Temple Trip--Gila Valley

The Gila Valley Temple, with Mt. Graham, 10,720 feet in height in the background

Traveling toward Gila Valley from Phoenix, we saw mostly desolate desert, and the area within a few miles of the temple was the most hospitable we saw on the whole route.

Cactus on hillside, between Globe and Thatcher AZ

The temple was quite attractive, and serving a small population, it seemed neighborly and friendly.  It was dedicated in 2010, and while a small temple with the single 2-room progressive design, an added waiting chapel was a nice improvement over the design used in the Snowflake temple.
We felt this temple must be a very significant addition and resource for this little Mormon corner of the world, since its dedication.  It serves 7 stakes (about 20,000 people).  Three of the stakes are in the immediate area, and the other four are scattered in the surrounding area.
The upper Gila Valley was where Pres. Kimball was raised, in the area of Safford, Thatcher, and Pima.  It was a Mormon settlement started in 1879.  The Gila River provides water for farming and sustenance but not a great amount.  The river rises in the Black Mountains at the continental divide in New Mexico and runs westward about 600 miles absorbing several other rivers and draining (sort of) the south half of Arizona and also some part of Sonora in Mexico, eventually joining the Colorado River just north of the Mexican border.  However water from these rivers water is mostly used along the way.  Gila Valley in the area of the temple has an elevation of about 2,500 feet above sea level and is very hot, like Phoenix. We saw some agriculture, including quite a few cotton fields undergoing harvest as we passed.

Field of cotton near Pima AZ