Arcosanti, San Tan Mountains, Jerome, and Tina Turner

 

Scott couldn't resist this vendor selling honey and
pecans along the side of the road.

We had a great lunch at San Tan Flats, an enormous
restaurant/music venue. Our hiking trails at the 
park were open to horses as well. We chatted with
a couple at the next table who "stabled" their
horses in the parking lot!

Heather up ahead on the trail at San Tan Regional Park

We were lucky to have a lot of 
flowers blooming. The sides of the
roads were blanketed with them.

I'm covering a lot of territory in this post.  Since our visit to the Monastery, we've hiked in the San Tan Regional Park south of Phoenix, and visited the Musical Instruments Museum there. Then we drove north to Prescott Valley where our cruiser friends Marsha and Rick live. We visited them on our first trip west and they came last fall to see us in Vermont. They sold their boat, "She Wolf" not long after we sold "Scott Free". 

This was our second visit to the Musical Instruments Museum.
Last time we got through the Mechanical Instruments and 
Europe and the U.S.  This visit we managed to get through
Africa and Asia. We'll need another visit to South America! 

Our first full day with them we drove a little south to tour Arcosanti. This is an experimental town based on a concept proposed by Paolo Soleri. He taught and influenced generations of architects and urban designers who studied and worked with him there to build the town. Construction began in 1970 with an idea of demonstrating how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing the destructive impact on the Earth. It supports itself with tours, guest residences, and a bell casting business. About 50 people live there full time, either staff or artists. Our tour guide was a charming local woman who moved there a few years ago. 

I've stolen this image off the web to give you a better idea of the whole town. More photos we took on our tour are at the end of the post. 

The night before we drove over to Prescott to see a Tina Turner Tribute Band at the historic Elks Theater, built in 1905 and beautifully restored. The ushers all dress in period costume and every seat has a good view. It was a fun lively performance with a mosh pit in front of the stage (no we didn't feel up to that!). 

Two of the beautifully costumed
ushers at the Elk Theater.

A view of the Tina Turner Tribute Band performance.

The next day we did a lot of chores: shopping, laundry, cooking, swimming in their beautiful community pool and soaking in the hot tub. There were showers on and off and it was a bit cool but it didn't interfere with our plans. Then in the afternoon Rick drove us to Jerome on a twisty road that crossed over the mountain cresting at over 7,000 feet. Jerome is an old mining town that clings to the side of the mountain. It was rescued from "ghost town status" by artists and now is thriving. Marsha & Rick introduced us to the Nelly Bly Kaleidoscope Shop and it was amazing. Honestly I'm not a shopper, especially "gift shops" but this was an exception. You could try out the thousands of them and we did a lot! And I made a bunch of purchases - gifts for grandchildren. It was Marsha's birthday so they made reservations for a special dinner out at the beautiful Clinkscale Restaurant. The food was wonderful and we were so glad we could celebrate with them! And we were also glad that it was Rick driving back over the mountain in the dark!

There was a large porch hanging out over the
mountain side filled with metal sculptures -
that's a pterodactyl flying above. We had cool
cloudy weather with occasional showers during
our stay with  Marsha & Rick but it was better
than the weather predicted at the Grand Canyon

Just a few of the hundreds of kaleidoscopes
at the Nelly Bly

Heather, Scott, Marsha and Rick at the Clinkscale Restaurant in Jerome for Marsha's birthday. 

It was sad to leave the next morning but we were finally going to the Grand Canyon South Rim for 3 nights. We had to cancel our original plans to go the last 3 nights when snow and freezing rain were predicted. But we managed to get 3 more nights at the Mather Campground, although 1 night in 3 different sites. But we're not complaining - the weather report for our stay is great! More on that in my next post.

The entrance to Arcosanti

The pottery workshop - they make bells of all
sizes in pottery and metal.

The architecture takes advantage of the 
seasonal changes in the sun to heat and cool
the city. 

The city stretches along the mountain side looking
down at the canyon and river. 

There were several indoor and outdoor concert
spaces.

A view from the metal casting space over the
canyon. They have orchards and vegetable 
gardens down by the river.

A section of the restaurant, which is used by the
community and is open to guests. They have
a number of guest suites and rooms.

St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery

Although I wore a long sleeved crew neck t-shirt
kerchief, and long pants, that wasn't enough.
A volunteer dressed me in long skirt, big shirt,
socks and head scarf.  

All the art work was brough from Greece and it
is exquisite. 

There are 7 chapels now and each is unique.

 "In the summer of 1995, Elder Ephraim (a former abbot of Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos with a history of restoring and repopulating previous monasteries) sent six monks of Athonite heritage to the Sonoran Desert of Arizona with aims to establish a new monastery in the name of Saint Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism.^{[citation needed]} The fathers began by building the main church, monastic living quarters, the dining hall, and some guest facilities. They also began a vegetable garden, a small vineyard, citrus orchards, and an olive grove amidst the desert landscape. These areas are now interconnected by an elaborate system of gardens, pathways, and gazebos with Spanish fountains.^{[3]" (wikipedia)}

St. Anthony's Chapel surrounded by gardens, fountains and walkways. We followed a strict path 
through the complex, visiting all 7 chapels but staying carefully away from the monks living 
quarters and the extensive guest quarters. There are about 40 monks in residence. 

There were a number of beautiful fountains.

The wooden roof and carvings throughout the
St. George's Chapel were gorgeous.

^{We visited the Monastery while staying at the Foothills West RV Park in Casa Grande. We planned to spend 2 nights and then drive north to the South Side of the Grand Canyon for 4 nights. But after checking the weather, we moved the reservations to the following week and got 2 more nights at Foothills. Below freezing conditions and snow made that decision easy. That still left 2 nights which we reserved up in Sedona. But a day later the weather there promised cold rain and the RV park there had no Wi-Fi or cell! We hope to go there after the Grand Canyon. So again, we went hat in hand to Foothills and got two more nights.  This is a lovely place with a heated pool and a hot tub. And the weather was almost perfect all week - sunny skies with a high in the 69 - 73. My next post will cover our visits north to the Musical Instrument Museum and San Tan Regional Park.} 

This was the last chapel to be built. It's just outside the main complex and visable for miles around.

A detail of two of the hundreds of
icons.

Every medium was used to decorate the
buildings and grounds

The brick and stone work throughout the 
complex was amazing.

St Demetrios Chapel

Many of the chapels are mainly lit by candles
but this beautiful chandelier was electric.

You need to be a recommended Greek 
Orthodox member to stay in here but it
seemed quite popular. We saw a lot of
guests going into the dining room at lunch.

A tiny food truck in the parking lot run by a 
Greek family provided an excellent lunch-
Spinach Feta Pie!

Back Road Explorations with Donna and Dick

Looking out at the desert from the Visitor's Center - this is the Western piece of the Park.

Our next four days were spent with our neighbors and friends from Shrewsbury, Donna and Dick. They have a second home in Marana, AZ. We are able to park Baby right next to their compound and plug in on a long extension cord. We visited them on our first trip in 2021 and stayed there without them last year. They have been coming here for over 20 years and Donna knows the back roads very well. We went down single lane rutted dirt roads that Scott and I wouldn't have dared. And there are a warren of possibilities up near the mountains. But Donna knew every twist and turn, plus she was an excellent tour guide on the history, birds, animals and vegetation. Donna drove in her Jeep Cherokee truck and it even handled a stream crossing! That was carefully checked out before we entered. It was a lot of fun and so beautiful. The recent rain has brought out the flowers everywhere and the desert is green right now!

The movie screen went up and revealed the desert
itself!

Donna and Dick, our neighbors and friends from
Shrewsbury, VT

The barrel cactus were in bloom -
their fruit is delicious.

Our first full day we went out to breakfast at the local airport. It rained that morning but it cleared up,  and they drove us to Saguaro National Park and around the Hohokam drive. The park was created as Saguaro National Monument in 1933 and in 1961 additional acreage was added. It became a National Park in 1994. There are two sections to the Park and we only had time for the Western area.  At the Visitor's Center we enjoyed a movie on the park. At the end, the screen pulled up and revealed a huge picture window of the park itself - very dramatic and fun! That night we went out to dinner at a local bar where the Mexican food was great. 

On the back roads with Donna & Dick

Our second full day we spent exploring back roads all the way to the base of Ragged Mountain. We saw an old mine and the ruins of the community that once surrounded it. We saw a crested saguaro whose mutated tip was so large in looked like it couldn't stand up! Each morning I enjoyed sitting with Donna out on her front porch drinking our coffee and talking in the morning sunshine. Evenings we all had our drinks on the back porch watching the sunset.  

That's Ragged Mountain in the distance. We saw lots of boondocking campsites off those back roads.

The sky was very dramatic. It had rained that night and was clearing up.

You can just see the top of the crested Saguaro
in the background

That's the stream we crossed, over on the left.

Our last day Scott and I went off on our own for a hike in Saguaro National Park - the Desert Wren Trail and the Signal Hill trail. At the top of the hill we saw petroglyphs drawn by the Hohokam people who lived in this area from 300 AD to 1450. Then we visited a Amateur Airplane Field where they were having races. These planes were about 5 or 6 feet in diameter and beautifully painted.  It was a Sunday morning so over 100 people gathered to watch and see each other's planes. 

I hope you can make out the concentric circle
petroglyph on the center top rock.

A view over the desert from the Signal Hill trail

That afternoon Scott and I moved Baby over to our next Harvest Host member - the Little Anthony's Diner and the Gaslight Theater. I bought tickets for ourselves and Donna & Dick. The show was "The Curse of  the Pirate Gold" and it was a lot of fun - comedy, dancing and singing, with a great band. It's a dinner theater so we sat at a table for the 4 of us and ordered drinks and food - no room for dancing though!

The four leads from Curse of the Pirates Gold

We were sad to say goodbye to our good friends but the next day we were off heading north. More on that later!

A rainbow greeted us on our last morning in Marana with Donna & Dick.

Hiking and Shopping with Bob and Lesa

Scott, Bob and Bob's sheltie, Dandy on the trail at Madera Canyon

As you can see it was a perfect day!

A view up to the hills.

 

We've hiked with Bob over 50 years now, mostly in New Hampshire where they used to live. Our hikes are shorter now and easier but still wonderful. And Lesa always knows the best second shops around. I've bought some of my favorite clothes under her tutelage. They moved down to Green Valley 20 or so years ago at first spending only the winters but eventually selling the house in North Conway.  The area is really lovely and self contained. Homeowners in the town have access to tons of activities.  They have room in their driveway for Baby and we have a great view from our dinette. This is our third visit to them - they are wonderful hosts.

There has been some rain so we saw water in the creeks and flower buds on the trees and bushes.

Our first full day we spent at Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. We hiked up the Bob Springs Trail and then cut over to the Nature Trail, taking it back down to our car. It was a perfect day, about 68 degrees and sunny. Bob is a Friend of Madera Canyon and head of the Trail Maintenance  Crew.  He was able to point out all the work that has been done to the trail and how it was accomplished. 

A view from our seat in the Trolley.

Bob and Scott on the hike down from Sabino Canyon. Dogs
aren't allowed so Dandy had to stay home.

The first of the poppies, which soon will be out
everywhere.

Our second day we drove north to Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, part of the Coronado National Forest. During the Depression the CCC and WPA built a dam and 9 shallow bridges with a plan to extend the road up to Mount Lemon. There was talk of a major dam there as well. But all these ideas failed, happily, as now there is a 4.5 mile road up into the Canyon that stops at the end, with major trails heading out from there. This has been a popular spot for Tucson residents and car traffic had started to be a real problem. So in 1978 a trolly system was instituted and no car traffic is allowed. 

We reserved a spot in the trolley and rode to the last of 9 stops up the Canyon. Then we walked down, stopping to enjoy the views and the stream crossings. There are a lot of bridges but they are built low so in high water the stream goes across. We got our shoes a little wet on one. I love the benches and picnic tables that are scattered along the road! We're sorry we didn't have more time to explore up the stream. And it was a little cold to get in the water. During warmer times though the sandy beaches are very popular. 

The bridges built by the CCC during the Depression have lasted although I'm sure there has been lots of maintenance over the years.

Lesa and Bob in their kitchen. Their house is
beautiful, built on a big lot with views of the
mountains. 

We accomplished a number of chores: refilled the propane, dumped the tanks, refilled with water, had my lab tests done, had a pedicure and shopped. I found a rain jacket and a now favorite top at one of Lesa's great shops. And we had two wonderful dinners out and one in. What a fun visit!

But now it was time to move on again, this time to our friends and neighbors in Shrewsbury, Donna and Dick. They have had a winter home in Marana, just south and west of Tucson for 20 years. We visited them 3 years ago on our first trip in Baby But last year they were unable to make the trip so we had to stay at their home without them. More on our stay there next...