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Showing posts from January, 2015

Apache Peace Treaty with Cochise

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The marker near the Cochise Peace Treaty site. Cochise was an Apache chief of the Chiricahua Apache tribe.  He headed a rebellion which started in 1861, and after several battles, he and his men were forced to hideout in the Dragoon Mountains.  They use the large boulders as concealment to assault white communities and travelers.  Cochise was able to elude being caught and continued his rampage until 1872 when a treaty was agreed upon.   On October 12, 1872, a treaty was signed by General Oliver O. Howard and Cochise with the assistance of Tom Jeffords, Cochise’s only white friend. After the agreement was sanctioned, Cochise lived out his years on a new reservation where he died in 1874.  He was buried in an undisclosed location in the Arizona Dragoon Mountains in the area known as “Cochise Stronghold”. For more on the history of Cochise and what lead up to the battle, check out these sites: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Cochise.aspx htt...

Nighttime at Big Nose Kate's Saloon

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My post about the history of this place:   http://above-the-norm.blogspot.com/2014/03/tombstone-big-nose-kates-saloon.htm l On my recent trip to Tombstone with Sharon and our friend Stu from New Jersey, we decided to have dinner at Big Nose Kate's Saloon.  Sharon and I shared appetizers, while Stu opted to have a meal.  We all had a beer or two and enjoyed the entertainment.  We even got into the feel of the place by interacting with the props.  We all had a wonderful time whooping and hollering at the Big Nose Kate's Saloon at night with the other cowboys and cowgirls. Sharon got caught being naughty... Stu and Sharon looking over the menu. A couple of rowdy cowboys!! Hey, who put this picture here?!! Hanging above our table. One of the many cowboys in the saloon that night. The entertainment.  They were very good.

Battle at Picacho Peak

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The battle was fought near this mound. Picacho Peak (From the Civil War website)   “In February 1862, a band of Confederate Rangers under Capt. Sherod Hunter raised the Stars and Bars of Tucson, Arizona, and part of an effort to create an ocean-to-ocean Confederacy.  In order to thwart this move, a Union “Column from California” under Col. James H. Carleton set out across the lonely desert toward Tucson.  On April 15, Union cavalry under Lt. James Barrett met with Confederate Rangers near Picacho Peak, a rocky spire 50 miles northwest of Tucson.  Barrett was killed almost immediately and fierce combat continued for more than an hour before the Federals retreated.  Although the Rangers’ victory at Picacho Pass delayed the Union force, the following month Carleton’s Californian’s eventually took Tucson without firing a shot.” Check out these websites for more details about this battle: http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/picachopea...

Boot Hill Graveyard Photography

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I love taking photos inside a cemetery, especially an old western cemetery.  I was so excited when I visited the Boot Hill Graveyard in Tombstone, AZ and noticed that the sky was dark and cloudy.  This was the perfect backdrop for my photos.

Vanished: The Slaughterhouse

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July 2011 The Slaughterhouse July 2011 The Barn There once was a place in Casa Grande, AZ that the locals referred to as the Slaughterhouse.  There were many stories of the place being home where a man "entertained" many women, and butchered animals as well.  After the house became abandoned; graffiti was painted on the walls, the roof caved in throughout most of the house, the barn was where we found a puppy caucus, there were rumors of ghosts hanging around, and eventually a vagrant took the place over with his dogs to make the place his home.  Apparently, the man caused lots of problems and was finally ran off the premises.  When Sharon and I dropped by to check the place out and to show a friend, we were surprised to see that the house and barn were gone.  Vanished into thin air.  This marks the 7th or 8th place that Sharon and I have photographed and is now just a distant memory. November 2012 Squatter has moved in and taken over. Jan...

Next to Dairy Queen: The Thing?

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Between the towns of Benson and Wilcox, AZ, in the Dragoon Mountains on a small hill, sits a gas station, gift shop and museum next to a Dairy Queen.  The large building clearly states what is inside; souvenirs, t-shirts, jewelry, gifts, museum, and in the center, "The Thing?".  It is a cool gimmick to get you to the store by littering in the highway with billboards to entice you into being curious enough to see what "The Thing?" is.  It will cost you a buck to check it out, but I will show you for free. The Thing sits in a brick coffin with a glass top in the last of the three sheds full of antiques and other unusual items. The glass on top made it difficult to take pictures without getting reflections of myself or whatever was near it.  I figured out a neat trick by putting the camera right on the glass and taking the picture.  It gets a close up picture of the mummy and her baby.  To get her entire body, I moved the camera down the coffin and too...

Other Lodges and Cabins in the Pines

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There are several places to vacation in the pines of Payson, Arizona.  Besides the places I mentioned in previous posts, I have a few more to mention. House in Christopher Creek:   http://www.vrbo.com/191809 We rented this house at Christmas time from a woman named Anita.  We were greeted by her neighbor because she was home in Cottonwood enjoying time with her family.  He was a sweet man who let us in the house, went over where everything was, and how to leave the place before going home. The place had two master bedroom suites with their own bathrooms.  The center of the house is where the kitchen, dining and living room were located.  Next to one of the rooms is the storage, laundry, and extra full bathroom.  The front of the house was decorated for the season and had a nice porch.  The back yard was basically a huge porch which ran along the entire back of the house.  An area of the porch was where the BBQ and fire pit was locate...