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.

A Delicious Bite From "The Big Apple" (#17)

How and why does an architectural historian with a big city heart avoid going to NYC until she is 52 years old? Me either. It's everything they say and more-this city eclectic, eccentric and electric. It's an architecture and art lovers mecca.

I had been all around the city from Long Island, along the NJ Palisades, across the entire length of upstate NY, but never, not even once, did I venture to the core of the Big Apple...until a baby shower took me to the Upper East Side, just a few blocks from the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir in Central Park. And then by sheer luck, I was blessed with not one, but two six-day visits within one year, first in April 2012 and then again the following January.

Enjoyable mornings started with brisk walks around the Reservoir and often drew me further into the arms of this Frederick Law Olmstead masterpiece.  Central Park embraces its history and retains many of the original cast iron and stone bridges from the late 1850s and 60s guiding park goers from one meticulously manicured area to another like Belvedere Castle, The Ramble and Strawberry Fields.

This is truly architecture heaven, street after street excellent examples of every architectural style from every decade dating back to the late 1700s. Even post modern buildings are stunning.

Like every good tourist, I visited the top of Empire State Building, sat in the first pew at St. Patrick's Cathedral, rode the Staten Island Ferry, walked the Brooklyn Bridge and went into the Chrysler Building to view the lobby. But that is really the tip of the iceberg, because there is so much more like the new Beekman Tower, old Greenwich Village, the Roosevelt Island Tramway and the emotionally moving 911 Memorial. All this with the aid of a superb mass transportation system and a 7-day Metro Pass, this apple was mine!

Beekman Tower-Frank Gehry

And no visit to this city would be complete without a trip to one of their then their great museums-both history and art. I discovered some treasures in the Met and at the American Museum of Natural History I followed the popular self paced Night in the Museum tour. Both of these museums are pay what you can. The Guggenheim and The Frick have special times to pay-as-you-wish, but prepare to line up around the building, so these times tend to be very crowded.

My second trip in January was dubbed the NYC Drinking Tour with visits to Heartland  Brewing before riding to the top of  Empire State building and drank beer at McSorley's Ale House, the oldest continuous pub on Manhattan. I splurged $20 for Bloody Mary at the St. Regis, where the French Red Snapper made its American debut, but the real highlight here is the opportunity to admire the recently restored Maxfield Parrish murals in the Old King Cole Bar with a history lesson for the friendly and attentive bar staff. And my last evening was spent in Greenwich Village sitting at the bar of the White Horse Tavern at the opposite end of the bar where Dylan Thomas drank himself to death-but I stopped at two-I want to make sure I get to come back.

Photo courtesy of the ultra cool bartender

America's Heartland, Part 1- Iowa (#26)

Holliwell Bridge

I have traversed Iowa both east to west and back several times. Each time I said I was going to stop and take a closer look. So on a road trip from Austin, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota, I finally did it.

John Wayne's Boyhood Home

I got off I-35 at mile marker 52 for a bucolic mini Bridges of Madison County tour. First was the almost immediate Imes Bridge just east of St. Charles, followed by a picturesque barn, the Holliwell Bridge and the Cutler-Donahue Bridge in Winterset, Iowa-hometown of John Wayne. Winterset is the county seat and is well worth a stop to stroll around the historic courthouse square to shop & get a bite to eat in one of the well preserved Italianate buildings from the late 1800s.

My next stop was Des Moines, Iowa's centrally located state capital. As I headed east on Grand Avenue toward the downtown I caught sight of a mansard roof topped tower and just had to turn back to investigate. Terrace Hill is the stately Governor's Mansion built in 1869 by Benjamin Allen-Iowa's first millionaire. I was fortunate to catch the day's last docent led tour before heading to experience Des Moines great selection of public outdoor art.

First stop was the 4.4 acre Pappajohn's Sculpture Park just before reaching the heart of downtown. Located just a few more blocks in Nollen Plaza is Crusoe's Umbrella, one of Claes Oldenburg's large-scale pieces.

After a very full day in America's Heartland it was time to relax and grab a pint and burger at the el Bait Shop with more than 100 craft beer taps.  I was thrilled to see several Bell's selections and after a nice conversation with my bartender decided to try the Des Moines IPA by Confluence Brewing Company.

This evenings destination was camping at Ledges State Park, recommended by the tourist information attendant just inside the Iowa border on I-35. As its name suggested, this was not the flat farmland I had driven to get there. After securing a nice non-electric site it was time to drive down into the canyon where I forded my car (Rosemary) across several little streams.

One of several stream fords

The next day I traveled several miles of the historic Lincoln Highway before findind myself back on I-35 heading north to Minnesota and looking forward to the continuation of my Iowa visit next week.