Arizona Historical Society Museum Tucson, Arizona July 16, 2013

                    Historical map of the Southwest

From now on this blog will mostly center on Arizona's museums, history and hiking adventures.

Location and General Information: At the southern  end of the University of Arizona (UA) on East 2nd Street is the Arizona Historical Society Museum. Exhibits in the museum trace Arizona's history from its founding through the Apache Wars to present day. A huge section is devoted to Tucson's history as well as mining. If you want to read everything I would allocate at least two hours to the museum. Displays are well done and very informative. The Arizona Historical Society has also preserved many original documents in an archival library used by researchers.

Entrance fees and hours:  It cost $5 per person to visit. The museum is open Monday-Saturday 10-4 pm. Parking on campus when UA is in session is very difficult I would suggest parking at the Tyndall Parking Garage or walking to campus. In future it will be possible to ride a trolley to University Avenue from downtown. This system is almost complete with test runs scheduled to take place soon.

                            Part of quilt made to celebrate Arizona's centennial 1912-2012

                                        Another section of the quilt

                                Monument Valley at the top
          

                                Colorado River Ports and history

                         Carriages were important in the United States before the automobile

                                 Cattle brands in early Arizona

                           Geronimo and his outlaw Apache warriors

            The exile of Geronimo and 43 Apache prisoners to Fort Madison in Florida and later Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

                 Cornish Miners (from England) were highly valued in Arizona mines.

               Chinese laborers throughout the west were treated very poorly. They didn't work in mines and many opened businesses.

                        Miners used Stamp Mills to help process the  ore.

                    Ed Shieffelin silver and gold prospector. Located first silver claim in Tombstone, Arizona.

                            Scale used to assay ore to determine is value.

                     Assayers chemicals

                         Stamp used to crush the ore.

                                      Display on the Battle at Piacho Peak in northern Arizona

Arizona State Museum Tucson, Arizona July 11, 2013

                                        A big basket on display at the museum

Located on the University of Arizona campus on University BLVD is the Arizona State Museum (ASM). This museum centers on the Native Americans of Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. The museum has two primary exhibits. The first gives information on 10 tribes in the region including the Seri of Mexico, Apache of Arizona, Southern Paiute of Nevada and Utah, the Tohono O' Odohan of Arizona and the Navaho. The second exhibit is centered around the impressive basket and pottery collection of the museum. In fact the ASM has over 10,000 baskets and pottery pieces from different tribes only a fraction of which are on display. Currently renovations are underway to store the artifacts under proper environmental conditions.

General Information: ASM is open everyday of the week from 10-5 except for Sunday. It costs $5 per person. I spent two hours in the museum making it very cost effective. A gift shop sells an impressive array of books on Native American history.

                          Assorted baskets on display. Love the designs of the basket.

                                      Big basket in the shape of a vase

                             Some of the tribes in Southern Arizona showing past and present home ranges

                                A display about some of the peoples who lived on the Colorado River

                        Southern Paiute known as the "Children of the Coyote"

                       Photo depicting the Skeleton Cave Massacre in 1972

                                          The Seri of Northern Mexico relied on the ocean for everything: food, transportation, and tools.

ConAir Plane Wendover Airfield July 2013

                                          Poster for film

Wendover Airfield has stored the plane used in the filming of the film Con Air.Visitors can walk inside the plane and view the cockpit. The plane has been striped of all essential components but is still interesting for aficionados of film history. Con Air itself did not win any academy awards but it still had a good cast and it offered a couple hours of entertainment. After visiting the airplane, make sure to spend a couple of hours at the World War II base.

                               Cockpit

                       Outside plane