The Old West Revisited

There is more to the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg Arizona than just the annual Cowgirl Up art show that I posted about last weekend.  The museum is also home to some historic artifacts and documents from the history of the town of Wickenburg.

On the lower level of the museum is a recreation of Wickenburg in the very early days.  When you look inside the grocery store, you are greeted by this ghostly fellow who tells stories of the town and what it was like to run the local grocery.

And the grocery is well stocked with provisions that would have been available back in the late 1800's.

Next door to the grocery is an area made up like an early settler's home.  All kinds of antiques salvaged from some of the old homesteads grace the rooms.

I tried to imagine myself cooking up a meal in this little kitchen.  It must have been unbearably hot during the summer months before air conditioning made cooking and baking during desert summers a common thing.

Down the street from the home is the Vulture Saloon named for the famous Vulture Mine that drew people to this location all those years ago.

Inside the saloon, the bar was well stocked and in one corner was the piano topped with a "saloon-style" lamp.

Across from the piano was a table set for a poker game in progress.  It looks like something scared off the players, they left leaving their cards and chips in place.

Let's not forget some of the hard work of the old west.  There was washing to do and clothes to be ironed.  That's another job I wouldn't want to do in the heat of the summer months.

Lastly, we have a view of what it would have been like for the miners to get their meals when they were out working the mines.  Today we have food trucks, back then they had covered wagons fitted with what was needed to cook up a cowboy style meal.

Annual Cowgirl Up Art Exhibit

Once again, I made my way to Wickenburg Arizona to see the annual Cowgirl Up art exhibit at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum.

Wickenburg is about 65 miles northwest of Phoenix so the trip makes a nice day trip and escape from the city.

This is the 14th year of the exhibit but, sadly this is only my third time to attend.  However, once I went three years ago, I've been going ever since.   All of the works are by female artists and all are for sale. I was happy to see little red dots indicating a sale on a large majority of the works.
On the left is the trade mark for the exhibit, which I loved so much I bought a shirt with it on it last year when I was there.

I'll show you an example of some of the works.  This painting is called "Freedom" by Marcia Molnar.    She lives in Prescott Arizona so she has the vastness of the west to inspire her.

These three paintings are by Sharon Markwardt.  Markwardt has achieved quite a bit of success being featured at galleries in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas where she resides.

This painting to the left is by Jennifer Caven who is from New Mexico.  I love the clouds in this painting called "Can You Hear the Thunder".  I feel as though I can.

I introduced you to this artist last year when I featured her painting on my post about this exhibit and then later when I went into her gallery in Santa Fe quite by accident and recognized the painting.  The artist is Barbara Meikle and I'm happy to say that every one of her paintings in the exhibit were sold.  Good for her!

I really loved these two paintings by Micqaela Jones of Elko Nevada.  There is something spiritual and a bit magical about them.

I loved the abstract nature of this bronze by Lisa Gordon of New Mexico.  This one is called "Chasm Crossing #2".  This is Lisa's 13th year exhibiting in the Cowgirl Up show.

The Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg does an excellent job with this exhibit each year and it continues to draw people from all over the country.

I'll end with this painting by Susanne Nyberg called "Peralta Canyon".  Susanne lives in Carefree Arizona.  I thought it was very unusual to see an oil painting on a round canvas.

Tribute to Notre Dame

Luckily, the walls of the grand lady of Paris survived the recent inferno that engulfed her roof and destroyed that tall spire.

My last trip to Paris was only for a day and a half when I zoomed over from London to meet some friends.  On that trip, the only glimpse I had was from the roof of the Pompidou Center when I was there with my friends for late night drinks.

However, I have visited in the past on several occasions and enjoyed the beauty of this magnificent structure and the treasures it holds inside.

I'm a bit sad that I hadn't been inside the cathedral on my last two trips to the city.  I would love to have had more recent photos in my collection.

I will have to be happy with the many photos I have taken from the outside.  I am hopeful that the restoration will bring this landmark back to its historic beauty to be enjoyed by the world once again.

Deluxe Wine Experience

In just two weeks, I'll be headed to Oregon again with my good friends Julie and Dave along with several other friends.  We will be visiting the same area I visited a little over a year ago only this time I'll get to see it wearing the colors of spring.  That upcoming trip made me think of this fabulous wine tasting experience I had on that February trip a year ago.

We were treated to a special wine tasting in the cellars of Bergstrom Winery.

We sat at a table surrounded by barrels of wine.

The glasses were placed in front of us on a mat that we could use to take notes.

And once we started, the glasses took on the rosy hues of the different wines we tried.

It was a wonderful experience that I think we will be repeating on this upcoming trip.  This time there will be more than the three of us to enjoy the delicious juices this winery has to offer.

The Beauty of Tuscany

There is something very special about the rolling hills of Tuscany.  It seems like every view is a work of art.  Green hills dotted with ancient villages and cypress trees and topped with church steeples that act as exclamation marks.

It's a feast for the eyes in every direction. These top three photos were taken from a high point in Siena.  

From Cortona, the views were equally wonderful.

It's an area where taking it slow and stopping to enjoy the scenery is a must.

From San Gimignano, my camera was pointing at new views in every direction.

I'd love to rent a small car and spend several weeks just exploring the hills, villages and back roads of this part of Italy.  Wouldn't that be perfect?

Ghost Town

About 50 miles east of Phoenix is an old ghost town that has been turned into a tourist attraction.  It's called Goldfield which is the same name it had when it was a booming gold mining town back in 1890.

Back in those days, it was large enough to have 3 saloons, 1 boarding house, a general store, blacksmith, brewery, meat market and school house.

When the gold vein faulted, the town started to die.  There was a slight resurgence between 1910 and 1926 but soon after that, everyone had left.

Today, most of the buildings have been reconstructed and serve different purposes.  The Bordello to the right is a gift shop, the saloon in the top photo is a restaurant serving steaks and burgers and the jail is just for show.

I was there on a Sunday and I saw lots of people coming out of the church so I thought they might have services but, I couldn't find anything like that on the web site.  However, the church does have an organ and pulpit so it's set to go.

There is even a gallery with art from local artists available. If you see those rugged Superstition Mountains behind the gallery, you can see there is a lot of subject matter for artists to work with in this area.  Goldfield Ghost Town is a fun place to visit and if you live somewhere in the Phoenix area, it's a nice weekend day trip.  You can even tour the gold mine or pan for gold.