(photo: author)
Spent five days in Scottsdale, Arizona, last week. With the thermometer at 110°, I spent most of the time indoors. You can take a long walk in a big hotel, through and around the conventioneers. In this instance, they were at-home businesswomen—“women with projects!” a cousin said—though the company they are franchisees of is owned by men. The lobby included displays of live rattlers and a Gila monster. Every time I passed them, I did a census; they slept a lot.
The Heard Museum and its terrific Native American collection seems to get better all the time. In a gesture toward younger museum-goers, it was promoting some hands-on Lego activities, and created a Lego model of the museum (above). Docents there receive more than a hundred hours of training, so provide a lot of helpful background and interpretation.
Scottsdale is named for Winfield Scott (you have to click that link to see an example of web design gone amok. There actually is writing on the page.), a minor leader in the Civil War and army chaplain, not the famous, long-serving general Winfield Scott (“Old Fuss and Feathers”) who served in the War of 1812 and ran for President. Glad to clear that up. Plan to share your dinner if you order the ribs at the Old Town Tortilla Factory. They were tasty, but enough for one of Scott’s army units.
(photo: author)
I had a couple of pieces of silver and turquoise jewelry with me that needed repair, since the only thing the local silver shop in Princeton has a goodly supply of is excuses why it cannot do this or that. Scottsdale’s Old Town Trading Company claims to have the area’s only Native American jeweler on site—as well as beautiful new pieces. He fixed me up and gave my vintage screwback earrings a thorough polish. Excited to wear them now.
