More public sculpture.
Every cave looking thing up in the hills has the potential to have been someone's home.... This one was spotted and confirmed during the horseback ride.
Later that day these were taken as Lark and I approached Jerome. She was a good ride along dog and the temperatures have been cool and dog friendly all week.
Jerome was known back in the old days for being a hot bed of illegal activities. But the miners liked to spend their money here. Now the tourists come on small buses, wander through the art shops and galleries, eat lunch and spend money.
Lark and I wandered around town on the narrow streets. Walking a dog helps keep you out of touristy stores. It saves money.
I think the views from those porches would be nice.
Back in the car I drove up the road to see what the "Ghost Town" and closed King Mine was all about. It was pretty rough and generally appeared to being used as a junk yard for old equipment and trucks and....here is a fixer upper RV that might be restored. Not. Though it had some unique design features that were before their time.
These are pictures from the Tuzigoot National Monument. Researchers are not able to determine why the people left. They had nice views.
I would say they had a view of Jerome (over on the hill) but we all know that Jerome wasn't even thought of yet.
In 2006 the Phelps Dodge Corporation capped the tailings and revegetated the millions of tons of mining waste..... This area is right in front of the National site. 2006 isn't that long ago.
I also spent time on a rainy day walking through the Copper Museum in Clarkdale. The museum is fairly recent. The gentleman taking the entrance money was also one of the two individuals that pulled together all the research for the museum. When he wasn't busy at the front entrance he would wander through and check if anyone had any questions. The museum is housed in the old Clarkdale High School built in 192?. It refurbishing was well done and the use of space for displays excellent. I liked the airy rooms and high ceilings.
The museum lets the visitor know that right away that copper was the first metal that humans used from 9000 BC.
The design touches were attractive.
Copper as it might appear naturally in a vein.
There is a whole section on how copper was used in the military. This was only one wall displaying what soldiers in WWII would make out of the empty shells from the big guns. There was a picture showing the huge pile of empty shell. It was a chilling sight as it represented an aspect of a war that didn't have daily media attention on the nightly news.
Apparently the soldiers sitting around in the trenches for days on end would make decorative objects out of the shells. Each had its own pattern or design. The museum identified the different countries that they came from so the activity was not unique to just the Allies.
Who else didn't know that Horseshoe Crabs have blue blood and get bled for medicinal reasons. Wait till the Animal Rights get a hold of this.....They will want to know if those clamps are human.
This one is included for the chocolate lovers who want to think about the size of that chocolate mold on the right.
I think these are useful if you have "people" that can fetch the hot water.
If the print is too small, the main point is that in the original building of the high school a cat apparently wandered through the fresh cement. From following the tracks they found that the cat looked into every room except the Principal's office. The cement was covered with tile until the restoration of the building for the museum. Now whether or not it was the same cat that during restoration the workman found mummified in the crawl space might never be known.
I really wanted the dragon to follow me home. Sigh.
It rained all day Thursday. The weather alert radio came on several times in the night to warn of flash flooding in the surrounding areas. The campsite where I am staying is up on a high steep bank above the lower sides of the Verde River. Friday morning the river was not so small or quiet. The water approached the top of the bank.
I also made a spot at the Fort Verde State Historical Park. I learned about the same famous Buffalo Soldier that I learned about 5 years ago when I visited Fort Davis in Texas. The military moved folks around even then, especially when he was a highly educated black man and worked with some white commanding officers that found that difficult to take.
And, yes, back in the sixties at the riding stables we had two horses that used old army saddles. They both had pretty dominant backbones and these worked to save their backs from damage because is reduced the pressures on their backs.
The parade field at Fort Verde.
When I visited the Montezuma Castle National Monument today, I got to see some of what the flash flooding last night left behind. I call this picture: When picnic table have a rumble.
This section of the cliff is to the left of the still existing dwelling. From the pattern of holes on the side of the cliff they know that this structure was five stories at one time.
Almost finished.
Lark got to walk with me when I visited Montezuma Well, another site of ancient ruins.
There is also the remains of structures on the top of the rim opposite.
And who doesn't enjoy taking their cats for a walk. (Lark sat quietly on her sit/stay like a good girl, though she was so delighted to see cats out on a walk, too!)
Lark was such a good girl she got to sit next to me on the patio while I stopped for a late lunch. (She got a bowl of water. Delicious.)
Good Bye Sedona. We are heading back towards Benson tomorrow.
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