New Visitor Exhibits Unveiled
Scenic Drive Cleanup and Beautification Project Completed!
Saturday, December 11, 1999 was a busy day along the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive. Friends unveiled new visitor information plaques, picked up litter and helped paint walls.
Honoring a Fallen Giant
For decades tourists from around the world have had their photographs taken in
front of the 40 foot, multi-armed saguaro (at rear of bus) that now lays flattened at the
Desert Foothills Scenic Drive monument area. Don't blame the bus
driver for the saguaro's demise. It was the victim of strong winds and lightening
generated by a July monsoon storm.
Rather than removing this magnificent specimen, Friends installed a plaque that tells the plant's story.
FALLEN GIANT This magnificent saguaro was alive when Apache Indians foraged in this area. It was here when the Civil War began. Its tall trunk provided a home for generations of Gila woodpeckers and cactus wrens. Its pulp and seeds provided food for countless birds, rodents, ants and other insects. For more than three decades it served as a backdrop for many photographs. The saguaro fell during a monsoon storm in August 1999. Today, its wooden ribs and other remains provide protection and food for scorpions and other small critters.
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Other new plaques provide information about a nearby wash, indicator plants, the McDowell Mountains and the Scenic Drive exhibit. Scottsdale artists Marg Nelssen and Judy Conklin produced the illustrations that have been etched on the plaques.
What began as a weighty problem - how to remove a huge plant that tips the scales at more than one ton - has led to an improvement that visitors and residents can enjoy for years to come. Volunteers who participated in the day's cleanup and beautification project were the first to see the new plaques. The plaques and funded by proceeds of Cookout at the Ranch IV.
Litter Cleanup Effort
The Scenic Drive litter pickup was a success with more than 100 bags of trash collected along a 7 mile stretch of Scottsdale Road and adjacent streets. Volunteers were asked to report to either the drive entry sign in front of the Teravita shopping center or to the monument sign area south of Jomax. Friends and the City of Scottsdale provided safety vests, pickup sticks, water and trash bags. Complimentary donuts, coffee and hot chocolate were provided at the reporting locations. See our litter pickup schedule for additional information.
Beautification Project
Friends of the Scenic Drive volunteers also worked with the Monte de Paz Homeowner Association to paint walls between Pinnacle Vista and Jomax Roads. The City of Scottsdale plans to re-vegetate the area that was cleared to bury utility lines and poles. The walls will be painted using a desert-tone color. Friends donated $250 to the project.
Want to Help?
Our next litter pickup is Saturday, February 12th. If you would like to participate, please do not hesitate to contact us. And if you don't know the names of the major peaks in the McDowells or the "indicator plants" that characterize the foothills area, make a stop a the monument area and read the new plaques.
