The National Forest along "White Knuckle Highway"

I think that most people don't view AZ as forest country but it does indeed have some great forests and relative to most states good timbering laws.

As for mining ... recent Administration changes before takeover, this govt. has allowed for some major mining near the Grand Canyon and many areas of the S.W. Deep resource extraction pockets nearly always win out.

My own love of AZ began in college. Rather than going to the beaches on break we drove to Arizona. North. Rim. Damn it was so cold in the winter. (60s) We had our cheap wine, no equipement to speak of and an old Chevy with a broken muffler. Hence we had to drive with the windows down.

Got to somewhere and we had to camp out. Santa Cruz, CA to a sudden 20 degree nightime. We ended up burying ourselves in the ground.

My subsequent, more solitary visits were to the Chiricahua mts. of Arizona. Something really overwhelmed me there. When I retire I will seriously consider Portal AZ. on the eastern side of this area. Wonderful biology, great wildlife and so much more ... at lest regarding nature. The nearest store and gas station are in New Mexico some 20 miles away and jobs. ??? Nada. This is a mini-mini- tourest burg.

Why then am I drawn to these places. The last place I fell in love with was in central CO. Creed. WOW! Then again, I read the climate charts showing it had 60 growing days a year and the locals replied, not necessarily consecutively.

I passed that nursery potential aside. .... but the community was SUPER! This and other side row communities do in this downturn remains to be seen.

LOL Secateur. I had to stop and think what is cold about 20 degree nights and how could you get 60 degree days. Then I remembered the N. American continent uses the fahrenheit scale. Shows how long it is since I lived there.

John.