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photo courtesy of buckelew farm
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Buckelew Farm's corn maze is four miles of trail through 11 acres of corn. The owners say its 12 checkpoints can be completed in two hours. Completing the maze and Fermat's Last Theorem should take you about three.
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By Kevin Smith
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, October 23, 2003
The 15th-annual Buckelew Farms corn maze is in session, featuring over four miles in trail through a hearty 11 acres in corn stocks.
This year's maze is in the design of the "Headless Horseman," accentuated with a radio sponsor's name and call letters engraved at the top.
The farm's Web site says the maze takes two hours to complete. With 12 checkpoints in 11 acres, you'd have to hit the ground running to finish in two-flat.
Armed with nothing but a bottle of water, a pack of gum, my girlfriend, and an assignment from my editor, I became a child of the corn.
Here is a breakdown of Saturday night's activities:
8 p.m. - Arrive at Buckelew Farms after a 40-minute ride down West Ajo Way. Park in dirt-lot filled with mid-sized sedans, vans, and SUVs. Overwhelming stench of manure present. Scarecrows, pumpkin-totem-poles, kettle corn tents, and an inflatable giant pumpkin are all visible in the welcome area.
The crowd gathered looks comparable to the type you'd see at a Saturday night movie.
8:06 p.m. - Outhouse break after long drive.
8:08 p.m. - Listen to spiel from friendly employee about how to behave in maze:
Buckelew Farm's Corn Maze
17000 W. Ajo Way
Runs through Halloween from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. On Sundays the maze is only open until 5 p.m.
Tickets for the maze are $7.
Call 822- 2277 for more details or visit www.buckelewfarm.com.
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"As long as you have your card, you can come in and out as many times as you want. There's 12 checkpoints throughout the maze, every checkpoint has a map and a hole-punch connected to it," the worker said. "You want to punch your card at every checkpoint. The goal is to get all 12, but even if you don't, fill out the back of your card when you're done and put it in the bucket over there for the raffle for the mountain bike."
There's always a raffle for a mountain bike ...
8:10 p.m. - Buy two tickets and a map for $15. Map proves to be complex and not quite convincing of direction and shape. We proceed on.
8:12 p.m. - Enter maze of gigantic corn stocks. Only the tops of the stocks are
highlighted by baseball field-type lights from parking lot area. The rest of maze is pitch black. It gets darker the deeper you get in the maze, but not so dark it's uncomfortable. Your eyes will adjust quickly.
The stars are highly visible since this place is so far from the city, yet there is a passing feeling on this Saturday night that the mall crowd may have relocated west and entered the maze.
Lots of teenagers along with families, church groups, couples, the drug-enhanced, and some random drunks cracking Bud Lights. Wish we had brought booze.
8:13 p.m. - The beams of flashlights and the screams of lost souls punctuate the darkness. At this point, we realize we should have bought/brought a flashlight. But flashlights are for pussies.
8:19 p.m. - "This is not a race!" a mom screams at a kid.
8:40 p.m.- Finally find out what a checkpoint looks like: an unmanned stick with a map on top and a hole puncher hanging off of it. Apparently, they are much easier to find with flashlights than with the green glow of an old-school Nokia telephone.
8:50 p.m. - Hit second checkpoint and we begin to get the hang of the maze. The point is, there is no point. It's just blind mice hunting for checkpoint cheese. And it is fun.
8:55 p.m. - Guy asks if we've seen his wife. I had of course, but it was during a much wilder night last weekend.
9 p.m. - Third checkpoint found. Never mind the bats swooping overhead.
9:21 p.m. - Walk by third checkpoint again as frustration sets in.
9:25 p.m. - Fourth checkpoint.
9:35 p.m. - Fifth checkpoint.
9:39 p.m. - The night's still young and we decide to leave and salvage what is left of it. Break the rules and begin cutting through blades of corn to expedite process.
9:42 p.m. - We locate exit easily.
9:44 p.m. - Exit farm with kettle-corn in hand for a long ride home. Overall: good times. Bring a group for added fun. And some booze.
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