Friday, December 24, 2010

My Little Christmas Vacation

I know that these aren't the most Christmas-y of images but we took a couple of day trips in the area that was a nice break and a peaceful pastime away from busy town activities and parties.

 David's son was down visiting from college before he heads north to see his mom and our two other sons are back in Alaska enduring forty below zero F temperatures (minus 40 C) so these little day trips are the closest thing to holiday family time that we'll be enjoying.

The Slaughter Ranch is quite close to the border of Mexico in Arizona. It was established in the late 1880's and now is a museum of sorts.  After a long drive down a dirt road that we shared only with border patrol, we were so surprised to find a literal oasis in the desert with towering cottonwoods and green grass. It felt almost New England-y to me.

We hiked around observing bits of old barbed wire and broken glass and found evidence of artifacts that were flakes of knapped chert from old Indian sites. My husband is an archaeologist with a good eye for these things.







Beautiful Wings




The Mexican Arizona border fence
( it's much more formidable in the populated areas)




Art in Nature




I can get lost in this!




A mighty cottonwood



 The next day we went on another road trip on Rt. 191 through Double Adobe and Elfrida to Ghost Town Road to Pearce. 
Lots of cool signs to photograph there



















A pistachio farm




These must be the same cranes that fly over our place in Alaska




Our area is also the land of gray-haired ponytail sightings.
Our friend Julio looking dapper at almost 70 years old.

We stopped at a couple of little shops in Pearce with a few good junking finds and pottery.
We continued on to the Amerind Museum in Dragoon for a wonderful display of Indian artifacts and artwork.

I was particularly fascinated by the weaving weight bundles that were used in the loom weaving. Since photography wasn't allowed and I didn't have a sketchbook on me I'm going to have to rely on my impressions for inspiration. They were amazing bundles of hand spun cording around dried corn cobs or whatever was handy that would add some weight.
The homemade cording that I saw at the museum showed all sorts of fibers including human hair.  It was a rare find as it had only been preserved in caves.

We were clued in to a wonderful eclectic bookstore off of the beaten path on a ranch in Benson called Singing Wind. We could have spent a few hours there but our tummies were calling for food by then and we had some Christmas ham waiting for us at home.

 All the best of the season's celebrations to you and thank you all for visiting my blog and sharing your impressions and friendships this past year.

XOXO Kim


9 comments:

  1. Kim, those are some really beautiful photos, and such interesting things to take photos of, I would go crazy with my camera too! Glad you had a nice little trip, I like to do thing out of the ordinary like that. It's been nice meeting you this last year, and following your journey from AZ to Alaska and back again! Looking forward to more next year! Thank you for visiting me this busy time of year, your comments are always appreciated!
    Have a wonderful holiday too!

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  2. Spectacular signs on the journey and nature art.
    Blogging break form 6 hours of cooking, I am fried
    and it hasn't even begun. Love to you and David.
    Enjoy Christmas Eve and Day together. xox Corrine

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  3. Great post Kim as always .........Merry Christmas you lovely lady .......xx

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  4. Merry Christmas! or Buon Natale! richest blessings to you Kim! xx's

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  5. These pictures warmed me up on this cold, rainy morning here. The Crane picture is especially lovely.

    Merry Christmas!

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  6. love the cottowood and the amazing roots...I'd get lost in their beauty too! Happy Holidays!

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  7. oh that cottonwood tree! and the cranes! merry christmas, kim! xoxo

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  8. Hi Kimberly, it does look like you had a very warm sunny Christmas-- while we are here cold and shivering :-). I want to thank you VERY MUCH for the ribbons from Lisa Jurist- Mudhound primative.
    I LOVE them. I was quite surprised to get them. How thoughtful of you. Have a very happy new year!

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