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To Friends Of
Cave Creek Canyon
Sunset [Cecil Williams]
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Visitors at Willow Tank
Sagebrush Sparrow - above and below
[Bettina Arrigoni]
Male Northern Harrier [Steve Wolfe]
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FOCCC Plans for 2018
Visitor Information Center -
Now operated by FOCCC
* Lead Interpretive walks
* Have bi-weekly activities at the VIC: education, birding, photography and more
* Educational outreach to schools - students are brought to experience the forest, mountains and creatures. We will provide experts in many different fields to open their minds to the real world.
* Improve South Fork trail
* Improve the Nature trail and also provide a guide designating the different
fauna
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* Supporting the Forest Service in numerous projects and funding. We are contributing $1700 to fix the well and pump so there will be water at the campgrounds.
Willow Tank
* Continue the rejuvenation project
* Raise the island to provide better nesting habitat
* Eliminate bull frogs
* Possibly introduce leopard frog
* Provide shade covering
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Taken from the Visitor Information Center
[Steve Wolfe]
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Help The VIC!
The Cave Creek Canyon
Visitor Information Center was
built in 1924. It has also been both the District ranger's home and has housed many rangers, before becoming a Visitor Center.
[Steve Wolfe]
Over the decades the walkways have deteriorated extensively and are quite dangerous now. Additionally, the paths and the walkways are not handicapped accessible and need to be raised with a hard surface applied.
In 2017, visitation at the Center almost doubled from 2017, with over 8000 people came to the VIC. Many volunteers have donated over 3000 hours in total during 2017.
Every visitor is absolutely stunned with the magnificence of The Canyon and wants to learn more about it. The VIC functions as their introduction to Cave Creek Canyon.
We need your help to repair the paths and walkways!
We have raised over $2000 through GoFundMe and donations.
Help Friends of Cave Creek Canyon keep the Center open and safe by making a donation!
Thanks for your support.
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Weather or Not!
Now that the data are available for all of 2017 there are two important news items: First, the National Weather Service's Tucson Office reports that for 2017 Tucson had the highest average annual temperature since the beginning of their record keeping. And Second, not to be outdone by Tucson, here on Limestone Hill in Portal we experienced the warmest year in our 10-year history.
From our perspective here in the Southwest US, the profound and unusual temperature anomaly is what is of particular interest. Figure 1 below is a map compiled from NASA satellite observations showing how profound the anomaly has been since late December.
Figure 1
. Land surface temperatures from December 26, 2017 to January 2, 2018 compared with 2001-2010 for the same 8-day period. The darkest shades of red or blue are hotter or colder by
15 degrees C.
December precipitation was only 0.43 inch, close to the 10-year low of 0.39 in 2010. For the entire final quarter of 2017, only 0.99 inch was recorded and for the year cumulative precipitation was just slightly above 10 inches which is the 2nd lowest in 10 years.
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[Steve Wolfe]
Mutual Affection!
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Stories of the Past
EXCERPTS FROM THE CHIRICAHUA BULLSHEET
The Chiricahua Bullsheet, an entertaining and highly opinionated newsletter and journal of local history written by Carson Morrow
Courtesy of Dick Zweifel
Frank Witte drifted into Paradise among the first and opened up a saloon. For all we know about him before that time he might have escaped from prison or deserted a pulpit.
But be that as it may, he was a nice looking young fellow and quite popular with the fair sex on both sides of the creek.
Miss Daisy Hawkins, sister of Mrs. Henry Chamberlain (More about Mrs. C later) soon took him out of circulation via the matrimonial route. Daisy was one of the most popular members of the young social set and quite active in Church and Sunday school work. Although Paradise never had a church of any kind, the little heathens were rounded up occasionally and made to attend Sunday School, She was one of the teachers.
Parson Gus Chenowth and a very few other sky pilots held preaching once in a while in the school house or in other buildings. Frank and Daisy had a son whose name was Harry. They moved away from Paradise To San Simon. Frank died while the son was a little fellow and he and his mother lived with the Chamberlain family there until he was about grown, then moved to Phoenix where it is believed they still reside.
Some months ago an old fellow by the name of Reuben Nelson called at the CBS Editorial Office. At one time he tended bar in Witte's Saloon and is one of the few men still alive who worked in the old Chiricahua Development Company Mine. He now resides at San Diego, California.
The Two Wheelers, Old Joe and Little Joe, haled from Magdalena, New Mexico. Old Joe was Little Joes uncle and in later years came to be generally known as Uncle Joe Wheeler. The were both good cowboys and Little Joe rated himself pretty high as a Bronco rider and made a lot of spectacular rides; That is in Bar Rooms and around camp fires. His ability to talk a good ride and his in-ability to actually stay on top of a bucking horse was the direct cause of his untimely death.
On the Fourth of July 1904, Paradise put on an Independence day celebration which included among other attractions, free barbecue, dancing and bronco busting. The word went out for everybody to bring in their bad bucking horses and for all the gents who thought they could ride them to get set.
Only two horses were brought in but they both had a reputation earned by unseating a number of the best cowboys in the business. Henry Buckelew and his step sons, the Noland boys, furnished a black mare whose mother had thrown and dragged Mrs. S. B. Reed to death and the daughter kept up the family reputation by bucking Little Joe off in about a jump and a half. She didn't kill him right on the spot but his foot hung in the stirrup and he was dragged and kicked until he died some months later from internal injuries. As we remember he was buried at San Simon.
Babe Stidham, from over in the Animas Mountains rode the horse to a squealing stop a few hours later and also rode the black mare for a purse of five dollars.
The Wheelers owned and operated one of the larger Combination Saloons and dance halls "Across the Creek" during the boom days of Paradise. When Oscar Cochran resigned as Wagon Boss of the San Simon Cattle Company, [illegible]. In about 1909, Old Man Joe got the job. He stayed with the Company until they were completely Nestered out of the Cattle business a few years later, then bought the remnant of the cattle and some of the range. he got married in his old age and settled down up near Mal Pais Tank and became a rather wealthy and respected citizen before he cashed in his mortal chips, some years ago.
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Letter from the President
Dear Frien
ds of Cave Creek Canyon
When I was buying something on Amazon the "amazon smile" program popped up, offering to donate ½ of 1 percent of all my future purchases to a charity of my choice. Of course I put in the words Friends of Cave Creek Canyon, and that was it! They know about it, I confirmed it with a click, and we were done. If you're an Amazon shopper please consider making the Friends the recipient of Amazon's donations.
We are now receiving total donations from Amazon at the rate of about $200 annually. We appreciate your support!
Thank you, Reed Peters,
President
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FOCCC 2017 Officers and Board
Reed Peters President
Other Board Members
Sheri Ashley Vice President
Bob Ashley
Wynne Brown
Mike Williams Vice President
Alan Craig
Rene Donaldson
Rick Beno
Treasurer
Stevie Wayman Secretary
Cecil Williams
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Friends Of Cave Creek Canyon
PO Box 16126
Portal, Arizona 85632 Visit Our Website |
Thanks to our "Sustainer's Circle" members
for their generous support:
Tom Arny, Bob and Bettina Arrigoni, Nancy and Thomas Denney, Mary George, Renata Golden, Bill and Sally Hague, Paul Hirt and Linda Jakse, Don Hollister, Ken Jenkins, Leuthold Family Foundation, Barbara Lounsbery, Patrick McNamara, John and Karin McQuillan, Barbara and Pete Miller, Patricia Parran, CeCe Raak, Tom Roseman and Paula Baldwin, Delia Scholes, Donald and Martha Squire and Bob and Sherry Zoellick.
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Please support our Business Members who have given generously to Friends Of Cave Creek Canyon. Without their assistance, we would be hard pressed to accomplish our goals. Click on their names to check out their websites.
Business Memberships start at just $50.00!
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