A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....04-13-05....Arizona ~ "God Enriches"

Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_bear, dutchess, Aquamarine, DollyCali ~

>

We're
"On the Road Again"...

Please join "A Few of FR's Finest" as we make a cyber-visit to another state in this great Union of ours.

Over the past couple years each "Finest" hostess has profiled her home state for the Finest Thread. The remaining states are being presented, about one a month, in random order. We hope you are enjoying these visits to our beautiful United States. Please FReepMail me if you would like to participate in spotlighting your Fine state. I would appreciate your ideas and suggestions on what you would like to see highlighted.

These are the states
we have presented to date:

05-23-03 Alabama 06-27-03 Maryland 07-11-03 Vermont 07-25-03 Utah 08-05-03 Texas 08-22-03 Nevada 08-26-03 Wash DC 09-05-03 Tennessee 09-17-03 Florida 09-19-03 Minnesota 10-03-03 New Mexico 10-14-03 Georgia 10-17-03 Louisiana 10-22-03 Michigan 11-04-03 South Dakota

11-14-03 California 01-09-04 South Carolina 02-06-04 West Virginia 02-20-04 Oregon 03-09-04 Pennsylvania 03-30-04 Wyoming 04-13-04 Mississippi 04-27-04 Missouri 05-25-04 Indiana 07-21-04 Virginia 08-18-04 Colorado 09-29-04 Idaho 10-20-04 New Hampshire 12-07-04 Hawaii 02-09-05 Maine 03-09-05 North Carolina

Today we are visiting beautiful Arizona in the American Southwest, and we salute the Fine FReepers who call Arizona home.

Arizona is a land of seemingly limitless space and tremendous vistas. It was the last of the 48 adjoining continental states to enter the Union. From its admission on February 14, 1912, until the admission of Alaska and Hawaii in 1959, it was the youngest state.

Arizona’s landscape is one of great diversity. Sun-swept mountains and valleys, lofty plateaus, narrow canyons, and awesome stretches of desert make it one of the most beautiful states in the nation. This scenic beauty, coupled with an ideal climate, has made Arizona very popular with tourists.

Imperial Spain and, later, independent Mexico once controlled this land, and there the Native American, Spanish, and Anglo-American cultures met and fused. Although most of the Native Americans now live on reservations and Mexico and Spain long ago relinquished control of the area, traces of Arizona’s past still remain. The Native American culture has been preserved on the reservations, and Mexican and Spanish influences may be seen in architectural styles and place-names.

Arizona has undergone great changes since the 19th century, when it was a rough-and-tumble mining and cattle territory. Although it still retains much of the character of the old West for tourists, it is a modern urban and industrial state, with large cities, highly mechanized farms, and rapidly expanding industries. Phoenix is the center of Arizona’s largest urban area and the state’s capital.

• Arizona is a right-to-work state. The law states no person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of non-membership in a labor organization.
   
• The saguaro cactus blossom is the official state flower. The white flower blooms on the tips of the saguaro cactus during May and June.
   
• Petrified wood is the official state fossil. Most petrified wood comes from the Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona.
   
• The Palo verde is the official state tree. Its name means green stick and it blooms a brilliant yellow-gold in April or May.
   
• Arizona observes Mountain Standard Time on a year round basis. The one exception is the Navajo Nation, which observes the daylight savings time change.
   
• The battleship USS Arizona was named in honor of the state. It was commissioned in 1913 and launched in 1915 from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
   
• World War II brought many military personnel to train at Luke and Thunderbird fields in Glendale.
   
• Arizona's most abundant mineral is copper.
   
• Bisbee, located in Tombstone Canyon, is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines. During its mining history the town was the largest city between Saint Louis and San Francisco.
   
• The amount of copper on the roof of the Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies.
   
• The state's most popular natural wonders include the Grand Canyon, Havasu Canyon, Grand Canyon Caves, Lake Powell/Rainbow Bridge, Petrified Forest/Painted Desert, Monument Valley, Sunset Crater, Meteor Crater, Sedona Oak Creek Canyon, Salt River Canyon, Superstition Mountains, Picacho Peak State Park, Saguaro National Park, Chiricahua National Monument, and the Colorado River.
   
• The Arizona tree frog is the state official amphibian. The frog is actually between three-quarter to two inches long.
   
• The original London Bridge was shipped stone-by-stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City at a cost of $6 Million.
   
• The Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake is perhaps the most beautiful of all eleven species of rattlesnakes found in Arizona.
   
• Located in Fountain Hills is a fountain believed to be the tallest in the world.
   
• Four Corners is noted as the spot in the United States where a person can stand in four states at the same time.
   
• Barringer Crater in Arizona is over 1.2 km in diameter and more than 180 meters deep. Known as 'Meteor Crater', it is the result of a meteorite impact some 25 to 50 thousand years ago.
   
• Arizona, among all the states, has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands.
   
• The ringtail is the official state mammal. The ringtail is a small fox-like animal about two and one-half feet long and is a shy, nocturnal creature.
   
• The Hopi Indians of Arizona are noted for growing their multicolored corn.
   
• Barry Goldwater, public official, senator, and presidential candidate was born in Phoenix.
   
• In 1939 architect Frank Lloyd Wright's studio, Taliesin West, was built near Phoenix.
   
• The world's largest solar telescope is located at Kitts Peak National Observatory in the city of Sells.
   
• Tombstone, Ruby, Gillette, and Gunsight are among the ghost towns scattered throughout the state.

Tombstone, Arizona, also known as "The Town Too Tough to Die", is perhaps most famous for the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

Click HERE to read one of the many accounts of the "Gunfight at the OK Corral".

Click HERE to read the interesting story behind the tumultuous relationship between Doc Holliday and Tombstone's "Soiled Dove", Big Nose Kate Elder.

"I found him a loyal friend and good company. He was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long, lean blonde fellow nearly dead with consumption and at the same time the most skillful gambler and nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a six-gun I ever knew." ~ A tribute paid to Doc Holliday by long-time friend, Wyatt Earp.

13 Jan 1929 ~ Wyatt Earp (age 80) died in downtown Los Angeles, California, 47 years 2 months 18 days after the OK Corral gunfight.

8-Nov-1887 ~ Doc Holliday (age 36) died at Glenwood Springs, CO from tuberculosis and alcoholism.

"Fort Yuma is probably the hottest place on earth. The thermometer stays at one hundred and twenty in the shade there all the time - except when it varies and goes higher. It is a U.S. military post, and its occupants get so used to the terrific heat that they suffer without it. There is a tradition... that a very, very wicked soldier died there, once, and of course, went straight to the hottest corner of perdition, - and the next day he telegraphed back for his blankets." ~Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1872

The Arizona Travel Bureau recently held a contest to come up
with the best "slogan" for Arizona. The winning entry was,
"One Grand Adventure After Another!".
Here are some of the losing entries.....

Arizona--Bring your camera and your Grandma
Arizona--Come on vacation, Leave on probation
Arizona--A Yucca Minute
Arizona--You Never Have to Shovel Sunshine
Arizona--Come see it, Pilgrim
Arizona-- has the hots for you
Arizona--It will Thaw Your Chilis
Arizona--Sunny with Scattered Flowers
Arizona--Better than the State You're In
Arizona--It's not Kansas and it Never was

There's no place on earth quite like the Grand Canyon State. It's not just the landscapes, which take in tall mountain ranges, swift rivers, grasslands, sand dunes, and cactus forests. It's not just Arizona's storied past, which reaches back thousands of years. It's not just the people, a vibrant blend of cultures and traditions. It's all these things, and the way they come together, that make a visit to Arizona a truly unforgettable experience.

Arizona takes on a special beauty in the
spring when the desert wildflowers bloom.

This year, in the Arizona Upland Sonoran Desert, there will be many species of flowers in bloom throughout April, in greater profusion than in most years. Palo verdes, desert ironwood trees, prickly pears, and saguaros should bloom in May.




Some Arizona Tourist Attractions

Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert
Grand Canyon National Park
Lake Havasu City and the London Bridge
Monument Valley
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Hoover Dam
Tombstone and Boot Hill Graveyard

No presentation of Arizona
would be complete
without a Rattlesnake recipe!

Bar-B-Q'd Rattler

~ 1 rattlesnake, cut into 2 inch steaks
~ 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
~ 1/2 cup honey
~ 1 tbsp fresh ground ginger
~ sesame seeds

In a bowl, mix together the teriyaki sauce, honey and ginger.
Pour marinade into a large ziplock bag. Add the snake steaks.
Squeeze out the air and seal. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Remove the steaks and roll in sesame seeds.
Place on hot grill. Cook over medium heat until done.
Serve and Enjoy!

Click the rattler for more snake recipes






The following websites provided information
and graphics for this presentation...

Ron Horloff - "Arizona Images"
Arizona Guide
Discover the Grand Canyon
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Website

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 04-11-05...Military Monday 04-12-05..."He's Free" ~ Pippin's Tribute to Pope John Paul II

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

03-29-05 ~ Hall of Fame #11

[Mama_Bear]

[Mama_Bear]

If you would like to be added to the Finest ping list, we would love to have you! Click -----> PLEASE ADD ME.
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[cyborg]

I lived in Arizona for two years and loved it. I lived in Flagstaff which was heaven to me. Wish I had money to live in Sedona as I loved all the peacenik,hippy new age shops there *lol*

[Mama_Bear]

I think I would love living in Arizona too. I enjoy the hot dry weather and I just feel like I have an affinity for the culture of Arizona and New Mexico. The history of that area of the country is fascinating too.

Thanks for coming by cyborg. Always nice to be get a chance to say hello to you.

[Mama_Bear]

It's bedtime here on the left-coast, so I will say good night to all the lurkers and night owls. I will be back later in the morning. Sweet dreams all.

[cyborg]

I loved getting to know many Navajo people. I spoke it fluently as it's so easy to learn. Miss Macy's coffee shop and Route 66 shops on most every block *lol*

[cyborg]

Wow good night! :-) I suppose I should go to bed seeing as how I live in the Hillary state!

[Mama_Bear]

I suppose I should go to bed seeing as how I live in the Hillary state!

Good grief! The sun is about ready to come up back there, isn't it? It's going to be a short night, cyborg. LOL

[Neil E. Wright]

G'morning Mama Bear and Billie ... :)

I don't visit these threads, but when I saw you were visiting MY state .... I just had to stop by and say "Howdy"

Welcome to Arizona. IMNSHO the BEST state in the Union!!!! :)

I must say, your article just scratches the surface of the BEAUTY of Arizona. You have omitted any number of places that should be on the list of MUST SEE places .... but I realize that you are limited for space here on this forum. Places like Oatman, Wickenburg, Yuma, Tucson (and the Air Museum), the list could go ON AND ON ... :)

On the road to Oatman (old Route 66 from Kingman) there is a working gold mine which you can tour (with advanced reservations) ... feed the burros in Oatman ... enjoy boating and water sports here in beautiful Lake Havasu (we have more than just the Bridge, you know) .... Tucson has numerous options for the adventureous ..... take I-15 North from Phoenix to the I-40 ... some of the most BEAUTIFUL country in the world .... come on down to BEAUTIFUL ARIZONA ... you'll prolly end up staying!!!!! :)

±

"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
Toward FREEDOM

[The Mayor]

April 13, 2005

The Darkest Day

Read:
Matthew 26:17-30

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. -Psalm 118:22

Bible In One Year: Psalm 7-9

To celebrate Passover, Jewish worshipers sing Psalms 113-118, a section called the "Egyptian Hallel." The ceremony builds to a crescendo of appreciation for freedom and the beauty of life given by God. It ends with participants singing and praising God both to please Him and to express their own pleasure. One rabbi explains it as experiencing the "emotional joy of freedom."

Near the end of the Passover meal, the second half of these Hallel psalms are sung. According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn and "went out to the Mount of Olives" after celebrating their last Passover together (26:30). They may well have sung this psalm:

The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord's doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:22-24).

Regardless of which hymn they sang, the confidence Jesus had in the goodness of His heavenly Father is astounding. He was able to praise His Father even though He knew He was about to experience His darkest day. -Julie Link

Even on the darkest days
My heart sings in joyful praise,
Not because God says I should
But because I know He's good. -Link

Praise has the power to lighten our heaviest burden.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Why Did Christ Have To Die?

[GailA]

Good morning ALL. Wonderful visit to Arizona Mama_Bear.

[Texagirl4W]

Good morning Mama_Bear. Lovely post. Hope everyone has a great day.

[Pippin]

Good Morning Lori!

I was gonna ping some AZ Freepers but I see someone alraedy did.

I'm sorry I wasn't online much last night but my PC keptn acting up and I had as slow dialup!

I always wanted to go to Arizona, my dad's oldest sister lives there, in Tuscan.

[snugs]

Good morning (afternoon in Ashford) all

[DollyCali]

Absolutely LOVERLY Lori !!!

I have been just there a few times on "outdoorsy" outings from visits w/family in NM. Now all looks wonderful EXCEPT the recipe.. I think I prefer my rattlesnake in the wild doing "rattlesnake things" rather than on a dish !!! But that is just me.

Here is a well known Arizona tribute:

Now the notepad vs dominia vs FR Post vs MSWord vs Word Perfect... hmmm. I don't even know what Notepad is !!! Just redid a computer to put in Word & WP. Har.. well, I will learn from you all who have already invented the wheel (after I find Notepad)

I crashed last night after my meeting. Will be out most of today in yard. I am working long & hard & it is a drop in bucket.. not to get a formally groomed.. but just to be acceptable. My fault. Dozens of LARGE, complicated flower beds.

[DollyCali]

HI there pretty lady! I normally miss you & almost didn't recheck posts before going out. Glad you are now hanging out here & at Amy's Place. I knew you would fit in beautifully & everyone would love you & you would have fun!

Yesterday while sitting thru a BORING meeting I was thinking of the many recipes you have posted. I want to put them all onto a word Document.. Eleanor's Elegant Eats? ...Snugs Scrumptious sweets ...or something descriptive.

I don't do too much fancy (long & Involved ) dessert cooking anymore.. but again in the someday file

[scubachick]

What a beautiful post, Auntie! Arizona is one of my favorite states. I first went there when I was six, and I will never forget my first visit to the Grand Canyon. The Native American cultures are so beautiful and fascinating. When I was seven, we went to Lake Havasu for the first time. Lake Havasu is one of the greatest lakes on the face of the earth! People here don't know why we are not impressed with the lake here, but when you have seen some of the lakes in the west, this just doesn't cut it! Cavebrave is in Yuma right now preparing to go to Iraq, and he says it is just beautiful. He loves the desert anyway. He flew into Phoenix, and couldn't believe how big it has gotten and what a great city it is.

[deadhead]

Thank You for the cyber tour of Arizona. I have had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful state. The Grand Canyon was absolutely beautiful, awesome :-)

[deadhead]

Even on the darkest days
My heart sings in joyful praise,
Not because God says I should
But because I know He's good

Good Morning, Mayor

[snugs]

Not really a dessert cooker myself but cakes yes. Have a great day Dolly shout if need any recipes LOL