Quartzsite Visitor's Guide

Continued from Page 32 AHAKHAV PRESERVE The 'Ahakhav Tribal Preserve was established in 1995 and currently consists of 1,253 acres of wilderness area and a 3.5 acre park. The pre- serve is centered around a reconstructed Colo- rado River backwater, which offers a variety of activities including fishing, canoeing, birding, and swimming. The preserve also maintains a 4.6 mile fitness trail as well as playground and picnic facilities located in the park. The pre- serve serves many purposes. One is to provide recreational and learning opportunities to the surrounding community as well as visitors. The other is to serve as a revegetation area for endangered and threatened plants and animals native to the Lower Colorado River Basin. The Lower Colorado is an area that faces many prob- lems, from damming that causes changes in natural stream flow, to a variety of invasive species. The preserve is an ongoing proj- ect to study methods of revegetation and restoration that may be used though out the area. For more information, please visit www.crit-nsn.gov POSTON MONUMENT This Memorial Monument marks the site of the Poston War Relocation Center where 17,867 persons of Japanese ancestry, the majority of whom were United States citizens were interned during World War II from May 1942 to November 1945. All persons of Japanese descent living on west coast farms, businesses, towns, cit- ies, and states were forcibly evacuated by the United States military on the grounds that they posed a threat to (he national security. This massive relocation was au- thorized by Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Feb- ruary 19, 1942. This Memorial is dedicated to all those men, women and children who suffered countless hardships and indignities at the hands of a nation misguided by war- time hysteria, racial prejudice and fear. May it serve as a constant reminder of our past so that Americans in the future will never again be denied their Constitutional rights and may the remembrance of that experience serve to advance the evolution of the human spirit. ALAMO LAKE 38 miles north of Wenden, Alamo Lake offers excellent bass, bluegill and catfish. The Arizona State Park can be accessed by a paved road from Highway 60 at the Wenden turn-off to the north on Alamo Lake Road. Owing to its remoteness the park is often considered one of the "best kept secrets" of the state park system. Alamo Lake State Park features camping facilities and attracts wildlife enthusiasts, as the park is home to numerous wildlife species including the bald eagle. The park's remoteness and distance from cities also makes it a destination for stargazing. IMPERIAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 58 miles south of Quartzsite on U.S. 95. Turn right on Martinez Lake Road and drive 10 miles to Red Cloud Mine Road. Follow the brown refuge signs about 3.5 miles to the visitor center. Free. 928-783-3371,www.fws. gov/refuge/imperial. Painted Desert Trail makes a 1.3-mile loop, following a wash, crossing a ridge and tracing another sandy wash back to the trailhead. It's a lavishly fractured terrain, weaving among colorful mounds that look like petrified sand dunes. The walking is easy with just a short climb to the ridgeline where I soak in fine views, a mosaic of desert patterns and the wet knife of the river carving a verdant slice in the distance. QuartzsiteVisitorGuide.com 33

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