We live in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains. While walking their dogs or hiking nearby, many of our neighbors have seen, if not the actual big cat, then its impressive paw prints in the sand or mud.

New baby Mountain Lion at Desert Museum.

And while most of us have hiked Sabino Canyon, a relative few claim to have actually seen one of its resident Mountain Lions, although we all know they are there. The problem is quite simple. If a Mountain Lion doesn’t want you to see it, chances are you won’t.

Masters of ambush, these magnificent predators can bring down prey much larger than themselves, including moose, big horn sheep and … humans. Adult females can weigh 140 pounds; the males 220. An adult mountain lion in good health can run 40-50 MPH; leap 18 feet vertically and 45 feet horizontally. And they kill with amazing efficiency. Of those mountain lion attacks on humans that I am aware of, a pattern emerges. The human tried to run. Within seconds, said human had her skull crushed by powerful jaws and dagger-like fangs.

If you think rattlesnakes are dangerous, ….

On SouthernArizonaGuide.com we have more than 50 original videos about some of the most interesting people and places in Southern Arizona. One shows a naturalist talking about the wonders of Sabino Canyon. Toward the end, he explains how to keep from becoming a mountain lion’s dinner.

“Here Kitty, Kitty.”
I mention all this because we have a new Mountain Lion in our midst. He doesn’t yet have a name, so I will just refer to him as Kitty. When he grows up, he will be an awesome killing machine. But, unlike his cousins in the wild, we will not fear him. We’ll even encourage our young children or grandchildren to get within a few feet of him.

Kitty had been abandoned and was rescued by California Fish & Wildlife when he was about 2 months old and weighed 15 pounds. Three months later, after a lot of highly specialized care, he weighs 50 pounds and has assumed the honored position of resident male mountain lion of our Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

By tradition, all of the Desert Museum’s male lions have been named George L. Mountainlion. Of course, the original George L. is long deceased, but we have had the privilege of knowing the brother & sister residents these past many years. That George L. and his sister were recently retired. Like old humans, both suffer from arthritis and needed a home that requires less agility. Both have now surpassed the typical lifespan of mountain lions in the wild: 13 years.

One interesting fact I learned on a recent Behind-The-Scenes tour of our Desert Museum is that all of the animals they acquire are guaranteed cradle-to-grave care. When they become too old to exhibit, they are transferred to a special retirement home on the DM’s property to live out their lives in comfort and security. Talk about entitlements!

Kitty made his public debut yesterday (May 20, 2013) and the media, me included, were invited to record the event. To view my brief video, click HERE.

The experts at the Desert Museum have been working these past many weeks to habituate him to humanoids, but he’s clearly still shy and elusive. Except during infrequent breeding episodes, these are solitary creatures. So Kitty will have the entire enclosure to himself.  (Which raises the question: will Kitty’s handlers permit the occasional conjugal visitation when he matures? It seems only right, at least from a male perspective.)

According to his handlers, his favorite food is goat milk. His favorite activity: chasing rock squirrels and lazing in the shade. When I saw him, his favorite pastime seemed to be hiding behind a big rock.

Name This Lion
All of this actually leads somewhere. Since the current George L. Mountainlion is still living in comfortable retirement, Kitty needs a permanent name, and it can’t be George L. Thus, the staff of the Desert Museum created a “NAMING” contest.

If the name you submit is picked by the DMMLNC (Desert Museum Mountain Lion Naming Committee), you will win a personalized gift from the Mountain Lion Club and a complimentary annual family membership to the Desert Museum.  Entry forms can be found at the Desert Museum’s website. Deadline for entries is 11:59 PM on June 21^st.  The top finalists will be invited to a special celebration on July 6^th when the winning name will be announced. One thing of which I am fairly certain; the winning name won’t be “KITTY”.

Soldiers at the Tucson Presidio fire the cannon during a ceremonial reenactment.

In my video interview with a Spanish woman living with her family in a poorly guarded fort on the northern frontier of New Spain, she tells of her terrifying experience when hundreds of Apache warriors launch a surprise attack and nearly wipe out Tucson. Their only hope of survival is if one of the soldiers can get to the cannon, like the one in the picture above, and light the fuse.

To watch the interview, click HERE.

Southern Arizona Guide has more than 50 original videos of some of the most interesting people and places in Southern Arizona. Among these is an interview with a Spanish soldier at the Presidio San Agustin de Tucson talking about life on the frontier and war with the Apaches. To watch this interview, click HERE.

For a list of all of our videos and slideshows, go to SouthernArizonaGuide.com > Main Menu > Home.

Yesterday, Neighbor Roy & I once again enjoyed our favorite Tucson outdoor party, the annual Tucson Folk Festival. Over the past weekend, more than a hundred singer/songwriters and their bands performed for happy, foot-stomping, hand clapping, dancing-in-the-aisles audiences. Each May for the past 28 years, over a hundred members of the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association have shared their enthusiasm for folk music of all sorts, including Irish, Russian, and American. Here are a few images from Sunday’s events.

Holy Water & Whiskey were our favorites. A superb blend of songwriting/story telling, vocals, & instrumentals.

This audience at the La Cocina Cantina stage really enjoyed the performance of Dan Weber.

Singer/songwriter Dan Weber performing on the La Cocina stage.

Irish folk music was well-represented by Out Of Kilter.

Listening to the Out Of Kilter Irish band, this fellow was inspired to dance a little jig.

Given the intense energy of many of the performances, it was not unusual for people in the audience to spontaneously get up and start dancing in the aisles.

The young ones in the audience seemed to enjoy the music as much as the adults.

For more Things To See & Do in Tucson and Southern Arizona, see our Events Calendar at SouthernArizonaGuide.com.

Our friends, Roland & Susan, will close the curtain on their wonderful Carnival of Illusion here in Tucson … but just for the summer. They, along with Wonder Dog Harriette Houdini, celebrate their 4th successful season with 180 sold out performances in a row this Friday May 3rd & Saturday May 4th. Both performances at the Double Tree Inn on Alvernon at 6 PM. This is a show for the whole family … funny, magical, whimsical, delightful. If you miss them this week, you’ll have to wait ’til fall. I just got word that a few tickets are still available.

Go to www.carnivalofillusion.com for tickets.

Go! It will be a great evening.

(My friend, Randi Ballassai, works at the Arizona Experience Store, my favorite resource for all things Arizona. They have created a contest for full-time AZ teachers. As I am a big fan of teachers, I want to pass this along. If you have a favorite AZ teacher, please share this with him or her.)

Unrolled on Arizona’s hundredth birthday, the Arizona Experience website is offering a gift for the 101^st: up to $25,000 in cash prizes to Arizona teachers. February is Arizona History Month and the Imagine Arizona Lesson Plan Contest invites teachers of grades 4–12 to create original lesson plans or enhance an existing original lesson plan using Arizona Experience material.  (Download flyer.)

Educators have a great opportunity to redefine learning with a fun, immersive platform on the leading edge of web technology. If you’re a full time teacher of grades 4 through 12 at any accredited public, private, charter, alternative, or tribal school, you can exercise your creativity in the classroom while engaging your students with exciting interactive content from the Arizona Experience website that appeals to learners of any age. 

The Arizona Experience is an online reference established to commemorate 100 years of statehood. The site features thousands of multimedia assets, including current and historic photographs, interactive timelines, audio and video clips. One of the site’s most touted assets is the extensive list of original interactive maps.  Dedicated maps featuring Arizona biomes, ancient volcanoes, historic mining towns, cultural and recreational sites, and more bring Arizona’s towns and landscapes to your fingertips and provide a compelling platform for geographic exploration.

In an era of digital media, it is essential to bring this technology into the classroom. Students who encounter this form of learning will not only build a solid foundation for further education, but they will be better prepared to enter the twenty-first century workforce with the skills needed to excel  in an information-based economy.

A dedicated Teachers’ Center provides a content guide that helps educators easily find material with high classroom potential. Lesson plans approved by the Arizona Department of Education accompany some topics. The Student Resources page offers a list of maps, timelines, games and videos that can be worked into a lesson or can give students a chance to learn on their own. This free resource is available to anyone, anytime. At the same time, it is a work in progress, and is seeking your ideas for subjects and sources to best serve the people of Arizona.

To encourage educators to use this exciting new resource in their classrooms, the Arizona Experience will award $3,000 to the winning lesson plan submitted by an individual and $6,000 to the winning lesson plan submitted by a team of two or more, with substantial awards for second prize, third prize, and honorable mentions in both categories. Prizes are funded by a grant from Microsoft Research. 

Participants can choose from any of the hundreds of The Arizona Experience images, videos, interviews, interactive maps, historic time lines, and oral histories to use individually or in any combination they wish. Use of outside resources, including citizen science data or building on state or national events is encouraged. Lesson plans must be classroom-tested prior to submission to the contest. Details and application form can be found on the Imagine Arizona Lesson Plan Contest page of the Arizona Experience. All entries must be received by 5:00 pm on Sunday, March 10, 2013. Winning curriculum will be publicized on the Teachers’ Center.

Rowena Davis, content manager for the Arizona Experience, hopes the contest will provide insight on how educators use the site, which can be used to shape material to better fit curricula. “We want to create the best online reference possible to help inspire Arizona’s students to contribute to the ongoing story of the Arizona Experience,” she said.

I am now in the 5th week of recovery from my 3rd back surgery in 4 years. The mental fog, a result of anesthesia and morphine, is mostly gone. I can walk out to the road and back (about 200 yards) without assistance. That’s a big win!

However, my back muscles get tired quickly at this stage. No doubt this a result of Dr. Baron having made a hole in my back 8 inches long and 5 inches deep. Such was necessary to perform the laminectomy, widen the spinal canal to create more space for my spinal cord and the nerves running down to my hips and legs, insert plastic spacers where once there had been cartilage, and fuse L2 – L5.

After the surgery, Dr. Baron presented Ms. Karen with the four 2-inch-long titanium screws he had used to fuse L4 – L5
four years ago. They’re quite the conversation piece.

My weeks of recovery have given me time to read some very interesting local histories, which I will share with you in the coming months. It has also given me time to think about all the places I want to explore on foot and photograph. Unable to stand or walk for more than a few minutes, I was unable to do any hiking. Now I have in mind a dozen hiking trails I want to explore with Ms. Karen, including Ramsey Canyon Preserve, Ashe, Carr, and Miller Canyons just south of Sierra Vista, Garden Canyon at Ft. Huachuca, Araviapa Canyon Wilderness, San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area, and the system of trails atop Chiricahua National Monument.

Any suggestions?

In a few days I will share some photos I took on our Behind-The-Scenes Guided Tour at the Desert Museum just prior to the surgery. Highly recommended. Plus, you can get a $5 discount by going to SouthernArizonaGuide.com and clicking on the Desert Museum’s display ad.

For now, it just feels good to be back among the living.

Luminaria Nights at the Tucson Botanical Gardens
This is a Christmas Tradition for thousands of Tucsonans and neighboring areas.
3 nights this weekend,
WHEN:Friday,December 7,Saturday 8,Sunday 9th
TIME:5:30 – 8 pm
COST: Fees vary $3-$11
Lots of Musical Ensembles, Choirs. If you have never been, you are missing a wonderful tradition.
Visit Tucson Botanical Gardens for more information

The Fox Theatre
Tickets are still available for Christmas with the Romeros.
WHEN: Saturday, December 8,
TIME: 7:30 pm
COST: Fees vary with Seat assigments
The guitar quartet Los Romeros and Concerto Málaga present works by Pedrell, Paris, Vivaldi, Tschaikowsky, Bach and Händel.
Visit Fox Theatre for more information and tickets.

Take the kids to the Fox to get into the Christmas Spirit.
Two Showings of the film It’s a Wonderful Life,
WHEN: Sunday December 9th. 2pm and 8pm.
COST: $5 & $7 Kids under 12 FREE.
Visit Fox Theatre for more information and tickets.

The Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Resort
On the north side of town, the Conquistador Resort is having Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration. Santa will be there with Goodies.
WHEN: Friday, December 7, 2012, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
COST: FREE

Tubac and theTombstone Courthouse Museum are having their Luminaria Events this weekend. Both are FREE.
Shop til 9 in Tubac amid streets lined with lights.
Tombstone Courthouse Museum will have its annual luminaries & Open House; and Santa will be there too. From 6pm to 8pm.

In late 19^th & early 20^th century New York, newly arrived Irish Catholics were considered low-class by other ethnically “Anglo-Saxon” groups, such as German, English, & Dutch, who were mostly Protestant.

The Irish

“Low-class” is perhaps too mild a term. The Irish were considered hardly better than Negroes, whom most whites believed were sub-human. Odd as it may seem to us today, the fair-skinned, blonde or red-headed Irish were not considered white in an era when white supremacy was a given.

Consequently, migrants from the Emerald Island faced horrific discrimination. “Irish need not apply” was a common sign in the windows of many Eastern businesses. The Irish in New York City languished in hopeless poverty, where they had inferior housing, food, medical treatment, and education (if at all).

Moreover, there seemed to be no end to the number of Irish street urchins. The orphanages run by Catholic nuns could not accommodate them all. Public records show that about 150 Irish children were abandoned every month and there were not nearly enough adoptive homes in the area to save them from a hellish life on New York City streets.

The Mexicans

At the same time, out west in Arizona, the Anglo pioneers accepted the Irish as just another group of Western European descent. In other words, in the West, the Irish were considered white. Mexicans, however, were another matter.

Like the Irish, most Mexicans were Roman Catholic. Yet Mexicans, most of whom were low-wage laborers in the fields or mines, were treated as badly by the dominant Anglo communities as were the Irish in New York. Mexican workers were often physically abused by their Anglo employers and cheated out of hard-earned pay.

In the American Southwest in the late 19^th & early 20^th century, most Mexican-American children grew up in shacks with dirt floors; where water was too scarce for bathing; where they received inferior food, medical treatment, and education (if at all); and where hope for a better future was almost non-existent.

These distinctions of race and religion were seldom more apparent than in October 1904 in the bustling copper mining communities of Clifton & Morenci’ in Southeastern Arizona.

Weeks earlier, three Catholic nuns and four nurses from the New York Foundling Hospital along with 40 Irish orphans boarded an “orphan” train headed for Arizona.  There, according to plan, these children would be adopted by good Catholic families and grow up with opportunity in a labor-starved region of the Country. For these nuns, the primary, and perhaps only, criterion for adoption was that the new families had to be good Catholics.

In Southeastern Arizona, Catholic meant Mexican, and Mexican meant inferior. From the perspective of the Arizona white population, Mexicans were down there with other people of color: Negroes, Chinese, and American Indians. Of course, in a pre-politically correct era, whites would have used common pejorative terms for these they considered inferior. Such were the racial attitudes in Clifton and Morenci’ when the New York nuns, nurses, and orphans arrived at the Clifton Catholic Church on October 1, 1904.

The Miracle

What the nuns apparently did not realize was that the long, hot, arduous train ride across this vast United States had miraculously transformed their despised Irish charges into superior “white” children.

They proceeded according to plan and 16 pale, blond, primly-dressed children were given to various Mexican families that had been chosen by the local priest. Afterward, the nuns took the remaining orphans 4 miles up to Morenci’ and repeated the simple adoption process until all the Irish orphans had homes with good Catholic families.

The Mob

The dominant Anglo communities of Clifton and Morenci’ were incensed. To them, the very idea of placing white children with Mexican families was nothing less than child abuse. The nuns were vilified as “white-slavers selling children to drunken-whore savages.”

First, an armed white mob formed in Morenci’ where it threatened to lynch the priest and nuns if they didn’t retrieve the Irish children and hand them over to white families.

Then a similar mob gathered in Clifton armed with buckets of tar and feathers, a rope and gasoline. Here they “persuaded” a local posse to kidnap the orphans from their new Mexican families.

One white woman who led the revolt said, “They (Mexican women) all had dirty faces, and wore black shawls over them, and they had ragged dresses on.” Another white women said, “…most of the Mexicans are unwashed and infested with vermin.”

One of the New York sisters later wrote. “(white) Women called us vile names, and some of them put pistols to our heads. They said there was no law in that town; that they made their own laws. We were told to get the children from the Spaniards (meaning the Mexicans). If we did not we would be killed.”

The Courts

No criminal charges were ever brought, but the matter ended up in civil court. The trial judge sanctioned the “vigilante justice” and awarded the orphans to the Anglos who had kidnapped them. No Mexicans were allowed to testify.

An appeals court agreed with the lower court and approved the placement of the orphans with “the good women of the place.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction.

For a more on this historical event, read The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction By Linda Gordon. Harvard University. 480 pages.

What Makes A Great Picnic Area?

The ingredients for a reeeally good picnic are fairly simple: fresh, delicious, and easy-to-prepare food; good wine, and amiable companions.

But even these critical ingredients alone do not make a great picnic. A great picnic requires a great picnic site. By that we mean natural beauty and mostly the delightful sounds of nature: panoramic vistas, wildflowers, wind through the leaves, babbling brook, thunderous waterfall, birds singing, etc.

For our purposes here, we define “Picnic Area” as a space set aside with at least picnic tables and a trash bin, and maybe a grill or fire pit. Of course, you can hike into many of our beautiful canyons, such as Ramsey near Sierra Vista, and pack in a picnic lunch. But many are not that civilized … thankfully.

Here (in no particular order) are 7 of the best picnic spots in all of Southern Arizona.

Texas Canyon Boulders Near Amerind Museum Between Benson & Willcox.

1. The picnic area at the Amerind Foundation Museum  near Willcox in the Dragoon Mountains is spacious and offers big picnic tables under beautiful trees. A fine setting among the huge boulders of Texas Canyon. Give the rattlers their space, but the kids will love to climb on the rocks.
   Another big advantage of this picnic area is its proximity to the Amerind Museum, a fine private collection of New World artifacts, and a small, but exquisite art museum.
2. Roper Lake State Park is just south of Safford and offers camping, RV parking, cabin rentals, and a fine picnic area. There’s a small day-use fee to picnic on the peninsula where you are surround on three sides by water with a grand view of Mt. Graham to west.
   

   View From Roper Lake Picnic Area

    

3. Colossal Cave Mountain Park about 25 miles east of Downtown Tucson. At the Ranch below the cave, you can ride horses, enjoy 2 small museums, and have your choice of several pleasant picnic areas in an Old West setting.
4. Muleshoe Ranch Preserve north of Benson and west of Willcox is one of our picks for Best Birding Hotspots in Southern Arizona. There’s a picnic table by a creek next to the old building that serves as the visitor center.
5. Sabino Canyon is a beautiful piece of Metropolitan Tucson. You can walk or take the tram (cash only). There are several pleasant picnic areas along the east side of Sabino Creek.
6. Black Hills Country Bywaybetween Clifton and Soloman. There are several fine picnic areas long this wonderful back road. Some are high overlooking a vast expanse. Some are right along the Gila River.
7. Slaughter Ranch & Museum was once the home of Texas John Slaughter, the sheriff who cleaned up Cochise County after the Earps left Tombstone. The former home, now museum, shows how the most prominent family in Southeastern Arizona lived in the 1880′s & ’90′s. By the pond down by the barn are a couple of picnic tables. Tour the ranch house first, then have a picnic there. You will be amazed how easy it is to imagine what your life back then would have been in this remotest corner of Arizona.

Bugs, No Bugs!
Of course, the choice of a really good picnic area depends on knowing what to avoid. A couple of thoughts. Bugs can ruin an otherwise delightful picnic. I love flying bugs. They serve a valuable purpose – a feast for our bats. And ants are important to our delicate ecosystem. But bugs at a picnic are in violation of my high moral standards, and of course, my highly-evolved sense of aesthetics.

I hate bugs that try to make me their picnic lunch. Ants. Bad. Flies. Even worse. And mosquitoes. The worst. A hot day near water or after a rain and I can guarantee mosquitoes. Solution: cover your entire body in protective clothing and use bug spray with Deet liberally. Thus, avoid Cochise Stronghold campground and Stronghold B&B under these conditions.

What to do? The cooler the temperature, the fewer the bugs. The higher the elevation, the cooler the temperature. The months of October – March are the coolest months. And the fewest bugs. So plan accordingly.

For example, DO NOT attempt to picnic in Reid Park (Central Tucson) in the summer. Probably a combination of the hot temperature and the close proximity of the zoo, but the flies are awful. Similarly, avoid Stronghold B&B in the hot months. Tons of mosquitoes because it’s so close to the stream. But in the cooler months this is paradise for birders and rock climbers.

Your Suggestions
Do you have a favorite Southern Arizona Picnic area that should be on this list? Let me know.

A cool day on the Oregon Coast.

Ms. Karen & I are traveling along the Oregon Coast. Here it’s cool & a little foggy at times. We visited my Mom’s ashes on a high bluff overlooking Cape Perpetua, then headed north to Newport.

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Chiricahua Mountains. You can see Paul’s lookout tower in the background.

On another note, Paul Bovee sent me some photos from his outpost in the Chircahua Mountains. Paul is an avid hiker. He’s a retired teacher whose art is show in Bisbee galleries. Some months ago, I asked Paul if he would share his mountain experiences with my viewers. Here’s his first guest column.

Most of these photos are self-explanatory, and most were taken in the high country.  The hikers are on Morse Canyon Trail, which begins at the end of Turkey Creek Canyon.  From the trail head to Monte Vista Lookout (photo of lookout included), it’s four miles.  It’s a tough hike (all up) but the trail is good.  One of the high country photos pictures Chiricahua Peak as well as the area of the Crest Trail, another popular hiking area.

 

 

Hikers along a trail in the Chiricahua Mountains.

 

The Horseshoe 2 Fire last year damaged the north part of the range, including the Monument, Wonderland of Rocks National Park, and areas in the southern end of the range pretty extensively.  The high country was burned in areas, but there’s still a lot of green left.  There are also lots of designated camping and picnic areas open. 

 

 

 

 

 

Monsoon rains over the Chiricahua Mountains.

 

Please caution people without much outdoor experience that this is wild country (bears, rattlesnakes, etc.) that summer storms come up suddenly and drops in temperature of 30 degrees in an hour are common.  In addition to soaking you, the drop in temperature can leave you in danger of hypothermia.  Plenty of water is always a must.  Also, sad to report, UDA traffic and drug smuggling are a fact of this area as they are anywhere in southern Arizona.