I live and learn

I'd never realised that POW's during WW2 were transported from Europse to the USA, let alone to Arizona. Today we went to the Arizona Historical Society Museum near Papago Park. Fascinating museum and I know I'm going to return more than once. Much too much stuff to see in just one afternoon and it's a good museum; you never feel as though the curator who wrote the captions is talking down at you.

Thus I learned that there was a line drawn through Arizona during the first few months of the American involvement in WW2, roughly following US89 and US60. If you were of Japanese descent and lived north of the line you were ok so long as you didn't cross the line. If you lived south of the line it was internment time.

I've driven a few times east along MacDowell from the Hohokam Expressway toward Scottsdale road; that route takes you through some very scenic countryside with a couple of impressive red rock outcrops (called Buttes here and pronounced Bewtes though I can't resist reading that as Butts :-) ). Just before the first Butte (Barnes BUtte) on the left heading east there's what is obviously Federal land. I've often wondered about it given that it's pretty much empty.

The mystery was solved today; it was the site of a POW[^] camp.

The second Butte is a trifle further along on the right heading east. There's an amphitheatre there; google earth shows it quite clearly and it doesn't look natural. Neither I nor my wife can find any information whatsoever on the amphiteatre.