INSIDE THE NOVEMBER 2024 ISSUE: Arizona’s Chief Justice Fights for More Access to Legal System p. 3 Is Verde Valley the Next Napa Valley? p. 4 Boutique Brings Romantic Pioneer Chic to Camp Verde p. 8
Retired Pilot Grounded in U-Haul Service p. 10 Lowell’s Astronomy Discovery Center Opens p. 11 Wine Promotor Inducted into Arizona Tourism Hall of Fame p. 14
Babbitt Ranches Calls Wind Farm a ‘Promise for the Future’ Babbitt Ranch Energy Center collaboration celebrated in remote grasslands By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN
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s crisp white wind turbine blades rotated gently against a clear blue Northern Arizona sky, more than 100 people, representatives from Salt River Project, NextEra
Energy Resources, Arizona State Land Department, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Coconino County and Babbitt Ranches, along with dignitaries, business owners, consultants and scientists, gathered to celebrate the completion of Arizona’s newest wind
energy center and the meaning behind the steel. “When I consider the future of renewable energy and what it means for our communities, I see this truth more clearly than ever,” said Babbitt Ranches President and General Manager Billy Cordasco. “Each of us brings a unique part to the table – our skills, our expertise, our willingness
to make tough decisions. And while those contributions are important on their own, together they create something greater – a future where we not only generate energy, but also foster hope, resilience and a connection to the land and each other.” Cordasco recounted his recent ultramarathon journey, in which he power walked for more than 16
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Taadidiin Tours Welcomes Visitors to Hidden Canyonlands, Teaches Young Navajos Business Skills
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Taadidiin Tours Guide Marcus Onesalt enhances the visitor experience with gentle flute music, taught to him by his elders. Photo by Bonnie Stevens
November 2024 | Issue 10 Volume 12
By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN
avajo legend has it that a woman who once roamed the twisting, spiraling, sun-drenched red rock canyonlands near Page continues to watch over the land. “Lady in Red has her hair down, long and untied, flowing beautifully,” said Taadidiin Tours Reputation Coordinator Angelita Nez. “Normally, Navajo women wear their hair in buns. When we take our hair down, we are in our fierce state. Her figure in the canyon shows her fierceness as the protector of this particular canyon.” This “particular canyon” is Antelope Canyon X, where Lady in Red, symbolized in rock, saw more than 130,000 visitors last year. The slot canyon is named for the X-shaped opening above that invites the sun to shine in and set the red rock hues aglow. And this is only the beginning of miles of stunning, hidden pathways in a maze of ancient rocks, dripping in sunlight, that fit together like puzzle pieces crafted by time, wind and water.
In 2016, another Navajo woman, Rita Tsinigine, a mom and grandmother, founded Taadidiin Tours, with much the same goal as Lady in Red – to protect the stunning and sacred landscape. She is accomplishing this through awareness – by sharing the natural beauty, along with the traditions, history and culture of her tribe. Taadidiin Tours owns the exclusive rights to operate in Antelope Canyon X and Cardiac Canyon. Her son, Logan Tsinigine, an engineer who worked at the now defunct Navajo Generating Station, runs the family-owned company that employs more than 50 people – all Navajo. He added the Corn Pollen Internship program to teach business skills, including marketing, human resources, the tribal legal system and tour operations, to young members of the tribe. The internship is designed after a similar program created by Salt River Project, the primary operator of the Navajo Generating Station, which had employed many tribal members, including Nez, Tsinigine and Begay. Through the Corn Pollen Internship, college-bound students can Continued on page 35