Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Time Travel Tuesdays~Superstitious Much?

When I was a little girl my cousins and I had big plans for just about everything. We were going to become world famous animal doctors and save all of the injured and sick animals on our farm. We started by saving baby sparrows that had fallen from their nests, and we ran to pull stickers out of our doggies' paws whenever they came limping. We were going to build the world's biggest house out of straw bales, catch the Mogollon Monster and sell him to a circus, and dig our very own Grand Canyon with the help of our father's irrigation trenches.

One of our biggest dreams was to pack a lunch with PB&J sandwiches and Barg's root beer and set out to find The Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine in the Superstition Mountains east of our dairy. Of course we would succeed, become so rich we could buy all of the root beer we wanted, and we'd be home in time for dinner! We were young and smart plus we had access to some bikes, a little red wagon, and a shetland pony and cart! Matt could figure out any problem and he drew the most amazing treasure maps. If he couldn't figure out where it was then nobody could! We never did get to take that adventure (most likely a good thing!) and a lot of people have tried and failed. Some say they've found it but the gold is gone. We'll never know!

I have been thinking about home a lot. I have several homes in my heart, always including the one where I currently hang my hat; but the one I often miss is my childhood home of Mesa, Arizona. People tell me it's so different now and that I wouldn't recognize it. I know that. I've been back, though not as often as I'd like. There are parts of it that still look pretty much the same, and places that will never change. One of those is the beautiful mountain ridges that outline the valley. Here is a vintage post card I found online. It is postmarked Feb. 8, 1917 and sent by a vacationer to her friends back in New York City. She marvels at how lovely and warm it is in Arizona. She says they took a drive out on the Apache Trail to Globe and back. What a drive on what was then dirt roads, I'm sure! But certainly not too hot in February!


The following photo is one of my Grandpa Frank Ellsworth. It's a bit blurry but judging from the car I'd say this was taken in the 1950's. It looks a lot like where we went on a few desert picnics and ward parties. This is most likely a pull-out near one of the trail heads for some of those hikes that my nephews Tyler & Tom and their families love to take.


This is a post card from 1974 showing the mountains with Apache Junction in the foreground. It was just beginning to grow then. Still a lot of desert around.


Last week the folks around the Phoenix area went a little crazy. It snowed! Literally snow on the valley floor which doesn't happen very often! As a girl I recall snow on the Superstitions, a dusting up top that lasted a few hours or so but this...



Wow!
 I have lived in Utah for a total of about 24 years in my life. I have seen more snow that this in my neighborhood, But for the Superstitions to have that much snow all at once was a sight to behold. Aren't they pretty? And all of that gold is still in there somewhere, and quite cold! Is anyone up for a little adventure? I'll bring the root beer and the little red wagon!

2 comments:

URFAVE 5+A Few said...

What a great post! I love all the pictures! A couple of weeks ago when it snowed we were very sad because all we really got was hail but it was still thrilling to have anything white fall from the sky and to have it really chilly for a few days. Your right these things don't happen here!

Nancy Face said...

The snow storm was so amazing! Lauren and I drove the entire Loop 202 so we could get a great view of the mountains covered in snow, and there was way more than it shows in these photos! The entire mountain range was white, and so, SO beautiful!