Category Archives: Amusement

Bearizona remains open

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ZBearizona160113-01WILLIAMS — For over five-years Bearizona has entertained thousands of kids and adults. We visited the very first year when they allowed residents in free for a period of time. It was impressive, but not spectacular.
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Over the years we have watched Bearizona grow. They have built an expansive gift shop with a fantastic diorama and separate room for close up introduction to animals and other activities. For Christmas, this year, they introduced the Wild Wonderland. This amazing light and music display I found as impressive as the Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo. We got to see both.
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This year—despite the most snow Williams has seen in some time—Bearizona even managed to stay open to the public. The snow even makes the animal displays more impressive just like the snow did for the Wild Wonderland display.

During the summer the animals tend to sleep during the heat of the day. With the cold weather, they are more active throughout the day. Especially the wolves and the bears. The same for the animals in the walk-through area. The otters are out and the bear cubs are playing in the snow.
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If you plan to come to Williams, you should plan to visit Bearizona and the Grand Canyon Deer Farm petting zoo. For about the same price as the entrance to the Grand Canyon, you can get up close and personal with various animals of north America. If you are on a planned tour to Williams, you should urge the driver to visit these Williams attractions.

Visitor center hosts “Kaibab National Forest, A Historic Snap Shot” display

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WILLIAMS — The Williams Visitor Center is hosting a showing of historical images, maps and documents of the Kaibab National Forest from the late 1880s to 1960 as part of the “Kaibab National Forest, A Historic Snap Shot” visual display, which will be available for public viewing through this summer.

This photo and map display represents the historic evolution of public land from the early Grand Canyon Forest Reserve to the Grand Canyon Monument, the Tusayan National Forest, and then eventually the Kaibab National Forest. The photos, which were taken on both sides of the Grand Canyon, are a representative sample of historic activities and places on the national forest. The maps show a stark contrast in boundaries from the early forest reserve to the 1949 version of the Kaibab National Forest. Display visitors will also note additional changes in forest boundaries even after 1949.

“The historic development of the Kaibab National Forest has played a significant role in the overall history of the City of Williams and our surrounding communities. But few have looked at local history from the perspective of the Forest Service,” said Margaret Hangan, heritage program manager for the Kaibab National Forest. “Therefore, the emphasis of this display is to show how the identity and function of the Kaibab National Forest have shaped our region using the forest’s own historic photos and maps to tell the story.”

In 2009, the Kaibab National Forest and Williams Public Library formed a partnership to preserve historic images and documents of the City of Williams and the surrounding area. To date there are more than 2,464 photos, documents and oral histories in the collection, and new collections are always being identified. The collection boasts items representing iconic places and themes such as “the Mother Road” Route 66, cattle and sheep ranching, logging and the timber industry, railroads and more. In 2012, 127 of the collection’s images were posted online as part of the Arizona Memory Project.

The collection, which is entirely digital, is stored on a computer dedicated to the project at the Williams library and is made available to the public free of charge. The purpose of the project is to preserve these precious treasures of the past and to make them available to the public for historic research. Hangan and Williams Public Library director Andrea Dunn have led the multi-year effort to create what is now an indispensable resource for learning about the history of the local area.

The Williams Visitor Center is located at 200 W. Railroad Ave. in Williams.

80% chance for up to 2″ of snow today

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sno-16-01-12-043WILLIAMS — In the early morning hours only a sliver of blue sky remained as a backdrop to the Three Sisters. That was soon covered by an overcast sky.

According to the latest check, there is an 80% chance of snow today. It could drop as much as 2″ of new snow. Winds could rise to 17-mph this afternoon with gusts as high as 28-mph today and 30-mph tonight.

Saturday is predicted to be cold with wind chill down to zero. The sun and temperatures around the mid-40s are expected for Sunday through Martin Luther King day making the free entry day at the Grand Canyon a definite possibility.

The chance of rain and snow returns again on Tuesday.

While they may close temporarily depending on the weather, Bearizona and the Deer Farm east of Williams generally remain open for visitors to get up close and personal with the wild residents of Arizona.

Remember that, because of the expected low temperatures, ice is possible on the roadways and walkways.Winter-Bearizona16-01-13-010

Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest free on Monday

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Grand_CanyonGRAND CANYON — Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. day and marks the first free entrance day to all of the National Parks. This includes the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest.

The Amateur Radio Relay League is conducting a year-long event in honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park System. While you are there, you can get a demonstration of the capability of amateur, or ham, radio today.

Other free entrance days in 2016 include

  • January 18 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
  • April 16-24 (National Park Week)
  • August 25 through 28 (National Park Service Birthday)
  • September 24 (National Public Lands Day)
  • November 11 (Veterans Day)

Other fees such as reservation, camping, lodging, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.

Sheriff’s Office Working with Several Agencies to Recover Body of Man Who Died While Wingsuit Flying

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800-Wingsuit DeathPAGE — On Tuesday, January 12, 2016 the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a death in Paria Canyon involving a man who was wingsuiting with friends.

The man has been identified as 29 year old Mathew Kenney out of Santa Cruz, CA. His body was located in the steep canyon walls approximately 15 miles north of Lee’s Ferry in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness area within the BLM Arizona Strip District. A Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Short Haul Team and an Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue helicopter responded yesterday to recover the body.

Due to the steep terrain and icy conditions on top of the canyon walls, the Sheriff’s Office was not able to safely anchor to access the body yesterday. The Sheriff’s Office continues to work with other agencies including Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue, National Park Service Search and Rescue, and Bureau of Land Management to develop a plan that will allow rescuers to safely access and recover the body.

Might be 13″ by the end of the day.

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OldTrails16-01-06-01WILLIAMS — About 4″ of snow fell this morning, in Williams, and Fox 10 in Phoenix reported that almost 9″ more may fall today. NOAA has predicted as much as 13″ through Friday, but we may be in for much more. Williams is predicted to get about twice as much snow as Flagstaff today. However the sun began to peek out about 9:45 a.m.

People planning to go to Flagstaff may want to reconsider for the next few days. I-17 around Munds Park is currently closed to traffic and there may be more closures in store. We do not recommend attempting to use Route 66 through Parks as an alternate route. Check ADOT before you travel.

Thanks to Old Trails True Value Hardware, I was able to clear snow in about half the time as I did with my old shovel.

New storm front could bring 13″ of snow

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Tuesday snow 2016-01-05 003WILLIAMS — A new storm front coming from Washington State is bringing more moisture into the area and could bring as much as 13″ of snow by Thursday.

Today the snow is predicted at a reasonable half-inch with wind gusts as high as 18-mph. Tonight rain and snow with gusts as high as 14-mph.
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Tomorrow as much as 3-inches of snow is predicted beginning before 11 a.m. Winds from 11- to 16-mph are expected overnight with gusts up to 25-mph. Up to 4-inches of new snow could accumulate overnight.

On Thursday 8-inches are possible during the day with 4-inches overnight. Winds of up to 15-mph are expected.

Some snow is expected over the weekend with a 60% chance on Friday.

Overcast cools Williams

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Weather2016-01-03-2WILLIAMS — It was warm much of the early afternoon, in Williams, until the clouds blew in cooling temperatures in the city.

SnoAngel16-01-01-1Williams and Flagstaff share nearly the same forecast over the next week with snow possible from tonight through Friday. Six-inches of snow could be possible over the week.

The chance of snow starts tonight with 30% overnight with a possible half-inch of accumulation overnight. The chance of snow shifts between 50% to 80% throughout the week. Winds will remain relatively normal at about 10-mph maximum with gusts up to 18 through Tuesday.

This, of course, means a chance of snow angels. It also means icy roads, so people should take the appropriate precautions by slowing down on I-40 and the highways.

It also means that the snow plows will be out enforce so motorist should watch out for them. Parking downtown will be risky as the city workers battle the influx of new snow for the new year.

Calendars turn to 2016. Government officials unable to intercede.

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calendarWORLD — Last night at about midnight, it appears that it turned to 2016.

Official of the F.B.I. stated that they knew exactly when and where the event would happen, but were powerless to stop it.

“There was really nothing we could do,” an official of the agency told us under conditions of anonymity.

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security have yet to issue a statement.

One source quotes Ahmed Mohamed as saying, “Oh, yeah. You can’t stop the clock.”

Keely Mullen, founder of the Million Student March, stated, “What? When did this—like—happen? The government should have warned us! They need to send us new calendars.”

It is currently unclear what this event means for the near future. Government officials give different versions both good and bad. “But we should concentrate on Battlefield America,” Senator John McCain said. “After all, it is an election year.”