Janet Fabio
If you attended the lecture sponsored by the Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries (FSL) featuring Win Holden from Arizona Highways, perhaps you were inspired to explore more of our beautiful state. Make the DesertView Library your first stop. The library has many resources to help plan a road trip on scenic byways, explore hiking trails throughout the state, or to visit various Arizona destinations. Arizona has so much to offer!
Many SaddleBrooke residents subscribe to Arizona Highways magazine. But did you know that Arizona Highways also publishes books and that the DesertView Library has most of them in the Southwest collection? Subjects include Arizona wildlife, ghost towns, scenic drives, and much more. One recently updated book, Arizona: The Beauty of It All, offers beautiful photographs. You can find the Arizona Highways books at the DesertView Library.
If your spring and summer plans include travel to national parks, the National Parks collection at the DesertView Library offers guidebooks for Arizona and the Grand Canyon, national parks of the Southwest, and comprehensive guides to all national parks in the U.S. New titles include A Complete Guide to the Grand Circle National Parks. Venturing further beyond Arizona, the travel collection at the DesertView Library has up-to-date guidebooks with useful information for planning scenic road trips and travel to nearby states, as well as popular U.S. and worldwide destinations. New titles include Bucket List USA, and Fodor’s Essential Southwest. These current resources are only available because of funding from the Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries.
Maybe you were inspired to learn more about Arizona history after hearing Jan Cleere speak at the FSL author lunch about her recent well-researched book Military Wives in the Arizona Territory. You can find copies of this book as well as other books by Jan Cleere by checking the library’s online catalog. Use the easy link on the library website www.sblibraries.com.
SaddleBrooke’s own local historian Robert Simpson has written yet another fascinating book, The History of Oracle Junction. As in his previous two-volume work. From Ca˜nada del Oro to the Tortolitas, Simpson offers interesting facts, maps, and photos, all based on thorough research. His books can be borrowed from either the DesertView Library or SaddleBrooke One Library.
In addition to these two authors, the Southwest collection at the DesertView Library has many more resources on Arizona history, ranging from biographies of Cochise and John Wesley Powell to books on early settlers and the Spanish in the Southwest. Or learn more about Native American crafts and culture. There are numerous books focusing on Tucson history, architecture, recipes from local restaurants, and much more. If you’re more interested in nature, the library offers bird identification guides for our area, books to identify wildflowers and cactus varieties, and information about local wildlife.
If you want to learn more about Arizona or get out and explore its wonders, first check out the Special collections at the DesertView Library: the Southwest collection; National Parks collection; and the Travel collection. There are many resources to help plan a road trip or to learn more about Arizona history, national and state parks, natural wonders, scenic byways, local flora and fauna, and all things Arizona!