Boyce Thompson Arboretum

 Boyce Thompson Arboretum is the largest and oldest botanical garden in the state of Arizona. It is one of the oldest botanical institutions west of the Mississippi. Boyce Thompson is a wonderful day hike.  It provides some beautiful mountain scenery and a path along Queen Creek while exploring the desert plants.  

Founded in 1924 as a desert plant research facility and living museum, the Arboretum is located in the Sonoran Desert on 392 acres beneath the towering volcanic remnant, Picketpost Mountain.  

The Arboretum has a visitor center, gift shop, research offices, greenhouses, a demonstration garden, picnic area, and a looping 1.5-mile primary trail that leads visitors through various exhibits and natural areas. The exhibits include a cactus garden, palm and eucalyptus groves, an Australian exhibit, South American exhibit, aloe garden and an herb garden. 

There are also side trails such as the Chihuahuan Trail, Curandero Trail, and High Trail. Over 2600 species of arid land plants from around the world grow at the Arboretum - Agaves, aloes, boojum trees, cork oaks, jujube trees, legume trees, and, in the Eucalyptus grove, one of the largest red gum Eucalyptus trees ("Mr. Big") in the United States. Cacti and succulents grow extensively throughout the Arboretum. The park attracts Sonoran Desert wildlife and migrating birds. Visitors have seen bobcats, javelinas, coatimundis, rattlesnakes, gila monsters, hawks, hummingbirds, and vultures. 270 bird species have been spotted in the park and the Audubon Society has designated the Arboretum as an Important Bird Area.

Goldfield Ghost Town

 While trying to make the most of the Phoenix, AZ. area we headed to Superstition Mountain and once we got to Apache Junction we stumbled upon the Goldfield Ghost Town.  The town was originally known as Goldfield, it was later renamed Youngberg and once again was named Goldfield by the current owners. The town was founded in 1893, after the discovery of gold in the surrounding area of the Superstition Mountains. The town was abandoned twice by its residents, after the mine veins faulted. The land where the town is located was purchased by a private investor and is now a tourist attraction. Collin Hakes, Riley Morse and Orlando and Orin Merrill were the first to discover gold in the Goldfield area of the Superstition Mountains. Soon thereafter, prospectors came to the area in search of gold. In 1893, the mining town, which became known as Goldfield, was founded next to the Superstition Mountain in what was then the Arizona Territory. The town, in its heyday, reached a population of about 4000 residents.  

It had a hotel, general store, post office, church and school. The Goldfield Post Office was established on October 7, 1893. When the mine vein faulted in 1897, the grade of ore dropped leaving the miners without a job. The town began to suffer since its economy depended heavily on the earnings of the miners who moved out. It was not long before the rest of the town’s residents relocated to other areas leaving Goldfield a ghost town. The Goldfield post office was discontinued on November 2, 1898. 

In 1910, several mines were opened nearby with the installation of a mill and cyanide plant. A small community called Youngberg evolved around the ghost town. The town was named after George U. Young, secretary of Arizona and acting governor at the time. Young was interested in the development of the mining industry of the area. He became President and general manager of the Madizelle Mining Company and Young Mines Company, Ltd. However, the mines faulted again and by 1926, the town was once again deserted.

Robert F. "Bob” Schoose heard of the old site of Goldfield and moved to the town of Mesa, Arizona. In 1984, Schoose and his wife Lou Ann, purchased the location of the Goldfield Mill and decided to rebuild and restore the buildings of the old town with the help of various friends whose names are inscribed in a plaque on the tower which leads to the town. The town and its historic buildings were revived as a tourist attraction. The town has the only 3 ft narrow gauge railroad in operation in Arizona. It also has numerous shops and buildings which include a brothel, bakery, leather works, a jail, livery, and more. Many of these buildings now function as souvenir shops and ticket booths for the mine tour and other attractions that operate out of the ghost town. The Main Street of the town features a reenactment of a western shootout. Mammoth Steakhouse and Saloon on the property is a local dinner attraction.

Japanese Friendship Garden

You never know where you will find tranquility, or an interesting venue to tour.  In the heart of Phoenix, AZ, within a stone’s throw of I-10, and next door to a high-rise apartment building is Ro Ho En, the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix.  

The garden encompasses 3.5 acres and includes a tea garden, a tea house, a koi pond that is 5/8 of an acre. It is a joint project of the sister cities of Phoenix and Himeji, Japan. Ro Ho En is a combination of three Japanese words. Ro means Heron, a bird symbol of Himeji City. Shirasagi-jō, or the White Heron Castle, is a 300-year-old medieval castle in Himeji. Ho is the Japanese word for the mythical Phoenix bird. En means garden.

This tranquil and beautiful setting features more than 1,500 tons of hand-picked rock, stone footbridges, lanterns and more than 50 varieties of plants. While strolling the path, you will enjoy flowing streams, a 12-foot waterfall, and a Koi pond with over 300 colorful Koi fish. Make sure you purchase Koi food when you check in.  The Koi pond is loaded with ducks and they will get to the food first.  You may have a duck befriend you and the pigeons will actually land on your arm at allow you to hand feed them! Pretty entertaining.

The Garden showcases more than 50 varieties of plants including two varieties of bamboo. The designers chose plant species that can withstand the rigors of a desert environment while still reflecting the serenity of a Japanese Garden. 1,500 tons of rock handpicked from quarries near Jerome, Superior, Congress and Florence line the stream beds, walking paths, lake shore and main lake waterfall. You can really lose yourself in the peacefulness of the garden and when you look up and see the high-rise it becomes very surreal!

Confederate Air Force

For those that love machines, particularly flying machines, and like to combine that with history a Confederate Air Force facility near you is the ticket.  O.K., it’s no longer the Confederate Air Force – it’s the Commemorative Air Force – but the mission remains the same.  I had the chance to stop in at the Arizona Airbase facility at Falcon Field in Mesa.  What a facility it is.  The museum part is very informative and the aircraft are impeccably restored.  The hanger / work shop is part of the tour and you get to see how much work it takes to keep these vintage aircraft in shape to fly.
The original name, Confederate Air Force, started as a simple tongue in cheek joke, poking fun at the organization's ragtag beginnings. As the collection of warbirds at Central Valley Airport in Mercedes, Texas started to grow, someone painted the name on the side of the original North American P-51 Mustang Red Nose. The name stuck, and it grew to the point where the airport was renamed Rebel Field, all members were called "colonels" (a tradition which still remains), and it led to the creation of a fictitious leader named Colonel Jethro E. Culpepper. There was even a humorous CAF twist put to the old AVG Flying Tigers World War II "blood chit" that read, "This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue, protect, and provide him medical care." The CAF version seen on the backs of flight suits and flight jackets stated, "This is a CAF aviator. If found lost or unconscious, please hide him from Yankees, revive with mint julep and assist him in returning to friendly territory. CONFEDERATE AIR FORCE". Their rallying cry is, of course, "Semper, Mint Julep".
In 1957, Lloyd Nolen and four friends purchased a P-51 Mustang, each sharing in the $1,500 cost of the aircraft. With the purchase of the Mustang, known as Red Nose, the group that became the CAF was unofficially founded. In 1958, the group made their second purchase of two Grumman F8F Bearcats for $805 each. Along with the P-51, this gave the pilots the two most advanced piston-engine fighters to see service with the U.S. Army Air Forces and the United States Navy.
In 1960, the CAF began seriously to search for other World War II aircraft. The CAF colonels were shocked to find that the aircraft which played such a major role in winning World War II were being rapidly and systematically scrapped as obsolete with no efforts, not even by the Air Force or Navy, to preserve any for display for future generations. On September 6, 1961, the CAF was chartered as a nonprofit Texas corporation to restore and preserve World War II-era combat aircraft. By the end of the year, there were nine aircraft in the CAF fleet. By 1963, the group had achieved their goal of acquiring one of each American World War II fighter plane. Their first airshow was held on March 10, 1963.
The CAF has many wings and squadrons. Starting in 2013, a limited number of larger units may be designated as an "airbase." The first is Airbase Arizona, located at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ and redesignated in Jun 2013. Most CAF units are in the United States, but there are four outside the country.  The aircraft at Airbase Arizona are:

B-17 Flying Fortress -Sentimental Journey was originally manufactured and delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces for war service in 1944 where she flew missions in the Pacific Theater. After the war she flew for training, testing and at-sea rescue missions and was eventually sold for surplus and used as a fire bomber. In 1978 the aircraft was purchased by a Commemorative Air Force (CAF) member and donated to the newly formed Arizona unit of the world-famous CAF. She was meticulously restored and is today maintained in tip-top condition and operated by all-volunteer crews from the membership of CAF Airbase Arizona. This plane was actually undergoing heavy maintenance in the hanger when I was there.  The pilot allowed me to take a walk through the fuselage and across the open bomb bay.  The pilot wanted to know what I thought of the restricted space and I told him I was more amused with the emergency release for the belly turret.  The belly gunner had to be really nice to his crew.or else….

B-25J Mitchell - “Maid in the Shade” was built in early 1944. She’s very rare – one of 34 B-25Js still flying. Nearly 10,000 were produced. Used mainly as a low altitude strafe and skip bomber. Was used in America’s first large-scale bombing offensive in the Philippines - sunk 8 ships and shot down 5 planes.

The Stearman Boeing PT-17 “Kaydet” bi-plane served as a military trainer in the 1930s and 1940s for the USAAF (USAF), US Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. A total of 8,584 were built in the United States and is one of the most recognized trainers of all time. The majority of pilots learned to fly in a Kaydet and were required to solo in this aircraft before receiving pilot wings. Post-war, the PT-17 was used crop dusting, aerobatics, wing walking and various sport uses. It has also been in the movies seen chasing Cary Grant across a field in North by Northwest and was featured in The Aviator.

SNJ-5 Texan - Trained several hundred thousand pilots in 34 countries. Named “the pilot maker” by its crews, it was a trainer aircraft with all the characteristics of a high-speed fighter with more maneuverability and easier handling. It was designed to give the best possible training in all types of tactics, from ground strafing to bombardment and aerial dog-fighting, and contained such versatile equipment as bomb racks, blind-flying instrumentation, gun and standard cameras, fixed and flexible guns, and just about every other device that military pilots had to operate. Today, the SNJ-T6 Texan established a unique racing class at the Reno National Air Races and is a regular participant at air shows. It’s made many movie appearances including Tora, Tora, Tora; A Bridge Too Far, and many more.

The L-16 was a US civilian aircraft in military colors. The result of numerous design and engine upgrades throughout its use in WWII and post-war civilian pleasure-flying, it served in the Army throughout the Korean War, where it performed many of the same roles it had in WWII: Target-spotting, observation, general utility, liaison missions, and rescue. Post war, in the late 1950s, quite a few L-16s returned to civilian life, where most of them shed their wartime paint and resumed life as 7BCM or 7CCM Champs, teaching primary students to fly across the US. Still others went on to serve in the US Civil Air Patrol, a civilian search-and-rescue arm of the US Air Force.

The C-45 Expeditor or a variant was initially introduced to the civilian market, but once war broke out, its potential was realized and produced began in large quantities. It was used in every branch of American service during WWII and Korea and remains one of the world’s most widely used light aircraft. The C-45 Expeditor or a variant was initially introduced to the civilian market, but once war broke out, its potential was realized and produced began in large quantities. It was used in every branch of American service during WWII and Korea and remains one of the world’s most widely used light aircraft. Post-war, the Expeditor was still being produced up through 1970 and used for Strategic Air Command, civilian feeder aircraft, business travel, aerial spraying, dry cloud and fish seeding, aerial firefighting, mail delivery, ambulance service, skydiving, weapon- and drug-smuggling, skywriting, banner towing, and stunts. It could be modified with tail or nosewheels, skis or floats.

Old Number 30” is a C-47A produced by Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, CA and delivered to the Army Air Force in April 1943. The airplane was then assigned to the 60th Troop Carrier Group (TCG), 11th Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS) and flown to the Mediterranean Theatre in May 1943. During the period of 1943-1945 it operated from numerous U.S. and British Airbases in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. On those missions “Old Number 30” flew invasion troops into Southern Europe, towed gliders during the Invasion of Sicily, dropped spies, propaganda and supplies for the OSS and SOE in Serbia, delivered supplies, artillery and mules to Yugoslav Partisan forces, flew night rescue missions of partisans and war orphans in Yugoslavia, and dropped food to starving Greeks. Allied action in this region seriously weakened the ability of the Nazi’s to continue to control the territory. The 60th TCG and the aircrews of “Old Number 30” were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation – the highest unit award in the military. These stories, and “Old Number 30” in particular, were lost to history until recently. A Presidential Executive Order in 1995 resulted in the declassification of long-secret military documents giving details of many of these operations. Post-war, the C-47 is a modified version of the Douglas DC-3 “Dakota” passenger airliner and was used as a corporate plane after WWII. She was then purchased by the “Wings of Flight Foundation” before arriving at Arizona CAF Museum.

Phoenix Art Museum

 

Lori and I like museums. Typically they are inexpensive entertainment and are educational. You can pick up tidbits from many subjects reading just the cards of art pieces that you find interesting. While this is increasing my ‘couch potato’ Jeopardy score I have not gotten as smart as I think. I had mistakenly assumed the “How can you call that art” category only occurred at university art galleries.  Universities tend to be more ‘subversive’ in their content in order to produce a well rounded graduate. A trip to the Phoenix Art Museum taught me otherwise. The Phoenix Art Museum is the Southwest United States largest art museum for visual art. The museum is 285,000-square-feet and displays more than 18,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. A community center since 1959, it hosts year-round programs of festivals, live performances, independent art films and educational programs. It also features The Hub: The James K. Ballinger Interactive Gallery, an interactive space for children; photography exhibitions through the museum’s partnership with the Center for Creative Photography; and the landscaped Sculpture Garden;

Shortly after Arizona became the 48th state in 1912, the Phoenix Women’s Club was formed and worked with the Arizona State Fair Committee to develop a fine arts program. In 1915, the club purchased Carl Oscar Borg's painting Egyptian Evening for $125 and presented it to the city of Phoenix to begin a community art collection. In 1925, the State Fair Committee expanded its community responsibilities and formed the Phoenix Fine Arts Association.  The next major advance in the local art community came during 1936, when the Phoenix Art Center was created under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. Its success led to the creation in 1940 of the Civic Center Association, which set about raising funds and planning a building on a 6.5-acre plot.  In the early 1950s an architect, was retained by the Board of Trustees to design a complex that would house the Phoenix Public Library, the Phoenix Little Theater (now the Phoenix Theatre) and the new Phoenix Art Museum. The museum opened on November 18, 1959, and was officially dedicated on November 21, 1959. Two years later, the board announced plans for an expansion, and in 1965 the museum was enlarged from 25,000 square feet to 72,000 square feet. Additional expansions occurred in 1996. The Museum more than doubled its size with new exhibition galleries, a 300-seat public theater, a research library, studio classroom facilities, the PhxArtKids Gallery, and a café. Most recently, in 2006, the museum saw the opening of the Wing for Modern Art, the Heather and Michael Greenbaum Museum Lobby, an expanded museum store and the 40,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden. The museum's growth has been funded, in part, by successful City of Phoenix Bond Elections and a voter-approved bond.
In addition to an annual calendar of exhibitions, the Museum’s permanent collection galleries are drawn from more than 19,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. Visitors also enjoy photography exhibitions through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona.

There are many interesting exhibits including the charred remains of a Texas Baptist church hanging from a string, and a display of 24,000 paper moths.

 If you follow my block you know there was a piece of ‘art’ in Albuquerque where the artist took a piece of white canvas and painted it solid white.  He then put it in a white frame.  Well, I would like you to meet a slightly more creative artist who still uses the wall as part of the piece. 

 Because the piece uses ready-made punctuation marks (in this case parens) the artist feels it incorporates the dimension of time into the work – Really?  

 One of the exhibits when Lori and I went was a fire-fly interpretation.  This was a mirrored room (think fun house here) with strings of small lights simulating fire-flies.  It was great – occasionally you would hear the loud ‘thunk’ of someone walking into one of the mirrored walls.  What a blast!

Dwarf Car Museum

 

 Maricopa, a suburb of Phoenix, AZ, has one of the coolest museums of you fancy engineering and automobiles. While it is titled a museum, it is more garage like and if you are a gear head that is the best way to do it!  There are no guides, just builders hanging around the garage waiting to answer questions about the machines they put a lot of pride in.  The Dwarf Car Museum is a bit off the beaten path but not hard to find.  From the time you pull into the drive way you get the feel of the yard where everyone brought there cars to either work on – or be worked on.  It is a very comfortable environment.

Ernie Adams, originator of the dwarf car, has made a name for himself building Dwarf Race Cars and scaled down replicas of classic cars called Dwarf Car Cruisers. These handmade works of art now have a home in Maricopa, Arizona.

Ernie Adams had a fascination with cars starting back in grade school. He would admire the cars of the time, drew them for school assignments and even built a wooden car as long as a crate box with steering and peanut butter jar lids for taillights. His mother would pull him through out his hometown of Harvard, Nebraska.

Ernie’s first Dwarf Car came to life in 1965 as a 28 Chevy two-door sedan made out of nine old refrigerators. Ernie began gathering the materials for this little car in 1962. By 1965 he had enough materials and an 18 hp Wisconsin motor to begin construction. With a homemade hacksaw made from a chair frame, hammer and a chisel, Ernie began construction. He had no idea what this would be the beginning of. Because this is the first Dwarf Car ever built, it is known as “GRANDPA DWARF.” This first Dwarf Car is kept in running order and is still driven today.

The Dwarf Race Car idea came about after Ernie Adams and Daren Schmaltz had attended motorcycle side hack races in Phoenix, Arizona. During the drive home, Ernie expressed concern that three-wheeled racers were to slow in the corners. He said they could improve considerably by adding a fourth wheel to help thru the corners. Ernie suggested that adding a car body would also help spectator appeal.  The first two Dwarf Race Cars were built in Dec. 1979 and early 1980 and the first Dwarf Car race took place at the Yavapai County Fair in Prescott, Arizona in September, 1983. There were 12 cars registered.

After leaving the Dwarf Race Cars, Ernie had learned a lot about bending and shaping metal. He loved to see heads turn in admiration of the Dwarf Race Cars while being towed down the highway. Ernie knew it was time to change and put his metal shaping skills to the test. Now he wanted a fully dressed Dwarf Car with fenders, chrome, finished interior and most of all street legal and the Dwarf Car Cruiser was born.

The museum (garage) consists of two large bays with dwarf cars on display and a third bay work shop with a home-made chassis jig and engine stands. When we entered the ‘museum’ there was two people working on the next dwarf in an open bay outside the work bay and two builders were hanging out in the second garage bay.  There is a video that runs on a loop with Ernie talking about jigs he had to make to hand mold metal to the intricate shapes necessary for grills, bezels and other metal work.   Once we started looking I mentioned to Lori what a work of engineering to down scale a car to this size and yet keep it drivable. Before you know it I had one of the builders with me eager to explain any detail I pointed out.  Lori asked if they “actually worked” and the second builder had one near her fired up and reving the engine.  Showing her how the interior was setup for a full size person.

I was amazed at the backyard engineering that goes into these mini cars.  Figuring out suspension geometries and linkage attachments and pivots – and these guys just look at the car and they know.  No computer math.  No Computer Aided Design drawings.  Just shade-tree engineering!

Ajo Scenic loop

 

If you are in Ajo, AZ. The second thing you should do (the first is always hit the visitor center or town museum) is take in the Ajo scenic loop.  The loop covers a good bit of unimproved road so it is a slow go but the views are worth it.  You start in downtown Ajo (at the visitor’s center) so before you go on the loop, get out and take a walk through some of the shops.  The loop is designed to take you around the perimeter of the old copper mine.  You will go by the Ajo Historical Museum and the Ajo Mine museum.  If Bob is working at the mine museum you have a wealth of information since he was a former mine employee.  The mine museum is also the closest you will get to the mine – and it is impressive.  The scenic loop takes you through some picturesque desert and you will see pull-offs along the dirt road.  When we went many were filled with boondocking RVers, I’m guessing for the Fiddle Fest.  There is also signage that reminds you how close you are to the Mexican border.   

Make sure you have a map (get it at the visitor’s center) of the scenic loop as it is not well marked and some of it is off the beaten path.  You don’t need Special Forces land navigations skills as the street names are marked at every intersection but some of the roads are long and you can feel left in the middle of nowhere (which is actually a good description).  

When the loop brings you back into the center of town take note of the art work on the buildings including the Artists Alley. 

This is where a good portion of the building artwork is done.  When you are at the Visitor’s Center make sure to check the area Schedule of Events.

Ajo Historical Museum

 Seeing we were in Gila Bend as a base of operations for the Phoenix, AZ area, getting food was a challenge.  The local market in Gila Bend closed so the choices became Buckeye or Ajo, both 40 minutes away.  Since we came to Gila Bend through Buckeye we were familiar with the lay of the land so we decided we would food shop in Ajo. This turned out to be a good choice since Ajo is one of those towns where misfortune fell hard and they have re-imaged themselves.  

The Ajo Historical Museum documents this rise, fall, and recovery very well. The Ajo Historical Society was founded in 1975 and the Ajo Historical Society Museum was opened in 1976. The Museuem is located just a few minutes away from downtown Ajo at the St. Catherine's Indian Mission 1/4 mile to the west of the mine overlook on the Mine lookout road. The Museum itself is home to several different items from Ajo and the surrounding area's past. Ajo was originally built as a company town to support the New Cornelia open pit copper mine.   

Turns out that this was the only productive mine in the Ajo district. The mine is now under the ownership of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Corporation through a series of acquisitions.  The mine was shut down in 1983 due to low copper prices, and a worker dispute with the local union. The museum documents the mine history and the downfall of Ajo very well. It also documents the contributions of Ajo natives throughout history including Ajo native’s contribution to the nation’s military.  While the closing of the mine nearly ruined Ajo, they have since remade themselves as an art haven and even host an annual fiddlers fest.