Running Out of Time

 Apache Junction, AZ   High 101  Low 78

 My time is starting to run out before I head north for the summer. I really want to get these blog posts done before I leave so I may combine a few of them.

First of all - What are the "Musketeers" up to?

Eating is one answer. Since I had just returned from my adventures with Paul, Pat and Marilyn decided it was time for them to meet him. Everybody voted for Chinese and there is a really good restaurant close to Paul's house. So we headed down that way to have lunch. Paul and Pat took his golf cart to pick up our order and we enjoyed lunch and visiting. I think he passed muster. He is on his way back to Minnesota for the summer.

Next Marilyn had another birthday (whether she wanted to or not). We made her pick where she wanted to go for dinner and she picked the Cheesecake Factory. I haven't been to one in years so I was excited about checking it out. 

Tacey (Pat's granddaughter) was finally able to join us. She is among the still working crowd and can't join us for our lunches. We had a great time and Marilyn was overjoyed with the food and the gifts. We love you Marilyn. 

She got this amazing piece of cheesecake for dessert and everybody got to share. 

This time out involves animals. We went to Honeybrook Farm Store in Gilbert. We wanted to check out the store but the main draw was fluffy cows and zebras.

Wendy, my neighbor during the winter months, was able to join us this time. It was fun to be able to pet the animals but we were rather disappointed in the store. Their inventory was really low and the prices were really high. 

After leaving the farm we went to lunch somewhere (I can't remember where it was) and then to Deseret Industries to do some shopping. I don't shop. So I stayed in the car and read my book while the other three helped out the economy.

Since that time I had to have my hot water tank replaced. The pan cracked and I had a leak. It seems to be working just fine now. This is a picture of Robert of AJ RV Service and Supply after he had to get the old tank out from inside the RV. 

Had to say goodbye to so many people as our park emptied out for the hot summer months. It really is like a ghost town around here. You can go to the grocery store or Walmart without fighting for a place to park or crowds in the stores. It's really quiet which I love.

Heading Home With a Great Lunch

 Our journey is winding down and it's time to head north. One more stop and then lunch in Globe.

I enjoy exploring ghost towns and wondering what the inhabitants' lives were like. 

The Pearce General Store

 

Pearce, AZ is a little different than most ghost towns because it has the same zip code as several other unincorporated areas such as Sunsites, Richland and Sunizona. We couldn't figure out where Pearce ended and Sunsites began.

The Pearce Post Office

 

Pearce is a mining ghost town and most of the men worked at the Commonwealth Mine in 1894. The post office opened in 1896 and the railroad station opened in 1903 to serve 1,500 people. However in the late 1940's when the mine closed, Pearce became a ghost town. There are a few buildings still standing.

The Jail

The Cemetery

 We stopped in Safford, AZ but you know those dark clouds that you saw in the above pictures? They picked up the wind to go along with them. I got out of the car and couldn't close the door. I also could barely walk the wind was blowing so hard and yes it rained on us again. 

We both agreed we didn't want to see anything that bad and headed up to Globe for lunch. We made another great food choice - Salinas's Smoke Street BBQ. We knew it had to be pretty good because the parking lot was packed. And the parking lot did not lie. We had the pulled pork sandwiches and they are worth another visit to Globe next winter.

We arrived at Paul's house and I loaded up Jazzy and headed home. We had such a great time and I think Paul only wanted to choke me one time.😁 I am a horrible direction person and I would probably would have felt the same way if I was driving. But he finally figured out where I went wrong and got us back on track. 

We are both getting ready to head north for the summer. But we've been able to grab a couple of lunches together.    

Gadsden Hotel in Douglas

We had one more stop in Douglas and that was the absolutely gorgeous Gadsden Hotel.  

 

The Gadsden opened in 1907 and became a home away from home for cattlemen, ranchers, miners and businessmen. In 1928 the hotel was burned down leaving only the elevator in tact with no where to go. 

 

The hotel was rebuilt in 1929 with a solid white Italian marble staircase and four pink marble columns with 24K gold leafing.

The stained glass window at the top of the staircase is 42 feet long and 6 feet tall and depicts the Southwest Desert.

 

There is a vaulted stained glass skylight that runs the full  length of the lobby. 

The hotel has been seen in several movies like The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean and Terminal Velocity. The hotel has had several visitors like John Wayne, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Pancho Villa (it is rumored that he rode his horse up on the marble staircase), Paul Newman, Tom Selleck, and Peter Fonda.

 

The hotel fell into disrepair and luckily got new owners in 2016 who have been working to restore the hotel completely. There are several rooms that you can stay in on the second level. It also has a restaurant right next door. Definitely worth a stop to relive some of those good old days.

Douglas, AZ - A Very Interesting Small Town

We headed south from the Chiricahuas to the border town of Douglas. I had been doing some reading about the place and found a couple of places I wanted to check out. The further south we went, the prettier the clouds got.

Douglas was originally built in 1901as a smelter town to support the copper mining being done in Bisbee. It later became a major commercial port for trade and travel with Mexico. 

By the time we got to Douglas it was definitely lunch time. We read good reviews about the Original Grand Cafe but we had a little bit of trouble finding it. It is right on the main street but it had an awning out that covered the name of the cafe. I think we drove around the block three times til I finally spotted the word cafe. 

We had Mexican food and it was authentic. They brought homemade chips and salsa to the table. I took one bite of the salsa and thought my tongue was going to turn black and die. Paul didn't have any problems with it. So when I got my tacos I did not add any salsa to them. They were exceptionally good. Paul really enjoyed his meal even with the killer salsa on it. 

I didn't take any pictures of the restaurant, but well worth a visit if you're ever down in that area.

Our first tourist stop was at the Last Supper Museum. This museum has been open three years and has already amassed over 2000 pieces which makes it the world's largest collection of Last Supper inspired pieces of art. I have just a few pictures that I am going to post. I was overwhelmed to say the least.

I cannot imagine that there is anything out in the world that hasn't been used to make a Last Supper scene - from Marlboro cigarettes to Pez dispensers. 

Another stop we made was the Bisbee/Douglas International Airport. 

There isn't much to see at the airport. A couple of buildings, a runway, no control tower. And why does she want to go there. I'm sure Paul was wondering also. I do drag him to some strange places. 

They have a Border Air Museum but it's by appointment only and we couldn't make the time work to see it. But this airport has many aviation "firsts". 

Starting in 1908 the Douglas Aeronautic Club built the first aero plane in AZ that was pulled aloft by a pair of Quarter Horses. First aero plane to be used for military purposes. 

An infamous first occurred when an American mercenary pilot dropped a bomb on Naco, AZ instead of Naco, MX. The first time the US was ever hit by a bomb from a foreign aircraft. 

In 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt officially designated Douglas Municipal as the First International Airport in the United States.

Amelia Earhart flew into the Douglas Airport as part of "The Powder Puff Derby" air race from Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland, OH. 

It is amazing the things you can find out about a place if you just dig a little. Atlas Obscura and Roadside America are two of my sources of information.  

Land of Standing Up Rocks

After a good night's sleep, we were ready to go. First thing was breakfast. After checking the reviews we decided to stop at the FE Skillet. (FE = iron). The food was really good but I think they are struggling to stay open. I noticed today when I checked their website they are only open on Mondays. Which is too bad. The food is all homemade. I had biscuits and gravy which were excellent. And her scones made me want more than one. The big problem for us, was that the biscuits were made from scratch and it took a good 45 minutes before they were ready. 

Chiricahua National Monument

The Chiricahua Sky Island rises to 9,763 feet. The Chiricahua Apaches call this the land of Standing Up Rocks. These beautiful formations were formed about 27 million (give or take a few) years ago when the Turkey Creek Volcano spit out a bunch of ash. 

The National Monument was established in 1924. I recently read a news article that said the government is looking into making the area a National Park. I personally think that will bring a lot more people to the area which is both good and bad.

When you get to the monument you will find Faraway Ranch which has been restored to represent what life in the early 1900s was like. As you get further in Bonito Canyon there is a narrow, eight mile scenic drive which climbs from the grasslands to the summit at Massai Point. There are a few pullouts along the way and if there is nobody behind you that's in a hurry, you can stop and take pictures.

Speaking of pictures - there are a lot of them. I couldn't decide which ones to post. But I did not post all of them.  

Paul has a special camera and takes such great pictures. I just had to get one of him in action.

You know I love cloud pictures so I am going to end this with one that I took as it started to rain on us. Yes, rain again for the second time.