Leaving the Sharlot Hall Museum

We're finally on our way out of the Sharlot Hall Museum.

"Aw."

And now we can do some shopping.

"Yay!"

Shellie May and Wagons

"Wow, those leaves are yellow and on the ground!" said Shellie May. "Does Prescott have weather?"

"I think it does!"

Shellie May explored various forms of transportation.

"Do not forget to load the sugar into the wagon!" said Shellie May.

"But we don't need any sugar," I said. "You are sweet enough."

"Aw." I think I saw a flush under her fur.

Stoplight Trees with Shellie May

"Wow! Those leaves are the color of a stop light!" said Shellie May.

"HAPPY FALL!"

Everything is looking rosy for Shellie May

It was November but Prescott still had flowers!

Shellie May in a log cabin

"This is a nice cabin," said Shellie May.

"Um...there aren't any centipedes around, are there?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh, good."

Shellie May and a windmill

"Whee! It is pretty out here!"

"Wait. There aren't any spurned lovers here, are they? That would be sad!"

Nope. No spurned lovers!

Shellie May likes exhibits

"I love the exhibits!" said Shellie May.

"Wait, what's that?!"

"I think it's a lover being spurned."

"Oh, no. That's so SAD!!!"

Fortunately, nothing cheers up a small bear like posing on top of a case of horse equipment.

Look at this old map of the United States! If this had gone through, Prescott would be in New Mexico! Actually, I think Las Vegas would be, too!

Shellie May, that's dangerous!

"Get down from there!" I said. "Those wheels might start spinning at any time!"

"Oh no!" said Shellie May. "Really?"

"No."

"It's okay!" said Shellie May. "I am staying safe! Ha ha."

Shellie May at the Sharlot Hall Museum

"Wow! Old-time westerns!"

"Can I play poker?" asked Shellie May.

"No!"

Shellie May is worth more than a dollar, but it was a neat cash register.

Shellie May likes sitting on things

"Wheeee! Museums are fun!"

I'm not sure if you're supposed to sit on things in museums, but Shellie May certainly likes it.

Railroads in Arizona in 1910! Just because trains are neat.

Shellie May with supplies

"I like this storeroom!"

"Can you see me???"

Duffy's Spring-ish Voyage: Part 29

STILL on board the then-101-year-old Great Lakes Freighter the James M. Schoonmaker! Actually, by this point Duffy and I were ready to go, but my mom had dropped us off. So...more photos!

Magnets are handy.

The detailing was really neat.

"Wheeeeee!"

Shellie May would like a new old house

"This is a nice house," Shellie May said. "Can I have it?"

"I don't think you want to live in a museum, Shellie May."

"But that bed looks so comfortable!"

Thinking quickly, I read the placard to her. "The McCormicks slept in this room. Margaret reported this incident in a letter to her friend Emma Deaike in New Jersey: 'A gentleman came in the sitting room and I took Dicken's "Mutual Friend" in my bedroom to read. I seated myself on the bed and leaned back against a pillow. After the gentleman left we concluded to retire, when what should we discover but a centipede upon the very pillow upon which I had been leaning.'"

Shellie May considered. "I think I will leave this bedroom to the McCormicks."

Good choice, Shellie May.

Shellie May at the Sharlot Hall Museum

"Hello, Sharlot Hall Museum!" said Shellie May. "Wow! That building is very rustic and pretty! And there are so many green things around us! Do you think we might get to meet Sharlot Hall?"

I couldn't think of a nice way to tell Shellie May that Miss Sharlot Hall had been dead for quite some time, so I just said, "Probably not."

This is prickly pear cactus hat! Sharlot Hall was very proud of Arizona! She was the first historian of Arizona, back before it was a state!

"If I stay here very quietly for a very long time, maybe I can say hello to Miss Sharlot Hall if she passes by!"

"You could try," I said, "but I'd miss you too much."

Shellie May at Granite Creek, Arizona

Shellie May was VERY excited to get out of the room.

"Yay! It's Granite Creek!"

"What's Granite Creek?"

"Well, Shellie May," I said, "this helpful placard can tell you."

"That is a lot of words. Can you please read it to me, please?"

I took a deeeeeeep breath. "American History in Arizona is quite recent, although the history of the Native American, Spanish and Mexican occupation peridos are much older. Encampments of Native Americans were drawn to the creeks, which offered a fairly reliable source of fresh water, and the Anglo settlers followed suit. The first known Anglo-Americans to camp in teh vicinity of Prescott were the Walker and Weaver parties in 1863. The Walker Party camped on the banks of Granite Creek in what is now downtown Prescott. Granite Creek quickly became a magnet for panning for materials, particularly gold; picknicking; the location of the first store and school in Prescott and a conglomeration of shanties and lean-tos; saloons; and Chinese and Mexican settlements. Later, substantial residences along with warehouses, a gas plant, bottling works and farms were developed. Among the drinking establishments was the Quartz Rock Saloon, owned by a nose-less military deserter. It sported a plank bar with two bottles of whiskey and one cup. The sight of water purportedly made the patrons sick, so the business was moved to South Montezuma Street. Local legend is that saloon patrons kept falling into Granite Creek, thus diminishing a booming business. As a result, many of the saloons moved to "Whiskey Row", which was safer because of its further distance from the creek. In addition to supporting human uses, Granite Creek gives life to many species of trees, shrubs, and grasses. Approximately 75 percent of our local wildlife are dependent upon Granite Creek and its tributaries. Over the last 150 years Granite Creek has seen many changes. The broad "gallery" of cottonwood and willow trees seen here were once up to a 1/4 mile in width, and it stretched from what is now downtown Prescott all the way to the Granite Dells, 5 miles to the northeast. The Granite Creek Channel has been straightened, mined, filled, and was built upon over time, resulting in a substantial loss of riparian habitat. In the 1990s, local organizations were formed to preserve and restore what riparian (streamlands) habitat was left. The trail you can see below was the first effort toward this end. Since then, riparian habitat has been protected at West Granite Creek Park, Watson Woods Riparian Preserve, Watson & Willow Lakes, and on the Yavapai-Prescott Tribal Lands."

Shellie May stared at me for a long time. "Wow! That sure was a lot of words!"

Duffy heading back to Spring Hill Suites

Just making our way back to the hotel.

Here we are! We were going to get our bags and check them down in the lobby. Also eat our leftovers from the Gurley Street Grill for lunch. :)  And maybe pick up a sweet little bear who, hopefully, has learned her lesson...

Duffy by the Elks Theater

Duffy across the street from the Elks Theater! I remember looking down on it from the Hassayampa Inn when my mom, my brother and I stayed there when I was much smaller.

If I recall correctly, this is one of the windows at the Hassayampa Inn, maybe the restaurant. I just love Art Deco-looking stuff!

If I recall correctly, there was a lot of dust and spiderwebs on the other side. :O