Ziggy's Painted Barns in Southeastern Michigan (#1)

Mona - Haggerty Road-Bloomfield Twp

 

The Painted Barns of Southeastern Michigan was the short-lived artistic expression of a 1970s MSU graduate student. Using the pseudonym Ziggy Grabowski, Doug Tyler painted a dozen barns after he was awarded a National Endowment for the arts grant in 1976.   Tyler adapted classical works of art on the sides of barn in Livingston, North Oakland and Ingram Counties. His classic portraits included two Mona Lisa, Paul Revere, and an Italian Noblemen Baldaissaire Contiglione. Back then anyone driving US 23 near Fenton had the pleasure of seeing his artwork headed in both directions north and south.

Baldaissaire - Northbound US 23 near Fenton

One summer in the mid to late 70s my mom read an article about Ziggy and as one of our many Sunday Drives, we set out to visit the ones in the article-about ten of them. I took pictures of all of them and made a collage on an old corkboard. When I moved to Kalamazoo to attend Western Michigan University in 1978 I took my barn collage and hung it in my tiny dorm room as a reminder of one of my many adventures with mom. She (and my dad) were truly the inspiration for my love of exploring the world around me!

That first semester, one of my fellow dorm mates admired the barn collage and every time she came to our room shPe commented how cool it was that Ziggy had painted all those beautiful old barns. On one of those occasions I gave it to her. She loved it! I had every intention of getting all the pictures reprinted when I returned home, but that never happened and over the years those negatives disappeared. I have thought of those barns often over the decades. 

In 2003 I graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Masters in Historic Preservation. During my time in grad school I checked the Michigan Barn and Farmstead Survey looking and hoping someone had documented a few of them and posted a few pictures, but alas there were none that I found. I have thought a lot of them since then. They are now probably all gone, I know the two on US 23 are, but last year I was determined to find a few pictures to honor the memory of Ziggy's artistic endeavors during that decade of discovery. 

I placed an inquiry on one of my historic preservation focused Facebook pages and the two pictures above are a result. They deserve credit for the pictures, but like the negatives I have no idea who they are or the page I retrieved them. But now all these decades later I want you to know about them and I think they would too...enjoy!

A few days after I originally posted this article I had the pleasure of going to Mackinaw Island with my dear friend Lori and her grandson. On the way home we were talking about the barns and in what seemed like less than one minute Lori found a link to an article with almost all the barns and a link to Doug Tyler who was a professor at St. Mary's Notre Dame in 2014. 

Ziggy went on to teach the next generation! You can find links to see the other barns in other articles.

Murals on Barns?

Professor Tyler's Mural Gallery

Coursed Cobblestone in Southeastern Michigan (#1)

The movement of ice age glaciers are responsible for the large concentrations of coursed cobblestone homes found in Southeastern Michigan and Upstate New York. this unusual building technique has its origins in Upstate New York.  Some scholars speculate that after the Erie Canal was finished in 1825, unemployed canal masons built dozens of these homes in close proximity paralleling the canal from Rochester to Buffalo. Others navigated the canal and moved westward and continued the trend. Southeast Michigan has an abundance of homes that employ this unique folk art construction technique.  Former Eastern Michigan University graduate student Joan Boddie documented twelve remaining homes in Washtenaw County, many of whose original owners came from Upstate New York.

Hen-and-chick configuration

Most buildings date and are built in the Greek Revival style. Construction techniques vary, but all homes possess the signature stone quoins. Most have stone lintels over windows and doors and sidelights are common in the earliest homes. The coursed cobblestone method is a result of glacial activity that produced an ideal combination of stone, and the lime and sand to make a premium mortar. If you've ever noticed, piles of egg shaped stones along a freshly plowed Midwestern farm fenceline, then you can see these early citizens had plenty of building material.

Stone sizes ranging two to six or more inches are laid in straight courses or diagonally creating a herringbone pattern. Stone colors can be a variety of colors from brown to pink or yellow and gray, the later two signifying glacial activity. In preparation for building, sizing parties used screening techniques to high-grade  stones for consistent courses.

Three types of wall construction are generally found. The earliest is a rubble wall where an inside random stone and outside coursed wall are erected simultaneously. Second was a modified version using longer anchor stones periodically extending into the central core. The later technique, most susceptible to weather damage, assembled interior walls first and added a coursed cobblestone veneer wall later.

Likely originating due to economy, aesthetics and the availability of unemployed canal masons, coursed cobblestone homes had a limited construction period from 1825 to 1860. The construction style made economical use of the abundant stones drudged up in newly plowed fields. Aesthetically pleasing the method was time consuming due to the stone sizing and ensuring level and uniform coursing. this may explain why large numbers of homes have only coursed front facades and sidewalls, where the other less visible sides are random fieldstone.

Some debate surrounds the demise of this short lived folk art building technique. One is that the masons never instructed a new generation, but studies reveal that few masons built more than three coursed cobblestone houses and mortar recipes were freely published in farmer's journals. It is more likely that as railroads and powered sawmills reduced the cost of other standard building materials, Americans embracing industrialization chose the less time consuming construction methods.

Cobblestone Farm

The Road to Eola (#44)

https://goo.gl/maps/Pb1Qy6mwEcv

map

In my mind there is no more glorious time in the Texas Hill Country than spring wildflower season. The peak months are typically Mid March to Mid April. The intensity of the show is dependent on cold wet winters and spring showers. 2017 has been a pretty good year. Last weekend I asked a friend to join me for a mini adventure to a tiny brewpub I had been wanting to visit since another fellow beer drinker told me about it a couple of years ago.

SH 71-Near Llano

We left Spicewood late morning heading northwest on 71 to Llano, the county seat where we stopped at the local park to view the rehabilitated Roy Inks bridge before heading north on 16 toward San Saba. The park by the bridge is a nice place to picnic and in the last couple of years they have been dropping chunks of native rock for anyone making a creative effort to build rock art features.

Roy Inks Bridge-Llano

We discovered an unusual style house for rural Texas on 16 just south of Cherokee, Texas. I was convinced the original owner had come from the east coast. When we got to San Saba we turned west on 190 and immediately stopped at the Wedding Oak Winery sampling room and tried some very tasty wines. I was surprised when my favorite happened to be Viognier, a white wine.

Wedding Oak Winery-San Saba

CR 204 near Harkeyville

We headed west looking for CR 406, a road that would take us to an old historic truss. We missed our turn, but made our way back using CR 218. The bridge is a beautifully restored Pratt through truss over the San Saba River. We spent quite a bit of time walking across the bridge and back, admiring the beautiful portal bracing and never seeing another car. We still had another bridge to find before we made our way to the brewery. I had no cell service and no gps to assist us. We had the paper map above, but it didn't give us all the road names or numbers. Luckily we missed our turn to keep going due west at Rochelle, which landed us in Brady, the county seat of McCulloch County. Had we not missed our turn earilier, we would have missed a beautiful Mission Revival train station on the north side of the town.

US 190

McCulloch County Courthouse-Brady

Just outside of Brady we headed north on 283 and turned left at 765 toward Fife. We were looking for Waldred Road to no avail. At the first decent dirt road heading north approximated 2 miles we  we turned right (CR 220 north of the Colorado River). I had heard the bridge was a gigantic five part through truss and we wondered if such a bridge could be on this dirt backroad.  After approximately five miles we were thrilled to find we had indeed picked the correct road!

Waldrip Truss

On to the Eola School and Bright Brewing for our reward. But there was one last discovery near Millersville when I saw a unique building in the distance. It turned out to be the old Hartgrove Gymnasium, built in 1938-39 by the Works Progress Administration.  We had some good beers at the old schoolhouse, talked with a local and two Texas Poet Laureates before making our way home.  It was a lovely day for a ride and discovery. Where to next time?

Eola Schoolhouse Restaurant and Bright Brewing

The Final Frontier (AK #50)

When I originally established this blog my goal was to take you along on my visits all 50 states (plus DC) by the time I turned 50.  My adventure required some rethinking because on my 50th birthday I was in Hawaii, my 49th state. I wasn't too awfully upset, I was with my love in paradise and I had been to 49 states! I could have raced to get them all done by the time I turned 51, but once I had missed the goal, I just wasn't in a hurry anymore.

In September 2015 I made a bittersweet trip to my "final frontier" after I asked  Phil if there was anything left he wanted to do and he said "I want us to go to Alaska!" After a call to a friend who lives on Kodiak Island and Phil's cousin who lives in Anchorage we booked our Alaskan Adventure and left two weeks later.

It took 11 hours and 15 minutes with stops in Los Angeles and Seattle to get to Alaska. Phil had not seen his cousin Barb in 40 years, but the two of them clicked just like when they were kids. She asked if we were tired...NOPE we were ready for an adventure, so she whisked us off to her cabin on Saddleback Island in Big Lake. It was truly paradise and I think it was Phil's perfect place.

We only got to spend a couple of days before we took a train to Talkeetna where we hoped to get a glimpse of Denali. We were treated to spectacular fall colors on our train trip. Talkeetna is the town that inspired the 1990 series Northern Exposure and the town Mayor was a cat. The town consists of several blocks where climbers and air excursions for Denali are staged. We grabbed lunch and a very good beer sampler at Denali Brewing Company before the bus took us to Denali Mountain Lodge.

The lodge was only open for four more days, so it was pretty quiet. We hiked, went for a hot tub and hoped to see the elusive Denali. While we didn't get to see the great mountain, the highlight of the trip was taking the shuttle bus around the complex to see a mamma moose and her baby.

Our next destination was Kodiak Island to visit one of my craziest and sweetest letterboxing friends and her husband. Knowing my 50/50 desire, Denise had made several offers for me to come for a visit. Around Labor Day I called her and she insisted we come as soon as possible. Two weeks later we were on her porch overlooking the harbor. I am so grateful we got to go while Phil was still able to be active. We hiked, went out looking for wildlife on their boat to watch seals, scoured every road on the island looking for the Kodiak Island bear. Phil went fishing with the guys, Denise and I went to garage sales and thrift shopping. The people of this state are different than any other place I have been, they are awesome and our visit was filled with a lot of laughter.

Unfortunately the only bears we saw were stuffed, but Denise made sure I saw every one of them including the one in the local Walmart. We also enjoyed the "Touch Tank" at the Alaska Fisheries Research Center. But it was spending time with Denise and Robert exploring, meeting other people that topped our Kodiak lsland list. Phil and Denise found a letterbox at low tide, we had a $10 burger and craft brew at the Best Western and drank beer at Kodiak Island Brewing Company with a guy from The Deadliest Catch, a government official and the local director of the Baranov Museum, located in the oldest building in Alaska, a circa 1805 Russian magazine.

I remember the people they were hearty and hardworking yet laid back and welcoming. They are truly special. It wan't until we returned from Alaska that I realized Phil had gifted me with this extraordinary experience of visiting my final frontier with him.

Glenwood Cemetery - A Place for Angels (#44)



In 1831 Mount Auburn Cemetery was established in Massachusetts. Part cemetery, part park, people cameG to Mount Auburn to sit and picnic among its peaceful rolling landscape. Artistic symbolism has evolved over time depicting how people lived there lives and how loved ones felt about them. Cemeteries are filled with symbolism, but some of my favorite statuary are angels.

In Houston there is a cemetery that has an incredible abundance of angels watching over the beloved inhabitants resting below. Glenwood is tucked away off the bustling Washington Avenue.  Stop just inside the main gate for a map of some of Glenwood's famous residents like the illusive Howard Hughes.

Favorites & Still Wanna See

Over the decades of pursuing my quest to see all the states, I have often been asked what is my favorite state? My quick reply is that there is something incredible about every state I have visited.

I'm also asked how do I find these places???  Answering that question is a bit more complex.

I started reading "Travel Books" I found at the library back in the 1970s. That led to purchasing a huge personal collection of travel books. Several favorites remain in my current collection most notably Reader's Digest:

• Off the Beaten Path (still a favorite!)
• The Most Scenic Drives in America
• Scenic Wonders of America

But the problem was it was difficult or impossible to carry them around while traveling. Then I discovered each state had a tourism department that would send FREE travel information via postage free postcards and toll free phone numbers. Not only were the brochures informative, they were also filled with beautiful photography that fueled my wanderlust. They were great planning tools and I could take them along on trips.

The Internet followed and opened my world to an endless array of information about traveling...click, click, click...I could now plan my trip in the greatest of detail. I printed pages and put them in binders and made "temporary" books that housed itineraries, maps, hotel reservations, detour routes, camping information, museum info: you name it.

My Internet world really expanded a couple years ago when I discovered Pinterest; it really upped my game for travel planning. Pinterest allow me to save the website pages on boards for every US state AND now I have added the rest of the world (plus recipes and an bunch of other categories with my interests). To add to my pleasure further Pinterest has a mapping function allowing me to placemark the different places on a map and save, which can be printed and placed in my temporary binder travel books.

I have to make a disclaimer her, because I map probably three to four times more places than I will ever be able to see. The beauty of my mapping tool is that as I wander like I always do, I feel like I am less likely to miss something cool. Or...depending on how I feel that day I can change my route to wander. But now I feel like I may of missed something!

Which leads me back to the title of this post. Yes I have been to all the US states now, most of them multiple times. And I haven't tired of visiting the USA one bit.  While I have moved on to seeing the rest of the world I still travel within the US a couple of times a year even if it is just to go home to Michigan for a visit. I am also fortunate that my career here in Texas requires me to travel for business on a very regular basis. We have incredible diversity here in the US...God Blessed America!

I love to talk about travel and the places were my adventures took me, but Pinterest led me to wanting to return to see so great places I might of missed!

• The first bullet are my favorite places

      *The second bullet are the places I want to visit

Alabama

• Sloss Factory, Covered Bridges 
• 
• 
  
• * Go to the top of Vulcan (Birmingham)

Alaska

• Saddleback Island (Big Lake), Midnight Sun Brewing (Anchorage), Talkeetna, Kodiak Island, the People!
• Denali

Arkansas

• Route 7 - Ozark National Forest
• Eureka Springs, Hot Springs National Park Bathhouse, Hunt for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park 
• Hoo Hoo Monument - Gurdon

Arizona

• Sedona Pink Jeep Tour, Canyon de Shelley, Mission San Xavier de Bac, TeePee Hotel-Rte 66 in Holbrook
• Stay in a cabin at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Summerhaven, Hike to Havasupi Falls, Antelope Canyon/Houseboat on Lake Powell

California

• Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Highway 1 (north to south), San Diego Brewery Tour, Sequoia National Park
• Waterfall along Hwy 1, Death Valley National Park, Catalina Island

Colorado

• Hovenweep National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Ska Brewing (Durango)
• Glenwood Springs Pool, Great American Beer Festival (again with good people), San Juan Skyway

Connecticut

• Hammonasset State Park
• A microbrewery, Architectural tour of New Caanan (Harvard 7)

Delaware

• Dogfish Head Brewing-Lewes
• Dogfish Head Brewing-Milton

District of Columbia

• Night Tour of the Monuments, Cherry Blossom Time
• Beer Tour of DC

Florida

• Daytona Bike Week, South Beach Art Deco HD, Dry Tortugas NP, Swam w Manatees at Crystal Springs, The Ringling 
• St Augustine

Georgia

• Savannah, Coastal Islands
• Georgia Microbrewery

Hawaii

• Pearl Harbor and meeting Cale Sterling-Pearl Harbor survivor from USS Arizona, Snorkeling Hanauma Bay, Plane ride Kauai, Catamaran Na Pali, Kona Brewing
• Road to Hana, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,

Idaho

• Craters of the Moon, Scenic Idaho 97 just east of Coeur D'Alene
• Balance Rock State Park (south of I-84)
• Shoshone Falls State Park (Twin Falls)
• Just return and camp in this beautiful state

Iowa

• Madison County Covered Bridges-Camping at Ledges State Park & stopping at farm fruit and veggie stands, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Pikes Peak State Park, Dubuque Incline, McGregor Jail, Old Man Brewing (McGregor), Des Moines Sculpture Park, Grant Woods Scenic Byway, Grant Woods America Gothic House (Eldon), Barn Town Brewing (W Des Moines)
• 
  

Illinois

• Garden of the Gods, Chicago River Architectural Tour, Brick Route 66, Art Deco walking tour with Danni-ending at Vice Brewing 
• Chicago

Indiana

• Columbus Architectural Tour, Metamora, Spring Mill State Park, Marengo Cave, Madison. 3 Floyds Brewing, Round Barns
• 3 Floyds, Metamora, Van Gogh Exhibit in Indy

Kansas

• Lindsborg, 23rd Street Brewing (Lawrence)
• Scenic Byways

Kentucky

• Cumberland Falls, Natural Bridge, Rabbit Hash, Red River Gorge Geological Area, Louisville
• Natural Bridge State Park Cabins (again), Stearns train ride, Lake Cumberland houseboat

Louisiana

• Abita Brewery Tour, NOLA-Oysters @ Drago's, Touring Cemeteries, Carousel Bar, Evergreen Plantation Tour
• Great River Road Scenic Byway

Maine

• West Quoddy Head Light, Acadia National Park, Portland, Sailboat ride and lobster bake
• Breweries

Maryland

• Drum Point Lighthouse (screw-pile), eating crab on brown paper covered tables with a hammer
• Maryland Brewery, eating more crab with a hammer

Massachusetts

• Cape Cod, Seafood at Dive Bars
• Mount Auburn Cemetery-Cambridge

Michigan

• West side is the best side, driving the "Tunnel of Trees" in the fall, M-22, South Manitou Island, Bells and Founders breweries, the UP, Lakenenland-24 hr sculpture park east of Marquette, take the Badger from Ludington
• Isle Royale 

Minnesota

• North Shore Scenic Drive, Duluth Bridges, Surly Microbrewery
• 
  

Missouri

• Route 66, St Louis Arch, KCMO bbq ribs, Boulevard Brewing
• KCMO ribs, Nelson Atkins Museum

Mississippi

• Blues Trail, Natchez-Nutt House, Port Gibson, Windsor Ruins
• Natchez Pilgrimage

Montana

• NW Entrance to Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Butte (!!!)
• Eastern side

Nebraska

• Carhenge, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Garden of Eden and Brants Meat Market-Lucas
• Lucas

Nevada

• Little White Chapel (Las Vegas), Valley of Fire State Park, Virginia City, Reno Mural Art
• Ryolithe Ghost Town, US 50-loneliest road in America, Lehmann Caverns National Park

New Hampshire

• Pawtuckaway State Park, Bath Covered Bridge

New Jersey

• Cape May, Wildwood Crest, Lucy the Elephant, Ferry from Cape May to Lewes, DE
• Brick houses with dated gable ends (SW NJ)

New Mexico

• Gila Cliffs National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, 
• White Sands National Monument

New York

• NYC! Coursed Cobblestone Houses, Storm King
• Erie Canal (!) -preferably in a boat

North Carolina

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Biltmore
• , Outer Banks, Waterfall hikes near Asheville

North Dakota

• Theodore Roosevelt National Park (both Units), Enchanted Highway
• Go back and explore more

Ohio

• Hocking Hills, Dayton Air Force Museum, Ohio Caverns, Covered Bridge Scenic Byway, Toledo Museum of Art, Ashtabula Covered Bridge Tour in the fall, Cuyahoga National Park
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Art Museum

Oklahoma

• Tulsa! Turner Falls, Bartlesville-FLWright skyscraper,
• Talimena Scenic byway, COOP Brewing (OKC)

Oregon

• Multanomah Falls, Crown Point, Jots Hotel overlooking the historic bridge and Rouge River in Gold Beach. Odell Lake Resort, Tumalo Falls Hike, Crater Lake NP
• Deschutes Brewing in Bend, 

Pennsylvania

• Hilliards, Poconos
• Fallingwater, Northampton

Rhode Island

• Newport Mansions
• Green Acres, Newport Mansions

South Carolina

• Brookgreen Gardens, Charleston
• Drayton Hall

South Dakota

• Rapid City, Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Needles Parkway, Firehouse Brewing, Flat tire encounter with Phil and Frank
• Sioux Falls architecture

Tennessee

• Memphis, Nashville, Natchez Trace, Stearns Train Ride
• 
  

Texas

• Enchanted Rock, Big Bend National Park, Hueco Tanks, Hill Country, Fort Worth, US Treasury Tour in Blue Mound, Palo Duro Canyon-Lighthouse Trail
• Seminole Canyon State Park- Bell Fate Tour

Utah

• Capitol Reef National Park, US 12, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Springtime in Salt Lake City
• Arches NP-Angel Arch

Vermont

• Train Covered Bridge, Bath Covered Bridge 
• Vermont Brewery

Virginia

• Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah NP
• Drive Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall

Washington

• Lighthouse @ Cape Flattery, Olympic NP, Snoquanomie Falls, North Cascades National Park
• Mt Rainer NP, Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (Apr/May), Kerry Park (Seattle when you can see Mt Rainier)

West Virginia

• New River Gorge NP
• 
  

Wisconsin

• Camping on Madeline Island and drinking Bloody Marys at Tom's Burnt Down Cafe - the first time with Heather, went back and it was terrible, Door Peninsula, Apostle Islands Boat Tour
• 
  

Wyoming

• Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks, Devil's Tower National Monument, Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway, Camping at Lizard Creek (Site #32) between Yellowstone and the Tetons, Mormon Row Historic District (Iconic Barn)

Running from the Fire-Into the Arizona Frying Pan! (#31)

There's gonna' be some trouble around here! - Tombstone, AZ

Miller Fire-SE Arizona

On the first leg of our Vegas Loop trip in 2011 we entered Arizona on I-10 from New Mexico.  We stopped at the first rest area to pick up tourist information and a map, but only found a few kiosks.

What we did see to the south was smoke and it turned out to be the first of several progressively worse fires until the Sierra Vista fire which chased us to the Phoenix area a day ahead of schedule.

Next stop was a visit to Tombstone.  We got off of I-10 at Benson and missed our left turn to head south on Arizona 80.  It was a stroke of good luck because we saw the Old Benson Ice Cream Stop sign and stopped for one of their 44 different soft serve flavors!  I had the black cherry and we were off again. Before we ventured to downtown Tombstone we stopped for a little shopping, a nice antique shop and a jeweler next door who had a super collection of fire agates. As we headed to the tourist info office downtown we watched the rumblings of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday as they tempted the crowd to watch them finish the gunfight at the OK Corral. We then picked up a historic walking tour map and headed down Main Street.  This is a tourist trap town, but we LOVED it! We visited several shops and went into the old Crystal Palace and Big Nose Kate's Saloon to have a beer and sarsaparilla. Phil went downstairs in Big Nose Kate's to buy a souvenir t-shirt and enjoyed learning the history of "The Swamper" before we hit the road to our first Arizona campsite.

Big Nose Kate's - Tombstone

June is one of the hottest months this far south in the USA and without air conditioning camping can get quite uncomfortable. Our strategy was to camp at elevations above 5000 ft, which was a great plan...as long as the places weren't on fire.

Sky Island Scenic Byway

 We headed west on AZ 82 toward Lakeview Campground located at 5400 ft in the Sierra Vista district of the Coronado National Forest. Anticipating one of 65 scenic campsites, we turned off the main road onto one of the National Forest designated scenic drive toward the beautiful Huachuca Mountains. About 7 miles into the drive a barricade in the middle of the road stopped us...Road Closed Due to Fire. I checked my laptop for National Forest updates and another campground in the vicinity. According to the website, Lakeview was indeed closed. then I looked for a backup plan. The Santa Catalina Recreation Area northeast of Tucson wasn't showing any closures and there were six campgrounds above 5000 elevation on the 27 mile Sky Island Scenic Byway. We climbed into the mountains through a hillside of blooming Saguaro cactus as the sun began its journey into the horizon. After six miles we saw the first of the campgrounds-barricaded. I checked the website again...no postings stating it was closed. We continued on and each time, each campground was barricaded. We arrived at Summerhaven and stopped in at the trading post where they informed us the campgrounds were closed due to fires, even though we had seen no signs of smoke north of I-10. Now what were we going to do?

Mt. Lemmon Ski Area - Summerhaven

Back on the laptop (and nearing 8:30pm) I found another campground on the west side of Tucson, this time I called. The recording for Tucson Mountain Park said the gate to the Gilbert Ray Campground closed at 10pm; we had to race to get there, but got there with five minutes to spare. Tucson Mountains Park is not really in the mountains, so we woke up early and decided to retrace our route to one of the tourist stops we missed even though Saguaro National Park West adjoined this park.

Mission San Xavier del Bac-White Dove of the Desert just might be the most beautiful non-secular buildings. Completed in 1797, they boast it's the oldest extant European constructed
building in Arizona. We spent the morning here and joined one of the docent led tours before heading back into Tucson for lunch.

San Xavier Interior

The 11 beer sampler

To get my microbrewery fix in Arizona we picked the Barrio Brewing Company where I had their colossal 11 beer sampler. Both beer and food were very good especially the happy hour appetizer of Pretzel Pillows with Nuclear Mustard dipping sauce. Barrio is located in an industrial area next to the railroad tracks so listen for the train crossing guard bells which of the railroad track gates, which signal Barrio Rail Pints are $3.25! We didn't know what to do, the fires had pushed us a day ahead of schedule and did not want to go back to the heat of the previous nights campground.
I called my friend near Phoenix and she graciously invited to come a day early.

We went back through the Tucson Mountain Park to Saguaro National Park West. Shortly after entering the National Park, we turned off the main park road onto the narrow and disserted Cactus Forest Drive. This one-way road lacked traffic road making it easy to stop and watch the birds who made their home in these majestic cactus pincushions. It was late afternoon as we turned north toward Phoenix and time to jump out of the frying pan. the fires finished with the blessing and the best two days in Arizona, catching up and spending time with old cherished friends.