Our first stop on the way out of town was Over Easy, a small, eclectic local eatery Guy Fieri featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (the 8th one we've visited as well as #8 on "the list"!) a few years back. Although situated in a strip mall in Phoenix, the place definitely has a chic, small-town feel to it. At 10:00 on a Friday, there was still a wait (about 15 minutes) for a table but the locals didn't seem to mind.
Guy Fieri recommended the "Caramelized Banana & Pecan Brioche French Toast" so that's what I had... and it was heaven on a plate! We sat at the counter and watched plate after plate exit the kitchen; each one looking more delicious than the previous one!
After breakfast we headed north to Strawberry- Pine where the oldest standing schoolhouse in Arizona (#99) is located. My mom taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Iowa. My dad taught classes part-time at a local community college. The importance of education and personal responsibility in obtaining it were values my parents instilled in me from a very young age. It was interesting to visit this old schoolhouse and learn its history.
I couldn't help thinking this building wouldn't be considered old on the East Coast where many of their buildings are well over a century older.
Families living in Strawberry Valley petitioned the County School Superintendent in 1884 to establish a local school for their children. After a building site dispute was settled, the school was finally built using pine logs. It had a more elegant interior than was usual due to the friendship between the superintendent and a local resident- and his subsequent funding. Wainscoting reached from the floor to a height of four feet. Cloth was stretched and nailed above that with wallpaper glued to the cloth. It had new-fangled factory made desks, a world globe and a dictionary. And, as it doubled as a meeting place and church, it also had an organ.
It looks like perfect Lincoln Log construction!
The schoolhouse is open to the public from May to mid-October; we could only look in the windows. The schoolroom had the basics and several "extravagances" like a globe.
After a little more than thirty years, the school was permanently closed and subsequently fell into disrepair. By 1961, nothing remained but the log frame. Fred Eldean bought the school and land and gave the deed to the chamber of commerce. In 1967 local residents restored the building making it secure and weatherproof (I think they also added the handicapped ramp on the side!) but the interior was not restored until 1980 when the Pine/Strawberry Archeological and Historical Society got involved. Thanks to old-timers who had either taught in or attended the school, their descendants and hundreds of interested residents, the Strawberry School was dedicated as a Historical Monument on August 15, 1981.
After leaving the schoolhouse, we continued on to Prescott, also called "Arizona's Official Christmas City." We met up with friends, Mike and Laurie, to watch the 14th annual Holiday Light Parade (#61).
Although folks started staking out their places about 4pm for the 6pm parade, we found good seats a little after 5:30pm. And yes, we "supported the local economy" while we were there!
About 5000 people attended the parade which traversed three sides of the courthouse square. This parade is the official start of the Christmas season and events in the downtown area.
Some of the floats reminded us of the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland. There were 27 entries all adorned with many lights.
Santa ALWAYS comes at the end of the parade. Unfortunately, I left my better camera at home and my little camera couldn't sharply capture the moving floats- but you get the idea!
On the way home the following morning we made a brief stop in Black Canyon City to find some sculptures made out of old 10,000 gallon gasoline storage tanks (#23). When I first heard about these sculptures I was intrigued; why would anyone collect such massive tanks and how could they be artistic?
This 25-foot sculpture, called The Storyteller, stands next to the Community Library.
Wesley Smith ("Smitty") helped remove used 10,000 gallon gasoline storage tanks... you know, the ones buried underground that hold the gasoline until it's pumped into your car's gas tank... when they became damaged or a gas station went out of business. Sometimes they found their way onto his property. Apparently a lot of folks collect them. Who knew? When local authorities told him to get rid of the tanks, Smitty decided to recycle them as art using the cutting torch his wife and daughter gave him for Father's Day.
Sun and shadows created interesting details on the back side of the sculpture.
These tanks are made of quarter-inch-thick steel but Smitty's torch easily cut through them allowing him to make intricate designs. The steel oxidized giving it a rich coppery color. And something old and unwanted became an object of beauty.
This sculpture, The End of the Trail, is made from the end of a tank and marks Smitty's grave in the community cemetery.
We had to ask for directions to the cemetery but once we found it, thought it was beautiful. Smitty and his wife are buried side-by-side in a corner of the cemetery.
I still don't know why people would collect such massive tanks but perhaps in Smitty's case, he saw what they could be rather than what they were.
Thumb Up or Down: UP! For all four!
Miles Round-Trip: 371.2 miles
Miles To Date: 440.6 miles
Date of This Trip: November 25-27, 2011
