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Anyone who wants to experience an old-fashioned small town 4th of July, show up in Eagar/Springerville on July 3rd. (Due to certain religious factions, they never celebrate the 4th of July on a Sunday, so it will be on Sat. No comment...)

The main idea I want to get across here is that TEP, that is Tucson Electric Power's Springerville Generating Station, a big coal-fired power plant, pays for the fireworks, and it has won awards in the past. This year they are going to get the latest high tech wonders. The "Grand Finale" of any fireworks show I ever saw in Tucson or San Diego is not as awesome as what is going on the whole time at our fireworks. It really is something to see. Hope it isn't pouring rain! And if you are really into fireworks, if you get there early or want to walk closer, you can see them shooting them off. The reason I like that is because I like the BOOM. My favorite part of the fireworks is the BOOM that goes through your whole body when you are close by...

The day starts with a pancake breakfast at the Eagar Fire Dept. and Ramsey Park on 1st Ave. and Butler Street, early in the morning, with all the firefighters doing the cooking. Then the parade, which might be at 9 a.m. but I am not sure and can't seem to find out. It is quite a small townish parade, but it has a lot of participation and a lot of people watching it, so it is fun.

There is a rodeo and a barbecue and a dance and a raffle. I can't remember if they are raffling off a gun or a car or what. I did buy a ticket, though. The rodeo has gotten too expensive, $10, so I quit going to it. Seen one cowboy fall off his pumpkin, seen 'em all...

The wind must have been blowing a steady 40+ mph I went through Springerville. I'd hate to land there in a small plane.

You heard about the one that tried to take off in a wind like that recently, and crashed through the roof of our high school and exploded?

It does get windy in this valley. The favorite story the Mormons like to tell is that when they arrived here with Jacob Hamblin in 1879, they circled the wagons and Jacob said they would break camp when the wind died down...and so they're still here.

Hey azbackpackr,
Grace and I checked out your fireworks. Good show. We will probably camp and check them out again next year.

azbackpackr wrote:You heard about the one that tried to take off in a wind like that recently, and crashed through the roof of our high school and exploded?

I sure did. It amazes me that with tens of thousands of empty acres nearby, they managed to crash in one of the few places where it would have major long-term consequences.

Yeah, the flight pattern tends to take ascending planes over Eagar, (over my house ) and one of the cops was telling me he had long believed it was just a matter of time... by the time they might be getting in trouble they are over the town, and not over the grasslands. It would be better if they took off directly toward the grasslands, but the prevailing winds are not conducive to that take-off pattern, I guess.

Hey tortoisehiker, glad you made it up this way. Hope you brought a jacket! We put a blanket over us, too! Not really cold, but cool. We were over on 4th Ave. by the defunct golf course. Where were you?

I didn't go to the Sunrise fireworks. It was on the actual 4th.