Ramírez’ take on the whacko Qu’ran burning . . .
Personally, I think the burning ought to start in Iran, nukes first.
September 2010
The Wickenburg Jail Tree
We decided to visit several tourist attractions in our new town today. One of the stops on the self-guided historic walking tour of the old downtown area is The Jail Tree.
This is one of several sculptures in the old downtown area. Damsel and I were both amazed at the realistic appearance of the shackled outlaw sculpture. Click on her photo to the right to enlarge.
The sign says “The Jail Tree – from 1863 to 1890 outlaws were chained to this tree for lack of a Hoosegow – escapes were unknown.”
The tree wasn’t actually a jail according to Weird U.S. . . .
Myth has it that convicts were sentenced to the tree and chained there until they either died from exposure or, if lucky, they completed their stretch. But, in truth, the tree was simply a holding facility. Offenders were shackled or tied to the tree only until a Phoenix lawman could make it up that way to retrieve them. Still, according to Wickenburg’s Chamber of Commerce, this could be anywhere from two to five days. At least they had some shade.
Weird gets it wrong, though. The nearest jail was in Prescott and prisoners were transported there.
Along Arizona Highways
This is a typical scene along Arizona State Route 74 near Lake Pleasant, about 30 miles east of our new town. We drove into the Phoenix metro area to do some shopping and take care of some business. Traffic along U.S. 60 was messed up due to road construction in the area, so we took the scenic route back to town. Click on the image to enlarge.
Home Sweet Home – Almost
The contractor we commissioned to build our new home in Arizona has really come through. We were out to the construction site today and walked through some of the particulars with him today. We settled on locations for computers, TVs, special requests (like installing a gun safe) and a myriad of choices for cabinets, doors, finishing hardware and styles that the Damsel selected since she has the artistic talent in the family.
Image: The new home as of September 7, 2010 – click on the image to enlarge
The best thing about this project is that we have met most of the people supplying and working on the new build. Our contractor assembled a great crew from trusted sources and not the lowest bidder. We made a lot of progress toward realizing our new home today.
The framing should be done this week in spite of the Labor Day holiday. Next week, the electricians, plumbers (gas and water) plus other tradesmen will show up to do their collective magic. We can hardly wait!
The Arizona Plates Are Installed
I checked the PO Box on the way into Wickenburg today and found that my new custom license plates had arrived. I installed them this afternoon. As you can see, I decided on the Arizona Highways plate design. I like ’em. I’m keeping the old California plates to hang in the new garage when it’s done.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Echeveria Runyonii ‘Topsy Turvy’
I bought this interesting succulent in a small planter last week at the garden shop. The flowers were just starting to open at the time. The flowers are on a six-inch stalk growing out of the main part of the succulent. They are called ‘topsy turvy’ due to the scrambled appearance of the plant.
Dash Mount for the Garmin GPS
I got tired of the suction-cup GPS mount that came stock with my Garmin 205W. The GPS was exposed to the sun on the windshield and the temperatures where we’ve been this summer worried me that the unit might be getting too much heat. I went on-line and found a nifty little dash mount which I ordered from Amazon last week.
The mount attaches itself to the dash with an adhesive and its footprint is very small which allows us to put it almost anywhere there is a small vacant spot. I chose to attach it to the spot just above the On-Star panel (which we never use) in the SUV. This location is also convenient because it puts the GPS in closer proximity to the passenger if Damsel (or myself) need to assist with navigation.
Another plus to the dash mount is that the power cord can be coiled up and isn’t flopping around in the drivers visual field of regard. I kept the suction cup mount in case we need to use the GPS in Damsel’s Convertible or if we’re renting a truck or RV.
Click on the image to enlarge.