February and March in Arizona

It almost never rains in Arizona, we seem to bring out the beastly weather where ever we travel.

Tucson is where the rodeo was held, the rain stopped after we arrived and didn't start again until the rodeo was over.

Ride em cowboy!

This cowboy won on Saturday, the finals were on Sunday.

It was fun watching theses  guys ride horses.

This would give me a headache for sure.

The horses were wild but bulls, it was crazy.

An 8 second ride of your life, 

Some fun and games too!  It's a relay race riding horses after you twirled around a few times.

There was barrel racing, calf roping, 5 year old kids riding sheep, and some other stuff that went on also. 
Jack Daniels' was a sponsor, some drinking and good eating.



The black pins represent the National Parks, we still have a lot to see.  The red string was our year long travels and the blue is this year since January 2020.  That is 2,200 miles from Michigan to Sierra Vista, AZ.

Some Arizona altitude facts.

Sierra Vista's elevation is 3,041 feet and it's 76 miles north to Tucson.

Tucson's elevation  is 2,389 feet and it's 113 miles Northwest to Phoenix at 1,086 feet above sea level. 

From Phoenix to Camp Verde is another 90 miles at an altitude of 3,041 feet.  Heading north into Camp Verde there is a 6 % grade descending for 7 miles into the valley.  Not sure how we descend from 1086 feet into a valley at 3,041, there were some sharp curves and engine breaking going on for miles.

Taking a short cut from Sierra Vista to Tubac to buy some pottery,  It was a beautiful drive.

The road on the left dropped off into a canyon, much more dramatic in real life.

Another hike in the Coronado National Memorial Park, with our camping neighbors Scott and Linda.  We started at the top and are descending for 3.1 miles.  I'm leaning so I don't fall off the trail, it's a long way down.

It was a great hike, very happy we hiked down and not up.

Montezuma Castle National Monument, Montezuma Well, Jerome, Arizona Copper Art Museum

We spent 5 days in Camp Verde Arizona.  Above the Verde Valley sits the town of Jerome.  To the north is Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.

Montezuma Castle
Southern Sinagua farmers built this five story, 20-room dwelling sometime between 1100 and 1300. It occupies a cliff recess 100 feet above the valley.  This area is referred to as the Verde Valley.

Montezuma Well has all the surprise of a lake and lush vegetation in the midst of desert. It is a limestone sink formed long ago, still fed by continuously flowing springs. The Southern Sinagua irrigated crops with its waters. The pit house on view dates from about 1050.

Above the water is the Pit house.

As we walked around the lake we came upon
another  door leading into another dwelling. The Rothrock Graffiti was done as advertising from the late 1800's.
 

High above the Verde Valley is an old copper mining town named Jerome.  In 1899 Jerome was the fourth largest town in Arizona.
1929 Jerome population reaches 15,000.

Much of the town has crumbled down the mountain.  Behind the facade of this building was a glass blowing shop.  Population in 2013 was 451. This is a tourist destination south of Sedona,a really fun place to visit.    

Looking from Jerome across the mine. 
We toured the Douglas Mansion, it is now
the museum at the Jerome State
Historic Park.

Deck and I are in this picture it was taken with our taleidescope.

Arizona Copper Art Museum.
Mentioned in the museum was the
copper mines in Michigan.  

These copper bathtubs were made for two
people to talk while bathing.

There were so many beautiful copper pieces from jewelry, cups, vases, decorative pieces, tin ceilings, and so much more.  These copper and brass pieces were called "Trench Art" made by soldiers from the shell casing during war.

Texas Hill Country

Were camping 12 miles out in the hill country near the town of Bandera.  
The Cowboy Capital of the World.
It's a neat little town of 800 residents, very upbeat and busy, the Fickle Pickle is like a bread and butter then comes a hot a spicy finish, hard to describe but just good and it's made in Bandera.  

Camp Verde is now a General Store, Post Office and restaurant that closes at 3pm. 

Camp Verde was a United States Army facility established on July 8, 1856 in Kerr County, Texas along the road from San Antonio to El Paso.  The camp was the headquarters for U.S. Camel Corps, which experimented with using dromedaries as pack animals in the southwestern United States.

Camp Verde is beautiful with amazing gardens and a nearby stream.

Rails a Cafe At the Depot
Kerrville, TX
An old depot building serving meals on white linen table cloths, very upscale and tasty food. 

Just South of San Antonio we entered the hill country.

A typical view.

There are many large ranches in this area along with Exotic Game Ranches. 

Were camping in a gated community typical of this area, called Holiday Villages of Medina.

Water, electric and sewer, there is a hot tub and recreation room.

We've enjoyed this area of Texas and wanted to attend the rodeo in San Antonio, however we found out it starts at 7pm and runs until 12pm, were 90 minutes away.   Our fellow Texans warned us not to make the drive at night with the amount of deer, antelope, and wild boars that roam the roads at night, sounds like good advice.