The Dons of Arizona

06/04/2024

May Dons Club Outing Several Club Members met at Wupatki National Monument where there are dozens of ancestral Puebloan villages. We visited 2 Pueblos Wupatki & Wukoki Though silence reigns today, this place was once a bustling hub of trade and life. People of the Northern Sinagua, Cohonina, Kayenta, and Hohokam archeological culture groups planted corns, beans, squash, and cotton among these seemingly barren hills and washes. Where many now see only dirt and hear only wind, ancient Native American people lived, raised children, and thrived. Wupatki is not as silent as it seems. Walls can talk, and if you linger long enough to listen, these teach many lessons.

06/04/2024

May Dons Club Outing after lunch we stopped at Sunset Crater the lava flow lies on the land like a dream, a wonderland of rock. A thousand years ago the ground was torn open, and lava erupted into the sky, forever changing the landscape and the lives of the people who lived here. A thousand years later, trees and flowers grow among the rocks, and people visit the lava flow to see and remember the most recent volcanic eruption in Arizona.

06/03/2024

May Dons Club Outing ended the evening Visiting Lowell Observatory it is an independent, non-profit research institution founded in 1894 by mathematician and astronomer Percival Lowell. Today, our mission is to pursue the study of astronomy, conduct research, and bring astronomical education to the public.

05/29/2024

April Dons Club Outing we continued on after meeting for lunch at Joe's BBQ to The Chandler Museum which has a rich collection of artifacts, photographs, archival materials, and oral histories documenting Chandler’s diverse history.

05/29/2024

Aprils Dons Club Outing: Club members met at the Gilbert Museum. The train display was phenomenal! Instead of looking over a partition you were up close and personally interacted with the conductors. Gilbert Museum is a quaint little hometown museum in an old schoolhouse and is a repository of artifacts chronicling the town’s rich history. The courtyard was packed with authentic farm equipment, some of which dates back to Gilbert’s earliest days.

03/25/2024

One of our members had the opportunity to participate in the final show during our visit to Old Tucson

03/25/2024

On Saturday we took an outing to Old Tucson Studios. We had the opportunity to watch many different shows and visit attractions that were used to film hundreds of western movies including Tombstone, El Dorado, Rio Bravo, and Young Guns and even the television series High Chaparral, Little House on the Prairy, and The Big Valley.

02/11/2024

90 years ago, the Dons of Arizona commenced the first of many treks into the Superstition Mountains. To commemorate this first trek, we hosted a hike through the original trek a day early. Through the occasional drizzle, muddy trails, and ice cold streams, we hiked from First Water Trailhead to the first trek site and to Garden Valley in the shadow of the snow-capped Superstition Mountains.

02/09/2024

90 years ago, the Dons of Arizona hosted a trek into the Superstition Mountains at First Water Trailhead. Tomorrow at 8am, we will be taking that hike once again to visit some of the original trek sites. The picture below is the original ticket that was purchased in order to take part in the hike on the first trek

01/28/2024

Today we held our biannual Adopt a Highway Cleanup. We also stopped by the monument to make sure it remained clean and well maintained. Thanks to everyone who came out and helped this morning, we hope to see you this Friday for Disvovery Camp!

11/27/2023

Last weekend we took a day trip to Dragoon and Wilcox, Arizona. We started our day at the Amerind Museum and later transitioned to Wilcox where we visited the Chiricahua Regional Museum & Research Center and the Rex Allen "Arizona Cowboy" Museum & Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame. After the scheduled outing, a few of us continued the day by visiting ”The Thing” outside of Wilcox. We ended the day by visiting Cochise Stronghold before making the long drive home.

10/30/2023

10/21/2023

Today we held our first outing of the season to Scottsdale, Arizona to visit the Western Spirit Scottsdale's Museum of the West and the Old Town Scottsdale Rodeo Museum. Afterwards, a few members visited the Old Adobe Mission across the street. Thank you to everyone who joined us on another exciting outing, and we hope to see everyone at the Dutch Hunter Rendezvous on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of November at the Dons of Arizona base camp!

10/16/2023

Thank you to everyone who came out this morning for our Adopt a Highway cleanup. A great way to kick off the upcoming season of meetings and outings. Hope to see everyone at our first meeting this Wednesday!

10/08/2023

10/07/2023

Thanks to the Apache Junction Community Development Corporation for assisting our members in cleaning up the Dons of Arizona Dutchman’s Monument

06/29/2023

At one point in time, the Dons of Arizona was considered a prestigious organization. The Treks and Travelcades organized by the Dons of Arizona often resulted in thousands of visitors. Membership even included politicians such as Barry Goldwater. As a result of the incredible influence of the organization, there was even a statute in the state of Arizona that prohibited impersonating a Don or dressing like a Don without being a member. Below are two images taken before a trip to New York and Washington DC to search for Spanish treasure maps relating to the Superstition Mountains. The Dons shake hands with both the Governor of Arizona and the Mayor of Phoenix. In the first photo, taken from an article in the Arizona Republic dated February 25, 1946, (from left to right) Governor Osborn, Fred Guirey, Catherine Guirey, Juanita Foster, Osborn Foster, and Mayor J. R. Fleming are depicted. During this trip, the Dons also visited Harry S. Truman to present him with his honorary membership within the Dons of Arizona.

06/15/2023

One of the activities that visitors took part in during Trek was the long hike. This hike followed along the Peralta Trail through Peralta Canyon, originally named Willow Canyon. When the Dons of Arizona began their Trek event, they renamed the canyon and trailhead after the Peralta family from the story of Jacob Waltz and the Lost Dutchman Goldmine. Each hike was guided by a Don, dressed in their Don attire. During the hike, visitors were provided lunches prepared by the Doñas. Once they reached the overlook point pictured below, the visitors would eat lunch before starting the hike back to camp. This picture was taken at the overlook as visitors are preparing to rest and eat lunch. Upon returning to base camp from the hike, visitors were awarded pins to commemorate their achievement of completing the hike. You can still hike to this point using the Peralta Trailhead today. Since the discontinuation of Trek, the Dons of Arizona still hosts a short hike in the base camp for third and fourth graders during Discovery Camp in January and February each year. During this hike, students learn about the desert, its creatures, and the flora and fauna. Similar to the long hike during trek, students are each given a pin to commemorate their hike.

05/31/2023

For the attendees of Trek, the firefall was often the most coveted event to watch. Hundreds of pounds of charcoal were hauled up the dacite cliffs of the mountain to be poured down at the conclusion of the Legendrama, a re-enactment of the story of Jacob Waltz and the Lost Dutchman Mine. The firefall was so incredible that people would park alongside Peralta Road to watch the spectacle from afar. Behind the scenes, hours were spent setting up the contraption to haul the charcoal up the mountain on a zip line, and a crew was ready at the bottom of the cliff to put out the embers and prevent any fire from breaking out. In all the years of Trek, there was never an accident or fire that broke out. The only other event comparable to the firefall at the Dons of Arizona Base Camp in the Superstition Mountains was the firefall held at Yosemite National Park at Glacier Point. In 1968, the director of the National Park Service ordered the end of the firefall, citing that visitors would often trample meadows in the park to view the spectacle. After the conclusion of the firefall at Glacier Point, the firefall in the Superstition Mountains became the only firefall event for several decades, until the end of Trek.

05/21/2023

Yesterday we held our last outing before our break over the summer. This month we spent our Saturday exploring the Heard Museum to learn more about indigenous peoples of the southwest.

05/18/2023

As we say thank you to our out going President.
We welcome the newly elected Board of Directors for 2023-2024.

04/23/2023

This month’s outing was to the V Bar V Heritage site, Montezuma Well, and Montezuma Castle. Thank you everyone for coming out and see everybody next month for our outing to the Heard Museum!

03/30/2023

On Saturday we held our March outing to the Titan Missile Museum and the Pima Air and Space Museum. Thank you everyone for coming and to the museums for having us! See everyone again at our next meeting

03/05/2023

Today we held a volunteer appreciation lunch for our great volunteers who came out and helped make Discovery Camp possible this year. Thank you everybody for helping out with Discovery Camp. Another great year for the books!

02/25/2023

Today we took part in the Lost Dutchman Days Parade. Thank you to everyone who came out and helped decorate the float and thank you everyone for coming out and watching the parade!

02/25/2023

Yesterday we held the last Discovery Camp of the year. Wish there were more pictures to show, but we were so caught up on cleaning up camp, by the time there was a chance, we were finished! Thank you to everyone who came out and volunteered and to the schools for coming out and learning more about the legends and lore of the southwest!

02/17/2023

Our fifth Discovery Camp of the year. Thanks everybody for coming out and teaching these students about the legends and lore of the southwest. Hope to see everybody next week for the final Discovery Camp of the year!

02/03/2023

Another successful day of Discovery Camp. Thanks again to everyone who came out and volunteered around camp. Hope to see you all again next week!

12/12/2022

On Saturday we held our annual Christmas party at Goldfield Ghost Town's Mammoth Saloon. Thank you everybody for coming and we look forward to seeing you next month for Discovery Camp

10/29/2022