Staring out my office window to see what 115 degrees physically looks like, my thoughts can't help but turn to cooler endeavors.  With monsoon season officially upon us in the Valley of the Sun, we Scottsdale residents are greeted with the promise of the lion's share of our annual rainfall and the eventual death knell of summer.  Fall can best be described in the desert as post-summer or pre-winter.  A quick 1-hour jaunt up north, though, holds the allure of cool temperatures and full fledged Autumn.  This year, however, while the leaves will be as spectacular as ever, and the breeze that hits our faces a crisp 75 degrees, there will be a little something missing.

Young's Farm was established in 1946 in Dewey, AZ.  It's 300 acres were privately farmed for an abundance of crops and used to raise all manner of animals.  In the early 1980s, the family opened the farm to the public.  For 30 years, the people of Dewey, nearby Prescott Valley and fall seekers from the Valley would make the pilgrimage to an annual pumpkin festival.  Other events were held at the farm as well, but the pumpkin festival was iconic.  I made the trek personally most years, and was always rewarded with great food, fun and my own personal Great Pumpkin (blatant copyright infringement).  There had been rumblings the last few years about water rights issues with the town.  Developers wanted the land desperately, and apparently, the local powers that be were inclined to agree with the "onwards and upwards" crowd.  The family eventually yielded, and held it's final festival in 2006.  The farm has since closed, and the family took its pursuits to Oregon.  The last two years, I was fortunate enough to have a family of my own with whom to share the experience.  My son, Jack, was thoroughly mesmerized by the fiddle players, man-sized turkey drumsticks, and of course, the never-ending pumpkins.  So fairwell, Young's Farm.  You took a little bit of Arizona with you when you left.

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