Wildflower Bread Company and Gaelyn~Whimsical Windows and Delirious Doors~040912

I met fellow blogger Gaelyn, of Geogypsy, while we were in Prescott.  She was in town for an appointment and I emailed her and asked if we could meet.  We met at the Wildflower Bread Company, which is up on a plateau near town.  We sat and chatted for over an hour and it was so good to meet her in person!  It's always nice to meet fellow bloggers.  She has a new Nikon camera and was asking us about lenses and filters.  Hubby, being the "expert" that he is, was able to give her lots of advice.  I LOVE the windows at Wildflower.  They let in the natural light and the whole place is so cozy...I could stay there all day and drink their passionflower tea!  Thank you, Gaelyn, for spending the afternoon with us and sharing your adventure stories!  She has LOTS of interesting stories to tell from her years as a seasonal park ranger!  WWDD for Monday, April 9, 2012. To visit WWDD, please go to:    http://iwishiwereaphotographer.blogspot.com/2012/04/whimsical-windows-delirious-doors-19.html

Camp Verde Historical Park, Camp Verde, AZ

The Camp Verde Historial Park is unlike any other military fort we have visited in Arizona.  At this one, you can actually go inside the remaining houses and see how they were furnished and decorated at the time.  Only 3 of them are still standing from the original 20 or so...the others were torn down for firewood!  The historical museum is an interesting tour.  Then, you can see the commanding officer's house, the officers' quarters and the doctor's house.  It is fascinating to view the primitive medical tools used at the time (...shudder...).  I was reading about the fort and it said the doctors who were stationed there ranged from medical school graduates to...er...those less qualified!  I also noticed that doctors didn't stay there very long.  Most stayed for a year or less.  General Crook stayed in the commander's house while he was there hunting Geronimo. The buildings were nice and clean and well kept and the remaining houses all had new roofs!  At one point, you can see the adobe walls and the museum office was a well kept and cool building.  Adobe really works to help keep the buildings cool!  If you are in the area, DO stop and take the self-guided tour and explore the museum building.  It was interesting to read how the soldiers were given post-Civil War uniforms, in an effort to economize, but the soldiers soon learned to shed them and wear white cotton ones instead, due to Arizona's heat.  I guess wool uniforms don't wear well in the summer!  It was also interesting to learn that there was never a fence or wall around the fort.  It was never attacked.  Instead the Indians raided nearby settler homesteads.  The fort was abandoned in the late 1800's and was actually sold off in 1899.  Fortunately, these remaining buildings survived and you can now see how the soldiers of the 1870's and 1880's lived.

Jerome~Friday Fences~040512

Yesterday we got up early and drove up through Jerome, Tizigoot, then Cottonwood, and CampVerde.  We also stopped at Montezuma's Well.  We drove back to Prescott through Jerome toward the late afternoon, but there was a lot of traffic on the narrow road through town, so we didn't stop.  Come to think of it, I don't believe we have EVER stopped and parked in Jerome!  We did stop at the mining museum there in town and paid the $5 each to go inside.  Very interesting!  If you ever have a chance (and it's open...) do stop at the mining museum.  The bottom  fence photo is from the museum. We did find a nice place to eat for lunch in Cottonwood~The Tavern Grill. And, on our way home, we twice spotted pronghorns along the road.  Hubby spotted the first group.  They were all laying down and I just sailed right by them.  But, I spotted the second group of 4 and pulled over to take some photos of this one who was interested in observing us, but not for long!  Bye! and off he went! To visit Friday Fences, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Montezuma's Castle, central Arizona

There certainly isn't anything like Montezuma's Castle in Deep Canyon.  This amazing structure was built about 1100 A.D. and the Indians lived in it for over 300 years.  There is a river right next to it, Beaver Creek, and the inhabitants were able to cultivate their own crops not far away.  It was well built and built into the side of a cliff, and with it facing outward, they had a good view of the valley below.  Hubby and I have driven by this so many times and we've never stopped until today.  I'm glad we did.  It was an amazing experience!  No, you cannot go up into the ruins, but you can walk the trail below them and look up. You can, however, walk right on top of the ruins of another section of the "castle", which isn't really a castle and wasn't built by Montezuma!  If you ever do drive by it, DO stop to see it.

Watson Lake near Prescott, AZ 040312

Hubby and I drove out to Watson Lake this afternoon.  It's located right outside of Prescott, up Highway 89. We wanted to stop and take some photos before returning to our hotel and grabbing some sandwiches from the Wildflower Baking Company for dinner.  There weren't many people out there and it was a fairly warm day.  I'm glad we stopped at the lake.  It is located among some of the most beautiful boulders I've seen, except for the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, CA.  I would love to drive out there sometime at sunset, but maybe that won't happen this trip because hubby has some serious driving planned for the next two days...sigh...

Prescott, AZ

We are over in Prescott, AZ for a few days during spring break.  I'll be posting photos from here as soon as I take some photos...It is a LOT colder here!  Brrrrrr....I'm glad we brought our jackets!

New blog interface

Well, I made the mistake of downloading the new blog interface and I must say, I HATE IT!  It's just too confusing and time consuming.  Does anybody know how to get the old one back???????? And, now I can't find my list of blogs that I'm following...sigh...