Still at North Ranch

 We are still at North Ranch RV Park just south of Congress Arizona.  We watched a lot of racing over the weekend.  Actually I watched more than Ann.  Wasnt the Daytona 500 a marathon?  With both over the air TV,  Directv , a converter box, and a VCR/DVD player that also controls the surround sound, it takes a lot of remotes to make them all work  Here is what it takes to get the job done.

 

Sunday being Valentine's Day we had to make adjustments for the Daytona 500, so I took Ann out for breakfast at a restaurant up in Yarnell, that specializes in giving you more delicious food that almost anyone can eat at one time.  Ann had the chicken fried steak which covered most of her plate including her hash browns, and it was a big plate.  I had the ham and eggs breakfast.  I got a whole center slice of ham with the bone in plus eggs and hash browns.  We still havent finished eating left overs.

 

We got back from breakfast just in time for the green flag for the race.  Perfect timing!  Then we settled in for the next several hours for the race.  A pretty good race, except for the two hour repairs.

As soon as the race was over we drove down to Wickenburg for Valentine's Day dinner.  We chose a place called "Azure" that advertised Italian food.  It was a remodeled house, with several small rooms.  The food was tasty, the desert was good, but everything was way overpriced, but those are the chances you take when eating in an unknown restaurant.

Since Monday was a holiday for Ann, we decided that we should do some sight seeing.  We left the motorhome about 10:00AM drove north to Yarnell, and had breakfast at the same place as on Sunday.  This time we only ordered the "short stack" of berry pancakes.  They were delicious, and we were able to eat most of our food.

We had heard of a place in Yarnell called the Shrine of St. Joseph of the Mountains.  We decided it was worth the effort to see it. After missing the turn and having to retrace our route for a mile or so, we found the turn, and followed the signs to the shrine.  It was quite interesting.  It was built by a World War I veteran and features statues of St. Joseph, and fourteen Stations of the Cross as you climb up the hand built stone and cement stairs.  At each station there is an explanation.  It was really quite moving and a very solemn occasion.

  

  

  

After that stop we headed on up the mountain through the twists and turn to Prescott.  Not knowing much about the city, we stopped at the tourist information center to learn what we could, and get some pointers on what we could see in an afternoon.  The lady at the information center was very nice and knowledgeable, and gave us a brief history of the town, and told us of the one museum that was open today.

We parked the car on the top of the five story parking garage and took a  picture of the county courthouse.

  

Then it was off to "The Palace" a bar on "Whiskey Row", which was the name given to all the bars on this street back in the early days of Prescott.  This bars claim to fame was that it once hosted Wyatt Earp and his friends, when they came up from Tombstone to party and gamble.  Even though the bar burned down in 1900, the towns people had time to carry the actual bar out of the building to save it.  When the building was rebuilt, the original bar returned, and is still there today.  Here is a pic of Ann at the bar where Wyatt and friends once sat.

 

Then it was off to the Sharlott Hall Museum, which is the original "Governors Mansion" for the Arizona Territory.  Quite a lot of Arizona history here.  You can really get caught up in it.  It was most interesting.

 

Got to love sundials.  It says 3:07PM if you cant read sundials.

After that it was off to Gurley's for a late lunch and a drink.

 

Then it was time to head back down the mountain.  We decided to take Hwy 69 to Interstate 17 to Phoenix, as Ann wanted to stop at Kohls to buy a new pair of walking shoes. I had remembered this Kohls being there as my brother Brian and I drove by it on our way back to Iowa with the Winnebago. It was a very uneventful trip home, and Ann got a pic of one the several hot air balloons we saw floating over North Phoenix as we came into the city.

 

The drive up to Wickenburg was peaceful as we drove into the setting sun.  A great ending to a fun day.

Paul