CAMP VERDE — The world’s largest kokopelli, commonly known as “that big flute player,” has been leaning over and giving silent performances in front of the Krazy Kokopelli Trading Post here for more than 20 years. The large sculpture stands 32 feet tall, sits atop a six-foot base and is painted yellow, so he’s probably one of the main reasons tourists stop to check out the variety of goods offered inside.
Test your knowledge of Arizona with this quick sampler, originally published in Marshall Trimble’s Official Arizona Trivia. Don’t scroll down too quickly. The answers are posted shortly below the questions. When you’re finished, leave a comment with your score. Good luck! What is the state gemstone? What color is the star on Arizona’s state flag?
Test your knowledge of Arizona with this quick sampler, originally published in Marshall Trimble’s Official Arizona Trivia. Don’t scroll down too quickly. The answers are posted shortly below the questions. When you’re finished, leave a comment with your score. Good luck! These questions are a little harder than previous trivia posted on the blog!
1. What is the oldest building on the University of Arizona campus?
2. Which architect is known for his wind bells?
3. The wood from which desert tree is in vogue for grilling steaks?
4. What is the English translation of Santa Cruz (County)?
5. What is Arizona’s number one farm crop?
Q: I have lived here all of my 32 years, and ever since I can remember, every summer at night, I see the biggest, ugliest and fiercest-looking brown beetle. The other night I saw one of these things and sprayed it with bug killer, which only seemed to disorient it. It took undiluted tick poison to kill it. What are these things?
A: You know, if I were rich, I would just buy you people bug books and let you figure these things out by yourselves. I usually just throw away the bug questions because they are usually pretty vague. Along the lines of “I saw a black bug. What was it?”
However, in this case, I’m just about 100 percent sure that this guy saw—and needlessly slaughtered—a rhinoceros beetle, Dynastes granti.
They are the largest North American beetles and are believed to be found only in Arizona.
PRESCOTT — The John W. Kalusa Miniature Aircraft Collection is a wonderful assortment of 5,829 model aircraft, all done to an exact scale of one-eighteenth of an inch to one foot. Each model is delicately painted, right down to the detailed markings characteristic of the actual aircraft. This required a steady hand because many of the planes have wingspans of less than two inches.
John Kalusa started building the models in 1936 when he was a mere 14 years old. Eventually, he created all sorts of flying devices, from biplanes to jets, from bombers to hot air balloons. After his death in 2003, his family donated the collection to the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
