Homemade Rigatoni

Susan loves pasta and she also likes to cook, so it is not surprising that she likes to make her own noodles. She has always wanted the Pasta Press for our KitchenAid mixer and she finally bought one.
The press has a variety of plates including spaghetti, bucatini, fusilli, large and small macaroni and the rigatoni.

I was not watching Susan making the rigatoni but I know she had fun because I could hear her giggling from my room. The pasta was very good, much better than the packaged product.

Landscaping

Last month I posted this photo of the area just outside the fence that was being cleared of weeds so our landscaper could put in plants.

A large group of guys showed up on Tuesday to complete the planting process. I did not take a picture of the individual trees and shrubs that they planted in the wetlands but we now have 150 new trees out there.

Around the fence in the backyard, we had Vinca planted in just a couple of rows so they can spread out over time. There is a new mister pipe running through this bed and the steps are new that lead out to the wetlands.

Our contractor is here today putting down weed control cloth and covering it with small rock around the back and side of the shop. Not only does this keep the weeds under control but it is a great fire barrier. It looks so nice and he is not even done yet. Yippee!

Saguaro Lake Cruise

We took a 90 minute narrated cruise on the Desert Belle Tour Boat around Saguaro Lake. The lake is 10 miles long with 22 miles of shoreline. The Stewart Mt. dam is located on the South East corner of the lake. There was a tremendous amount of boat traffic on the lake on this particular day so we did not see any interesting wildlife, unless you consider Turkey Vultures interesting. The scenery was beautiful and extremely varied.

We had lunch at the Lakeshore Restaurant that is barely visible in these trees above the boat launch location.

The four peaks can be seen in the distance.

According to our tour guide a variety of animals are visible from the lake when the conditions are right. Mountain lions, mountain goats, bald eagles, rattle snakes, and multiple species of birds are just some of the animals that call this area home.

Tombstone Extras

These Texas trail saddles are two of the oldest saddles on display. They date to shortly after the Civil War, and were ridden by drovers moving cattle from Texas to Kansas. Their design is typical of early cowboy saddles. Only the rear half of the saddle seat is covered, and the stirrups are visible looping through the wood saddle tree. The double rigging uses two cinches to help secure the saddle during roping. The high back cantle and steep front pommel provided security during hard riding. These light-weight saddles were easy on cow ponies that might be ridden five hours a day.

The Piano Box Buggy was introduced in 1855 by R.M. Stivens in New York City. It became the msot popular vehicle in America. The square box simplified construction and by 1900, mass production had lowered the price to approximately $50.00. This buggy has rubber tires which were first introduced around 1890. Among the fastest vehicles on the road, buggies earned their name from the insects found pasted on the dashboard after a rapid trip. Businessmen rented this "doctors" buggy for about $8 per day.

Mom and Dad testing out one of the buggies on display.

This famous old newspaper published its first sheet in 1880 when Tombstone was a blood-drenched town dominated by gunmen, rustlers and businessmen who thought foremost of their quick riches. Today, occupying an anceint adobe building which was one of the town's biggest dance halls, the Epitaph still grinds out its printed message on a cranky old Campbell press.

Schieffelin Hall, 1880, built in honor of Tombsone's founder Ed Schieffelin.
These next couple of picture are back-lit stainglass artwork hanging inside the Longhorn BBQ.



Close to the location of the actual shootout, you can view a reinactment of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Exhibits include Fly's Gallery, Doc Holiday's room, a 25-minute Historama and several artifacts from the period.

This is the marker at the site of the actual gunfight.

The Crystal Palace Saloon. We had a very good lunch here.

There is a great deal of history here and we could have easily spent two full days to see everything. Many of the buildings are protected as historic monuments.

The Good Enough Mine - Tombstone

The Good Enough mine is an actual 1870's silver mine founded by Ed Shieffelin. This gate is the site of the original find and mine entrance.

This type of drill was invented shortly before the Good Enough Mine closed.

Click on the picture below for a better view of the mine "potty" car. Use the back button on your browser to return to the blog. How would you like to have the job of rolling this portable toilet through the mine all day long, cleaning it out and making sure it was available for 100 men?

These holes represent different shafts of the mine. There were five levels in this mine. It was considered one of the safest mines to work in because of the limestone walls. The support beams are still the original logs.

The dark gray on these bolders is the unprocessed silver from inside the mine.

The men would open these cans of beans, etc. for lunch. The fact that the cans were sealed with lead; the men were working with mercury while processing the silver and they had access to liquor and hand guns might explain why Tombstone was such a rowdy place.

Bird Cage Theatre - Tombstone

The Bird Cage was the most famous Honky-Tonk in America between 1881 and 1889. The New York Times referred to it in 1882 as the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast.

The bar is flanked by a dumb waiter that sent drinks upstairs to the ladies of the night and their clients. Today it exists as Tombstone's only remaining bar of the 1880's in its original building. There are 140 bullet holes in the walls and ceilings resulting from the 16 gunfights that took place in the building.

The Human Fly seen in the image below refers to part of the show put on by the women working the establishment. They would launch themselves out of the balcony upside down and with any luck their shoes would stick to the ceiling from magnets in their shoes.

The original narrow, steep stairs leading up to the second floor.

The longest poker game in western history was played at the Bird Cage. It was a house game and players had to buy a $1,000 minimum in chips for a seat in the game. The game ran continually for 8 years, 5 months and 3 days. The poker table still stands as it was left with its chairs on the dirt floor downstairs.

Boothill Graveyard - Tombstone

The Boothill Graveyard was laid out as a burial plot in 1878. Called "The Tombstone Cemetery," it was the burial place for the town's first pioneers and was used until sometime around 1884. It lay for years neglected and much of the cemetery had gone back to nature. Years of hard work by interested citizens helped preserve the main part of the cemetery which is now open to the public.
Tragic results of the O.K. Corral battle, which took place between the Earp Brothers with "Doc" Holiday and the cowboys. Three men were killed and three were wounded.

Johnson inocently bought a stolen horse and suffered the consequences.

Taken from the county jail and lynched by a mob on February 22, 1884. He was called the leader of the five men who were legally hanged and was said to have planned the robbery. He was hanged from a telegraph pole a short distance from the Court House.

Moore was a Wells Fargo agent at Naco and had a dispute with a man over a package. Both died.

World's Largest Rosebush - Tombstone

The rosebush is a white Lady Banksia and is located in Tombstone, Arizona. The root originally came from Scotland in 1885. It now spreads over an arbor that covers more than 9,000 square feet.

This is a picture from underneath the rosebush. To view as much of the top as you can see, you go to the top of a viewing platform.

We were lucky enough to see the rosebush in bloom. The rosebush is behind a small museum where artifacts from the 1800's are displayed. One of the most interesting was this clock and calendar. This device displayed the day, month and year, including leap year.

I also thought these old measuring cups were very interesting. I could not include the entire set of Gill measurements, so I took a picture showing the size of one Gill compared to 1/2 pint.

Olive Mill

At the Queen Creek Olive Mill you can purchase a variety of products produced from olives. There web site is http://www.queencreekolivemill.com.

There is a garden, outdoor and indoor seating area, small restaurant and rows and rows of oils, dips, sauces and wines available for purchase.

I brought home Spinach Basil Garlic Linguine, Artichoke and Roasted Garlic Tapenade and Gourmet Dipping Olive Oil for us to try. As you want down the rows of products, the large signs on the walls explain how the products are made and you can sample most of the sauces and dips.

Yum!

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

The monument includes a museum, a gift shop, archaeological film and the ruins themselves.

The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is one of about 360 areas managed by the National Park Service and was preserved due to its outstanding archaeological values. The first farmers of the American Southwest are referred to as the Hohokam by archaeologists. The Hohokam mixed ground-up caliche with water to produce a sticky mud that was used as a multi-purpose construction material.

Click on the next two images to enlarge them enough to read about the largest structure in the ruins. Click on your browsers back arrow to return to the blog.

The opening in the top left corner of this image matches the lunar alignment marked on the above diagram.

Arizona Trip

I decided to take two weeks off from school and go down to Arizona to visit Mom and Dad.One of the most exciting things I saw while on this trip was a hummingbird in its nest.

Even more exciting was the fact that the bird stayed in the next while I went down the block and retrieved my camera and came back to take this picture. The wind chimes are hanging from the patio roof of a part model on the same block where Mom and Dad live. As you can see, the birds made the nest right on the wind chimes. The owner told me that the birds have used the same nest for the last three years.

April and May are good months for seeing the flowers in bloom and these pictures are just a few of the cactus we saw on our travels.

Toby Keith's - I Love This Bar

One of Toby's restaurants is located in Mesa. The napkins are white and decorated with the logo you see above the door. The inside is large enough for line dancing and includes a store where you can buy clothing, sauces, etc.

Similar to the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, albums, clothing and posters from Toby's career adorn the walls. There are numerous television screens, most with different channels playing all at the same time and of course, country music is playing through the speakers.

We were there at lunchtime so the mechanical bull was not in operation. I bet it gets extremely noisy in this place at night.

What a fun place. There are very interesting things on the menu like fried macaroni and cheese and deep fried brownies with raspberry sauce and ice cream. We did not have any trouble eating our meal, especially the sweet potato fries.