Gypsy & The Navigator

Searching The Salt River

Another blazing blue sky desert day called us to venture out to see what we could see.

There is water in the desert and it gleams in the sun.

This is the Salt River.  It is the largest tributary of the Gila River. 

It is beautiful out here.  The colors change as the sun glides across the sky.  It almost seems too perfect to be real.

It is January but the colors speak of fall. 

The foliage is orangish-gold with touches of green.  

The Salt River is about 200 miles long.

It is formed by the confluence of the White River and the Black River in the White Mountains north and east of Phoenix.

It is fed by perennial streams that start as springs along the Mogollon Rim and in the White Mountains.  The Salt River runs year round until it gets to the Granite Reef Diversion Dam near Mesa.  Then the water is diverted to the Arizona and South Canals serving metropolitan Phoenix with irrigation and drinking water.  When you cross the Salt River in the Phoenix valley it is always dry unless there has just been a downpour of rain.

Our reason for exploring the area was twofold.  One, to see it's beauty.  Two, to search for wild horses.

The setting sun reflecting off the rugged cliffs turned them golden.

We drove the Bush Highway and took all the side roads we could find to see if we could locate a herd.

They say there are approximately 80 to 100 wild horses living near the Salt River.

We see a great deal of evidence ( warm & smelly) that the horses have been there recently.
 

The horses have been the subject of a great deal of controversy in the Valley.  Apparently the US Forest Service considers them to be feral and polluting the river.  

But the group that supports the horses investigated and found that the only pollution was from plastic bottles and trash left behind by humans.

Despite our diligent search we only found one lone horse who was too far in the brush for a photo.  Leaves it open for another trip to keep on searching and to enjoy the desert.  I think that the horses only add to the natural beauty of the area.

I love how the sunlight settled on the area where the desert meets the mountains in this photo.   The glow in real life was soft and warm and made me want to head to that spot.

Evidence indicates that wild horses have been living on the lower Salt River since well before the Tonto National Forest was created in 1902.

  It is believed that the herd is descended from the Spanish horses brought to Arizona by Spanish missionary Father Eusebio Kino in the 1600’s. They must be related to the wild horses we saw in Florida that are descendants of Spanish horses too. 

The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group monitors the horses and has named each and every one of them.  

The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group is a nonprofit that has been monitoring the herd for more than 17 years.

I am glad that there is a group of volunteers that protects the horses.  I read about what they do and how many different opportunities there are to volunteer and if we set down roots in the future this will be on my list to volunteer for.  

UPDATE.  While I was in the office one afternoon Walt drove out to the Salt River and was able to watch a herd of 8 of the horses.  No photos....he hadn't brought his phone.  We'll be going out again soon and I am hoping for some photo ops.  

Despite not seeing the horses that drew us out here this day the panoramic beauty of the desert dares to defy description and made me appreciate another wonderful day.

 

A Day At The Wrigley Mansion

Cynthia and her family gave us a tour and lunch at the Wrigley Mansion for Christmas.  

The mansion sits high atop a hill overlooking downtown Phoenix.  The mansion was called La Colina Solana which means the Sunny Hill.

The mansion was built by chewing gum magnate, William Wrigley, Jr as a 50th Anniversary present for his wife Ada. 

Construction started in 1929 and was finished in 1931.

Mr. Wrigley did not invest in the stock market so did not lose his fortune in the depression.

Architect Earl Heitschmidt of Los Angeles designed the home at a cost of $1.2 million.

The Wrigley's used the mansion as a winter home where they would stop each year on their journey from Chicago to Catalina Island.

Wrigley owned Catalina Island and much of the extensive tile work was shipped to Phoenix from Wrigley's own factory on Catalina, hauled by mule to the site.

Because he had retained his fortune in the stock market crash Wrigley bought out the MacArthur brothers' interest in the Biltmore Hotel that was being built just down the hill from his mansion.  He paid pennies on the dollar for his investment.  

The Wrigley mansion has been described as California mission, revival, a bit of Mediterranean , and a little Spanish, all combined.  It is totally unlike the Biltmore which bears an unmistakable debt to Frank Lloyd Wright.  Wright was a friend of the Wrigley's but didn't have much respect for the mansion.

The opulent house had 24 rooms and 12 bathrooms but only 4 bedrooms.  Just enough for the family.  The house was built for entertaining but any overnight guests were lodged in the Biltmore Hotel.

William had this player piano especially built for Ada.  It is one of only two and the other is in the Smithsonian Museum.  This one has the distinction of still playing while the one in the museum does not.  The tour guide played Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue for us and it was amazing. 

I was enchanted by the brass backplates for the light switches.  They were beautifully crafted and well worn.  It made me think of all who have touched them in the 80+ years.  

 The main staircase in the entrance foyer is a floating staircase that is really a work of art.

When the house was finished in 1931 it was about 8 miles from downtown Phoenix with nothing but desert and farmland between.  Now the city of Phoenix has grown up and around her so no views of it are possible like in this painting. 

 Mr. Wrigley had a phone room installed and the walls in it are papered in the Wrigley chewing gum wrappers.  The Wrigley's did not employ someone to operate the phone system and learned how to do it themselves.  If they had a guest that needed to take or make a phone call either William or Ada would assist them.

I loved the main downstairs ladies bathroom.  It had a pair of these dazzling peacock lamps.  

Though Wrigley passed away in the home in 1932, the family continued to own and visit The Wrigley Mansion for 40 years after his death.

Over the years, Hollywood celebrities, dignitaries and even presidents made stops at the historic site.

Several ownership changes followed after the Wrigley's sold in 1973.  

Geordie Hormel, the heir of a large food corporation, purchased the house in 1992 to preserve it for future generations.

Under his guidance, the mansion, grounds and gardens were restored to their 1930s splendor.

Before he passed away in 2006, Hormel made it a place for hospitality and banquet functions.

I decided that the Wrigley family must have been incredibly healthy.  There are stairs to get into the house whether front or back, stairs that wind up and down the gardens, stairs inside the house between almost every room as well as different floors.  My knees were protesting by the end of the tour.  

After the tour we had a really nice lunch in the dining room.  The food was very tasty but the highlight was the melt in your mouth flourless chocolate cake.

I tried to imagine what the view must have been like in 1931.  Certainly very different.  No buildings and no smog.  

Even with the smog the views are spectacular from the little Sunny Hill. 

Thank you Cynthia and family for a most thoughtful Christmas gift.  It made for a very special day.