The River of Kings

"The River of Kings, A History of Arizona's Verde River" is more than a mere book authored by Steve Ayers.  It is a Dream Come True!

Steve first started dreaming about such a book over 20 years ago.  The power of Steve's dream grew stronger over the years until he finally sat down and spent two years putting his dream together.  Now Steve's Dream is available all of us to enjoy and learn from.  It is also a truly superb Life Milestone achievement by The Verde Virtuoso--Steve Ayers.

When Steve first washed ashore on the old dry lake bed sediments of The Verde Valley, little did he realize that he would someday play a starring role in preserving, interpreting and celebrating so many aspects of Verde Valley and Verde River history and legacy.

Steve and his wife Susan moved to The Verde while Steve was working toward the end of his 25 year career as a sales rep for C.W. Carter, a heavy equipment parts vendor in Phoenix.  During his studies with Old Dominion University, Steve researched and wrote an in-depth, eight-part series for Yavapai County on many key aspects of Verde River controversies, constraints and challenges. 

Upon receipt of his communiations degree, Steve went to work for Western Newspapers as a reporter for the "Camp Verde Bugle" newspaper.  Many of Steve's reporting assignments further whetted his appetite for "all things Verde River".

After toiling eight years as a newspaper reporter, Steve moved on in 2013 to become the Town of Camp Verde's Economic Development Director.  By 2016, Steve was named "Economic Developer of the Year".  Much of Steve's acclaim stemmed from his ardent and persausive inclusion of The Verde River into the Town's economic development plans.

And so it was upon Steve's 2023 retirement that he embarked on bringing his 20+ year Dream to reality in the form of a book on the History of The Verde River.

Behind his easy-going, affable manner Steve Ayers is filled with a passionate dedication to preserve and celebrate the history and pre-history of Camp Verde and the Verde River. 

The 228 page book is a testimony to Steve Ayers' dogged determination to "git 'er dun"!

The book is available for sale through Friends Of The Verde River here:
https://checkout.square.site/merchant/TTVQM5V1K2NMM/checkout/U7V6IXDVCGTZZEUPD5JZEM4T

Using his broad background in writing and reporting, Steve Ayers was able to synthesize a diverse variety of historic and modern resources to craft a highly readable, entertaining journey through the history of Arizona's Verde River.

Readers will find each of the book's chapters to be remarkably stirring standalone stories that bring forward unique levels of engagement, entertainment and education.

Steve Ayers is certainly no stranger to putting a book together.  His first effort recounts the History of Camp Verde through succinct narratives which accompany a cavalcade of old photos.  Steve has served as President of both the Camp Verde Historical Society and the Verde Valley Archaeological Center.

One of Steve Ayers signature long-term efforts was pinpointing the geograpical center of Arizona.
Steve is shown here (standing in back in blue shirt) on a 2012 wilderness Journey To The Center Of The State. Blog Author John Parsons is kneeling in front of Arizona Flag.  

When Steve began his position as Town of Camp Verde Economic Development Director in 2013, he immediately set out to parley Camp Verde's proximity to Arizona's geographical center as a promotional tool.

Camp Verde rightfully became "The Center of It All".  Steve Ayers' relentless promotion of Camp Verde as a vibrant, attractive "center" really helped put the town on the map.

Steve Ayers was quick to recognize any activity that could help promote Town of Camp Verde Economic Development whether it was pickleball or paddling The Verde River.  Here Steve (at left with paddle) attends the very first session of Camp Verde Pickleball on December 1, 2016.  Others pictured are (l-r) Susun McCulla, John Parsons, Shawna Figy, Esther "Babe" Daley and Sebra Choe.

Steve Ayers is a truly thoughtful person who ponders all perspectives before moving forward with the best plan to address anything from economic development to interpeting hazy historical contexts.

In his retirement from 25 years as a sales rep; 8 years as a newspaper reporter and 10 years as an Economic Development Director Steve Ayers jumped full force into researching and writing his book, "The River of Kings, A History of Arizona's Verde River".  Steve Ayers has also used his deep knowledge of history to help people understand little known aspects of the area's past.  In the photo above, Steve Ayers describes how the Spanish interacted with the Verde Valley and River.

We first met Steve Ayers during his "Reporter Phase".  Steve came to our house adjacent to Montezuma Well National Monument in the Fall of 2011 to record an interview about our relationship with the Verde River.  He wrote a wonderful article which was published on December 14, 2011.  Over the years, we have been quite proud of that fine article and have shared it in many ways.

You can read the full text of the article here:
https://myarizonatales.blogspot.com/2019/09/steve-ayers-article-12132011.html

Ironically, Steve said he struggled with his book's final chapter, "It took me three months to write the last chapter...just couldn't get it right...then I discovered my transcript of the interview we did in your back yard...and it all came together. Thanks again for all you have done for the river. Your efforts will live on!"

Indeed, Steve featured me in a portion of the book's final chapter and used one of my quotes as the books's final words.  I am deeply honored by Steve's kind hospitality and thoughtfulness!

As Parsons was fond of saying, the river had spoken, "I always viewed myself as the middleman, helping people get introduced to the rivert so the river could speak to them and tell its story in its own way, in its own time, straight to their hearts," Parsons said, “Once it does, then that person has a personal relationship with the river that never goes away. It works. I have seen it happen so many times, and its really cool to see."

All of the photos used in this blog post can be viewed in a Google Photo album here:

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/NEL9U9YYGrohfKja8

Idaho Falls Power of Love

First you have to know I despised Idaho Falls from the git go.  Each time we passed through the city in 2004 and 2005 I despised it even more.

When we left Bowery Guard Station in October of 2005, we knew we had to go through Idaho Falls to get to our next volunteer gig.  I dreaded heading to Idaho Falls.  Sure enough, as we passed through the heart of the city, my fear and loathing took center stage.  After much cussing I swore I'd never set foot in the city again.

And then we proceeded on to our next camp less than an hour east of the city.  The campground was perched on the banks of the Snake River just below Palisades Dam.  As luck would have it we pulled into a truly sweet camp site surrounded by old growth cottonwood trees.  It was a feeling of pure bliss as we set up for the night in that lovely site.

Of course, we reclined in our folding chairs to enjoy a beer with each other.  And that's when we got to talking about Idaho Falls.  I was SO relieved to be "on the other side" of that dreaded place.  And, of course, Dear Sweetie Susun had some nice things to say about the city.  In fact, she had a downright litany of nice things to say about things she saw that she liked.

One thing led to another and the evening beer softened my hard stance.  By and by I said, "Well, if you think you like that place so much, why don't we just drive back in there tomorrow in the Suzuki and give it another look."

And that's how it all started right there in the shade of those stately cottonwood trees beside the banks of the Snake River just below Palisades Dam.

The next day we headed west on US 26 putt-putting along in our little four cylinder Suzuki Samurai.  We drove around town with no agenda just looking at the city and its various neighborhoods.  Sweetie Susun was right.  If I hadn't been so focused on the confusing streets and traffic, I too would have noticed some appealing sights.

As we drove back to camp we both chattered about how maybe we had been all wrong about Idaho Falls.  Maybe we should "give it a chance".  So that evening over beers we decided to drive back into the city again the next day--only this time armed with a list of questions to investigate.

Right at the top of the list was the question: "Was is Idaho Falls Power?"  Of course, we knew nothing about Idaho Falls Power (IFP).  The next question was the obligatory, "What is the library like?"  We've always believed a that libraries are like that age-old adage: "Human Eyes are the window to the soul."  Our spin translates that to "Libraries are the eyes to the soul of a community."

So, the next day, off we trundled back into the city--about a 45 minute drive for the slow going Samurai.  And we went straight to IFP.  OH! MY! GOSH!  What an eye opening visit that was.  In fact, if there was one single vignette that hooked me on Idaho Falls, it was our first visit to IFP.  The people there treated us so nicely it was almost like we were like long lost Family returning home.  They enthusiastically shared so much information about IFP and how proud they were of IFP.  I'd never had any experience like that.

The Staff heaped us high with brochures, booklets and a complete history of IFP.  Next, we crossed the street to the Library.  Yes, the Library and IFP are adjacent to one another.   And, of course, walking into the Idaho Falls Library for the first time was an experience neither of us will ever forget.  The Library captivated us like no other library had ever done.  From the golden koi fish swimming slowly in the ponds of their little Japanese Zen garden to the curving promenade leading up and away we looked around in abject happiness.  WOW!  Did this place REALLY exist or were we dreaming?

We visited other important pieces of the Idaho Falls puzzle that day.  Then we went back to camp and tried to digest everything we had seen and learned.  By that time we were very excited about Idaho Falls.  We eagerly made a new list and headed back into the city for a third day to get new questions answered.  Every where we went, all of the answers to our questions kept popping up like green lights.

We repeated this process day after day, ultimately going into Idaho Falls for 10 straight days.  On one of our last trips into the city I HAD to go back to IFP to see if they would give us a tour of the control room for the City's downtown hydro plant.  Sure enough, they didn't even blink and within minutes we were inside the control room chatting with the operator and inspecting all the great dials, gauges and colored switches.

When we went back to camp that night we both agreed we were SOLD on Idaho Falls and wanted to move and live there as soon as possible.  On our last day in the city, we retained a Realtor to help us find a house and gave her a spreadsheet of all the various aspects and features we wanted in a home there.

It would take two full years to finally buy a house and settle down in Idaho Falls in the Fall of 2007.
We've been here more than 18 years now and love it just as much as we did when we "discovered" the city in October 2005.

On December 4, 2025, IFP dedicated a new peaking power plant.  It has seven GIANT 20 cylinder engines powering generators that can produce 17.5 megawatts of power.  As the dedication ceremony wound down, I sat off quietly by myself peering at the whole totality of the power plant.  I reflected back to October 2005 and all the realities of Idaho Falls Power that caused me to immediately fall in love with the city.  OH!  So many memories came flooding back as I sat there pondering the power plant.  

I know I must have had a very happy and probably very goofy smile on my face because an official came over and asked me "How are you doing?"  He turned out to be an courteous and attentive individual and I recounted the whole 20-year-old story of how the Idaho Falls Power of Love brought about such a huge change in our lives.  It was quite fun retelling the story to him.

This rendition is a tad bit tame compared to the hyperbole I heaped into my verbal version December 4th.  I'm happy the power plant dedication finally sparked the motivation to tell this story.

We'd love to go on and On and ON telling you about Idaho Falls Power but this post is already too long.  It's time to sign off and say once again, "Thanks for reading!"

For an account of the Peaking Power Plant Dedication see:

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2025/12/idaho-falls-power-celebrates-completion-of-new-peaking-plant-and-125-years-of-service/

For a history of the first 100 years of Idaho Falls Power see:

https://www.ifpower.org/gopower/resources/content/idaho-falls-power-history-pdf.pdf