Water Management

An assured supply of Water is one priority for those living in Arizona.  On a recent field trip, we toured a pump station and learned about the Central Arizona Project (CAP), a project appropriated by federal and state authority to bring water from the Colorado River to Central Arizona.
    Central Arizona obtains water from three sources: groundwater, runoff from surrounding watersheds, and the CAP.  At first, groundwater use was mostly unregulated.  As a result, this source was overused, which led to empty aquifers and fissures developing as the ground sank into the voids created. Since 1980, state regulations have managed groundwater use. 
    Surface water runoff is managed by Salt River Project, where runoff water and snow melt from nearby mountainous areas collects in the Salt River and Verde River.  The river water is then captured in reservoirs behind a series of dams so the flow can be managed.
    CAP delivers Colorado River water from Lake Havasu, on the state's western border, to Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties in Central Arizona through a 336 mile system of pumping stations, concrete-lined canals, and aqueducts. Computer controlled commands send signals to various parts of the system to regulate water flow.  There is even a means to store excess water in underground "banks" for future use.  In addition, CAP is working with other groups to develop alternative water supplies, including desalination of ocean water.
     Awareness, management, and conservation will continue to play important roles in the future of Arizona's water sources.
   

MAC Farm Desert Ag-Ventures

We recently spent a day at the Maricopa Agricultural Center (MAC), a 2100 acre research and educational center operated by the University of Arizona. We watched videos and listened to lectures about desert agriculture, had a question & answer session with one of the faculty members, and toured a couple areas of the complex, including the cotton gin, vegetable garden, and siphon irrigation field.
     MAC research focuses on plants currently grown in this area, including cotton, small grains, and alfalfa, plus potential new specialty crops for arid land including guayule, hesperaloe, jojoba, and lesquerella.  Quayale is a desert native shrub which can be used for rubber production; it has less protein than natural rubber and makes a latex rubber that can better tolerated by persons with latex allergies.  Hesperaloe is a long-lived perennial plant native to Mexico; it produces long thin fibers useful in paper production and is being studied as a new crop for the desert southwest. Jojoba is a native evergreen plant whose seeds contain a liquid wax used in cosmetics and for industries that require heat resistant lubricants. Lesquerella is being studied as a potential oilseed crop, similar to castor beans; it grows with very little water use.
    The irrigation program at MAC deals with all facets of agricultural irrigation from water delivery to how crops use that water.  The research acres have both ground water wells and irrigation canals, so they can replicate most any method used by local farmers.  MAC maintains a weather station that records temperature, wind speed & direction, rainfall, etc. on an hourly basis, then stores that information for historical uses.
    One researcher described how important GPS is to farming...from crop yield reports generated row-by-row as the farmer harvests a crop they can determine which parts of a field need more or less moisture, pesticides, or fertilizer.  Sensors on equipment can then accurately deliver those based on the GPS locations of the areas identified.  GPS also allows accurate planting and weed control...machines can get closer to the plants during cultivation to remove weeds, so less spraying is needed.
    Besides entertaining "snowbirds", the facility hosts visitors and researchers from across the nation, and internationally.

December 2013 Day Trips

In December, we took several day trips while the kids were here to visit. One day was spent near Tucson, visiting the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. This site is a combination of botanical garden and zoo, featuring desert plants and animals in natural habitat settings. The hummingbird enclosure was fun, as the tiny birds buzzed by your head as they flew from flowers to feeders.  If you were wearing red or pink, they would even stop momentarily and explore your clothing. Trails, surrounded by cacti and brush, led to enclosures of bobcats, coyotes, prairie dogs, javelins, desert tortoise, etc. The Earth Sciences Center had a limestone cave and hands-on mineral and meteor displays. An art gallery, aquarium, and restaurants are also part of the complex.



On the way to the Desert Museum, we drove through parts of Saguaro National Park.   This park preserves some of the densest stands of giant saguaro cactus, a symbol of the desert southwest.  These giant cacti can live up to 200 years; they reach heights of 50 feet, with arms reaching out in unusual configurations.  They are slow growing plants, taking up to 15 years to grow a foot high, and up to 75 years to form their first "arm".



Another trip was to Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch just south of Casa Grande. An hour or so of fun was had by all, feeding and interacting with the animals on the ranch...including donkeys, deer, goats, ostrich, prairie dogs,and geese. Most exciting was the Rainbow Lorikeet Forest, an enclosure of noisy colorful birds, the lorikeet, These birds would fly to you and eat nectar out of the cups you were holding (even removing the lid from the cup if you hadn't already done so).


On the way to the airport in Phoenix, we spent a while walking in Papago Park and climbed up for a close view of landmark "Hole-in-the Rock".  Hole in the Rock is a natural geological formation where the sandstone hill has been eroded to create a hole clear through the rock. It was a fairly easy climb on rough trails up the back side of the hill and into the hole. Historically the formation was likely an observatory used by early inhabitants to record positions of the sun during different seasons. Markings on surrounding rock correspond to seasonal solstices and equinoxes, creating a type of calendar system.

Motorhome Stowaway

It was fall, 2013 and we were beginning to prepare the motorhome for our trip South.  As Kathy opened the towel drawer in the bathroom, she found a surprise...there among the towels (now chewed and torn) was a cozy nest!  In the drawer below was a stash of acorns...looked like someone besides us was planning for a long winter.

We set out to discourage the stowaway...nest and nuts were removed, repellents were added, and still more acorns kept appearing. In desperation we set out baited live traps, as by then we had determined the culprit was likely a little red squirrel seen disappearing under the motorhome on several occasions.  Our efforts paid off...we eventually caught the squirrel and moved him to a local park with lots of oak trees. Then we continued our packing...

Farm Camping

The last weekend in July, 2013 Gene was invited to attend his 50th year high school class reunion. This event also coincided with Bratwurst Days in Stacyville, Iowa.  Planning to use the motorhome as our "home base", we got permission to park for the weekend on the Smith family farm.  We drove into the farmyard where Gene's grandparents, aunts and uncles once lived, and set up camp between the house and the chicken house.   

Gene wondered what the deceased relatives would be thinking...probably discussing among themselves why he had spent all that money for an RV, and what was he doing parked next to the chicken house!
   We had an enjoyable weekend attending reunion events; having lunch at Bubble's Cafe in Adams, MN; watching the Bratwurst Day parade and eating brats Saturday evening; and visiting old friends and relatives in the area.

Return to Minnesota

After leaving Benson, AZ we began our journey back to Minnesota.  This year our return travels took us through Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Tularosa, Ruidoso, and Roswell, New Mexico.  Along that route Gene got more practice manuevering the motorhome up and down mountains.  We drove past White Sands National Monument on the way.
     We camped overnight near Alamogordo, then Amarillo, TX; on to Liberal, KS and the next day to Cheney State Park (just west of Wichita, KS).  We stayed there two days to visit relatives, then three more days waiting for the spring storm weather fronts to move on. There were threats of thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds, but further north was blowing snow and sleet!
      Once the storms were past we headed north to near Topeka, KS, then on to Osceola, IA and finally arrived in Shoreview. 


What a surprise...there was still snow, and more on the way!   Mother Nature had planned a real "Welcome Home" for us.

Touring the San Pedro River Valley

After leaving Casa Grande, we moved to southeastern Arizona for a few days of sightseeing.  We set up camp in Benson, AZ and spent 4 days touring various towns in the San Pedro River Valley.

First day was spent in Tombstone, where we watched a reenactment of the famous "Gunfight at the OK Corral"...a gunfight between the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Clayton gang in 1881. We wandered down main street, seeing the Bird Cage Theater, Crystal Palace, and Big Nose Kate's Saloon (all on the register of historic buildings).

 At the end of the day we stopped at Boot Hill Graveyard, just outside Tombstone, and saw where victims of the OK Corral shootout are buried.

Kartchner Caverns State Park was next on our list of places to visit. One of the few "wet caves" open to visitors, we followed a guide through the maze of trails, seeing such structures as soda straw stalactites, flowstones, and a super-sized calcite column named "Kubla Khan" which has been growing over hundreds of thousands of years.  This wet cave is still forming, as water from the surface drips, seeps, flows, and pools in the cave.  Special precautions are in place to keep the dry desert air out so structures can continue to grow.

A drive through the river valley to Sierra Vista took one afternoon.  Sierra Vista, at 4600 feet above sea level, has different scenery than the desert we had been in.  Huge cottonwood trees grow along the river valley; you can see a line of green snaking through the dry desert where the San Pedro River flows.  Sierra Vista is also close to Fort Huachuca, one of the longest operating military operations in the US.  The fort dates back to 1877 when the Buffalo Soldiers protected early settlers.

Bisbee was last on our places to visit.  An old copper mining town in the Mule Mountains, between 1877 and 1900 people flocked to the Queen of the Copper Camps.  Copper and other precious minerals were abundant.  Mining continued until 1975...now museums and shops line the streets.