Only in Arizona

 

Arizona 4

This is the Arizona State Capitol building and the amount of copper required to make the copper dome is equal to 4.8 million pennies. The building is made largely from materials indigenous to Arizona, including Malapai, granite, and the copper dome. The design is optimized for the desert climate of Arizona, with thick masonry walls that insulate the interior, skylights, and round bullseye clerestory windows to let heat out out the legislative chambers. The building is topped with a weather vane similar to the winged victory of Samothrace visible through a skylight from within the rotunda.

It was built in 1900 on 2 acres. It is now the Arizona State capitol museum and has many amazing displays but most notable is the enormous silver and copper punch bowl service from USS Arizona, as well as a bronze sculpture that was ensconced outside the Admiral's stateroom and used as a centerpiece at state dinners wherever USS Arizona was docked. Both of these historical artifacts survived the sinking of Arizona because they had been removed from the ship for cleaning prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The punch bowl service is the only one of its kind and is composed of etched copper panels depicting desert scenes set into a silver bowl ornamented with mermaids, dolphins, waves and other nautical themes.

The monument in the front of the building is of Lt. Frank Luke Jr., a pilot in World War 1

I have lived in Phoenix for 52 years now and have never visited this place, maybe I ought to get going:)

Arizona 3

Oraibi, a Hopi Village located in in Navajo County, Arizona and is the oldest continuously inhabited community in the U.S. It is believed to have begun between 900 and 1000 A.D. and is located on Third Mesa on the Hopi Reservation. In the 1800s, droughts in the area drove many other Hopi settlements to consolidate with others for survival. By 1890, it’s believed that as much as one-half of the Hopi population resided in the tiny village of Oraibi (called Orayvi by inhabitants).

There are few pictures available today because The residents of Oraibi  ask that you respect their wishes of no photography within the village. You'll find a few craft stands where residents are selling their handcrafted dolls, baskets and pottery. And don't forget to sample their traditional piki bread if you go!

The Oraibi village  was constructed of mud and stone dwellings, clustered together, even stacked on top of one another. Stairs and, more often, ladders were used to gain access to the upper floors.  The estimated population in 1890, the time period in which the following photo was taken, was 900 residents. 

Oraibi village, 1899.

Arizona 2

Phoenix

Also known as the valley of the Sun.

Phoenix originated in 1866 as a hay camp to supply military post Camp McDowell; prior to that the area was inhabited by Indians who also created water canals to try to survive the drought. Water being brought into this desert is why this city has not only survived but has become the capital with over 1,626,078 people. The "Five C's" Cotton, cattle, citrus, climate and copper were known as it's main economy until after World War II, when high-tec companies began to move into the valley and air conditioning made it's hot summers more bearable.  No hurricanes, no tornado's to speak of and no earthquakes. Our peril is sand storms and that might seem minimal but they can be deadly...here is a picture of one coming into the valley.

I have lived here for nearly 52 years and the growth is on going. I never thought I would live in a big city but truthfully you only stay in your small area most of the time so it does't really seem that big until you have to make a run to the airport or some other place you only go on occasion and then you see all the changes, some good and some not.

Arizona 1

There are many interesting places in Arizona and probably the most famous is the Grand Canyon

Here are a few tidbits...
You could pile four 1,300-foot skyscrapers on the top of each other and they still would not reach the rim.

Because elevation changes weather, the canyon itself created it's own weather.

We can enjoy the Grand Canyon today thanks to Teddy Roosevelt who first visited it in 1903 and was deeply moved by it. In 1906 Roosevelt signed a bill that proclaimed the area the Grand Canyon Game Reserve, and two years later, he made it a nation monument. Of the Grand Canyon, he said "Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.

Merry Christmas

Castle Hot Springs

This is one of my favorite places to go so I am going to first tell you about the place and then about our little jaunt there last Sunday. This is a copy of a recent magazine.

DEVELOPERS LOOK TO REVIVE CASTLE HOT SPRINGS RESORT

JUNE 20, 2016 AT 5:04 AM

Castle Hot Springs Resort, as seen in the March 1974 issue of Arizona Highways.

Tucked away in the shadow of the rugged Bradshaw Mountains, not far from Lake Pleasant, Castle Hot Springs once boasted a dazzling guest list — from Rockefellers to Carnegies to a Kennedy. Yet for 40 years, the resort sat empty, frequented only by a caretaker and countless owners whose grand plans for the site fizzled.

The place boasts the kind of rugged beauty that can’t be found at urban resorts. It’s an oasis — a canola-yellow mansion in the mountains, surrounded by natural hot springs, fruit trees and hiking trails. But it sits at the end of a rough, rocky road that Arizona’s official historian calls “not really passable, and not even jackass-able” after heavy rainfall. It endured fires and floods after it opened in 1896; after a 1976 blaze, it closed to the public. It had been maintained by ASU for years and of course no one could get inside but apparently some local business partners are going to endeavor to revive this first Arizona resort and bought the property for $1.95 million at a online auction in 2014. There have been many people that have tried to accomplish this for over 40 years and trust me if it happens I will be first in line. The original drawn guests traveled on private Burlington Northern Santa Fe train cars, hopping off at the Morristown station and climbing onto stagecoaches that transported them to the resort. where guests enjoyed accommodations that included swimming, golf, hiking, horseback-riding and tennis — and, naturally, Arizona’s beautiful weather.

Today, only a few structures remain. Fires claimed the Palm House and the Wrigley Building (named after another famous family that stayed there). The bright-yellow Kennedy Building still stands although mostly gutted. The second floor of the yellow building — referred to as the Kennedy Building, after future President John F. Kennedy, who recuperated there after World War II — once served as a greeting and check-in area for guests. It’s gutted now, but there are a few historical gems that remain, including a telephone booth that reportedly housed the phone with Arizona’s first telephone number: 1.Here are a few pictures from the past...

For more information you can go here

Now here are some pictures of our little jaunt there...

Rough dirt road but look at all the mailboxes!!

 How about these wild donkeys..

You can see the palm trees and the yellow house here.

 Just another abandoned house along the way and

 more palm trees...

This is not a mirage but is Lake Pleasant. A man made lake.

The real problem with restoring Castle Hot springs  is the getting there. The road is very rough and all dirt. Someone said they studied building a cable car from Lake Pleasant but that doesn't sound very feasible either.

Horse Trotting Park

This elegant 1,500 seat glass-enclosed grandstand building was built in 1965 on a 194 acre plot of land in the middle of nowhere at the time in Goodyear, Az.  Only someone from New York (James Dunnigan) would think this was a good idea and it lasted for only a little over 2 seasons and then was abandoned for 51 years. Hubby and I went in the forbidden area a few years ago and looked around and oh it must have been something to see it in its day.




Here is a picture I found of the escalator when it was open...

and abandoned   

A fantastic view of the trotters and lit up like a Christmas tree

A unique and elaborate building for sure....

It was for sale for 16.5 million dollars but no one wanted to try to restore it or make it into something else so after sitting all these years they are now tearing it down.





For some it was nothing but a eyesore but for others a point of conversation as you whizzed by on the current freeway................ I will miss it.

Saquaro Cactus

Since the Saquaro cactus lives here where I am and in fact the largest ever recorded lived in Cave Creek, Az  at 78 feet before it was toppled in 1986 by a windstorm; I thought I would give you some interesting facts about this plant.




It is very slow growing and in fact a 10 year old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall.
The reason it is able to survive in the desert is because it retains water and then uses it when needed.  A fully hydrated cactus can weigh between 3200-4800 pounds.

Most of the saguaros roots are only 4-6 inches deep and radiate out as far from the plant as it is tall. There is one deep root, or tap root that extends

down into the ground more than 2 feet.

They get their first flower at 35 years old

 and their first arm at 60 years old. They can live up to 150 years +

The elf owl has been known to like to nest in them as well as sparrows and other creatures.
















The spines of the cactus expand as it retains water, much like an accordion.....

The Saquaro only grows in the Saquaro desert and perhaps the reason that this is such a famous picture for the my state of Arizona

A Sunday jaunt

Hubby and I head up north, first to breakfast at Rock Springs café

Who are well known for their pies but trust me....they have an amazing breakfast. I have written about this place before and how it got it's name from a rock spring behind it but I had never gone back there before ........... boy what a surprise!

 Can't see it well but the water is bubbling out of the rocks

They have lots of seating and have parties out here it seems...

and check out the flagstone...

 comes from where I grew up.

From here we headed on up 1-17 freeway to the Crown King turn off. Although it is only 27 miles from the freeway it takes more than an hour to get there because of the roads..

Many places are one car only wide and many are on blind curves.

You go from 1,000 feet elevation to 5,700 feet and of course the scenery changes right with it. There is no telling what you might see along the way...

 Isn't she sweet and look at those ears! Guess that is why she is called a mule deer.

The goal is the saloon. It has been open since 1916 and featured a 7 room bordello on the second floor. Now it is just filled with old timers, Once dollar bills stuck to the wall of the bar,

and a rip roaring fire..

 look how worn the floor is..

After some refreshment we decided to be really brave it and headed up to Horse Thief basin, now mind you were are not in a four wheel drive...

We encountered snow as we climbed..

This area was devastated by fire in 1972 as easily seen.




We climbed and climbed but finally gave up and settled for this top of the world view...

We headed back to Crown King and decided we would have lunch  at the Mill. I didn't get any pictures but be sure to go to the web site to see some...
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x872cc6d378463a57%3A0x8f6f81e6486c9331!2m19!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m13!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Flh%2Fsredir%3Funame%3D100512809408445005392%26id%3D6091331769919696114%26target%3DPHOTO!5sthe%20mill%20at%20crown%20king%20-%20Google%20Search&imagekey=!1e3!2s-isCPHF9ac8o%2FV_wfX4B7BSI%2FAAAAAAAABPs%2FzwXsYh_YB1sTX2imN9WB8oaa_TvckZ3bgCLIB&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjygrvw-LDSAhWrjFQKHYe5AtAQoioIeDAO
 I know it is long but it shows a lot of pictures. This place is constructed almost entirely of recycled material from area mines including a huge grinding machine in the main dining room. To say this place is rustic would be putting it mild and I was not sure that we should eat here but hubby and I shared a open face chili hamburger with potato salad and it was terrific!! It was cold and even the waitresses had coats on but so glad we stopped.




It was time to head back the same way we came up and as we drew near to Rock springs I told the hubby...Pecan pie is calling me!!




Nothing like a day of sight seeing and eating:)



Globe

Last Sat. hubby suggested we take a drive to Globe, Az. about 120 miles from our home. I love to do things like that and it is a beautiful drive once you start climbing up. Here are a few pictures...

 

Not only is it green but it soon has these amazing boulders...

(little blurry but then we were doing about 80mph)

 

 

 

Globe is a mining town and became ranked as one of the world's richest in copper in it's hay day.

 

There are several beautiful old buildings there but the one that I fell in love with was the Holy Angels Catholic Church built in 1918

 

 

On the opposite side of the street they were having a car show and of course I had to pick one of two to show you....

 

 

The weather was wonderful for walking so we followed the signs and walked.

 

Of course up close and personal just can't be beat. Take a look at the detail of this building...

Yep, that's my man...

 

We also drove through the housing areas and let me tell you, everything is either going up or going down. I think it puts San Francisco to shame. This is just one street

 

and this is the house right next to us on this road.

Up on a hill and needing repair.

 In small towns the High School kids gather rocks and put them up on the highest hill and arranges them in the beginning letter of their town. Globe has theirs in pink!

 

 

We decided we should have lunch and picked this hole in the wall Mexican food restaurant.

These chances can be either a good thing or a bad thing but this little place that held only 22 patrons was fantastic. All homemade...we hit the jackpot!!!

 

 

Globe's economy remains heavily dependent on the mining industry, and as of 2008^[update] the city was home to one of the few operating copper smelters in the United States.

 

It was a good day....