahome involves Chores Galore.

A lot of the Chores actually begin weeks before leaving Arizona.  Such things as scheduling electricity turn on, change of address and Idaho mail hold must be done well in advance.

Upon return to 12th St. the first chore is clearing a path through the piles of wind blown leaves. And then the fun begins.  This year the city was supposed to turn on the electricity April 12th.  But the city didn't.
So bright and early Monday morning we beat feet to City Hall to rally up the workers and "git 'er dun".  Then there's standing in a LOOOONG line at the Post Office to pick up our mail that was on hold.  And then a quick trip to the city water department to schedule someone to come and turn on the water at the street valve.

Of course, there's the Always "Fun" interface with Sparklight to reignite our internet.  We'll skip describing the Always "Fun" part.  You really don't want to know those details.

And then we must reinstate insurance for Susun's Town Car--the 1995 Suzuki Sidekick.  This year that turned into a Goat Rope.  Ugh.  We also had to go stand in a huge long line to renew registration for both our vehicles.  Oh, Joy!

Meanwhile, Susun was busy removing the think foam sheets that cover our basement windows.  Putting up the foam prevents the basement from becoming excessively cold in the Idaho winters.  Once the electricity came back on then we removed the "window shields" from the basement windows.  The easiest way to break into a 1939 house would be through the basement windows.  Our interior "window shields" are lag-screwed into the basement structure and you'd need a battering ram to get through them.  Ditto the front door brace to lag screw to the framing material of the old house.

Finally, it was time to bring in The Plumbers.  They reconnected our pipes roto-rooter our drain lines and double checks all the connections under full water pressure.

After than it was time to hook up the battery in Susun's Town Car and 'fire 'er up'.  It's always so gratifying when the little car starts on the first turn of the key.  We put fuel stabilizer in it each fall so the fuel system doesn't get clogged up during the long winter.

Of course, then it's time to empty the faithful 65 quart cooler we've used all winter and transfer the contents into a real refrigerator in the house.  Various vitals are brought from the travel trailer into the house.  Susun always makes sure the household TV is working, too.

So, all of that takes about 6 hours from start to finish.  Lots more misc. unpacking remains.  Lots of yardwork must be done.  However, by and large, the Big Chores are finished and we're moved into a cozy little home with hot running water and a real refrigerator.  Life is Good.

We drove out of Idaho Falls on Monday October 16 and we're settled back into our Idahome on April 15, one day short of six months.  It was a Joyous Snow Bird sojourn and we're Happy to be home once again.   And, of course, one of the Big Perks of being home is having Real Internet again.  YAY!

Various projects

 Hum...let's see what we're working on these days...

Right now as of July 5th we're hot to trot on our cribbage boards.  We started making Big Boards for Cribbage in 2021 and had quite a successful year.  Recently, we decided to revisit Big Boards.  We're taking numerous finished boards up to Island Park this week. We know we've sold one already.  To see some of our older cribbage boards visit: https://www.facebook.com/bbcribbage

Next in line is our upcoming Wisdom, Montana, trip.  Back in 2018 when we did our Team US 89 Road Trip from Mexico to Canada we "discovered" author Ivan Doig.  His books are truly fantastic!  We fell in love with "Last Bus To Wisdom".  So when it came time to select a Road Trip destination this summer, we picked Wisdom, Montana.  The beaverslide haystacker was prominently featured in Doig's book.  We think we've lined up a rancher who still uses the archaic beaverslide.  Anyway, that's our goal.  You can see a lot of 1942 photos of the beaverslide in action at our new blog here:
https://wisdommontana.blogspot.com/

We spent WAAAY too much time working on our Road Trip Rig: The Mosey Inn and Sharlot, the 2005 Tundra.  Rare is the day when we aren't tinkering with one or both of them. We will be camped at Site A16 in Riversided Campground this week.  To see A16 visit: https://bit.ly/3JP3l1B

One of our ongoing, multi-year projects is "Leo The Flying Lion."  This coming year we've moving Leo to the top of our TODO list for The Arizona Snow Bird Season.  During April-May 2023, we completely went through our traveling oral history kit to get ready for the 2023-2024 Season.  We really plan to hit this project MUCH harder!  
For the short story on Leo see: https://leotheflyinglion.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-short-story.html

For the full Leo blog see: https://leotheflyinglion.blogspot.com/

In the past year, our typewriter obsession has really re-blossomed.  We started out The Summer of 2022 with one machine, an 1971 Olympia SM9.  Now look at us--we have six typewriters including out latest addition, a 1936 Remington Rand Model 1.  The others include a 1970 Olivetti Lettera 33; a 1948 Royal Arrow; a 1953 Smith Corona Silent Super; a 1967 Consol 231.2 and a 1954 Underwood portable.  We now write typed letters to Dear Friends and mail them in ornately decorated vintage air mail envelopes. 

Of course, our biggest hobby is posting on Facebook.  Our account is strictly non-political and 100% G-rated 24/7/365.  We invite you to visit us at: https://www.facebook.com/johnrandyparsons

Parsons Preserve Dedication

(This is a reprint of an older blog post.)

The Camp Verde Town Council voted unanimously in July 2017 to name a 40-acre piece of prime river property Parsons Preserve.

I was overcome with emotion at the time.  Typically, things don't get named for people until long after they are dead. At least one Board of Geographic Place Names I know says you have to be dead FIVE years before something can get named for you.

Well, I was very much alive when this happened...and still am!  So, it came as somewhat of a shock that such a august body would name riverfront property for me.

Time passed. Various real & imagined circumstances conspired to keep any sort of a Parsons Preserve Dedication from happening. And more time passed.

A few months ago, I suggested to the ramrod of the Parsons Preserve Project, Steve Ayers, that we somehow get it together to have a Dedication.  By and by, we agreed to make it happen and the details eventually resolved themselves. We even made a heck of a set of maps to show people how to get there.  You can see the maps here: https://parsonspreserve.blogspot.com/

Today was The Day--April 6 @ 11 AM on The Site.

We had obsessed for weeks about our speech for the Dedication.  It came right down to the wire when we printed out the final draft at 7 AM Saturday.  By that time, it was lock & load and "Git-N-Go" mode.  Susun worked two days on getting signs ready to roll.

We left the house fully prepared at 8 AM sharp Saturday.  It took an hour to get all the 11 signs distributed to the proper places to help people find the Dedication site.

We got back down to the site just in the nick of time to meet two Dear Friends who couldn't attend the event but arrived early to visit and say "howdy."  It was So Fun!

The event began evolving better when Steve Ayers and his wife and Rainia Zhang arrived.  The women enjoyed talking while Steve and  I went back to the end of the pavement.  There we met with the Camp Verde Marshall's Office Volunteer who had been detailed to direct traffic.  He was from Homer, Alaska, so the three of us swapped halibut fishing & eating stories, Naturally a few whopper fish stories were told.

By and by, guests began arriving and the pace picked up as the clocked ticked toward the 11 AM Event Time.

Most attendees drove into the site while a few walked.  I did succeed in enticing a couple of neighbors to ride in with me. Turns out those two neighbors are the ringleaders of local support for The Preserve and Liz presented me with a fine piece of photo art she created.

It was funny, we were driving in and Liz said, "Do you work for the Town of Camp Verde?"  ANd I said, "No, I am just a citizen."  She didn't have a clue who I was until later and then she was surprised.  She told Steve, "He never said a word about who he was."

Well, when you get a park named for you, what are you going to say?  I simply have never been able to brag or boast.  I mean it is what it is.

Pretty soon a fair large group of Dear Friends congregated at the rather rough location for the Dedication.  I eventually said it was 40 people.  Susun says it was 46.  Let's just say it was in the 40's.

Some people said they were coming and didn't.  Some people came who never said they would.  That's the way it goes with  an event.

Positive News

Yesterday June 28 I had my annual physical performed by Dr. Wallace Baker and a very capable Student Assistant. Dr. Baker was his usual ebullient self and opened our session by telling his Student Assistant about my "Positive News" project. Dr. Baker literally showered me with glowing testimonials about all the Positive Energy I bring to the world.  We spent time discussing the obvious health benefits of positive energy compared to negative.  We didn't talk much about the physicalities of the annual check up.  

In any event, the session reminded me that it's been a long time since I exercised my Positive News Finding Skills.  So, today marks a return to my roots.  Years ago we perfected a simplistic way to find truly positive, FUN news stories.  It's a rather esoteric technique, of course, but that's nothing new at Chez Yonni, right? RIGHT!

The first thing I do is select a suitably obscure little town somewhere in American.  Today it was Alta Vista, Kansas. Of course, there's a story about WHY it was Alta Vista but that story's too long to tell here.

Then we went to our GOTO random point generator and generated six GPS coordinates within a 250 mile radius of Alta Vista. We picked a point nearest to a named town--in this case Greensburg, Kansas.  Luckily, there is a small town newspaper in Greenburg called "The Kiowa County Signal."  With a name like that you right away know you're going to find The Good Stuff and we sure enuf did.

You're really not going to believe how this image was created.  But it's true.  Trust me, if you read it in "The Kiowa County Signal," it's TRUE!

“After a refined drawing, I grab my very worn pair of tweezers and always start with the eyes,” Burnam said. “I figure if I can’t get those right there is no use in continuing. I’m pleased to say I’ve yet to scrap a project! Once they are perfect I move on, usually to the nose, eventually connecting the mosaic like a giant puzzle. The first 10 hours or so are very stressful while I get each piece exactly right.”

Here's "the rest of the story" and it's a wonderful breath of fresh positive air!

https://www.kiowacountysignal.com/2022/06/28/mosaic-exhibit-featuring-farm-animals-now-on-display-at-5-4-7-arts-center/

Fires Teach

The abandoned meander LEAPS off the computer screen!

Covering wild fires for me is about way more than the nuts & bolts of acres burned, crews assigned and all the usual suspects.  It's a chance to learn intimate details about the physical terrain and geographical context of an area.  Covering fires allows me to "see" the landscape with "fresh eyes" in ways I might never imagine otherwise.

And so it is with The Lost Lake Fire flaming ferociously today SW of Parker, Arizona. The Lost Lake has burned open my brain to allow my eyes to see that entire region with entirely new geospatial and macro historic fluvial perspectives.

It's invigorating, challenging, enlightening and exciting to see such new stuff as a result of covering The Lost Lake Fire!  If I was a rootin' tootin' cowboy, I'd stand up in my stirrups and twirl my ten gallon hat overhead while giving the cowboy yell, whatever that may be.

Back in December 2020 when we decided on a spur (pun intended) of the moment trip to The Parker Strip (not to be confused with the Arizona Strip), I had almost zero time to get an agenda.

And you know how we are about agendas, right? RIGHT!

Our agenda on that trip was all about Parker Dam, The Arizona Navy, the infamous Poston Internment Camp, Ehrenberg and the Blythe intaglios  We covered our agenda adequately.  Along the way we found other tantalizing tidbits like CRIT's Ahakhav Preserve, the old railroad, Salome and so much more.

After the trip, we decided we didn't want to  go back to The Parker Strip.  We'd been there, done that.

Well, along came The Lost Lake Fire yesterday and now we want to go back to The Parker Strip!  GO FIGURE!

But it's ALL about The Colorado River and it's abandoned meanders.  Heck, The Lost Lake is part of such an abandoned meander.

We were  studying one of the NASA satellite maps of the Lost Lake Fire and we saw this HUGE abandoned meander and we said, "WHOW!"

That's what covering a wild fire can do for us.  Make us see stuff we couldn't see beforehand.

Once we saw that meander, we started studying the fluvial geomorphology of The Parker Valley and suddenly our brain and eyes were opened.  It was like we never really LOOKED at what was going on there on the CRIT Reservation in Parker Valley.  No wonder they have such rich farmlands!

Of course, the very name "Lost Lake" kinda says it all, too.  The ancestral "lost lake" was a remnant of an abandoned meander.  Basically, the what we now call The Colorado River whip lashed itself all over the place after it got cut loose from the strangle-hold of what's now the constriction of Parker Dam.  That river sure did have Some FUN roaming at will across the flat alluvial silts of the valley below.

We get so caught up in this kinda stuff, it's hard to pull away to actually cover today's happening wild fire.  

That's what covering wild fires does for us: Fires Teach. 

 

FLG HFH

The median home price in February for Flagstaff was more than $600,000, according to local real estate estimates.

That kind of price makes it difficult -- or impossible -- for many families in the area, or for those wanting to move to Flagstaff, to purchase a home.

But Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona has a plan. They’re called “Starter Homes,” and the first two have been approved to be built on a city-owned parcel on the corner of O’Leary Street and Butler Avenue.

“To me, this is a really exciting opportunity to help a wider variety of families in our community,” said Kim Murdza, president of the HFHNA Board of Directors. “This gives us the potential to build more than our one or two homes annually -- which is especially needed in our current times.”

Eric Wolverton, executive director of HFHNA, said the concept of the starter home is to help young families get into the home-ownership game so they can begin to build enough wealth that they can either move up to a larger home as a family grows, or they can use that earned wealth for a business venture and more.

“We want to try to serve as many people as possible to get them into the American dream of home ownership,” Wolverton said. “We’re trying to allow people stay in Flag and to build wealth in Flag. We need affordable homes to function as a savings program to provide a hand up into conventional housing and lending.”

The concept of a starter home is this, Wolverton said: they are 400 square feet placed in partnership with the city or with other organizations that have land on which to build, with room for two adults and one child. HFHNA sells the home for $100,000 to an income-qualifying family. The family puts up a $1,000 down payment and pays $833 a month toward their principal with a mortgage that has 0% interest. Therefore, if the family is ready to leave after five years and wish to sell the home, they have amassed $50,000 in savings toward the purchase of a larger home -- which HFHNA keeps in a bank account ready for the family to “cash out.”

As part of the deal, the family must sell the home back to HFHNA so that the it may be sold to another family wishing to enter the homeownership game. The hope is to continually offer the same starter home repeatedly to new families entering the market -- a significant departure from building one home for one family.

Wolverton added that by the time a family has outgrown the start home model, it will have built up enough equity to afford to purchase a larger home in Flagstaff. The family must stay at least three years to build sufficient equity to ensure success.

Murdza acknowledged the concept is a departure from the HFHNA standard of building three- or four-bedroom homes for low-income families. HFHNA has built one or two such homes each year in partnership with city government, and there are more than 20 located throughout Flagstaff. Although HFHNA will continue to build homes of the standard model, the need has far outgrown such a standard.

Waco Habitat for Humanity gets $1 million from billionaire

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Gotta put it out there

We're riggin' for our first camp Road Trip in 10 weeks.  When we arrive Back In The Tonto Again Monday it will have been 71 days since our most recent camp trip ended.  Yep, that's 10 weeks alright.

The details and difficulty of riggin' for a camp trip is directly proportional to the length of time  since the most recent trip.  All sorts of vital items stray far, FAR away from the travel trailer.  The pantry gets robbed.  Supplies become depleted.  Batteries decide to go dead.  The longer the sedentary duration, the more difficult the prep work for the next camp trip.  And so it goes.  We well know the drill.

This time around we decided to complicate matters by deciding to obtain a metal bucket  with which to clean our camp site fire ring.  For some reason we've never understood a lot of people are downright pigs when it comes to the fire ring.  They throw trash in there and leave partly burned wood.  It's particularly vexing at Roosevelt.  So, we just assume we're going to have to roto-root the fire ring and carry off a LOT of stuff to the dumpster.

In the past, we've gingerly used a plastic bucket and somehow not melted it into a disfigured avant garde sculpture.  This trip we said, "We have to have a metal bucket."  Period.

So, we put a notice on our local Facebook buy-sell group and within mere minutes received a reply from a very nice local person who offered to give us a metal bucket.  Of course, we figured since it was free it was going to be a dented, beat-up derelict bucket.  Much to our amazement last night, the bucket turned out to be an antique coal bucket complete with scoop!  We were shocked and told the donor so.  The person was very gracious and happy to give us the bucket.  Sometimes it's so surprising what comes our way when we simply ask for something.  "Ask and you shall receive,: eh?

So, that bucket is the missing piece in our camp fire puzzle but lots of grunt work remains to get the rest of the puzzle together.  We haven't purposely built a campfire in over 9 months so you can imagine the "hide & seek" game we will be playing with our fire tools, etc.  What fun.

One of the biggest chores of riggin' is always battery management.  Geeze, Louise.  It just goes on and On and ON!  We have so many different elect5ronic devices and many of them have their own unique batteries.  It takes nearly a full day to find them and get them all charged up.  We're not complaining.  We're thankful to just HAVE all those electronic devices. Charging their batteries is definitely a First World problem.

As our Dear Friends and regular readers well know, we travel with way too many gizmos, gadgets and Gee Whiz kinda toys.  What's a geezer to do if he can't fiddle around with all those whirly gigs in camp?  It takes hours to make sure all of the toys are packed, hours to set them all up and hours to take them all down and pack them up to go home.  But what elses would I be doing anyway?  Sitting around admiring the scenery?

Riggin' for a trip to Roosevelt always means lining up peripheral stuff.  Like what, Yonni?  Well, in this case, we're hard at work on the Easter Sunday 1979 Salt River Rescue Story.  A few weeks back we advertised in Globe to find an eye witness who was there.  We got lucky and found an AZGFD Officer who was a member of the rescue crew.  So, we've been finalizing the details to do an oral history interview with him in  We have also been making appointments to visit our Dear Friends in the Globe/Miami area.  So that's all part of riggin', too.

Most of our Menu and Pantry Gig is all taken care of.  We overpacked coming south from Idaho so we still have enough food in that travel trailer to go camping for days and maybe even weeks.

We will be camping once again at Site #287.  It's the one we camped at last year.  It has two perfect hammock trees and a 40-foot bocce ball court.  The bocce area in that campsite is one of the finest bocce courts we've yet found in any camp site anywhere.  

Uncle NOAA has upped the ante on rainfall so it's probably gonna be wetter than we'd prefer.  That means we have to rig rain gear and various other rain-related stuff.  That's not a hassle, per se, at least as along as we remember to actually do it.  It definitely is kind of a bummer to camp in the rain without all the rain-related stuff.  There's no such thing as bad weather--it's just bad gear or the LACK of gear that  makes the weather seem bad.  Well, at least if it's not -37 degrees in three feet of snow.  That would be Bad Camping Weather in just about anybody's book.

Anyway, that's our daily activity agenda through today, all of the weekend and probably Monday morning as well.