Monday, February 21, 2005
Wickenburg
Saturday we ended up spending the whole day “at home”, even though the weather improved a little in the afternoon. Every now and then we need a “do nothing” day.
Sunday the weather improved even more, though clouds still predominate. We decided to go to Wickenburg, a small town about 30 miles away. On the way we stopped at a Nature Conservancy reserve: Hassayampa River Reserve. In a normal year, the Hassayampa River is dry, except for a bit where it goes through this reserve. This year is not normal. The river was brown and raging and most of the trails are under water. Still we had a nice walk through cottonwoods, willows, and palm trees.
The town of Wickenburg is billed as an “old west” town. Like most of Arizona it was originally a mining (gold) town as well as a railroad stop. There are a number of historic buildings though not nearly so many as in Florence.
The highlight of our visit to the town was the Western Museum. This has to be one of the neatest museums we’ve visited , especially for a small town. The exhibits on local history were very well done. In addition to history, the museum features western art. We were fortunate enough to arrive during an exhibit of Frederic Remington’s work—including some bronzes. Several major highways cross through the town, which make it harder to get around on foot. There were lots of tourist shops—mostly closed on Sunday.
Coming home in the afternoon, we got to enjoy the pool and hot tub.Heading to Indio...
Sunday the weather improved even more, though clouds still predominate. We decided to go to Wickenburg, a small town about 30 miles away. On the way we stopped at a Nature Conservancy reserve: Hassayampa River Reserve. In a normal year, the Hassayampa River is dry, except for a bit where it goes through this reserve. This year is not normal. The river was brown and raging and most of the trails are under water. Still we had a nice walk through cottonwoods, willows, and palm trees.
The town of Wickenburg is billed as an “old west” town. Like most of Arizona it was originally a mining (gold) town as well as a railroad stop. There are a number of historic buildings though not nearly so many as in Florence.
The highlight of our visit to the town was the Western Museum. This has to be one of the neatest museums we’ve visited , especially for a small town. The exhibits on local history were very well done. In addition to history, the museum features western art. We were fortunate enough to arrive during an exhibit of Frederic Remington’s work—including some bronzes. Several major highways cross through the town, which make it harder to get around on foot. There were lots of tourist shops—mostly closed on Sunday.
Coming home in the afternoon, we got to enjoy the pool and hot tub.Heading to Indio...
# posted by Carol Harma @ 8:23 PM 
