Baby it's cold outside....Arizona

Taken at Roosevelt Lake. We were traveling to Payson to enjoy a day in the snow. We wanted to go further north, but got stopped due to the road conditions on the north end of Payson.




Just south of Payson


Payson fun!





You've seen this vehicle in my early blog posts, but it use to be yellow.
Now white, muddy, and snowy! Yay!


Saw this vehicle on our way back to Phoenix....loved the vehicle and the layer of frosting!

Humbug Arizona Ghost Town

This is where our day began on our off-roading trip to Humbug. Humbug is a gold-mining ghost town north of Phoenix in the Bradshaw mountains at about 2600 feet.

The road ahead

Arriving at the ghost town, the main house. This setting caught my attention. I love rock collections and the collection on the table was amazing. Later on the caretaker of the property explained many of the rocks and their composition. As well as explaining the process of gold mining in the mountains and panning for gold.

It was difficult to photograph its amazing glass like mica. That silver looking area looks just like a pieces of glass embedded in rock.

I didn't realize as I took this picture that the rock on the left would turn out looking a bit creepy.

Skulls and Lace

These rocks are Indian artifacts. The reddish piece would have been used to bake bread and the darker stones were grinding implements.

A shot of the ghost town from a distance.

This is a smelter. Many other pieces that were used in the smelter were scattered around the property.

An old Frigidaire

The Chicken Coup

Interior of caretaker house

An old Ford truck

A house built on this property by a wall street investor in the 1930s. Built in a santa fe style with two walls. The inner wall is made with mud bricks and the outside wall is a form of stucco. (You can see the original condition of this house in the link I provide below)

If you can see the people down below, they are lined up to walk into the mining tunnel of the Mountain Chief Mine. This tunnel is about 200 feet below ground level.
Around 1882 about 5,000 oz of gold was taken out.


Late in the day and leaving the ghost town.

The drive back to the main road.

Sunset

Thanks to Dave our tour guide. If you are interested in touring this ghost town make sure you have an off-road vehicle since there are major ruts, clearance issues, and driving along ledges. You also need to call Dave in advance to meet him at the town and unlock the gate, phone number: 1-480-899-7317 More history about Humbug is related at the Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project.

Artizen Magazine

Have you heard of this Magazine?

I hadn't until I recevied an email from Cindy, one of the editors that my Queen Anne's Lace cuff was featured in the Peppermint Collection (on page 31)! What a yummy feature...

There are a lot of online magazines making their appearance, but Artizen's has many great, in-depth articles that are well worth reading. The photography is lovely and there are videos that make the magazine come to life. This issue is full of interviews with quilters. This was especially interesting to me, since I love to quilt. There is also an article on cheese making which I found intriguing since I never think about how or who makes cheese...

Take a look...I'm off to catch up on the back issues that I missed!

Etsy's World of Crafts

Something Cozy for your Drink - Winterberries

I had a request a few weeks ago for hand embroidered coasters. ...thank you Amy!

The idea had flickered through my mind in the past, but I just never acted on it. With this request my creative wheels began spinning and I came up with this designs. Since it is winter (even here in the desert) I thought about the forest and a walk in the woods. When I lived in Ohio I remember seeing the bright red berries and thinking that they were there for the animals to snack on during those cold days ahead. With that I created a vine pattern and added red Winterberries....

These are made with linen and a backing of cotton. There is the question of keeping them nice, since glasses do sweat and sometimes (well at least I do) we spill. Just hand wash in warm water with a little a gentle soap, rinse, lay flat to dry. Since they are linen a light touch-up with an iron will make them look fresh again.