The Grand Canyon

Here's a shot of the Grand Canyon. It happens to be a picture my cousin Dave took.
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Still kicking in Arizona – Route 66

Ray Charles one said, “Get your kicks on Route 66.”  To some one of the most memorable road trips that you can embark on in the U.S., Route 66 serves up a bit of nostalgia, amazing scenery and wildlife, and diners that serve food just like mom or maybe just a bit better. 

The stretch of Route 66 that goes through Williams and Flagstaff is most popular, but it’s important to note that Arizona boasts the longest unbroken stretch of Historic Route 66 in existence.  It begins west of Ash Fork and stretches 158 miles to the California border.  If you’re a purist and prefer to take the unbroken route head out on Interstate 40 west of Ash Fork at Exit 139 and turn onto the highway once known as the Main Street of America.  It’s here that you’ll think that you’ve traveled back in time.  You’ll be struck by the endless Burma-Shave signs, a 1950′s brushless shaving cream famous for its advertising gimmick of posting humorous rhyming poems on small, sequential highway billboard signs.

Seligman – The Heart and Soul of Route 66

Make your first stop in Seligman.  In its heyday, Seligman played host to a flourishing business community, then became a ghost town overnight.  Local businesses formed an association to lobby the state of Arizona to designate Route 66 a historic highway.  By 1988, the state agreed and organizations popped up all along this American route and the frenzy for Route 66 nostalgia was launched.

As you drive through Seligman, evidence of the glory days are everywhere with the Aztec Motel, the famous Snow Cap drive-in and cafes like the Copper Cart and 66 Road Kill Café, both with clever tongue and cheek menus.

Route 66 gift shops are full of trinkets and collectibles preserving the best of the fun days of Route 66. To get a better look, explore Seligman on foot.

The Wonder and Surprise of the Hualapai Reservation

As you continue west on 66, you’ll cross the Hualapai Reservation, a 100 mile stretch along the pine-clad southern side of the Grand Canyon. Whether you simply drive through or plan to stay awhile, this stretch of the trip will fulfill your desire for the outdoors.  If you plan to visit the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West, a unique glass-bottomed cantilever bridge that spans 70 feet over the Grand Canyon’s rim and sits 4,000 feet above the Colorado River, consider staying at the Hualapai Lodge in Peach Springs.  This might also be your chance to take a river-rafting trip or hike the breathtaking Havasu Canyon. 

As you continue on your journey, check out the Keepers of the Wild Nature Park in Valentine, a non-profit rescue sanctuary for more than 150 exotic animals including tigers, lions, wolves, leopards and monkeys.

Stock up on Route 66 merchandise at the Hackberry General Store where vintage signs and artwork cover the walls.  And don’t leave before you have your photo taken out front next to the 1957 red and white corvette next to the antique gas pumps. 

Route 66 Museum in Kingman
Built in 1907, the Kingman Powerhouse Visitor Center is a must see.  A real blast from the past, this museum is a treasure for pop-culture junkies.  Make sure that you pick up a mile-by-mile guide of Route 66 from their association.

For a break, stop by Beal Street Brews a coffee shop that brews their own and offers free wi-fi located in downtown Kingman.  For some comfort food and homemade root beer, Mr. D’s Route 66 Diner is across the street from the Kingman Visitor Center.

Brave the Hairpin Turns to Oatman
As you head towards the Black Mountains you will endure the torturous climb through Sitgreaves Pass. The panoramic views are worth the sweat.

Once you make it, Oatman is a theme park filled with staged gunfights, burros roaming the streets and Model T Fords driving down the main road.  Shopkeepers offer handmade leather goods, handmade Indian jewelry and knives.  One of the more colorful shopkeepers is known as Betty the Bead Lady, who sold beads to the Navajos for their jewelry making.  Check out the Mission Inn, some say it’s the best chili they’ve ever had.

You’ve only got 25 miles left on Route 66 from Oatman to the California state line.  But why leave this state, when you can see more of Arizona’s vast landscapes, learn more of its history and reminisce of its nostalgic past.

Thanks Heather
Via: examiner.com

The Trip From Payson To Ash Fork

This video captures some of the beauty of the back woods on Highway 87 from Payson to Ash Fork, up through the the Lake Mary route.

Warm-hearted: Dress A Child Inc. volunteers buy winter clothes for needy kids

Impoverished children - 600 of them - will be getting new clothes this week, thanks to Dress A Child Inc.

As part of the organization's annual project, 60 volunteers began shopping at Prescott retailers Nov. 1 for pants, warm long-sleeved shirts, underwear, socks and parkas for school-age children in the quad cities, as well as in Congress, Seligman, Ash Fork and Mayer. The children also receive vouchers for shoes.

In the past, Dress A Child Inc. gave new clothing to children at Christmastime, but switched to fall this year, said director Karyn Poole. "In response to feedback from donors, schools and shoppers, they wanted the clothes earlier," she said. "It's cold by Halloween, so we are targeting Thanksgiving now."

Dress A Child Inc. began in 1967 when Prescott-area nurses Bonnie Kempf and Agnes Cook noticed that some of their patients' children were without clothes for the cold weather. They asked Chapter 5 of the Arizona Nurses Association for help. Together they raised money by selling handiwork on the Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza and at the Salvation Army. They were able to buy clothing for 17 children that first year.

As the demand grew, Kempf, Cook and Chapter 5 invited the community to participate, and the response was overwhelming, Poole said. Over time Dress A Child Inc. established partnerships with many of the area schools and community agencies that serve children. Referrals for clothing needs must come from these entities, Poole said.

Kmart, Target, JC Penney and Walmart on Gail Gardner Way in Prescott are cooperative partners, Poole said, adding that Walmart and JC Penney offer financial incentives to Dress A Child Inc. to shop with them. The Prescott Chapter of the American Sewing Guild also donates hand-sewn items such as robes, pajamas, embroidered T-shirts, vests and dressier coordinated outfits to augment the purchases, Poole said. Shoppers then deliver all the items back to the schools and community programs for distribution to the children.

This past Friday evening, Alysa Cudney and Meg Goodall were browsing JC Penney to buy clothes for youngsters on their lists.

Cudney, a first-semester nursing student at Yavapai College, became a volunteer for Dress A Child Inc. through a student nursing association. She was picking out clothing for five boys, and said, "I think it's important for somebody who is going to be a nurse to be an advocate for the community and get involved in community service."

The boys on Cudney's list ranged in age from 3 to 11 and though she found choosing clothes for them a "hard task," she has some experience since she has shopped for cousins and brothers before.

Goodall, the family advocate for Chino Valley Head Start, was on her third annual shopping trip for Dress A Child Inc., this time looking for clothes for nine children.

The experience is "really rewarding," she said. "It just adds more to my job. A lot of times I see the worst circumstances that families are in, and I actually get to do something that helps them" as a Dress A Child Inc. volunteer.

Dress A Child Inc. is an all-volunteer organization, and though its board members are nurses, volunteer shoppers are not necessarily of that profession.

The nonprofit organization depends on monetary donations to sustain its mission to provide warm clothing for needy children, Poole said.

Those interested in volunteering their time or contributing financially may log onto the Dress A Child Inc. website at www.dressachildinc.com or send an email to kapoowi@gmail.com. The clothing for each child costs about $60, Poole said.

via: the daily courier

Yavapai County supervisors try new voting centers

PRESCOTT - Supervisor Tom Thurman handed his ID to Desi Zurcher Monday morning during a demonstration of a new vote center at a Yavapai County Board of Supervisors meeting in Prescott.

Zurcher, an election office technician, ran it through the check-in system then asked if he would like to vote on a touch screen machine or paper ballot.

Thurman then received one from a ballot-on-demand printer nearby.

When Thurman asked what would happen if he tried to vote at a different vote center, Zurcher - who put together the poll worker training program - showed him his name highlighted in red as already having voted. "If people insist that they haven't voted, they can fill out a provisional ballot and that will be compared to the vote center data to determine which is valid," said Ana Trujillo, the Yavapai County Recorder.

The Board of Supervisors will vote at their meeting Monday, Nov. 21, on whether to use vote centers in upcoming elections.

"In traditional voting, you are assigned a polling place in your precinct where you have to go and vote in order for your vote to count," said Lynn Constabile, elections director for Yavapai County. "In a vote center, all the polling places are interconnected so you can go anywhere, vote, and your vote will count."

Supervisor Carol Springer asked what safeguards exist in the system. "It's always been a sore spot with me when I read about states like Illinois where lots of dead people vote," Springer said.

Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who attended the meeting, said his office receives information from Vital Records and passes it along to the counties each day.

"We receive information from the Department of Health Services about people who pass away, look through obituaries, and have spouses sign affidavits daily," said Karen McCracken, registrar of voters for the county.

Vote centers make sense for Yavapai County where 53 percent of registered voters cast their ballots by mail, reducing the need for polling places, Constabile said.

She noted that in 2010, the county reduced polling places from 95 to 50, and that vote centers would save the county more money, by reducing the number of polling places to only 30.

Two kinds of vote centers are proposed - urban and rural, Constabile said.

Urban vote centers in Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Dewey-Humboldt, Clarkdale/Jerome, Cottonwood, Village of Oak Creek, and Sedona would be near where people work, have as many as four check-in stations with the entire county's voter registration list loaded on them, touch screen machines, and ballot-on-demand printers so that you can choose whether to vote on the touch screen or on a paper ballot for your precinct, Constabile said.

Rural vote centers in Seligman, Ash Fork, Bagdad, Beaver Creek, Congress, Kirkland, Mayer, Williamson Valley, Cordes Junction, and Black Canyon City would have two check-in stations each, paper ballots for that precinct, and touch screen machines that contain all of the ballots anyone who lives outside that area would need, Constabile said.

If the board approves the vote centers, the department suggests using them in the upcoming Presidential Preference Election and renting the printers from the City of Phoenix for $15,000 for that election before determining if the county should rent or buy, Constabile said.

When Supervisor Chip Davis asked how long the ballot-on-demand machines could be expected to last, Constabile said they had a life cycle of at least five years and cost $60,000.

via: verde independent

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