August 31, 2017
Kraig R. Nelson
He lived in a remote one-room cabin near life-sustaining water. Proximity to water was important because the cabin lacked running water, electricity, or any means of communication with the outside world. This iconoclastic man cherished solitude. The remote cabin allowed the opportunity for simple living, self-sufficiency, reflection, writing, and most importantly, maintaining a special relationship with nature. This may sound like an article on Henry David Thoreau and Walden Pond. It’s not. This article is about our Desert Foothills advocate, Mr. Geoffrey Platts.
Relentless Preservationist
Unfortunately, Geoffrey Platts died December 5, 2000 at the untimely age of sixty-two, but not before he impacted the lives of those who admired his relentless mission to protect the Sonoran Desert. Geoffrey drowned while saving his companion’s life, Diana Newell, from the cold rapids of the Verde River north of Bartlett Lake.
The towns of Cave Creek and Carefree officially dedicated the first day of summer to Mr. Platts: Geoffrey Platts’ Day. The city of Scottsdale designated Geoffrey the first “Poet Laureate” in December 1999. The Desert Foothills Library in Cave Creek features a distinctive commemorative metal sculptor dedicated to Geoffrey which is part of “Geoffrey’s Walk.” Desert Foothills Land Trust commissioned and dedicated a commemorative bench in a lush riparian area called the “Jewel of the Creek,” about four miles north of Cave Creek near the Spur Cross Conservation area.
Long Walk for Mail
Geoffrey Platts’ one-room hovel was about eighteen miles northeast of Cave Creek in a hidden riparian area called Seven Springs. He cherished solitude and simple living which included relinquishing his automobile. He had a post office box in Carefree and yes, he walked eighteen miles to get his mail and eighteen miles to get home. He wrote poetry and monthly newspaper columns with his stylized calligraphy, always addressing what he called “Madrecita” or Mother Earth. In 1991, Mr. Platts published a book called,” Trek! Man Alone in the Desert Wild–The Desert Journals of Geoffrey Platts.” Cave Creek historian, Gene K. Garrison, said there was a love affair and a mission, “the love affair was with the desert and the mission was to protect and to preserve it.”
Geoffrey Platts was an environmentalist and desert activist. Using a variety of methods, he peacefully campaigned against developers encroaching his precious desert. In the preface of his book Geoffrey wrote,” May these writings help spark some fresh awareness of the elemental need to wholly protect the one and only Sonoran Desert, for its own sake, and …. for ours.”
A Popular Public Speaker
At the urging of ”Arizona’s Official Historian,” Mr. Marshall Trimble, Geoffrey became a popular public speaker, simply reading his hiking journals aloud. He was handsome, very tall and trim with thick sandy-blond hair, and blessed with a commanding rich baritone voice. Mr. Trimble described Geoffrey Platts as a “mesmerizing speaker…he had a wonderful way of painting word-pictures, his British accent dramatizing the metaphorical imagery.” He was famous for his annual Halloween presentation at the ASU Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale.
A Gift from England
British accent? How did this Englishman end up in Arizona? In 1962, one of Scottsdale’s fabled resorts, the Camelback Inn was recruiting potential hotel personal in London; fifty-six were selected including twenty-four-year-old Geoffrey Platts. Geoffrey was from Harrogate, Yorkshire. It was presumed the Camelback Inn wanted to enhance the elegance of the resort with the cacophony of British accents to help achieve the prestigious Mobil (now Forbes) Five-Star hotel rating. This elusive rating designates high quality lodging and sophisticated service. The coveted Mobil rating was achieved in 1969. Geoffrey Platts was a room-service waiter in an exceptional, world-class Scottsdale resort.
Commemorated by Desert Foothills Land Trust
Prior to coming to Arizona, Geoffrey had backpacked around the world according to Yorkshire Television. Adventures included Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In the 1960s, Scottsdale resorts closed for the summer allowing Geoffrey to backpack through Japan, South America, and embark upon his cherished desert explorations.
It seems appropriate the Desert Foothills Land Trust commemorated Geoffrey at the forever-protected “Jewel of the Creek preserve” not only because Geoffrey Platts was a hero, but because he was ardent advocate for our magnificent Sonoran Desert.
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October 7, 2020
My father lived in Leeds and was a friend of Geoffrey Platt. I have a copy of his book called Trek Man alone in the Arizona wild. In it is a beautiful hand written letter from him to my father congratulating him on his MBE. Also a dedication.
October 8, 2020
Thank you for sharing. Kraig Nelson will appreciate your comment.