To the North: Arizona's Apache and Navajo Counties

When we lived in Scotland, my travels took me around the country, but now that we live in the U.S. again, and I work for a State agency, my travels take me mostly to different parts of Arizona.  Although it's not as glamorous-sounding as going to Edinburgh or London for work, going to Northern Arizona is definitely a different experience.

Last week I traveled to visit Apache and Navajo Counties - my route took me up through the White Mountains to see Whiteriver and Fort Apache on the White Mountain Apache tribal lands, then up to Holbrook, Chinle on the Navajo Nation, over to St. Johns and finally to Eagar/Springerville before heading back down south.

My route from Tucson up and around through Navajo and Apache counties

So what was I doing? Well, in Whiteriver I was just looking around, trying not to stick out like a sore thumb with my pale (ish...not so pale as it was in Scotland) skin and my University of Arizona car.  I stopped at the gateway to the White Mountain Apache tribal lands: Salt River Canyon- beautiful area, and the only rest area for miles.

My colleague and I stayed in Holbrook, whose claim to fame is proximity to the Petrified Forest National Park, and of course many places where you can buy petrified wood in all shapes and sizes:

Since petrified wood is from dinosaur times, there's a not-so-subliminal theme going on among the local shops:

Holbrook is also on Route 66, something it's hard to forget when the central square sports this sign painted on a rock.

Because of its proximity to the Navajo Nation, another unique feature of Holbrook is that it has a kids tribal dance group that performs for free each summer weeknight. The biggest dancers are probably in their early teens, with the youngest ones barely able to toddle around the arena. The boy pictured below was maybe 9 or 10 and performed the Hoop Dance; it was very impressive.

Here is one of the tiniest dancers, a little boy whose dad is heping him to do the Grass Dance:

From Holbrook we drove onto the Navajo Nation up to Chinle (2 hours away and 1 hour earlier, because the Navajo Nation observes Daylight Savings time, while the rest of Arizona does not). It's pretty up there - and sparsely populated.

In Chinle we found some items in the grocery store that showed us we were in a rural agricultural area - horse pellets and salt licks - and then we went on to the Summer Meals SNAP-Ed event, which was why we were there.

After Chinle it was back to Holbrook for meetings and visiting sites (mainly SNAP-Ed supported gardens), then over to Apache County (St. Johns and Springerville/Eagar) the next day to see more gardens and also more Summer Food activities.

When I woke up in Holbrook and went outside on my way to St. Johns, this was the scene, thanks to the Cedar Creek wildfire, burning near Show Low, 47 miles away. I could smell the wood smoke from the hotel parking lot:

I had the honor of seeing the best garden in St. Johns (the county seat of Apache county, population about 3,500) - lovingly planted and tended at the Apache County Cooperative Extension. Becuase it's colder in Northern Arizona the growing season starts later, but they made their own greenhouses and nurtured tomatoes and other plants so they were thriving in June instead of just getting started. They even had broccoli ready to pick! They told me people were pulling over to the side of the road to ask them how they grew such lovely plants.

On my way back to Tucson, I decided not to drive back toward the fire (which by this time had grown from 1,000 to 8,000 acres, had shut part of the highway, and had Show Low under a pre-evacuation threat) so I added some time and went through Alpine, AZ (complete with an Alpine lake) and down through New Mexico.  I didn't take any pictures, mainly because there was nowhere to stop and pull over...just winding mountain roads snaking through trees and more trees, with the occasional town flashing by.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end, and now you

1) Know a little bit about what a SNAP-Ed evaluator does in Arizona.

and

2) Have seen some of Arizona that's off the beaten path, that you might not see unless you are getting your kicks on Route 66.

Happy Trails!

Four Signs You Are in Tucson

Reid Park Zoo Humor

 I realized as I logged into the blog today that it had been more than a month since my last post. I have put some thought into why it is that I post less here in Arizona - the truth is, in Scotland, things were more "exotic."  Even a trip to a local town (like St. Andrews) was picturesque and foreign to readers back in the States.  I suppose I could say the same thing about Arizona. It sure is foreign here sometimes.  But it is still the United States and so...less exotic.

That said, I've been collecting pictures of (often literal) signs that you are in Tucson, Arizona. These signs and images epitomize Tucson for me. Every day on the way to work I drive by a strip mall [note to British readers: not what it sounds like] that I always want to stop and take a picture of because it contains the following:

• a tamale shop [one of the high points of Tucson food]
• a medical marajuana dispensary [which have mushroomed in the five years we've been gone, thanks to state legalization of medical marajuana]
• a store called "Metaphysics World" [which, although I've never been in, sums up Tucson's hippie leanings for me]

All have brightly colored storefronts with big signs - as you do in Tucson.  But on to some things I do actually have pictures of, because they aren't located on a busy thoroughfare between home and work.

Tucson Food

There are many great things about Tucson food - you take your pick of everything from multiple styles of Mexican food to sushi to Ethiopian dishes and everything in between.  Frybread, while certainly not exclusive to Tucson (it can be found throughout the Southwest) is something that you can find in Tucson, but definitely not Scotland, or the East Coast.

Frybread stand at a University of Arizona event

Another food (if you can call it that) native to Tucson is the Eegees slush.  For the non-Tucsonan Americans, imagine Subway decided to serve pretzels and french fries in addition to their subs, and instead of proper drinks, they served 7-11 slushes, in flavors that changed monthly. Imagine that you grew up with "Eegees" (the name of the restaurant as well as the slush) as a staple of children's parties, and as an adult you transitioned to "Iced Teagees" which are ice tea mixed with lemon slush.  Now imagine it's 100 degrees. Every day. For four months. Okay, you've got the picture.

Eegees truck at a University of Arizona event

Reminders that you are in the West

These reminders may take many forms - for example, homage to the horse culture of the West, like this sign spotted outside a park restroom:

Or, warnings you might not see anywhere else, like this reminder in the parking lot of the Desert Museum:

Or, this sign from a rest area parking lot (technically not in Tucson, but in Central/Northern Arizona):

Note: "Unloading of Livestock" is prohibited

Also not typically seen outside the West - reminders at highway rest stops that the local fauna could kill you:

 

Reminders that This Area Used to be Part of Mexico 

An additional, though distinct feature of the West is that for a long time, it was part of Mexico, and this influence is still strong.  Witness the selection of pinatas for sale at Target:

 

  

Truths About Tucson

I'll close with a few images, that like the juxtoposition of tamales, medical marajuana and metaphysics, express truths about Tucson. 

For example, the schools are aspirational...this actual sign from Audrey's elementary school heartens and distresses me at the same time:

Although it rains heavily during the summer months (and occasionally outside the summer months), very few roads in Tucson are built to withstand water.  In the best-case scenario (shown here, outisde our house), the middle of the road becomes a river, with some space to drive on either side.  

 In a worst case scenario, the road floods and you can only drive when it's raining if you have a high-clearance vehicle.  Which brings me to my last two photos - the truth about how big your car is if you drive in Tucson (that's my car on the right, next to a typical Tucson truck):

And finally, a sign that recognizes the complicated and ever-changing relationships between pedestrians, horses, and cyclists in Tucson:

 

One wedding short?

 As many of you know, I spent almost the whole two years we were in Scotland singing with a women's singing group officially called "Women's Singing Group" but affectionately known to almost everyone as "Loadsaweeminsingin."  Over the course of my two years with them, I became a part of the singing family, and that meant I was brought along to sing at occasions that I wouldn't have been part of as a regular American expat. 

Magdalen Green from the gazebo

In the two years, I sang at three weddings and a funeral with Loadsaweemin - hence the title of this post, homage to the 1994 film that launched Hugh Grant (at least in the United States), and indeed, according to mentalfloss.com, launching the British rom-com as an American genre. 

The first wedding was for someone I did not know, but she was a community organizer in Dundee and wanted a real "community group" to sing at the wedding, so there we were.  In typical small-town Dundee fashion, although I knew neither the bride nor the groom, it turned out that I had recently met the best man at a University event, and I knew one of the (approximately 30) wedding guests from church.

The second wedding was for the son of one of the long-time group members, and it was held at the gazebo pictured above, just down the block from where we lived in Dundee. Of course we were not lucky enough to have such a clear day for the wedding - it was threatening rain, and it finally did start raining as the guests arrived.  Everyone took it in stride, though; we singers pulled out our rainbow umbrellas, and the ushers carried umbrellas in one hand and champagne in the other as they directed people to their sitting and standing spots.  After we sang our song, the groom turned to Loadsaweemin and said "I love you" - we told him we loved him too.

The third wedding was for one of the group members, held in the lovely government chambers of the city of St. Andrews.  She was marrying a man named Bill, and so in addition to our traditional wedding repertoire (The Rose), we also sang Da Do Ron Ron, which, as you may recall, has a lyric that says, "Yeah, my heart stood still. Yeah, his name was Bill..."

Finally, the funeral was for another member of the group who had been declining for a while - she went into a hospice-type facility, where we visited one Monday evening for our usual rehearsal and sang with her in the chapel.  A little while later, she passed away, and there we were.  It was January and the nondenominational chapel was quite busy - folks for the next funeral had to wait in a holding area; then when your number was called (not quite, but pretty close) you walked across the garden to the chapel for your funeral.  We waited, we walked, we listened, and we sang: an arrangement of James Taylor's "Close Your Eyes," and "Think of Me, Forget Me Not." Although I remember this as a sad song, it could go either way - sad for funerals, or happy for the togetherness of a wedding:    

Think of me, forget me not,

Remember me wherever you go.

I am yours and you are mine,

Remember me wherever you go.  

Think of me, forget me not,

Remember me wherever you go. 

 When I think of these events, where I was included as one of the "ladies from Dundee" it makes me nostalgic for this group and how much they were a part of my world in Scotland.  I guess weddings tend to do that, and funerals too, perhaps; although I've been lucky that my attendance at funerals has been more limited than my presence at weddings. 

Facebook, with all its birthday and anniversary reminders, makes me nostalgic too - though I rarely remember the exact dates of anniversaries outside my immediate family (and even then I usually have to consult a cheat-sheet for all but my own) the reminders on Facebook bring back memories of the wedding - like on this date in 2003, when I was part of the wedding of Katie and Beej - Katie's daughter Laura, now a lovely college student, was seven years old at that event - the same age Audrey is now.  I remember all the red bridesmaids dresses, Katie eating grapes in her wedding dress, and the flames on Beej's jacket...surely not his tux, that must have been the rehearsal dinner. Time flies.

One wedding short? Nah, I've had plenty. I've not sung at them all, but at each one I've played some role, and who knows, maybe in 10 or 15 years, someone will look back at a picture or reminisce about who was there and the small details they remember - a song, a red dress, a rainy afternoon, an adorable seven year old who's now all grown up, or a groom named Bill.

Visitng the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

 Adventures in Arizona: the jewel that is the Desert Musem.

Mexican Wolf

Driving around Tucson, I had been hearing promotional spots on the radio for the Desert Museum.  Back when we lived in Tucson before, we were members of the museum, even if we only visited once a year or so.  Every time I heard the the radio ad encouraging me not to wait until I have visitors to visit the museum, I thought, We should really go.  It's an awesome museum.  The kids will love it, and so will we.

A few weeks ago we finally made the drive, and we were not disappointed.  It's a pretty good trek from mid-town Tucson - probably 40 minutes from where we live.  But the drive is lovely, and once we got there all driving-related bordom was forgotten.  The scenery is gorgeous - the museum is set right on the edge of the desert.

Cactus, mountains, and a ham.

View into the desert

More desert view with saguaro cactus and mountains

I remembered that the museum was good for kids, but I forgot how great it really is that you get up close to desert animals...sometimes really close, like trying on vulture wings and having Harris hawks swoop right over your head.

Audrey the vulture

Claire the vulture

Harris hawks, hanging out before the hunting demo

Not to mention a walk-in aviary with a posing hummingbird and a cooperative roadrunner.

Hummingbird waiting for photographers

Is that a roadrunner? Meep-meep!

Though I have been to the Desert Museum many times, on this visit I saw things I had never seen: like the Mexican wolf, pictured above, the beaver actually out and about, enjoying a snack of fruit, and of course those Harris hawks, doing a perfectly choreographed team hunting demonstration that wowed the Raptor Free Flight audience.

He's awake! And snacking! Not just sleeping in the den like always.

Waiting for the Raptors to fly

Prepared for the sun with mom's hat

The Desert Musuem lives up to its reputation - a great museum in our backyard in Tucson.  We captured prairie dogs communicating, a heron (or an egret, I always get them mixed up) surveying its surroundings, and a beautiful tiny blooming cactus.

Hello?

Artsy bird photo by Audrey

Cactus flower

Before we left, we stopped by one of Mark Rossi's many sculptures out there, one that I think Paul even put together.

Mark Rossi sculpture with desert view

We left the museum after we saw the Raptors flying, and of course after we got some ice cream (not pictured, but delicious).

Next time, we'll hunt for javalinas and maybe do an animal encounter. For this time, we just had to be satisfied with channeling our inner turtles.

Turtle practice with Audrey and Claire

Settling in to Arizona: Lego, Animals and Personal Style

 When we lived in Scotland, I could always write about cultural differences.  Or somewhere scenic we had been; as we knew we were only going to be there for two years, we were a lot more motivated to travel around and see things. However, now back in Arizona, the cultural differences are minimized (other than the occasional, "Wow, Americans are weird" moment) and we don't have much time or motivation to travel - we're busy on the weekends seeing family and friends, having playdates with new friends, and juggling schedules.

So what ARE we doing here in Arizona? Well, we build a lot of Lego creations, thanks to three Christmas-time infusions of old-school Lego - we now have 2.5 boxes of Lego bricks and a lovely rainbow carpet on which to build.   

Claire and Paul in building mode

 The Lego obsession has also sparked a science project - Audrey is investigating, for her first science project, whether she can build a taller Lego tower on the carpet or the concrete.

105 Lego bricks! (It topped out at 133, in case you were wondering)

Beyond Lego, we are of course working on our own personal styles, including accessorizing the preschool class "pet" - a stuffed chipmunk called Figaro.

Princess wearing sister's outgrown Christmas dress and Figaro sporting a pink ribbon outfit designed by Audrey

We spent nearly a week in San Diego with friends Uhrs and Christina and their daughter, leading to a number of personal style photo ops as well:

Audrey in Balboa Park

She hurt her knee, hence the rolled-up pant leg - plus the cowgirl boots. Classic. 

 Finally, we've been bonding with animals.  Audrey had a class at the zoo where she got to go behind the scenes with a zookeeper - she even got to pet a rhino ("Fireball") and clean out the giraffe house.  As a reward for scooping giraffe poo, the class got to feed the giraffes carrots - Claire and I got to, too, and as a reward this giraffe posed for me:

I never got this giraffe's name: I will call him or her #3.

In addition to getting to know wild animals, the girls were also thrilled to play with Uncle Patrick and Aunt Charlene's new dog Daisy, an older rescue dog who they are training and acclimating to hanging out with people - by bribing her with cheese.

Girls with Daisy, Uncle Patrick and Aunt Charlene

Stay tuned for further Orzech adventures...we're hoping to hike more, get out to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, and otherwise enjoy Arizona in the winter!