SCOTTSDALE — Caryl Peters is a University of Nebraska football fan. Like most who cheer for the Cornhuskers, she is rabid, intense, avid and even diehard. She makes the trip from Scottsdale to Lincoln, Nebraska, for every home game, has a parrot that wakes her up every morning by singing the school fight song and, most notable, she owns Big Red in the Desert, a store that sells only University of Nebraska stuff.
Meliton “Mel” Mecinas, executive chef of the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North, cooks breakfast for his two boys nearly every morning. Often, they are treated with chilaquiles, a Mexican dish traditionally served with fried tortilla chips, eggs, salsa and cheese.
Few cocktails come in as many varieties as the margarita. I thought I had seen them all (and tasted most), but Chef Josh Herbert of POSH Restaurant in Scottsdale has found another way to transform the happy hour staple while staying true to the bold flavors of Mexican cuisine. His inspiration: mole.
Q: What are the canals for, and how do they work?
A: Bibbity, bobbity boo. Next question, please.
Oh, all right, we’ll tell you: Farms and gravity.
Really.
The miles and miles of canals maintained by the Salt River Project were put there to bring water to thirsty acres of alfalfa, cotton, citrus and dates. Although there are a few pumping stations along the way, nearly all the system operates on the principle that water flows downhill.
That’s what worked for the Hohokam, who dug the first canals about 1,300 years ago to water their corn, beans and squash.
The ancient ones had quite a little civilization going—check out the Pueblo Grande Museum in east Phoenix — before they vanished about 500 years ago, probably chased off by a long drought. By the time the Europeans arrived, the desert had reclaimed the Hohokams’ 135 miles of canals.
In 1867, Jack Swilling, a former Confederate soldier living in Wickenburg, realized what those lines in the sand meant. He formed the Swilling Irrigation Canal Co. and dredged out one of the canals. A
meager harvest resulted and—voila!—agriculture was reborn in the Valley, and Phoenix had a reason for being.
The subsequent flood of farmers expanded and improved the canal system, but they lacked what the Hohokam had lacked: a way to tame the Salt, which actually had water in it in those days. The problem
was, it either had too much water or not enough.
Q: We were exploring some back roads in western Arizona when we came to a locked gate with a sign reading, “Planet Ranch, City of Scottsdale.” What is Scottsdale doing in La Paz County?
A: Ah, Planet Ranch.We’d forgotten about that, and there probably are a lot of people in Scottsdale who wish they could forget about it, too. It is one of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” things, the type of thing, we must admit, that checkers the careers of many Valley 101 staff members.
