CCC - Coleen, Chihuly and Cactus

Good friend Coleen and I attended the Chihuly Glass Exhibit, among the Cactus, at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix on Dec 5... and I’m just getting around to posting because I’m having too much fun playing around every day.  Coleen got her’s posted on Dec 8 even tho she had taken more photos than I!!!   Coleen 197 - Nancy 193.  And, she's just as busy as I am, but stays up later!!!  You can see what happens when you allow  two photographer friends to wander aimlessly around a fabulous event together!!!  And, this was our second time, as we had seen Chihuly’s prior exhibit in about 2009.   We had a great day while husbands Curt and Don had just as much fun geocaching.  We met at the car in the late afternoon and enjoyed a fabulous dinner on the way home.  

As you enjoy the pictures, think about the transportation and installation of all this hand blown glass as well as picking just the right spot for each “piece” within this fabulous 140 acre site.

Flowers

Quail

Coleen...

Close up - dripping with sunshine

Beluga's  a small white toothed whale...

A Crested Saguaro Skeleton  - the real thing
not glass!!!  End of a perfect day...

Day 7 Head for the Barn (5th wheel in AZ)

For the final 235 mile leg of our 1120 mile “drive”, we took the back roads from Silver City NM to our winter home, via NM Hwy 180 to Mule Creek, then NM 78 which changed to Hwy 191 at the AZ Border where we followed Hwy 70 past Safford to Globe and made a left turn on Hwy 60 W to Gold Canyon.  The portion from NM Hwy 180 to AZ Hwy 70 is the subject of the photos for today (since this was the only new section for us).  We enjoyed high plains, rolling foothills, Ponderosa Pine forest, and passed thru poverty sections as well as “upscale” horse ranches seeing a myriad of beautiful as well as humorous sites along the way,

Gullies…  

Lone Trees...

Endless straight-a-ways...

Warnings….

A perfect pose...

Could be home...

We think so...

OMG…

The simple things of life...

How's this for natural beauty...

and this…?

Geocaching in action...

More natural beauty

Empty corral...

Empty truck… geocaching...

This sums it all up!!!

which included 6 geocache finds. 

Day 6 - Buffalo Soldiers and Gold Miners

Searching out a little local color and history was on the agenda for Nov 18.  Our first stop, Ft Bayard Nat’l  Historical Landmark where we learned about Buffalo Soldiers who  originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866.  This nickname was given to the "Negro Cavalry"  (which reportedly included one female black soldier) by the Native American tribes they fought.  "We called them 'buffalo soldiers,' because they had curly, kinky hair...like bisons.”  Some sources assert that the nickname was given out of respect for the fierce fighting ability of the 10th Cavalry.  

Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all African-American soldiers. It is now used for U.S. Army units that trace their direct lineage back to the 9th and 10th Cavalry units whose service earned them an honored place in U.S. history.  

Other events included a visit to the National Cemetery and a  trip thru the old mining community of Pinos Altos (Tall Pines),  which was the location of a mini-gold rush era and plenty of Apache skirmishes.  The ore was discovered by three 49ers returning from California.  Hearst also had a mine in the area and some of it’s gold was shipped to San Clemente CA to become part of his famous California Hearst Castle.  Mines in the Pinos Altos region recovered about 8 million dollars worth of ore before their demise in the early 1900’s.  

For more details, check out  http://southernnewmexico.com/Articles/Southwest/Grant/PinosAltosthenandnow.html

Our afternoon ended with a late Mexican lunch at “Nancy’s Silver Cafe” in downtown “old town” Silver City NM, and Don managed to sneak in a few geocaches also (4).

Entrance to Fort Bayard Nat'l Historical Landmark

Officers Row

Two officer families shared a huge duplex

Buffalo Soldier by sculptor Gregory Whipple

Soldiers name on front, spouse on back of marker…
Some markers had #'s only

One of the oldest one we saw.

The Hearst Chapel - Pinos Altos NM

Other historical objects and buildings along the "tour route".

Date on the Buckhorn 1803

Part of Historic (still open) Bear Creek Lodge.

Silver City is an art mecca 

and many buildings have beautiful paintings on the outside
for those who just stroll the streets!!!

Especially for my Mosaic class friends at Canyon Vistas
RV Resort AZ.  

Close-up of photo above.  Loved the combination of chipped
glass, painted tiles and objects which created tremendous depth!!!