Fourth of July 2008

"They took the blue of heaven and the white of the milkyway

and bound them with the rays of the sun,

and made the American flag;

and when they placed that banner in the sky,

it became the flag of liberty,

and carried to every shore

and into every clime

the message of freedom

and human progress."

From "The American Flag" by Ross Winn

circa 1898

Eagle and American Flag
Pam Roth 2005

Flag with Lens Flare

Jonathan Thorne 2007

Hoover Dam Downstream Face

DOD 1996

Back in Time--A Trip to the Grand Canyon

1871 William Henry Jackson

Thomas Moran Fishing

circa 1929 George A. Grant

From Yavapai Point, Looking up Bright Angel Creek

circa 1930 Henry G. Peabody
Bright Angel Trail

circa 1930 Henry G. Peabody
Road at Grand Canyon

circa 1936 Natt N. Dodge
North Rim Forest Fire

Credit all photos: National Park Service Photograph Collection

Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library

Let's head out to the library. It's just short trip to Aspen and Birch Avenue, across from City Hall and right next to Wheeler Park. Of course, there is also the the East Flagstaff branch at 3000 N. Fourth Street.

Before you go, take a look at Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library. This page lists the library hours and the days they're closed.

While you're there on the website, check out access to Rosetta Stone. By selecting the link from the library and registering, you can access the Rosetta Stone Online Language Learning Center. You can learn English, French, German, Italian, Russian & Spanish. Remember that each time you want to log on to this great resource, you need to go through the library link.

Don't forget the Calendar of Events. They have some very interesting exhibits at the main library this summer. You'll also find events for all ages from newborn (really) through adult.

Since you'll be visiting the physical library for those special events, while you're there be sure to go to the circulation desk to ask about these resources:

• Playaways--Self-contained audio books. These little guys are battery-operated and play themselves. You check them out and use your own earphones and AAA battery. I had not heard of this format, but it sounds like a great idea. It's an audio book to go.
• Book Club Kits--Convenient storage box and eight books (8 copies of one book) with author information and discussion questions. One person checks the box out and distributes the books to the rest of the reading group. Twenty-three different book club kits are now available. Ever tried to find eight copies of a book to check out? And, you can check the kit out for 62 days, enough time to read the book and have discussions.

Flagstaff is really fortunate to have such a good library. It seems the staff really puts a lot of thought into gathering its reading resources.

Volcano Status Map on USGS

San Francisco Peaks volcanic field is on the new USGS Volcano Status Map. This page is part of the Volcano Hazards Program beta site.

Of course, the main focus of the site is volcano alerts and updates, but I thought it was interesting to click on the San Francisco Peaks icon on the map and get this:

US Geological Survey Photo

There's no place like home, when home is here.

The Lady From Prescott

I just made the acquaintance of one special lady, Ms. Sharlot Hall. She because the Territorial Historian for the Arizona Territory in 1909, the first woman to hold a salaried office in the territory. What led her to this job and where she went afterwards is a magnificent story of the making of our land. The rest of her story is coming soon to Coconino Chronicles.

Meanwhile, here is a portion of the poem she wrote about the plan to admit Arizona and New Mexico into statehood as one state. It arrived on the desk of every member of Congress. Enjoy:

"Ay! Let her go barehanded; bound by no grudging gift;
Back to her own free spaces where her rock-ribbed mountains lift
Their walls like a sheltering fortress; back to her house and blood;
And we of her blood will go our way and reckon your judgment good.
We will wait outside your sullen door till the stars that ye wear grow dim
As the pale dawn-stars that swim and fade o’er our highty Canyon’s rim;
We will lift no hand for the bays ye wear, nor covet your robes of state –
But Ah! By the skies above us all we will shame ye while we wait!"

That's just a taste of the style of this talented western historian.

Mars Lander Update

Reuters just posted this article, Martian soil appears able to support life, on it's website.

Since we talked about the Flagstaff to Mars Connection on June 21, 2008, I wanted to give you this update. Writer Jill Sergeant says "flabbergasted" NASA scientists are saying the Phoenix Mars Lander has scooped up soil that appears to contain all the requirements to support life, finding nothing toxic.

Although this is very preliminary data, you can tell that these scientists are extremely surprised, encouraged and excited. Just read this quote, "When told the pH levels, one colleague 'jumped up and down as if he had the winning lottery ticket, 'mission soil analysis specialist Michael Hecht told a telephone news conference."

We are all going to be following this little visitor to Mars even more closely.

NASA Photo

How Flagstaff is Getting Around

We're always talking about taking trips around here, so let's consider some modes of transportation. Of course, Flagstaff has its share of trains and folks seem to either love them or hate them. We love, and increasingly use, our city bus system, Mountain Line. And like the rest of America we have the usual long line cars, trucks, vans and maybe more than our share of motor homes, at every traffic light. And don't forget the semis bringing in all the stuff we need to exist and taking out what we produce and need to sell elsewhere. I think those guys must be suffering the most from this seemingly never ending rise in fuel prices.

But, just take a walk around Flagstaff and you'll see how creative our residents are when it comes to getting from place to place.

Bicycles seem to be the gas-less vehicle of choice. Sometimes it seems there are as many bicycles as cars in the downtown area. Don't misunderstand. That's not a complaint. Cyclists rule.

And how about those skate boards? If you take a close look you can see that these recreational "vehicles" are not just for recreation anymore. Especially when the destination is downhill, they seem to work very efficiently. Not sure about the trip home though.

Motor scooters seem to be gaining in popularity as gasoline prices rise. I guess the savings in gasoline alone will pay for these new beauties in short order.

My personal favorite is a mode of transportation that I saw on the street for the first time today. I don't know what it's called, but it looks just like a large motorized tricycle. The one I saw was pure white and oh, so cool. I could get sure use one just like it.

Of course, walking is always a very viable alternative that takes a lot of energy, but no fossil fuel. And with our gorgeous surroundings, getting around town doesn't get any better than this!