Cougar

Twice a year in March and Sept. the shadow of a cougar stalks his prey across the Superstition Mountains in Apache Jct. Az.

 

Castle Hot Springs

This is one of my favorite places to go so I am going to first tell you about the place and then about our little jaunt there last Sunday. This is a copy of a recent magazine.

DEVELOPERS LOOK TO REVIVE CASTLE HOT SPRINGS RESORT

JUNE 20, 2016 AT 5:04 AM

Castle Hot Springs Resort, as seen in the March 1974 issue of Arizona Highways.

Tucked away in the shadow of the rugged Bradshaw Mountains, not far from Lake Pleasant, Castle Hot Springs once boasted a dazzling guest list — from Rockefellers to Carnegies to a Kennedy. Yet for 40 years, the resort sat empty, frequented only by a caretaker and countless owners whose grand plans for the site fizzled.

The place boasts the kind of rugged beauty that can’t be found at urban resorts. It’s an oasis — a canola-yellow mansion in the mountains, surrounded by natural hot springs, fruit trees and hiking trails. But it sits at the end of a rough, rocky road that Arizona’s official historian calls “not really passable, and not even jackass-able” after heavy rainfall. It endured fires and floods after it opened in 1896; after a 1976 blaze, it closed to the public. It had been maintained by ASU for years and of course no one could get inside but apparently some local business partners are going to endeavor to revive this first Arizona resort and bought the property for $1.95 million at a online auction in 2014. There have been many people that have tried to accomplish this for over 40 years and trust me if it happens I will be first in line. The original drawn guests traveled on private Burlington Northern Santa Fe train cars, hopping off at the Morristown station and climbing onto stagecoaches that transported them to the resort. where guests enjoyed accommodations that included swimming, golf, hiking, horseback-riding and tennis — and, naturally, Arizona’s beautiful weather.

Today, only a few structures remain. Fires claimed the Palm House and the Wrigley Building (named after another famous family that stayed there). The bright-yellow Kennedy Building still stands although mostly gutted. The second floor of the yellow building — referred to as the Kennedy Building, after future President John F. Kennedy, who recuperated there after World War II — once served as a greeting and check-in area for guests. It’s gutted now, but there are a few historical gems that remain, including a telephone booth that reportedly housed the phone with Arizona’s first telephone number: 1.Here are a few pictures from the past...

For more information you can go here

Now here are some pictures of our little jaunt there...

Rough dirt road but look at all the mailboxes!!

 How about these wild donkeys..

You can see the palm trees and the yellow house here.

 Just another abandoned house along the way and

 more palm trees...

This is not a mirage but is Lake Pleasant. A man made lake.

The real problem with restoring Castle Hot springs  is the getting there. The road is very rough and all dirt. Someone said they studied building a cable car from Lake Pleasant but that doesn't sound very feasible either.

Horse Trotting Park

This elegant 1,500 seat glass-enclosed grandstand building was built in 1965 on a 194 acre plot of land in the middle of nowhere at the time in Goodyear, Az.  Only someone from New York (James Dunnigan) would think this was a good idea and it lasted for only a little over 2 seasons and then was abandoned for 51 years. Hubby and I went in the forbidden area a few years ago and looked around and oh it must have been something to see it in its day.




Here is a picture I found of the escalator when it was open...

and abandoned   

A fantastic view of the trotters and lit up like a Christmas tree

A unique and elaborate building for sure....

It was for sale for 16.5 million dollars but no one wanted to try to restore it or make it into something else so after sitting all these years they are now tearing it down.





For some it was nothing but a eyesore but for others a point of conversation as you whizzed by on the current freeway................ I will miss it.

A most unusual church

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Sedona, Arizona

 

 

 

A special use permit was required and this chapel was built in 1956 in 18 months and at the cost of $300,000.

 

 

 

 

The American Institute of Architects gave the Chapel its Award of Honor in 1957

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2007, Arizonans voted the Chapel to be one of the Seven Man-Made Wonders of Arizona

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the sculptor's words, “Though Catholic in faith, as a work of art the Chapel has a universal appeal. Its doors will ever be open to one and all, regardless of creed, that God may come to life in the souls of all men (and women) and be a living reality.”

Sculpture

So you and I go to the local hardware store and we see.....

 galvanised steel pipes







But these two saw art.
Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu designed and erected this unusual sculpture in 2006 at Crown Point near Burnely in East Lancashire, England.

With a height of about 7 1/2 feet it is to represent a tree and so named "The singing tree"  but some feel it is reminiscent of a surreal church organ and especially when the wind blows.....

Amazing