35/100... wrigley mansion

I grew up watching the Wrigley gum commercials. The jingles were catchy - "Double your pleasure, double your fun! With Doublemint, Doublemint, chewing gum!!" Or "So kiss a little longer, make it last a little longer. Longer with Big Red..." Or "Hi ho hay hay, Chew your little troubles away. Hi ho hay hay, chew Wrigley Spearmint Gum!" Yeah, and once you get them in your head you'll be singing them for days weeks... trust me. The only thing better than the jingles is the gum which is still my favorite gum.

I was about twelve when I learned that the Wrigley Mansion (#35 on my "100 Things in Arizona" list) in north-central Poenix belonged to THAT Wrigley, the gum guy. I wanted to see the inside of it for years but it wasn't open to the public until recently.

Wrigley Mansion sits atop a hill near the Arizona Biltmore Hotel. Actually William Wrigley, Jr. was one of the developer/owners of the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in 1930. He and his lovely wife, Ada, loved staying there and in fact, there was at one time a path that led from their home to the hotel. But I am getting waaaay ahead of myself.

The front entrance must have looked grand back in the day without the parking valet and commercial trash cans for tourists to throw away drinks, etc. before entering. Stairs on either side of the entry walkway lead up to the magnificent front door.

William Wrigley, Jr. was born into a poor family in 1861 in Philadelphia. His father enlisted in the Union Army and William, Jr. ended up living with an aunt and uncle. After the war, his father began manufacturing soap and at age seven, William, Jr. took a basket of soap to the market to sell. He was relentless and constantly thought of ways to get people to buy his soap... and was bitten by the entrepreneur bug. He ran away at age 11 to sell newspapers in Manhattan but returned home when that didn't work out. After being expelled from school shortly after that, his father put him to work full-time in his factory stirring boiling soap with a paddle. William, Jr. felt he would be more effective selling the soap and finally convinced his father to make him a salesman. 

He was, indeed, a very good salesman having the ability to to see things from the buyer's perspective. His pleasant personality, patience and business sense contributed to his selling success. In 1885 he met Ada Foote and it was love at first sight! They were married later that year. 

William, Jr. liked to use the "free gift with purchase" method of selling while his father felt the soap should sell on its own merits. After several harsh disagreements, William Jr. left his father's business in 1891 and set up his own in Chicago, the fastest growing city in America. The William Wrigley, Jr. Company sold soap and later his own brand of baking powder with gifts of umbrellas, cookbooks, silver-plated teaspoons, whatever he could find that he thought people would want. He changed his gifts frequently to create urgency in buying. 

So how did he get in the gum business? Gum was already a well-established product in 1892 when he chose it as the free gift to sell sets of colored jars. He decided to manufacture his own brand of gum - called "Lotta" which stood for "a lot of value." The gum became a hit and he began using other products as free gifts with his gum. In 1895, the Juicy Fruit and Spearmint brands appeared and the rest, as they say, is history.

Wrigley thought advertising was the key to a successful business and he invested nearly every cent he made for years back into advertising, often to the scoffing of other great businessmen. HIs company continued to expand and in 1919, sales topped $27 million! He was one of the largest employers of mass advertising in the nation, spending millions of dollars on advertising alone.

Now an extremely wealthy businessman, Wrigley had acquired an estate in Wisconsin, an Italian Renaissance mansion in Pasadena and later owned 99% of Catalina Island. He bought prime Chicago real estate and built the 30-story Wrigley Building as well as an adjacent building of near-equal stature. Friends asked him to join them in a syndicate to purchase the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs were not doing well and soon the three friends became sole owners. Not being a baseball enthusiast, he had only purchased a ten percent share but later bought out the largest share holder becoming principal owner of the Cubs and Cubs Stadium which was later renamed Wrigley Field. Having the Cubs completely changed his mind about baseball and he seldom missed a game. In fact, he later acquired the minor-league LA Angels and built another Wrigley Field in LA. 

At that same time, he acquired a major interest in the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel, a luxury hotel now known as the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. Business partners convinced Wrigley to invest $1 million in the Arizona Biltmore. It became a financial fiasco and he was forced to take over the project. Since he was spending so much time in Phoenix now, he decided to build a home as a 50th anniversary gift for his beloved Ada. Originally called La Colina Solano, the 16,850 square foot Wrigley Mansion was completed in 1931 at a cost of $1.2 million.

William Wrigley, Jr. & Ada Foote Wrigley

The views from Wrigley Mansion are breath-taking. There are balconies, porches and decks on every side making it a great home for entertaining. 

A sea of palm trees and red-tiled roofs merge into the downtown skyline from the southwest side of the property.

Camelback Mountain (and its famous Praying Monk formation) are visible from the east side.

As spectacular as the views are, the interior of the house is even more so. Despite being built during the Great Depression, no expense was spared. There are 24 rooms, 12 bathrooms and eight unique fireplaces. The mansion was never intended to be a main residence; it was their "winter cottage" and was used for only a couple of weeks once or twice a year. The Wrigleys split most of their time between their Chicago home and Catalina Island.

The Library (top) is an immense wood-paneled room with several sofas and chairs arranged in conversation groupings. Surprisingly, there are not that many books.

The grand staircase (bottom left) is the centerpiece of the somewhat circular-shaped entry way. All the artwork currently in the mansion are reproductions but while the Wrigleys owned it, their considerable art collection graced the walls.

This fireplace (bottom middle) was my personal favorite - it looks so "happy!"

The mansion has several dining rooms, each with a different feel. This one (bottom right) was my favorite because it is warm and inviting without being ornate.

Just off the entryway is a small room not much bigger than a coat closet housing the original telephone switchboard used for the mansion. The mansion was not just their living quarters; Wrigley also conducted business from there making several phone lines a necessity. What I found quirky was that he wallpapered the tiny room in shiny foil from his gum wrappers.

Just a tad eccentric, don't you think?

The ceilings of the mansion are as unique as the rest of the home. Each room's ceiling is a little different and has a story to tell. Some have wood beams or painted artwork or stenciling or gold-gilding creating a collage of decorating styles and techniques. Unfortunately, none of the photos I took show off the ceilings at their best. If you tour the mansion, be sure to look UP!

Most of the furnishings are original to the mansion. In the immense family living room sits one of two Steinway grand player pianos in the WORLD. The other one is at the Smithsonian and reportedly doesn't play. Our tour guide told us it was William Wrigley, Jr.'s most-prized possession; he and Ada often spent hours in that room listening to it. It can accommodate up to ten player rolls at a time - all of them filled with George Gershwin music played by Gershwin himself for the rolls. Along with the player piano is a "selector panel" with a very long cord - kind of like an old-fashioned, very large remote - so William and Ada could sit on the sofa and change which song was playing on the piano!

Liberace once offered Wrigley's family a blank check for the piano - they turned it down saying the piano must stay with the mansion. 

The mansion was completed in 1931 and William Wrigley, Jr. died in the mansion just a year later at the age of 71. Ada continued to live in the mansion for a couple of weeks at a time, several times a year until her death in 1958. At that time, the mansion went through several ownership changes until Western Savings bought it and renamed in The Mansion Club. It was a private and very exclusive club for Phoenix's elite. After the Savings & Loan debacle in the 1980's, the mansion was in danger of being  razed. George "Geordie" Hormel, heir to the Hormel meatpacking empire, purchased the mansion in 1992, changed its name back to "Wrigley Mansion" and began restoring it to its original state. He believed that the mansion belonged to the people of Phoenix as a historical treasure and should be open to all people, not just the elite. However, zoning restrictions require that the mansion must retain a private club status. Geordie declared the membership fees were to be a formality, kept reasonable and the proceeds of the membership fees donated to charity, all of which continued after his death in 2006. The mansion is now owned by his fourth wife and children. Membership fees are currently $3 for a trial (one visit), $10 annually for a social membership (for people who like to dine at the restaurant), $50 annually for a special wine membership and $150 annually for a corporate membership. We ate lunch in the "world-class" restaurant, Geordies, after our tour. Although we enjoyed the tour and would recommend it, lunch was just so-so and rather pricey. 

The grounds are beautifully maintained and according to our tour guide, the "perfect place for weddings, special parties or banquets."

As a young girl, the mansion was what impressed me, even before I saw it. I knew that rich people had mansions that were huge and beautiful. As I grew up, I was less impressed with wealth and pretension. What I love about Wrigley Mansion is not so much the building, although it's quite beautiful and impressive, but the man who built it - a man who did not believe he was entitled to anything except the chance to work hard and make a better life for himself. 

Thumb Up or Down: Up!

Miles Round Trip: 51.8 miles

Miles To Date: 10,810.5 miles

Percent of List Completed: 96%

Date of This Trip: November 10, 2012

50/100 ... book 'em, Dano

Almost everyone is intrigued with "bad guys" and the "good guys" that catch them. There are more police/crime dramas on television than any other genre. The National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington DC is one of the most popular museums in the country - and, incidentally,  one I highly recommend! An informal survey I conducted at the airport revealed more people read mystery/crime novels than any other - although Romance Writers of America claim more Americans read romance novels than any other genre... sigh... but that's a blog post for another day. For all those reasons, I wasn't terribly surprised to discover that a Phoenix Police Museum  (#50 on my "100 Things in Arizona" list) existed in the heart of downtown Phoenix and was excited to explore it on a Friday afternoon in early November. In fact, we had tried to go earlier in the year but it was closed for several months while it moved to a "new" location in the Historic City Hall on 2nd Avenue and Jefferson Street. Actually, the museum "came home" - and its homecoming is one of those things that just makes you smile!

The Phoenix Police Museum was founded in 1994 by Mike Nikolin, a 30+ year veteran of the Phoenix Police Department. Mike believed that the public both deserved and wanted to know what their police department did and how it has evolved over the past century. He put together a small exhibit that was displayed in the Historic City Hall for about six months in 1994. The display expanded and was moved to the Barrister Place Building at Central Avenue and Jefferson Street until that building was closed in 2011. Mike and a small army of volunteers (active duty and retired police officers as well as citizens) worked tirelessly to obtain space at the Historic City Hall, the place where the exhibit first was shown and where Phoenix's first police department was housed many decades before. After space was secured, the move began and the collection of artifacts and exhibits was expanded.

Although the museum is small by museum standards, it is packed with all kinds of memorabilia from yesteryear. One of the first things we saw when we walked in the door was a replica of the Marshal's Office with a jail cell from the early days. And the 19th century Phoenix "Jail Rock" to which prisoners were chained until their sentences had been served.

"John Doe" got into a lot of trouble... usually "drunk and disorderly!" This page showed crimes from June, 1900.

This 1919 Ford Model T was one of the first police cars used by the Phoenix Police Department.

We were the only visitors in the museum so the curator (all of them are retired Phoenix police officers) gave us a personal tour explaining the exhibits and adding personal stories from his experience as a veteran Phoenix police officer as well as stories he heard or read about. His knowledge of "standard-issue police equipment" through the decades was fascinating. For example, at one time, "brass knuckles" were standard issue - now just the "bad guys" have them.

Guns, batons, radios... everything has changed with technology.

And speaking of technology, the bomb disposal display is amazing. In the beginning, officers wore "special uniforms" that don't look like they'd protect them from an exploding can of Coke much less a real bomb and placed the bomb in a special container to remove it to a secure location. Later, robots came into play. Think Rosie on the 1960's tv show The Jetsons. 

"LeRoy" (left) was the first bomb disposal robot the Phoenix Police Department had. He was followed by "Sweet Pea" (right) who could get into more places due to her track "feet" and longer extension "arms."

The Memorial Room is inspiring. Light streaming through the handmade stained glass windows reflected off the wall with framed photographs of officers killed in the line of duty. Beside each photograph was a short biography. Another wall memorialized the canine officers killed in the line of duty - all of them died protecting their human partner. In the center of the room is a large statue depicting a policeman draped over a coffin out of which rises a smiling policeman angel raising a sword and a shield with the word "Honor" engraved on it. Messages written by loved ones of the fallen officers are sealed inside the marble base - like a time capsule. The sculpture is partially made of melted bullets and badges of the fallen officers. 

The Memorial Room is a quiet place to reflect on the many sacrifices police officers and their families make to ensure our safety.

There are many other displays and exhibits - the first helicopter used by the Phoenix Police Department in 1973, uniforms through the decades, a piece of an I-beam from the Twin Towers that the New York City Fire Department donated in appreciation of all the law enforcement and first responders that Phoenix sent when the Twin Towers were hit on September 11, 2001,  a motorcycle that kids of all ages can sit on, the evolution of law enforcement in Arizona (did you know there were Arizona Rangers (like Texas Rangers) at one time?) and much more. There is definitely something for everyone!

Thumb Up or Down: Up!

Miles Round Trip: 45.0 miles

Miles To Date: 10,758.7 miles

Percent of List Completed: 95%

Date of This Trip: November 9, 2012

13/100... up, up and away

I can always tell when hot air balloons are flying over our house. Every dog in the neighborhood barks incessantly despite admonitions from their owners to "BE QUIET!" I like to think they are really excited about seeing such beautiful balloons floating in the sky and are asking for a lift. Of course, the reality is that they are warning us of impending danger from something really big and noisy. Either way, watching the hot balloons float effortlessly in the sky stirred a desire in me to float above the ground in one. Last month I found a Groupon deal for a hot air balloon ride with Hot Air Expeditions  and grabbed it. A week or so later we went on our first hot air balloon ride (#13 on my "100 Things in Arizona" list) over the desert in north Phoenix.

We met our group (about 75 people riding in 6 balloons) at the Deer Valley Airport one Sunday afternoon. From there, we piled into vans to drive out to the departure site near Lake Pleasant. We were excited when the crew captain determined that conditions were safe and the launches would proceed. Our crew laid out the balloon, called an envelope, on the ground and did a visual inspection before beginning to inflate it.

Our sweet ride!

One of the things I did while I was waiting was inspect the basket. I have wicker baskets at home and none of them are strong enough to hold 25 pounds let alone 13 adults. I knocked into the basket, punched it, kicked it and still it didn't budge. One of the crew members was watching me and with a twinkle in his eye, said that the baskets are very strong and they've never had an "accident." Meanwhile, the crew continued inflating the balloon.

The interior of the balloon was inspected several times as it inflated. These people take safety very seriously!

The pilot explained that once the balloon was inflated and brought upright, everyone would need to climb inside the basket quickly. There are toe holds in the basket but no step stool. I was glad he asked us and another couple if we would be willing to get in the balloon while it was on its side, laying down with our feet against the bottom of the basket. They need ballast in the basket as they bring it upright.

We had to crawl in and then shift our balance as the basket righted itself. 

As soon as the balloon was mostly inflated the crew allowed it to rise as they held on tightly to the ropes. When the basket was upright, the rest of the passengers and the pilot climbed in over the sides. At last, we were ready to launch!

It looks like we're crammed in the basket but there was plenty of room for the 12 passengers and the pilot had his own compartment just behind me.

Once we were all in and situated, the pilot fired up the burner to heat the air in the balloon. We were standing directly beneath the burner and it was quite warm/hot when he fired it up - in fact, it felt like a blistering sunburn. It is the noise from the burner that makes the dogs bark. The pilot explained that they can hear it from miles away.

As the air in the balloon warmed, we rose higher in the sky.

I guess I expected to feel the sensation of moving or at least feel the wind. What I realized as we rose is that we move WITH the wind so there is no sensation of moving or feeling the wind. It felt like we were floating in air.

We watched our shadow as we gained altitude.

Even though the glider ride took us over the same area, the view was different since we were moving much more slowly in the balloon and were at a lower altitude for most of the ride.

Surprisingly, the view straight down did not bother me at all while Richard was not a fan.

About 30 minutes after we launched, the sun started to set. I have seen thousands of sunsets but there is something special about watching one while you're floating 3000 feet above the ground. The 360-degree view allowed us to see the gradations in color in a way we couldn't on the ground.

The northeast valley was washed in rosy hues as the sun neared the horizon.

And the view to the west was quite a show!

Colors changed from orange to rose as the sun slipped lower and lower on the horizon.

After about an hour of flight time, as dusk approached, it was time to land. Although our pilot prepared us for a landing in which the basket tips over, we landed upright and the land crew swiftly secured the lines to keep us down. One by one, we climbed out of the basket, marveling at our ride.

As is tradition, we ended our flight with a champagne toast. Our crew also provided tables with cloth tablecloths and excellent appetizers. We thought it was the ultimate tailgate party! And a fabulous way to end a spectacular ride!

Thumb Up or Down: UP!!!

Miles Round Trip: 77.3 miles

Miles To Date: 10,713.7 miles

Percent of List Completed: 94%
Date of This Trip: November 4, 2012

prince of peace

I love the Christmas season... twinkling Christmas lights on houses, hearing Christmas music EVERYWHERE you go, watching Christmas movies on tv, wrapping gifts, reading Christmas cards and letters from family and friends far away, putting up the Christmas tree. According to Andy Williams, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"

And yet, every year I get a little melancholy as I put out Christmas decor we received from family members who are no longer with us. Each piece triggers a memory and I find myself missing that person a little more and feeling a bit sad.

When I was about 12 my parents gave my sisters and me each an ornament, the only one they got specifically for each of us. They were  babies with wings and hair color to match ours. Mine was a blue-eyed, brown-haired baby and I thought it was pretty silly at the time. But as an adult, I hang it on the tree every single year.

My mother-in-law, whom I affectionately called "Nona," gave us an elf. There were actually three elves and she gave one to each of her kids. She said they got them in the 1940's and that they were her favorite Christmas decoration. I remember them carefully displayed in their house - and her letting my children hold them as she told them stories of Christmas' past.

My sister-in-law, Karlene, loved Neil Diamond just about as much as I do. She and her husband, John, would go to every concert with us. Whenever I hear a Neil Diamond Christmas song, I remember her and how much we wished he would do a Christmas concert tour.

My other sister-in-law, Karen, gave us a nesting Santa that she and her husband, Dan, got in St. Petersburg when they were there. I loved hearing her stories about their travels and my kids loved opening it and taking out the pieces.

Sometimes something horrific like the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012 grips the entire nation with sadness and loss. While I would not presume to know the gut-wrenching grief the parents of the children or the families of the adults who were killed are experiencing this Christmas, I can be sure it is worse than the sadness and helplessness I feel as I watch the news.

It is at times like these, especially, that we need to remember why we celebrate Christmas. It isn't about holiday decor or Christmas songs or any of those things that we often think makes it "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Instead, we need to focus on the birth of the One who later died for me and for you, the One who knows our heartache and promises to be with us always.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

42/100... that's corny!

There used to be a lot of corn fields near our house. Now they have been replaced with housing developments and grocery stores but back in the day I used to wonder what it would be like to be lost in a corn field. I think I had just watched North By Northwest (1959)  where Cary Grant runs through the corn field to evade the bad guys flying in an airplane.

Recently corn mazes have become a popular fall activity and I was excited to find one close to our house. It was not surprising that Vertuccio Farms Corn Maze (# 42) made it onto my "100 Things in Arizona" list! We decided to go on the weekend they were also having a Tamale Festival (November 3-4, 2012).

Workers at the corn maze told me that the entire field of corn is planted and then when the plants begin to grow, they use a mower to cut down some of the corn plants to form the maze. At the end of the season, the field is mowed down and the corn is used to make cattle feed.

We were expecting to get a map to follow as we went through the maze but the only map was posted on a sign at the concession stand. We also thought there would be a goal or an end spot like in a maze you do on paper. There was not. They had a CSI-type game with stands along the way to help you solve the "crime" - but no way to know where they were unless you wandered through the entire maze.

Although the maze makes a great design from the air, it is pretty intricate to just wander through.

We decided to give it a try and paid our $5 admission to the corn maze. Since it was the end of the season, the corn was very dry and the paths were very dusty. It was an allergy haven but we headed in without hesitation!

We walked a little ways into the maze and then decided it wasn't much fun to just wander around without a goal so we walked back out and left. Surely the Tamale Festival would be better.

Unfortunately, their idea of a Tamale Festival was selling tamales in their concession stand so that was a bust, too.

Thumb Up or Down: Down!!

Miles Round Trip: 16.7 miles

Miles To Date: 10,636.4 miles

Percent of List Completed: 93%

Date of This Trip: November 3, 2012

41/100 ... tumacácori

When I was in elementary school my parents planned what they promised would be a fabulous summer vacation for us. In the middle of summer we set off for our "fun-filled family vacation" - a two week tour of every Indian ruin in Arizona. My younger sister and I shared the backseat of the family car - a car with vinyl seats and NO air conditioning. After the second Indian ruin, they all began to look the same... boring! While I was wondering why we couldn't have a "normal" family vacation and go to Disneyland, I also vowed that I would never go to another Indian ruin... ever.

Fast forward several decades. Friends mentioned they went to Tumacácori and Tubac and had a fabulous time. I was skeptical thinking that Tumacácori was an Indian ruin and this was a trick to get me to break my vow. Then another decade or so later I discovered, while reading an Arizona Highways magazine, that Tumacácori was not an Indian ruin but a mission and contributed greatly to Arizona's history. When I made my "100 Things in Arizona" list, it was #41 - and we visited it this fall.

The first stop is the visitor's center where friendly rangers helped us plan our visit to fit the time we had available. We also picked up a guide book before heading out the back door and into the past.

A beautiful garden with plenty of shade and benches separated the visitor's center from the museum building (lower left). 

In the late 1600's Father Kino, a Jesuit missionary, renamed the O'odham village called Tumacácori located on the east side of the Santa Cruz River calling it Cayetano (Spanish). He celebrated the first mass there in a ramada built by the Indians. This newly established mission, a community for converting the natives to Christianity, became San Cayetano de Tumacácori. Although we usually use "church" and "mission" synonymously, Tumacácori did not have a real church building until after the Pima Rebellion in 1751 when the community was moved to its present site on the west side of the river to be near the newly established Tubac Presidio for protection. Its name was changed to San José de Tumacácori and the new church was finished in1757. The church we see today was built by the Franciscans between 1800 and 1822 long after Father Kino had died (1711).

The long path leading from the museum to the church gave me time to really look at the church, to imagine what life would have been like back when it was built. Underneath the mound to the left of the path are the foundations of O'odham houses.

The O'odham people made adobe bricks from the clay-like soil mixed with gravel and water. Limestone was quarried from the Santa Rita mountains about 30 miles away (seen in the right side of the photo above) to be used to make plaster for the walls. And still others grew crops for food and trading. 

Some of the original adobe bricks are visible where the limestone plaster has eroded away. Exterior restoration of the church has been extensive although great care has been taken to maintain the authenticity of the building. For example, the bell in the bell tower has been replaced but is of similar size and material as the original one.

The interior of the church is laid out in the form of a long hall rather than a cross. There were no pews; people stood or knelt during the services. From the nave, steps lead up to the sanctuary where the priest celebrated the Mass. The original paints, picture frames and extensive stenciling are still visible giving a glimpse of its former beauty.

The cross made of flowers was the only modern adornment. A worker was busy doing reconstruction but graciously moved for my picture-taking. 

The roof was removed after the church was abandoned and the wood used for other buildings. It has been replaced several times since then. This view, looking back into the nave from the sanctuary, shows the deterioration of the walls in many places.

The church was abandoned in 1848 and changed from a house of worship to just a house. People traveling through the area could not resist the lure of a warm place to stay out of the elements. Weary "49ers" on their way to the California Gold Rush, Mexican soldiers and cowboys all spent nights in the church, especially in the sacristy, a kind of storeroom where the priests kept the clothing and articles used in the performance of their duties. It was also where the priests mentally prepared themselves to be servants of God and where they kept church records of baptisms, marriages, burials and the like. As time went on, US soldiers and cowboys also stayed in the sacristy and like those before them, they recorded their stay on the walls. Sometimes they died there, too - and were buried on the grounds.

Just outside the church is the mortuary chapel and graveyard. The grave markers are all 20th century. Mission-era graves were destroyed long ago by weather, treasure hunters and cattle - the cemetery was used as a corral during long cattle drives at the end of the 19th century.

The mission was truly a community and provided not only for the people's spiritual needs but also for their physical needs.  The Spanish priests brought sheep, goats, cattle, wheat and fruit trees which provided a much greater variety to the O'odham diet. Food was dried, stored in clay jars and baskets in the granary for distribution to the people throughout the year.

The roof to the granary also "disappeared" after the church was abandoned.

The foundation in front of and to the left of the church is all that remains of the original church. The building to the right of the church is the front of the granary and just behind it is the mortuary chapel and graveyard. This was definitely a community with social structure.

The museum is filled with interesting displays and artifacts depicting life at Tumacácori from its inception to abandonment. One thing I found interesting was the origin of the tortilla. Aztecs made a flat, round, yellowish bread out of corn. The Spaniards had never seen corn but made a yellowish omelette out of eggs that they called a tortilla. Having no other word for the Indian cornbread, the Spanish called it a tortilla. This "Mexican" tortilla continued to evolve with the Spanish introduction of wheat. It is truly a blending of the two cultures.

Unlike the vacation from my childhood, this trip was interesting and fun. And, to be honest, it did have ruins if you count the foundation from the first church. Perhaps with age comes wisdom and the ability to better appreciate other cultures.

Thumb Up or Down: Up!!

Miles Round Trip: 294.2 miles

Miles To Date: 10,619.7 miles

Percent of List Completed: 92%

Date of This Trip: October 26, 2012

20/100 revisited... spreading some Christmas cheer

We drove by the Mystery Christmas Tree (#20 on my "100 Things in Arizona" list) on I-17 between Sunset Point and Cordes Junction last December (2011) and were sad that it was not the festive tree we were expecting.  I gave it neither a thumb up nor a thumb down since it was not decorated. You can read that post here.

We drove by it again about a week ago and I am happy to report that it has been fully adorned for Christmas this year. The American flags and yellow ribbons honoring our military are a nice addition to the shiny, glittering ornaments and giant candy canes.

Be sure to look for it if you head up north this Christmas season!

This tree truly is a "Mystery Tree" since no one knows (or will admit) anything about who decorates it or what happened last year that kept it from being decorated. I checked this year with the public affairs officers from the Yavapai Country Sheriff's Office, Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Department of Transportation and all disavowed any knowledge of who does it or why it wasn't done last year. 

Whoever the mystery elves are, I'm glad they're back spreading a little Christmas cheer to all who pass by.

Thumb Up or Down: UP all the way!!