Resident Authors

SaddleBrooke Resident Stuart Watkins Has Published Oracle, Arizona and Beyond

SaddleBrooke resident Stuart Watkins has published Oracle, Arizona and Beyond. This book will take the reader to Oracle, Oracle State Park, places to visit in Oracle, sites to see, where to eat, as well as things to do.

Watkins also visits Florence, the Florence Museum, and Saint Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery near Florence. Then, he guides you to San Manuel, Mammoth, and swings down to Bisbee. Watkins knows where to eat, what to see, and which B&B to stay in. If you have never been to the Copper Queen Hotel to see if you can see the ghost that is said to walk the halls, then at least spend an hour or so at the Copper Queen Mine.

When in Oracle, the Jerry and Sue Parra Trading Post, Oracle Inn, Casa Rivera Mexican Food Café, Ore House Tavern, and the Oracle Cemetery are stops to make.

Mammoth? Go to the park and see the sculptures Jerry Parra did to honor the miners and their wives. Bring a snack lunch and eat at the park or go where the locals go at the La Casita Mexican Food Restaurant.

Each small town is stacked full of mining history, shootouts, spirits, and the locals want to share their experiences with you.

There is more to Arizona than Phoenix and the Grand Canyon, which are also great visits.

Now, the Oracle State Park is a must do. State Park Ranger Vince Metcalf will gladly show you around the Kanalley Ranch House and tell you about the trails to take if you care to hike.

What a fun book to guide you to one day trips around southern Arizona, and a wonderful gift to give your guests so they can remember you, where they have been, and where to go on their next visit to wonderful southwestern Arizona.

At present, the book is only available through amazon books, due to the virus situation across the nation, but it is a book that Arizona residents and tourists will enjoy.

Review of SaddleBrooke Author Albert Anthony Melvin’s Student Handbook for Success

Stuart Watkins

SaddleBrooke author Albert Anthony Melvin wrote Student Handbook for Success. This is the most interesting educational book that has realistic recommendations for today’s homeschool teachers, high school students, and college students that is so relevant and helpful, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it to all of the above.

As I read chapter after chapter, I began to wish I had this book for my own children, my own students in both high school and college, and for the parents of the many gifted students taught in the past.

Arizona State Senator Al Melvin has captured the essence of what is important for our children to learn as they are entering college. What he has learned as a captain in the United States Naval Reserves is compiled into meaningful tips and advice for parents, teachers, and students that will help them as they go through education and life.

Student Handbook for Success is exactly that—it is a handbook for anyone in business to read and follow his suggestions. There is religion tossed in along with his own outlooks on life, and it is worth a read and discussion with family members.

Each chapter has follow-up questions to see if you understood the gist of each chapter and gives the reader a chance to reread any missed important points that should be considered.

There are key excerpts from the U.S. Constitution, Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” and tips on being “calm, cool, and collected in dealing with others.”

This book is a must have, must read, and must share in discussions with your children and grandchildren. It covers many topics that are being ignored in today’s textbooks, and the information is presented in an enjoyable, factual chapter-by-chapter professional manner that may become a classic as teachers and educators get copies and spread the word.