March 5, 2021, Friday
On our way to Prescott (not Pres-cott, but Pres-kit) today. Being 5300 feet above sea level you notice the change of environment on the way up. It was founded in 1864 and was the first territorial capital of Arizona.
Over, under, around or through - what would you do?
We passed through Yarnell and decided on the Skull Valley route which goes around the mountain. We took the tight zig zag route on the way down where there are parts of the road without guardrails and steep drops - scary!
In a cowgirl state of mind today and at our first stop I found a pair of boots - ankle high, roper (low heel), leather sole, fringe and a little bling.
We went to a co-op art gallery and Rich bought me a pair of glass and sterling earrings from the woman who made them.
This is Rich’s hat and the blue micro-bead band was made by Theresa...
The city is much bigger (42,785 population) than I expected with big box stores on the outskirts of town and a bustling block known as Whiskey Row.
The Palace
“This is the oldest frontier saloon in Arizona and most well-known and historic restaurant and bar in the state. Past patrons include Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate. Virgil was Prescott’s Town Constable. Originally built in 1877, the Palace was destroyed in the Whiskey Row fire of 1900. Patrons moved the bar and lower back bar across the street and drank and watched Whiskey Row burn to the ground. It was rebuilt in 1901. Today, the Palace maintains its history, grandeur and old Wild West atmosphere, is a favorite for locals, and attracts visitors from all over the world.”
Who is that masked man?
“Erected by Arizona in honor of the 1st. US volunteer calvary. Known to history as Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. And in memory of Captain William O. O’Neill and his comrades who died while serving their country in the war with Spain.”The things you learn! A friend of the family and first time reader of my blog, Margaret O’Connell, sent the following comment to me: “You are lucky to have seen the Solon Borglum sculpture in Prescott - there are none in Massachusetts. His uncle & brother were the driving force behind Mount Rushmore.” I did not know that!
March 6, 2021, Saturday
Another great visit (and meal!) with John and Eileen at the Saigon Kitchen 10th Anniversary Party - plus the owner’s birthday! We indulged in appetizers and the guys had a few drafts, so we were pretty stuffed. They are lucky to have us gals to drive them home.
Passing through Wickenburg (Team Roping Capital of the World), we are amazed by how many RV’s and horse trailers there are at the arena.
March 7, 2021, Sunday
Today is our last day "at home" before we leave so we took a walk over to the Saguaro Garden within the park. The paths are lined with round rocks which were laid by hand and every plant has a name plate in front of it.
North Ranch Memorial Bridge
In memory of the SKP’s (Escapees) who have trod this land with us (1996)
This wash is dry now, but after a monsoon it is flooded and the streets run like rivers.
At one point the rocks end and bricks now line a section of the park as a memorial for those who have passed beginning in 1994 with their name, year of death, and SKP number. Where you see 2 bricks, the remaining spouse has passed too. When we got to 2018, I counted 27 bricks and that doesn’t include those that are placed next to their spouse who passed before them. In 2019 there were 16 bricks. It makes sense - the founding couple in 1978 (Joe and Kay Peterson) of the SKP’s have both passed and their children and grandchildren now run the organization.
This beautiful park was the brain child of Maisie:
This park was a vision of hers.
With her supervision & the help of others,
It is through her effort
You have this park to enjoy.
Time capsule…they thought of everything!
Near the end of the path we came upon Nola Cook who was busily organizing white bags and styrofoam cups in a cart. Rich knows her and we started talking about the garden and its history. I noticed the bins had black marker which read Frost Coverings, so I asked her about it. Turns out she and Mary Kistler had covered ALL (about 150) of these cacti in December and had just uncovered them before we got there!! What perfect timing that was… if we had gone 1 day earlier, we would not have seen the beauty of this Memorial Park or met Nola. She turned 90 this winter and has been here in a park home for 26 years now; she has always been involved in the maintenance of the garden. Mary is the person in charge and Nola told her when she turned 90 that she was retiring, but I don’t know who will replace her. She has been an SKP (Escapee) since 1985 and knows her membership number by heart - as does Rich (#111,285).
They talked about Methuselah’s demise! It was a 12 ton, 400 year old saguaro that had to be removed (with the aid of a crane) because one of its arms was separating from the core. It takes 70 to 80 years for the first arm to grow. They were afraid it would fall on one of the buildings.
This is one of those arms which was replanted in the garden and others were given to anyone who wanted one to plant in their yard.
Friends stopped by to visit more and say goodbye. They reminisced about the SKP ice cream socials, line dancing, woodworking, beading, quilting, polymer clay, art class, pickleball and more - they long to start gathering at the Activity Center again.
Through more conversation, I learned that Keith was a school teacher, then a vice principal, then a principal. Roberta was an elementary school librarian and beads jewelry.
Tom was a machinist and service tech. Here are more examples of his skills - they were each carved out of one piece of wood.
Alet was a Freight Claim Analyst for a medical firm. She analyzed the cost of product lost or damaged during transit across the USA.
She doesn’t crochet, but she can’t help herself - tucking away my loose ends (the part I dislike the most) - thank you!
When I ask why there is so much talent amongst this group, I am told that it gives them something to do. They did not necessarily have these skills until after they retired and had time to hone their skills through the groups that met regularly before the pandemic. Slowly they are coming together again, but it is not the same.
March 8, 2021, Monday
Today is sister Cindy’s birthday, Happy birthday Sis...
John Moore stopped by this morning after participating in the weekly Beautification project with a crew of volunteers who help with maintenance and grooming of the property. He and his wife, Gerri, have lived in North Ranch since 2014, first in a park model. After a few twists and turns of fate, they ended up swapping homes with a couple who had health issues and needed to downsize. Although the husband passed away 2 months later, the wife is happy as a clam to be there. John and Gerri are very happy with the exchange too and have purchased the lot next-door and added an RV garage. The summer of 2019 they stayed here while the garage was being built and vowed never to stay here in the summer again- too hot! Then the summer of 2020 was Covid, so they stayed. This summer they are leaving in May heading east for a 5 month trip to get out of the heat. I asked if they had any children and he replied, “We are DINKs -Dual Income, No Kids."
Had our farewell lunch at Nichols West with John and Eileen. Will miss seeing them and our fun conversations.
March 9, 2021, Tuesday
Travel day back to Tucson. I will miss North Ranch and all of the super people that I met here. This park was very enjoyable with so many places and people nearby to visit.
This is a caravan of four wheeler buggies lining up for an adventure in the desert. There have been as many as a dozen at a time heading out. Wouldn’t want to be the last in line eating the dust of the others...
Goodbye pink mountains - until we meet again!
March 10, 2021, Wednesday
It was easy peasy to get our second shots and since we had no side affects yet, we joined T&J Parsons for a delicious dinner - pork tenderloin and brussels a la Terri, peanut butter cup hot fudge sundae a la Jim.
March 11, 2021, Thursday
Our arms are a little sore, but that’s about it. Finishing up this blog and tackling water color painting today.
Voni is also a hairdresser and quilter. These machine stitched horse quilts took 1st prize. The one below the horse is hand stitched.
