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by
Phil English, editor of El Pliego, the Coalition Newsletter
Green Valley Hike, Bike, Horseback
Ride A Success |
Saturday, May 27, 2000 dawned with
a promise of a very hot day, but this did not deter the nearly 40 citizens
joined in the effort to recognize the Anza Trail and its recreational value
to our community. At 6 a.m., a dozen hikers began a five mile walk along
the proposed segment of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
from the Santa Cruz Valley Equestrian Center. Nearly an hour later,
a dozen bikers set out on their mountain bikes along the southward heading
trail ride. Then a dozen or so horse riders left the starting point
about 8:45 a.m.
The purpose of the event was to make
the public more aware of the Anza Trail and the non-motorized recreational
trail along the Santa Cruz River in southern Pima County. The morning
exercise ended at the Green Valley’s Anza Park at the Springs site, where
Dorn Properties donated a 4.3 Acre park site.
Jim Di Giacomo chaired the
event as a member of the Pima County Parks and Recreation Department’s
Trails Advisory Group, assisted by the Anza Trail Coalition of Arizona,
an all-volunteer support group helping to establish and certify the trail
to NPS standards.
Jim Di Giacomo
greets bikers who completed the hike, bike and ride event in Pima County.
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Making the
event a success were several community organizations, including the Green
Valley News, Chamber of Commerce, Basha’s, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Rural Metro,
S.A.V. (Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers), F.I.C.O., Sahuarita Police Dept.,
Pima County Parks Maintenance Department, The Dorn Properties, Casa de
Esperanza, and others. Some provided water stops for hikers and horses.
Participant hikers, bikers and equestrians
came from such groups as the County Line Riders, Tucson Saddle Club, Catalina
Riders, Pima Trails, Greater Arizona Bicycle Association, Sonoran International
Mountain Bike Association, Santa Cruz Valley Horsemen’s Club, Desert Sky
Riders, Green Valley Hiking Club, Anza Trail of Arizona Coalition, the
Green Valley based Anza Park committee, Santa Cruz Valley Equestrian Center,and
several local residents.
Participants contributed food items
for the Green Valley Food Bank. Finishers received a full color National
Park Service logo of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail,
one of the nation’s recognized Millennium Trails.
In Green Valley, the Anza Park at
the Springs Committee is helping to complete the park and rest stop on
Abrego, supported by the Valley Verde Rotary and the Green Valley Rotary
Clubs, Pima Parks and Recreation, and collection of residents, community
organizations and leaders. A participant survey provided information
to the Anza Park Committee, showing the preferences concerning various
aspects of the Anza Park and the trail itself.
County and Park Committee Meet
Steve Anderson, key coordinator
for the trails activities for the Pima County Parks & Recreation Department
met with the newly appointed landscape architect, Don McGann of
McGann & Associates, their designer, James English, and |
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Mikel Schilling,
Pima Parks Commission member and Vice President of the Green Valley Community
Coordinating Council.
Mikel and other members of the Anza
Park at the Springs in Green Valley Committee attended to provide on site
commentary and review the specifications for the park’s imminent development.
Jim Di Giacomo, and Dick Roberts, both representing local
Rotary Clubs, promised financial support for the construction of the educational
ramada/restroom.
Also attending were Chuck Townsend,
from the Santa Cruz Valley Horseman’s group, and Julia Grounds representing
her brother Dave Grounds of Dorn Properties. Anza Trail Coalition
of Arizona President Don Kucera, and Phil English, Pima County Volunteer
Coordinator and El Pliego editor, represented the Anza Trail volunteers.
The group spent two hours walking the 4.3 acre site, examining trail placement
options, access and egress questions, the location and impact of the building,
picnic tables, ramada design options, the trail and road access and horse-trailer
parking areas, water taps, gate monument, security, maintenance, lighting
and other concerns.
Equestrians relax
after the ride
A most welcome, very brief and sparse,
forty-drop rain shower lightened the oppressive 105 Fº heat of the
afternoon meeting. The group adjourned to the nearby Torres Blancas Golf
Course clubhouse for some welcome ice tea and lemonade. The meeting accomplished
action on the final design plan phase, financial resource progress plans
and further actions to make the Anza Park a reality in the coming months.
This park will be a welcome addition to the Anza Trail in the years ahead
as it stretches across the southern portion of Pima County. |