April 26 – May 13, 2024

With a day to fill and not able to do much physically, we got creative.  Our first stop would be at the Riordan Mansion State Historic Park.  This park features the duplex home of Timothy and Michael Riordan, lumber baron brothers who married sisters, Caroline and Elizabeth Metz. The brothers were members of an important Arizona Territorial family who played a role in the development of Flagstaff and northern Arizona and were involved in lumber, railroads, cattle, banking, and politics.

Cooperatively the Riordan brothers built their thirteen thousand square foot mansion in 1904 while Arizona was still a territory.  The home consisted of two similar six thousand square foot wings for each family, connected by a large common room.  The Visitor Center which was the family’s six-car garage, was added in 1914, as was a overhead sleeping porch to the house. 

Charles Whittlesey, the architect for the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon, was the architect for the Riordan homes.  Architectural similarities between the structures can be found in the massive stone arches at porch corners as well as exterior elements that reflect the surrounding landscape like log planks, wood shingles, and native stone.

The house when built had all the technology we have in our homes today, electric lights, central heat, hot and cold running water, and telephones.  It was a nice tour, as most of these are with some insight into life in Flagstaff might have been like for a family of some wealth.  It was also interesting to examine this family grouping, two brothers marrying two sisters and living somewhat communally, but in a healthy way, separate living quarters and a common space to meet when desired. 

We finished the tour and with an afternoon to kil decided to drive south out of town towards Upper and Lower Lake Mary.  Our host had mentioned that this was a good bike riding route to do so we figured it might also be one good for sightseeing, and this proved to be true.  This pair of lakes impound the intermittent Walnut Creek upstream from Walnut Canyon and the upper lake is formed by a small earthen dam on Walnut Creek. 

After stopping for a view down the length of Lower Lake Mary, we turned around and returned to the house for a quiet afternoon before heading to dinner a couple of blocks away at MartAnnes Burrito Palace on old Route 66.  It wasn’t too busy when we entered and the young gentleman who seated us said someone would be right over to get our order.  So, we waited, and waited, and waited until after watching others get served, I finally approached the original fellow and asked about service.

He apologized profusely and service improved markedly after that, in fact he would comp us a drink at the end of the meal.  We started with margaritas, the El Patron Margarita (Patron, Cointreau, half of a lime, a splash of house mix, and Grand Marnier on the rocks) for me and a Mango Chili for Joanna.  She ordered the Posole (homemade green chili pork posole, topped with cilantro, served with rice, beans, purple cabbage and a warm flour tortilla) and not bring terribly hungry, I just got two crispy tacos, red chili beef and one green chili pork. 

It was all very good and quite filling and except for the service glitch (our second in a row) we were happy with the meal, closing out the tab at $52 including the tip, but minus one drink. Another quiet evening at the house left us ready for our four drive south to Tucson the next day.  We made a stop partway down at Arcosanti, which we have visited off and on over the course of our many years of travel in this part of the country.  An experimental town with a bronze bell casting business, Its arcology concept (which combines architecture and ecology) was proposed by Italian American architect Paolo Soleri (1919–2013).  He began construction in 1970 to demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing the destructive impact on the Earth.  He taught and influenced generations of architects and urban designers who studied and worked with him there to build the proposed town.

Arcosanti was conceived of and remains primarily an education center, with students from around the world visiting to attend workshops, classes, and to assist with the continuing construction.  Forty thousand tourists visit yearly.  Tourists can take a guided tour of the site or stay overnight in guest accommodations.  Some Arcosanti funding comes from sales of bells made and cast from clay and bronze on site.  Additional funding comes from donations and fees for workshops.  Much of the present construction at Arcosanti has been done by workshop participants and volunteers.  The average salary at Arcosanti for much of its history was barely above minimum wage.

It had been some time since our last visit and it all seemed a little less magical to me, but that could have been that the site was hosting a conference that day and was somewhat deserted, with little of the buzz we’d witnessed before.  It’s interesting to visit a concept like this where the founder and visionary is no longer around to inspire and guide.  I wonder how long it will continue to remain viable.  Only time will tell.

We continued on down the road and eventually reached Tucson and our lodging for the next four nights, the Airbnb Sarah’s Place. Located close to the university, it was in an older and quieter neighborhood.  A large bungalow set in the back of the main house, it had one large room with a divider between the seating area and the bed with a nice desk for a workspace.  A small but functional kitchen provided us with all that we would need for the days we were there as we didn’t plan on cooking much. 

For dinner that night we hit Jun Dynasty, a highly rated Chinese restaurant for a decent meal, likely starting with some spring rolls and split a Kung Pao chicken, all of it good and what one would expect from this type of establishment.  I didn’t take any pictures so can’t recall any specifics but would recommend it to all.  We’ll post some more on Tucson in the following days. 

Links

Riordan Mansion State Historic Park: https://azstateparks.com/riordan-mansion

Lake Mary: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=82408

MartAnnes Burrito Palace: https://martannes.com/

Arcosanti: https://www.arcosanti.org/

Sarah’s Place: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/51523697?source_impression_id=p3_1726585104_P3ckui-d4UCRKlCv

Jun Dynasty: https://www.jundynasty.com/