Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Arizona's Heartland.....
Arizona is very special to me and I imagined that re-visiting an old stamping ground would be nostalgic, but not necessarily revealing. Haw wrong can you be! We set out early to drive the thirty or so miles down the '89A' to Sedona, the starting point for a 'Heart of Arizona' self-drive tour. The drive down was simply stunning....dense green forests and pastures, each full of grazing cattle, and then opening up to bright red-rock hills and desert landscape.
Then Sedona itself, a fabulous tourist-centric old town that is a must to wander through....and a definite addition to the tick-list of future stopovers!
Somewhat reluctantly, we left Sedona behind and called-in at the National Historic Tuzigoot Site, located in a prime spot overlooking the beautiful Verde Valley. Once home to a sophisticated tribe of Pueblo Indians, the site has been well-excavated....and we literally had the place to ourselves (except for a couple of Canadian bikers who we bumped into previously in Kenga!!).
We had a picnic stop and then drove onwards to the old hill-top copper mining town of 'Jerome'. Once again we were in for a pleasant surprise. This town has survived the tribulations of having run-out of copper deposits, three major fires, and a hippy invasion! But survive it has....the buildings are lovingly restored and the place has a very laid-back feel to it.....the 'Movie Theatre' is fabulous and plays a twenty-eight minute reel dedicated to the town's history, which includes mention of Elvis Presley having played there!
Like Sedona, there are many outlets here focussing on 'spiritual and mystical' matters. 
By now it was time to turnaround and head back, but not without first calling at Historic Cottonwood for a while.....on Main Street there's a window display dedicated to the town's role in breaking 'Prohibition' laws, complete with a copious display of Moonshine making equipment (and instructions!) Driving through all this desert territory put me in mind of the following piece of music......
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These recent pics and those of the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon are just fabulous. I’ve done travelled a lot in the East and West, but I’ve never done the Mountain Time Zone; and should. The pics of small towns serve to emphasis two things which I’ve touched on before. The first that America is mostly made up of these small places built on mining and farming, which goes a long way to explaining why most Americans distrust the slick-dick lawyers and politicos from the North East cities. Especially the ones like Obama who’ve never held down a proper job or served their country. And why on the other hand they rather like John McCain who suffered terrible privations in Vietnam, and why the down to earth black industrialist Herman Cain stands a good chance of getting the GOP Presidential nomination. The second is that the quirkiness you see in the buildings comes from the American independence of spirit and a deep suspicion of state, or rather federal control. I suspect that Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs is popular here is because because it shows no respect for boundaries of design, and even less for the town planners. So I think as much as your trip is about the open road, memories, beer, club sandwiches and V8s, it’s also a reminder about what we stand to lose if we lose our independence. PS I have an arty pic of Arizona on my study wall taken by an academic friend who lives there. I'll post it on my FB wall.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I need an editor.
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