Meanderings and Musings around Prescott, AZ, June 11 - 23, 2018

On Monday the 11th, my walk from Lotus Bloom Yoga Studio to the Prescott YMCA took me by Lindquist Family Park, on the east side of the YMCA.  It had some interesting signs on the fence.  Community Prenancy Center does not offer or refer women for abortion or birth control.

On Wednesday the 13th, from Lotus Bloom I went west on Fair Street and passed the now closed Big Johnson store and the Saint Vincent De Paul Thrift store.

 A block further west and I passed the Coalition for Compassion and Justice Thrift Store.

Another block west and the name for Fair Street became evident as I passed the fair grounds where the Prescott Rodeo is held; it claims to be the oldest rodeo in the country.

Because of two weeks of construction of Willow Creek Road, we had to reroute our travels to the Habitat Restore, Lotus Bloom Yoga Studio and Prescott YMCA.  On Thursday the 14th, after finishing my shift at Habitat ReStore, I walked up the hill on Commerce Street to the Brownlow Trail parking lot where Patty and I planned to meet.  There is a nice sculpture of a mountain lion there.

On Friday the 15th, Patty and I went to another free show at the planetarium at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University - this week's show was called "Back to the Moon" and was about the Google X Lunar challenge.  After the show, as we were walking back to the car, I saw a couple of young javelinas wondering by - this was unusual as it was still daylight.  I chased after them to try to get a couple of photos - it is difficult to move quickly and get photos that are not blurry and out of focus.

On Monday the 18th, I went north from Lotus Bloom on Miller Valley Road.  To the east of it, just before the junction with Whipple Street, these is a nice little park and green space that was designed and built to be a rain garden.

At that intersection, the road builders decorated the island between the roads with simple, elegant and artistic flair, using just different types of stone.

And another couple of weeks have passed in Prescott and surroundings.

Clear Creek Vineyard and Moscato Italian Restaurant, Camp Verde, AZ, Sunday June 24, 2018

For a Sunday adventure, we decided to visit the Clear Creek Vineyard & Winery in Camp Verde, AZ.  We had a very pleasant visit with George who explained the growing of their grapes and making of their wines; and he regaled us with stories about Sri Lanka, the FBI, American diplomats and more.  For $8.00 we got to sample six of the Rio Claro estate wines, and ended up buying a couple of bottles to enjoy later.

The wine tasting room is air conditioned (it was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside) and had many cute decorations using barrel staves with witty statements.

Outside, there are tables on which to picnic, antique vehicles and beautiful gardens.

 

 
We then visited the Moscato Italian Restaurant in Camp Verde.  We were amazed to find such great food in such an out of the way, small town.  I cannot say enough good things about it - great service, nice facility, excellent wine list and amazing food.  Patty had a spinach salad followed by Linguine Pesto Genovese - linguine in a creamy basil-nut pesto sauce with shrimp.  I had a garden salad followed by Risotto con Castatella - creamy risotto with boneless braised ribs in a cheese and tomato sauce.  And then lattes for each of us, and a shared dessert of an amazing Bomba Spumoni - a ball of three gelatos with cherries in the middle that was dipped in dark chocolate and drizzled with sauces made from berries.  We will have to return to both Clear Creek and Moscato with friends!!

Granite Creek Vineyards, Chino Valley, AZ, Saturday, June 9, 2018

After spending the morning volunteering at the Habitat ReStore, I returned to our rental unit, changed clothes and Patty joined me for a visit to the Granite Creek Vineyards in Chino Valley.  Much of the area is flat land used for farming and ranching, with very few trees.  In contrast, the vineyards are surrounded by many large trees.  We met a lady who was acting as the hostess, among other duties.  She pointed us to the wine tasting building, with many red geraniums out front - this is where wine is sold by the glass or bottle, as well as for tastings.

We walked through the building to the food trailer behind it, ordered our lunches and found a table in the shade of some large cottonwood trees.

We learned that there are free range peacocks and peahens who live in the trees around the vineyards.

As we were eating our lunch and enjoying a glass of one of their red blends, Sky Daddy and the Pop Rocks were entertaining guests with live music (every Saturday from 1 - 4, the vineyard hosts live music).

The  musicians were under the tent while the audience was on the far side of the tent

After lunch, I wondered around the vineyard, to see vines in varying stages of growth and harvest.

The vineyard also had an area for hosting wedding receptions, including a barn for dancing - it reminded me of the music in our barn in Conway for our wedding in 1975.

A very pleasant way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Meanderings in Prescott, June 6 and 8, 2018

Wednesday, my plan was to see if there is a way to drive from the YMCA parking lot through the hospital parking lot, to make it easier to get out of the YMCA when Patty comes to pick me up after her yoga class.  I wanted to go north on the west side of the hospital, so I headed north on Miller Valley Road.  I passed a flower shop with this interesting artwork.  The rest of the wall was smooth and painted a light purple color, but this painting of a train coming through a valley is on raised material that I have not seen before, and includes details that can be difficult to discern.

After crossing Whipple Street, Miller Valley Road becomes Willow Creek Road.  There is this nice collection of shrubs in blossom and there were hundreds, if not thousands, of bees flying around.

Once I reached Ainsworth Street, I could turn east to go around the hospital, but I was intrigued by the cemetery to the north of the hospital.  From the south side, it appeared that the grave markers were buried flush with the ground, rather than headstones that stood above the ground.

I leaned over the fence to get a photo of one of the grave markers.

A few yards further there was this one section with small headstones  - none more than a foot tall, but very obviously different from the other section.  There appeared to be a number of toys, so I wonder if it is a section for burial of young children.

I continued on and it was a most circuitous route to get to the YMCA, passable only on foot and no way for a car to go - mostly because of the fenced off area around the construction on that side of the hospital.

Friday, I went north on Willow Creek Road, past Ainsworth Street, to the cemetery entrance, and saw that Mountain View Cemetery is an endowed care cemetery - it is not a veterans cemetery (although there are some veterans buried there) and it is not one of the five cemeteries maintained by Yavapai County.  Instead, it is part of a company that has funeral homes and cemeteries in nine cities in Arizona.

I took photos of a couple of the grave markers that are flush with the ground.

In 1951, the local chapter of the American Legion created a memorial with an American flag (the shadow is from the flagpole) to "The memory of those resting here who have served and sacrificed for the American ideals."

Beyond the American Legion memorial, there is a section which appears to have most of the graves marked with above ground headstones.  The cemetery is huge and I will have to explore it more.

On my walk from the cemetery to the YMCA, I did find a circuitous and less than obvious way to get from the YMCA parking lot, through the parking lot on the south side of the hospital and out to Willow Lake Road to head north for our route back to Prescott Valley.