Two weeks in rural surroundings

On the Road Again

We enjoyed the first 2 weeks of July at the Thousand Trails resort in Cottonwood, where we spent some time last year.  It’s hot, but not like Phoenix, and it does cool down at night.  It was partly a time to relax, but we did make some short trips.

It’s about 35 miles from here to Prescott, the original territorial capital, which is the home of the World’s Oldest Rodeo.  Before living abroad, we traveled extensively to rodeos,  following many of the top cowboys, and Prescott was always on our list.  So we spent a day there this summer.  The announcer, who’s been there for almost 40 years, was the only person we recognized, although we did see cowboys who were the children of the men we followed way back when.  It was a lot of fun, and we topped it off with dinner at Prescott Station – no trains but one of our favorite restaurants.

You can get from Cottonwood to Prescott via Interstate highways, but the slower and more interesting route is over Mingus Mountain, a steep, twisty road that takes you through the old mining town of Jerome.  I was about to call it a ghost town, and indeed it almost was when we first discovered it in the ‘90’s, but these days it’s full of arts and crafts, places to eat and slow moving traffic.  The streets of the town are narrow and almost vertical.  Residents must have great leg muscles!  Once through the town the mountain views are terrific, so we enjoyed the drive in both directions.

Another nearby town is Clarkdale.  Our friends Donna and Mike recently moved there, and we haven’t seen them in a while.  We had a fun evening at their new home, catching up on each other’s lives.  They are now running an organization that supplies food to needy people throughout the area, helping a lot of people and enjoying the life.  We returned the following day to join them in the town park for a concert – they happen every Saturday night during summer.  This was a tribute to Buddy Holly & The Crickets.  We enjoyed it and even danced a lot, and met many of Donna’s and Mike’s friends and co-workers.

We also drove the 50 miles to Flagstaff one day.  We’ve been many times but never visited the historic Riordan house.  It is actually two identical houses connected by a large room used for games like billiards.  Brothers Tim and Michael Riordan each occupied one half, with their families, from the late 19^th Century onwards.  They, and their brother Matthew, were the founders of a very successful lumber company.  Tim’s half is still decorated as he would have known it, while Mike’s house has been turned into a museum.  Both had electric light and refrigerators at a time when few people had these amenities.  We enjoyed an almost 2 hour tour with a docent, then returned to the 21^st Century for dinner and a movie.

A relaxing two weeks after which we headed for Cedar City Utah.  But that will be the subject of the next post!  Stay tuned.