My brother-in-law used to live in Black Canyon City, Arizona so let's take a look at that town. I visited there in 2000 and I can tell you that it is hot and dusty, not to mention somewhat barren.

The photos are: 1) a view of Black Canyon City, 2) looking west towards the mountains before an afternoon shower, 3) looking east at some storm clouds moving in, and 3) the I-17 exit ramp to Black Canyon City.

Black Canyon City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. the population was 2,697 at the 2000 census.

Black Canyon City is approximately 47 miles north of Phoenix. Included in the southern part of Black Canyon City is the community of Rock Springs. It is served by Interstate 17 which bisects the City. I-17 is the main north-south freeway between Phoenix and Flagstaff. The Agua Fria river runs right through the center of Black Canyon City and the river empties into Lake Pleasant to the southwest.

Black Canyon City has been known by several names in the past, including Goddard, Canon, and Black Canyon. It was a stage stop on the Phoenix to Prescott line, a military stopover enroute to Fort Whipple and Fort Verde during Territorial days, and a supply center for mines in the southern Bradshaw Mountains. The area was first settled by Americans in the 1870's, and the first post office was established as Canon in 1894. A famous early settler was Jack Swilling, who moved here in 1871. His house still stands, and is the oldest building in the community.

Black Canyon was a gateway to the upper plateaus and mountains. The Woolsey Trail in Black Canyon was named after King Woolsey, an early settler who is credited with bringing in the first wagon in the mid 1860's. The best known trail was the Black Canyon wagon road and stage line. Beginning in the 1872's, a stage stop on the Agua Fria River and Jack Swillings Ranch served the area. Stagecoach service between Phoenix and Prescott continued until 1917.
Jack Swilling was one of the more unusual characters in 19th century Arizona history: he was an Indian fighter, miner, rancher, farmer, developer, entrepreneur, and a hell-raiser. He came to Arizona from South Carolina during the Civil War (eventually working for both sides). During his trips as a courier, he encountered the abandoned canals and irrigation ditches left behind by the Hohokam along the Salt River, and eventually founded the Swilling Irrigation Canal Company--to re-open and use them to water the fertile soil in the area. In 1867, his company began to clear the ditches: this is, in effect, the founding of Phoenix. He eventually sold his interest, and began a mining career in the Bradshaws (in 1873/74). The ranch which he established in what is today Black Canyon City had this cabin as his residence. Later, Swilling moved to Gillett (q.v.), but he kept the cabin until his death in 1878.
In the 1920's, electricity was brought to Black Canyon City for the Kay Copper Mine, ( a tailing dump which can still be seen on a slope west of town.) Rock Springs Store (Rock Springs Cafe) supplied groceries and other goods to the mine and it's many workers sometime in the 1920's. The Kay Mine ceased operation in 1929. By the 1960's, land development and highway construction replaced most of the agricultural areas. Interstate 17 was completed during the 1960's. BCC is the only town on I-17 with a business bypass. There are many destinations north on I-17, including Jerome, Prescott and Sedona. Flagstaff is only 100 miles north and is the end of I-17.

Today's Jumble (9/4/08):

ADYLL = DALLY; UNPER = PRUNE; NIJYET = JITNEY; YUBILS = BUSILY

CIRCLED LETTERS = DNETNUS

Most brides look stunning, but some grooms are ---

"STUNNED"

Today is Newspaper Carrier Day and Fight Procrastination Day. Also, Mark Spitz (just surpassed by Michael Phelps) completed his run of seven gold medals on this day in 1972.

Other things on this day in history:

476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself King of Italy.
1260 - The Senese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of King Manfred of Sicily, defeat the Florentine Guelphs at Montaperti.
1666 - In London, England, the most destructive damage from a Great Fire occurs.
1781 - Los Angeles, California, is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers.
1862 - Civil War Maryland Campaign Gen. Lee takes the Army of Northern Virginia, and the war, into the North.
1870 - Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed and the Third Republic is declared.
1884 - Britain ends its policy of penal transportation to New South Wales in Australia.
1886 - Indian Wars: After almost 30 years of fighting, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders with his remaining warriors to General Nelson Miles in Arizona.
1888 - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film.
1894 - In New York City, 12,000 tailors strike against sweatshop working conditions.
1919 - Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the Republic of Turkey, gathered a congress in Sivas to take decisions of the future of Anatolia and Thrace.
1923 - Maiden flight of the first U.S. airship, the USS Shenandoah.
1939 - World War II: Japan declares neutrality in European war.
1940 - World War II, a German submarine makes the first attack against a United States ship (the USS Greer) despite US neutrality.
1944 - World War II: The British 11th Armoured Division liberate the Belgian city of Antwerp.
1948 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons.
1949 - Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon.
1949 - The Peekskill Riots erupt after a Paul Robeson concert in Peekskill, NY.
1950 - First appearance of the "Beetle Bailey" comic strip.
1950 - Darlington Raceway is the site of the inaugural Southern 500, the first 500-mile NASCAR race.
1951 - The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, California, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
1956 - The IBM RAMAC 305 was introduced, the first commercial computer that used magnetic disk storage.
1957 - American Civil Rights Movement: Little Rock Crisis - Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas, calls out the National Guard to prevent African American students from enrolling in Central High School.
1957 - The Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel.
1963 - Swissair Flight 306 crashes near Dürrenäsch, Switzerland; killing all 80 people on board.
1964 - Scotland's Forth Road Bridge, near Edinburgh, officially opens.
1967 - Vietnam War: Operation Swift begins: U.S. Marines engage the North Vietnamese in battle in the Que Son Valley.
1971 - A Boeing 727 carrying Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 crashes near Juneau, Alaska, killing all 111 people on board.
1972 - Thieves steal 18 paintings from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in what was at the time the largest art theft in North America.
1972 - Mark Spitz wins his seventh swimming gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, becoming the first Olympian to do so. Spitz set world records in all seven events in which he swam.
1975 - The Sinai Interim Agreement concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict is signed.
1984 - Brian Mulroney leads the Canadian Progressive Conservative Party to power in the 1984 federal election, ending 20 years of nearly uninterrupted Liberal rule.
1995 - The Fourth World Conference on Women opens in Beijing with over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance.
1996 - War on Drugs: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare in which at least 130 Colombians are killed.