Signs of Life and Death Along Southwestern Highways

Featured on the December 13th, 2018 edition of ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT with host Mark McLemore:

• 2019 marks the 150th anniversary of the John Wesley Powell expedition on the Colorado River, which is crediting with opening up the American West. Powell himself anticipated the problems that settlers would have with water scarcity. From Flagstaff, Laurel Morales reports on efforts to give the artifacts from the Powell expedition a permanent home in a museum.

• Meet Jesse Sensibar, who has written Blood in the Asphalt: Prayers from the Highway. It is a collection of stories from more than three decades of being a tow truck driver, and the many road side shrines and crosses that he has stopped to document along the way, published by Tolsun Books.

• Find out about the work of Kindred, a group of Pima County Library employees who want to make a positive impact on the community, one good book at a time. They are starting with Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower in 2019, and making free copies of the book, along with a study guide, available at 8 different library branches.

• And, learn how classic Sonoran-style recipes earned Rollies Mexican Patio a place on Tucson's food treasure map less than a year after the restaurant's grand opening.