Phoenix Capital Walk: More than We Bargained for! - Saturday, March 23, 2019

[NOTE: Confusion may result in reading my blog versus my Facebook page. My blog is ten days behind. I frequently check in on Facebook, so that is more up to the moment. I'm happy I'm writing a blog a day! Now, if I could write two or three blogs a day, I'd be caught up!]

This afternoon, we are meeting Aunt Sally, Uncle Skip, Louise (Bob's mom), and Laura (Bob's sister) at his aunt and uncle's house. This morning, however, we are walking the Phoenix capital Volksmarch. 

When we pulled into our campsite yesterday afternoon, we were afraid a big rig was going to pull into the pull-through site across from us and take away our view. HA! Thankfully, this is the trailer that pulled in.

Lake Pleasant Regional Park -
Roadrunner Campground, Desert View Side.

Another view (toward the west).

Here is the trailer set up that
pulled in across from us!

Gee, I wonder if they're in town
for baseball spring training?

When we arrived in downtown Phoenix to check in at the YMCA, many streets  were blocked. Runners and walkers were sporting numbers so we figured there must be an organized run going on downtown. Parking was a bear to find with so many streets closed. Our instructions for the walk start point were to park in the YMCA parking lot. That's what we did. When we asked for the walk box, we let the people working there know we would be out walking for a couple of hours and asked to make sure we could park in their lot. They said it was no problem. 

Being curious, we asked what the event was going on in downtown. The staff at the YMCA told us it was an LBGTQ run, but that it was almost over. Sure enough, once we finished signing in and got out on the walk route, the barricades had been taken down. 

Today's walk is 6k, but actually more than that because we will tour four floors of the state capital museum. The day was glorious--crystal clear and starting to warm up at 10:30 a.m.

The heart of downtown was like a big, deep canyon casting cooling shadows onto the streets. We were headed for Washington Street via 1st Avenue. 

1st Avenue in downtown Phoenix.

Me hanging out with "A Robot on a Bench"
on 1st Avenue. (artfullyrogue.com/gallery/)

Bob in front of Phoenix City Hall.

Below is the J. W. Walker Central Arizona Light & Power Building built in 1920 by Phoenix businessman and real estate developer J.W. Walker. This Neo-Classical Revival-style building was supposed to be eight stories. As you can see, it's only two stories. The additional six stories were never constructed. The first two floors opened in 1920 as the J. C. Penney Company. 

In 1926, the building became the headquarters of the Central Arizona Light & Power Company which later merged with Arizona Edison to become Arizona Public Service (APS). The building later housed a furniture company and labor union office, prior to being purchased by the City of Phoenix in 1959 for municipal offices.

The Walker Building is architecturally and historically significant because it is one of the only remaining commercial buildings in the downtown area that dates from the early decades of the 20th century. [Information in my blog is from a historic marker on the building.]

The Walker Building, 1920.

Phoenix Municipal Court,
Valdemar A Cordova Building.

Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse.

Washington Street turned out to be a veritable treasure trove of Arizona information and it took us straight to the capital. We spent a long time reading all the kiosks with factoids on each county in Arizona, the Native American tribes in Arizona, and details on industry, recreation, sports, education, etc. We were experiencing history and trivia overload, but we couldn't stop reading the details! Part way down Washington St. we noticed that the kiosks were on both sides of the street. With our directions in hand, we read ahead to make sure the walk was going to take us on the opposite side of the street so we could read those markers too. (It did.)

Native America tribe info.

Of interest at 1120 W. Washington is the Evans House, also known as the "Onion Dome" home. It's across the street from the Carnegie Library. This Queen Anne home has not been changed over the years. It has beautiful brickwork, a uniquely patterned, steeply pitched asphalt shingle roof, and a lovely wrap-around porch. This house is a great example of "old Phoenix" blending with newer buildings.

Evans House, 1120 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ.

Evans House roof.

Evans House complete with an "Onion Dome."

Also of interest along Washington St. is the former Arizona Mining & Mineral Museum. No information was given about why this museum closed. There are still exhibits outside of it. 

Bob in a big scoop.

I'm next to a mining truck tire.

Great frame for Bob.

Arizona Copper Company's Locomotive #2.

I like gems and minerals and there are a couple of doozies outside this old museum.

Azurite, Malachite, and Chrysocolla from
Morenci, Arizona. Weighs in around
8,000 - 9,000 pounds.

Boras Headframe.

Next up, the State Capital Museum...four floors of it.

The State Capital Museum.

Arizona is the largest producer of copper in the United States; therefore, its dome is covered in copper. In order to showcase more of Arizona's source of wealth, copper-plated sterling silver service items were made for the USS Arizona. In times of peace, battleships were often used as floating embassies to entertain foreign dignitaries. On a trip to Peru in 1921, Vice Admiral John McDonald held an official reception for 1,000 guests, including ambassadors and military leaders from around the world. The copper miner below was prominently displayed on the fantail. 

Copper-plated sterling silver service.

Reed & Barton cast the copper miner. 

"Irrigation," by Alonzo "Lon" Megargee,
American, 1913, oil on canvas.

Inside dome and chandelier.

There was so much history crammed into that museum. Wow! 

When we finished inside, there was more to see in Wesley Bolin Memorial Park. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial made me cry. It has a very long inscription detailing the atrocities that took place in Vietnam, the spin the U.S. media put on the war, and the terrible conditions the Vietnamese troops, our troops and the citizens of Vietnam faced due to the Communists and the Khmer Rouge. A terrible, terrible war.

There was a statue honoring the Navajo Code Talkers, USS Arizona Monument, and lots more to see.

Navajo Code Talkers.

Arizona Law Enforcement
Canine Memorial.

 A tribute to the military.

Arizona's World War II Memorial to
the USS Arizona and USS Missouri.

While we were out in the memorial park, Bob's family called asking if we wanted to join them for lunch. We would have except we hadn't finished the walk yet, and we were about a half-hour from where they were. We told them we'd see them around 3:30 p.m.

The Phoenix Carnegie Library.

The remainder of our walk took us back on the opposite side of Washington Street so we could read the remaining informational signs. Normally, it would take us a little over an hour to do a 6k walk. With all there was to see and read, this walk took us 3-1/2 hours! 

Hunger pangs told our tummies, "It's time to eat!" We walked past Thai Basil Restaurant and headed in for lunch. It was wonderful!

Thai Basil in downtown Phoenix,

In the parking lot at the YMCA, there were a couple of murals dedicated to the Dreamers. 

Beautiful depiction of the diversity of "dreamers."

We hopped in the truck and headed up to Carefree to reconnect with Bob's family. Uncle Skip was the only one home when we got there. It was nice to spend time chatting with him until everyone else returned. 

A little later, we had dinner on the back patio at sunset. We had a lovely view across the desert in their back yard. It was so peaceful. We feasted on left-over chicken enchiladas, salad, and then went inside for pie and whipped cream or ice cream.

It was another great time spent with Bob's family.