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Events are key to Creekside Lodge’s success

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Foothills Focus Executive Editor

Creekside Lodge & Cabins is more than a place to stay.

The Mayer destination, between State Route 69 and the seasonally running Big Bug Creek, is the perfect place for events — concerts, weddings, conferences and team-building meetings — and activities.

“You name it, we can do it,” said PJ McKay, the marketing representative for Creekside Lodge & Cabins.

Besides its restaurant, The Cellar, Creekside Lodge & Cabins boasts a game room for those who want a little fun. Garage doors allow guests to flow onto the patio that hosts entertainment on Fridays and soon to be Saturdays.

Crews are finishing work on the barn that backs to Big Bug Creek bed. In lieu of the barn, brides and grooms have been married under beautiful tents.

“People like to be married next to the creek bed,” McKay said. “Then they have the reception up top.”

Besides conferences, Creekside Lodge & Cabins offers tours of local vineyards.

Owner John Papuga took over the Creekside Lodge & Cabins during the pandemic and was still able

to keep the doors open. (Photo by Dave Karasinski) �ee CREEKSIDE page 17

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“Wherever you want to go, we’re happy to take you,” she said. “This is a getaway.”

From Creekside Lodge & Cabins, guests can take off-highway vehicles (OHV) to Lake Pleasant, among other destinations.

“We had an OHV group come up a few weeks ago and left in their side by sides to go to the Grand Canyon and back,” McKay said. “You don’t touch pavement. It branches out to OHV trails and hiking trails. You can also park your horse here. There’s a lot to do here. We’re starting to see a lot of families come up.”

Owner John Papuga opened Creekside Lodge & Cabins during the COVID-19 pandemic. New to the hospitality industry, Papuga is looking forward to making the facility a success. The year before Papuga purchased Creekside Lodge & Cabins, it only brought in $165,000.

“That’s how bad of shape it was in,” Papuga said “We really didn’t know what to expect. But guess what? We made it. We’ve not gone away. It’s a cool place in a great area. This area needs something like this.”

Creekside Lodge & Cabins’ game room adds extra fun to the unique event, activity and vacation

space. (Photo by Dave Karasinski)

Papuga called State Route 69 Arizona’s third-most traveled state road, which makes the area ideal for accommodations like Creekside Lodge & Cabins.

“The elevation is perfect,” he said. “At 4,200 feet, you can really do stuff outside. We’re an hour outside of Phoenix. You can’t beat that.

“We’re trying to convert this into a mini destination. Surprisingly, we’ve had a lot of guests from Camp Verde, Bagdad, Dewey and Prescott. They come from the Valley and places around here, too. They can come here to have dinner, listen to good music and sleep and they’re less than an hour from home.”

McKay and Papuga recently hosted Country at the Creek, which featured “The Voice” season seven winner Craig Wayne Boyd.

“We couldn’t have asked for more, especially with it being the first one we’ve done,” said McKay, a Buckeye native. “It just turned out great. We’re going to do this again.”

Creekside Lodge & Cabins

11255 S. State Route 69, Mayer 928-632-0777 creekside-az.com

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Get to know someone before criticizing

CHURCH COMMUNITY CONNECTION Pastor Ed Delph

Foothills Focus Columnist

Many times, in life, we make judgments about behavior we don’t understand.

Often, the younger look at older people as those to be tolerated, not celebrated. Honestly, younger people may be seeing farther than more senior people because they’re sitting on older folks’ shoulders.

This column is a true and extraordinary story that many people don’t know. It is a shining example to be careful about judgments and how one might learn to be cautious with our older folks until you know them better. You never know what they have done for younger people during their lifetimes.

The story comes from Max Lucado’s fantastic book, “The Eye of the Storm.” I’ve shortened the story a bit to fit into this article.

“It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and was starting to dip into the blue ocean.

“Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier. Clutched in his bony hand was a bucket of shrimp. Ed walks out to the end of the dock, where it seems he almost has the world to himself. Everybody’s gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts and his bucket of shrimp.

“Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky, a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier. Now, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly. Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, ‘Thank you. Thank you.’

“In a few short minutes, the bucket is empty. But Ed doesn’t leave. He stands there lost in thought, as though transported to another time and place. When he finally turns around and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too, fly away. And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach and on home.

“If you were sitting there on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like a ‘funny old

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duck,’ as my dad used to say. Or, to onlookers, he’s just another old codger, lost in his weird world, feeding the seagulls with a bucket full of shrimp. Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of others. Most would probably write Old Ed off, down there in Florida. That’s too bad. They’d do well to know him better.

“His full name is Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a famous hero in World War I, and then he was in WWII. On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, the men survived the crash, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft.

“Capt. Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger and thirst. By the eighth day, their rations ran out. No food. No water. They were hundreds of miles from land, and no one knew where they were or even if they were alive. Every day across America, millions wondered and prayed that Eddie Rickenbacker might somehow be found alive.

“The men adrift needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle. Then they tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose as time dragged on. All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft. Suddenly Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a seagull.

“Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, Eddie managed to grab the bird and wring its neck. He and his starving crew made a meal of it — a very slight meal for eight men. Then they used the intestines for bait. They caught fish, which gave them food and more bait for fishing, and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued after 24 days at sea.

“Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first life-saving seagull. And he never stopped saying, ‘Thank you.’ That’s why almost every Friday night, he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude.”

P.S.: Eddie Rickenbacker was the founder of Eastern Airlines. Before WWI, he was a race car driver. In WWI, Eddie was a pilot and became America’s first ace. In WWII, he was a combat instructor and military adviser, and he flew missions with combat pilots. Eddie Rickenbacker is a true American hero. And now you know another story about the trials and sacrifices those brave men have endured for your freedom.

Do you see that “old man with a bucket of shrimp” type that you know? Don’t marginalize them. Listen to their story, and, above all, thank them. After all, you’re sitting on their shoulders!

Ed Delph is a native of Phoenix who lives in the North Valley. Since 1980, he has pastored three churches in the Valley. He is a noted author of 10 books, weekly columnist in several local and worldwide newspapers, teacher, business owner and speaker. Delph has been to or ministered in over 100 countries. He is president of a worldwide ministry, NationStrategy.

To learn more about Pastor Ed Delph, the Church-Community Connection and Nation strategy, call 623-376-6757, e-mail nationstrategy@cs.com or visit nationstrategy.com.

THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | JUNE 30, 2021

FEATURES 19 ••

Lake Pleasant Sailing Club resumes activities

BY ALLISON BROWN

Foothills Focus Staff Writer

After more than a year of restrictions and regulations, the Lake Pleasant Sailing Club will resume normal activities this fall with a full event schedule

Approximately an hour from anywhere in the Valley, Lake Pleasant is an easily doable day trip that serves as an oasis during the hot summer months. Many come to the sailing club for the water, but they stay for the friendships.

“We have monthly meetings, guest speakers, organized on-the-water boating and networking. We promote and educate boaters, helping them to develop their skills, fully participate in and enjoy boating, all while making new friends,” said Cathy White, club secretary. “We’re really more of a social club that has a boating habit, because really it’s all about the people.” The club has about 150 members who hail from around the Valley, and White said they are always excited to have new members. Potential members can try out the club by attending a few of its meetings or joining in on a “guest sail,” where those without boats can tag along with someone else.

Russ Test joined the Lake Pleasant Sailing Club eight years ago.

“We became a member when they had a guest sail, where they invited people from the community to come out and sail,” Test said. “We met some people and joined that same day. It was just a no-brainer.”

Former Florida residents, Test said he and his wife sailed around the country, but when they moved to Chandler in 2014, they sold their boat, thinking there was no use for it, but they were soon proved wrong.

“Within a few months, we found out that there’s a very active sailing program in Phoenix,” Test said. “We immediately joined the club and haven’t looked back. I would say it’s an extremely active club, even more so than some of the boat clubs on the coast.”

Since joining, Test said they have made “forever friends,” thanks to the club.

Twenty-year member Doug Payne echoed this sentiment. Payne said that besides his love of sailing, the friendships he has made at the club are what keep him involved.

“We’ve made some long-term friends in the club. We share that passion for sailing and also a little bit of RV, camping and travel,” Payne said. “We have the clubhouse RV trips as well. My wife and I participated in that, and that kind of makes it double the fun because we can sail and we can RV with our friends in the club.”

Besides sailing and socializing, the club does a number of other activities. One, mentioned by Payne, is RV trips. Other activities include community cleanups, educational programs, cruises and movie and dinner member meetings.

One of the club’s most popular events has been its cruises. Payne said they cruise to Catalina Island every year, and he led the trip last spring. Test said he has gone on a weeklong Bahamas cruise with the club a couple times. However, Test said he also enjoys the educational programs.

“We’ve had various speakers from around the world who have spoken at our meetings, and they will talk about things like trimming the sails, line handling, knot tying, docking, safety and all kinds of things that are important for boaters to know,” White said.

These educational programs, along with lessons offered by the club, can take someone who has never been on a sailboat and turn them into a pro — or at least a solid beginner.

There are no certifications or experience required to join.

“There aren’t any criteria for joining,” White said. “All they have to do is go to our website and sign up. In fact, you don’t even have to have a boat. Only 50% of our members have boats. So, we have public events called guest sails, where we take members and nonmembers alike to let them experience sailing.”

A bundle membership is available for two adults in the same household for $50 a year, with a one-time initiation fee of $40. To sign up, view the event calendar or learn more, visit lakepleasantsailing.com. For inquiries specifically about membership, email membership@lakepleasantsailing.com. Members of the Lake Pleasant Sailing Club do not have to own a boat and can participate in

guest sails. (Photos courtesy of the Lake Pleasant Sailing Club)