State Park Closures

A sign of the times.

State Parks Closing

Also, the annual reenactment of the battle at Picacho Peak has been canceled.

Tiger in Tucson

It's official, Tiger will come back off his knee surgery to play in Tucson next week.

So if golf is your thing, check it out.

Missed a few!

Some other folks enjoying the Baja!

Fautrever-Lance and Erin
Our Life on Wheels-Jerry, Suzy and Rocinante
Nick's Blog-Nick and Miss Terry are recovering from the Gypsy Journal Rally
2 On the Road-Hikin' and Bikin' in SoAZ
That Which Is Good-Marie and Honey making art in Arizona

Ft Lowell Update

For a little more about Ft Lowell, go to my other blog, Straw Cottage.

Who's Hanging Out in the Baja (Baja Arizona, that is)?

from Free Baja Arizona

Check out the fun these folks are having. If you know of RVer/Bloggers who are enjoying this fine southeastern Arizona winter, leave a comment and a link.

The Bayfield Bunch-Kelly and Al Ranch Sit
Artful RV Adventures-Mark and Bobbie are still Artin' Around
Camping and Travels-Adventures with Suzanne and Brad
Are We There Yet?-Currently in the NE (can you say Brrrr?) but will be back in SEAZ
Steve's RV Travelogue-He's having way too much fun with the pics to prove it!
Semi-True Tales of Our Life on the Road-Laurie and Odel are back!
Camping With Suzi-Suzi's getting a tune-up to be ready for the summer but she's still blogging (Suzi and Laurie both give high marks to the Bisbee Breakfast Club, so it must be great)
Two Scamps-deserted Baja Arizona for the red zone of Phoenix
Cid69-He's heading this way tomorrow
Sandcreek Travel-lotta photos of a lotta fun
live.work.dream-Jim and Rene, passing through

Who else is here-please check in!

Feb 9-15 Call in the Cavalry!

If you've ever driven up Craycroft Rd, north of Grant, you may have looked to the right and seen some old adobe buildings sitting in what otherwise looks like a city park. You may have also noticed the name of the park, Fort Lowell and wondered who would put a Fort in the middle of the city? Well, Fort Lowell was not always a part of the big, bustling city but rather was miles from the village known as Tucson. They moved the soldiers out there due to the unhealthy conditions in Tucson proper. This Saturday is Ft Lowell Day and you can find out a bit what it was like to be a soldier in the US Army in the 1870s complete with cavalry drills. Another highlight is the walking tours through the surrounding neighborhood with its many preserved and restored adobe residences. More info here.

Tucson Presidio Trust is again recreating early Tucson through various activities. Join the soldiers and learn to drill. Cannon fire throughout the day. Docent tours of the Presidio. Listen to a story teller spin yarns about the Spanish West.

Visiting Patagonia is always high on my list of day trips. It's a different landscape and a much different pace. Any excuse to get down there is a good one but this one is exceptional if you are a reader. It's the Patagonia Writer's Round-Up hosted by the Friends of the Library. There will be writers of everything from children's books, to history, to mystery to poetry. Nancy Turner the author of one of my favortie Arizona books, These is My Words will be there along with 24 other authors including Philip Caputo, J.P.S. Brown, Susan Lowell, Elizabeth Gunn- so head on down and help support the library! And you might want to try one of the fabulous pizzas at Velvet Elvis. Also, see some great photos of Patagonia here.

A new event this year is the American Indian Music Fest at the Casa Grande Ruins near Florence, AZ. This concert is featuring some great musicians such as R. Carlos Nakai, Odell Borg and Gabriel Ayala. I'm sure all the musicians are worth seeing and in the setting of the ruins it should be an amazing show. Click here for the full info.

Forence is often only thought of in terms of the prison facilities located there but it has an interesting history and downtown. This history will be showcased on Satuday with the 24th Annual Tour of Historic Florence.

On the way to Florence you can also take a short break to stop and see the Tom Mix Memorial on Hwy 79. Mix, famous as a movie cowboy was killed here in 1940 while speeding along in his 1937 yellow Cord Phaeton convertible.

Speaking of movies, the Academy Awards are coming up and if you're like me, you've watched the show and when they get to the Live Action Shorts you have to ask: Where are these ever shown? Well, this year you can see them ALL at the Loft, both live action and animated.

And, there's still the Gem Show.

Old Pima Co Courthouse

I had Jury Duty last week. It was great! A jury was seated by 11:30, I was dismissed and had an afternoon to spend, on my own, in downtown Tucson. The Tucson Museum of Art is about a block from where I parked (discounted due to jury duty) and I knew the Maynard Dixon exhibit was there until February 15, so off I went. It was a wonderful afternoon and if you love Arizona landscapes, go see this show. As I viewed landscape after landscape the Joni Mitchell song Both Sides Now kept popping into my head: It's clouds illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds, at all. That man could surely paint a cloud. If you miss this show, Medicine Man Gallery here in Tucson has a Maynard Dixon Museum.

Yesterday I went to the Tucson Electric Park Gem Show to assist in the economic recovery. All told, I spent about $15 and $5 of that was for food. Not bad for 6 hours of entertainment! My sister-in-law and I try to go together at least one day every year. She's a bellydancer (scroll down to Chaang) and also makes jewelry so she stocks up on supplies. I just go along for the show. My observations from yesterday: it was a good crowd, prices were great and people were spending. We used the Gem Ride shuttle to get to the Tucson Expo center show and it was hassle-free, the drivers were friendly and it gave us a chance to sit and rest our feet after 4 hours of walking and standing. We had such a good time we're going back on Friday!

Interesting, Very Interesting...

CM Russell

I like western art. It's so ...romantic and possibly all those depictions of big skies and far horizons is what enticed me to make the move west. I remember as a kid going to the Whitney Gallery at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and seeing all those Remingtons and Russells. Amazing art for a kid from a little tiny town in southern Ohio.

Just east of Tucson down the Sonoita Hwy sits the Empire Ranch. The Empire was owned by Walter Vail (where Vail, AZ gets its name) and was once part of a ranching operation comprising one million acres. Today the land still supports cattle and is under the management of the BLM. More history of the Ranch is here. The Empire Ranch Foundation helps to support the preservation of the ranch buildings and every year holds a Western Art Sale. You can view the works for sale weekdays from 8:30-4:00 through March 13th at Northern Trust. For more info see the Empire Ranch Foundation website.

CM Russell

Ted DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun is celebrating the centennial of Ted's birth with a show entitled DeGrazia: 100 Years, 100 Works. If you only know DeGrazia by his works depicting the little children in brightly colored clothing, you owe it to yourself to visit the Gallery to see his other works.

Big doin's in Cochise County this weekend. It's the 17th Annual Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering featuring lots of cowboy poetry, music and fun times. If you've never been to one of these gatherings, give it a try, especially if you're from the Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Gene Autry generation or you know all the words to Ghost Riders in the Sky.

An old cowboy went riding out one dark and windy day
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows he saw
A-plowing through the ragged sky and up the cloudy draw

The schedule is here and all shows will be at the Buena Performing Arts Center in Sierra Vista.

Tomorrow is the first day of the Tubac Festival of the Arts. This is a big event in a little village so I would suggest if you would like to go, do it tomorrow. This is a juried show so you will see things you may not see at other Art show and it;s always fun to be in Tubac. There is more info on the Tubac Chamber site.

Are You Ready for Some Football?????

Now dated, but that just cracks me up every time I see it!

If you're into football and parties, it shouldn't be difficult to find a venue for those today in Arizona. You do know the Arizona Cardinals are in the SuperBowl and it is today? Right? And can you believe, I heard Al Roker say he'd never seen a cardinal in Arizona? What a goofball!! Anyway, football is the big story in AZ today and any bar, restaurant, activity center or appliance store with a big screen TV will draw a crowd today. Take your pick.

For the football-impaired there's always the Gem Show. For the beaders I want to highlight a couple of upcoming shows. Beads of Courage is having 2 special events during the Gem Show, more details are here. From their website,

Beads of Courage is a resilience-based intervention designed to support and strengthen the protective resources in children coping with serious illness. Through the program children tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path.

The Gallery 801 event will feature glass bead artist Margaret Zinser, glass bead making demonstrations, and a silent auction featuring original artwork by Steven Derks, Carolyn Anne Anderson, Rebecca Thompson, Ann Tracy, Beth Jonquil, and Karen Sobel-Dombroski. Sounds like an opportunity to pick up some unique beads for your unique creations and help a great cause. And now, Go, Cards!