We spent a leisurely and mostly uneventful summer in Prescott, Arizona. Carrie volunteered at the Yavapai Humane Society, socializing the cats that are up for adoption. The cats spend their days in cages so it is good for them to have someone to take them out and play with them. Carrie loves cats so it was the perfect activity for her. In critter news closer to home, we had a family of four young skunks in our yard for a couple of weeks. They would come out at dusk and forage around in the backyard. They were cute and fun to watch but we kept our distance. Finally, our neighbor down the hill puts out food for the javelinas so it was fun watching them. They seem to be rather docile creatures, except when they begin fighting among themselves over food. Click on the first photo in each block to view the slideshow.
Walt came to visit for a week in July so we visited several of the local attractions. Tuzigoot National Monument is one of the best preserved Native American ruins in the region, inhabited around a thousand years ago. The nearby Verde River provided a consistent water supply as well as arable land in the river valley. Tuzigoot was one of many pueblo communities in the valley region. Today, visitors can walk among the ruins, situated on a hilltop with sweeping views of the river valley and the surrounding mountains.
The Smoki Museum is a small museum in Prescott, and it houses one of the most impressive collections of Southwestern Native American pots and baskets. We spent a couple of hours admiring the collection.
A new museum in Prescott honors the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a crew of 19 young firefighters who died tragically when a fast-moving wildfire overcame them on June 30, 2013. We visited this memorial museum with Walt. It has information about the fire itself as well as about each of the men who served on the crew. It is a sad tribute but we appreciated the opportunity to honor the men who died.
Our friends Chris and Reed came to visit for a weekend in early August, and the highlight of the weekend was a visit to the Navajo Festival at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. Many Navajo artists displayed their beautiful works for sale. Carrie bought a pair of silver earrings from a young silver artist named Sage, who was there with his grandfather. Sage is 21 years old and he has been learning metal work from his grandfather since he was a small boy. Sage is determined to pass the Navajo craft on to future generations. Chris and Reed purchased a Navajo rug that was still being woven by the artist, Vivian, who was demonstrating her skill at the museum. The rug will be finished in a couple of weeks and then will be shipped to Chris and Reed. Lunch was fry bread, lamb, and Navajo tacos from a food vendor set up outside. Yum!
