#Prescott Walk 7: Peavine Trail
Welcome, friends to Prescott Walk #5 (I think – I have trouble labeling them, so I’ve lost count already!)
Lisa Coleman, the Bird Weekly Lady and I, together with several of you, are working on a post for next week about organizing photos. The topic that came up repeatedly is about tagging. Lisa is working on an easy way to do it.
Since I moved my Always Write site from WordPress.org to this site last March, I’ve been lax about tagging my photos. So this is my tagging marathon march along Peavine Trail, dedicated to Hugh Roberts with a tag, caption, title and description for every picture.
“Remember – blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Hugh Roberts
The Ingraos have lived in Prescott three months and somehow missed this beautiful trail only 1.5 miles from our home. Built on the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix railway bed, the trail is flat, wide and safe for walkers and bikers, or those who, like Restless Jo, “Talk to the trees.”
The city now owns the property and along the right side of the trail you can see some of the city’s dumping grounds as well as the Police and Fire training area. That doesn’t impair its natural beauty. Cottonwood trees would obliterate anything remotely unattractive in the summer.
Part of a 126 acre Riparian Preserve, Watson Woods borders Peavine Trail on the left as you head north from the parking lot. For the most part there are Willows, three kinds of Cottonwood trees, and other flexible shrubs in the preserve.
Several kinds of ducks lounge and dip into the murky water as they forage for food along the banks of Granite Creek, which runs into Watson Lake. I included this picture of ducks for my new friend/expert photo organizing/ host of the Bird Weekly Challenge, Lisa Coleman. Last week’s challenge was “birds you love.” I love any bird that will sit still long enough for me to take their picture. These birds cooperated with no signs of shyness. If you look closely, you might find a smile.
As we continued down Peavine Trail, named for its windiness, we imagined what it was like for the workers carving a narrow path between the Granite Rocks for the SF & P & P Railway.
Chartered on May 27, 1891,”the SFP&P’s 195-mile (314 km) line extended the Santa Fe Railway south into Phoenix. The SFP&P extended another 100 miles (160 km) to the east from Phoenix to Florence and Winkelman via the Phoenix and Eastern Railroad (which would become a Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary in 1907).” Wikipedia
I asked Vince if he wanted to climb up the Granite Dells formation, and he said, “I don’t have the right shoes.”
Uh huh, and I don’t have the right feet. He might have been trying to protect my pride. Just beyond this barrier, if you could have seen through it, Granite Creek becomes Watson Lake. “Named after named for Senator James Watson, Indiana, who invested in Chino Valley irrigation projects, (this picturesque lake) resulted from the 1916 damming of Granite Creek.” Sign on Peavine Trail.
Since we had a record snowfall according to our neighbors, not the weather channel, friends have asked if we still have snow. The answer is a resounding yes. Here it is in the valley of the shadow of the SF & P & P Railway.
Since this is a marathon, not a sprint, you will see more photos from our two walks over the next few weeks. We logged about 18,000 steps each in our two days of exploration along the Peavine Trail.
Remember
- Today is the last day to participate in the Sue Vincent Rodeo Classic. All donations go to support her and her family in this difficult time.
- Only a few more days to comment on “The Trophy Cabinet” by Geoff LePard. Your comments will appear in The February edition of Story Chat on Tuesday.
- It’s not to late to contribute your thoughts and quotes about Responsibility for this week’s Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays Writing Challenge.
- Coming next Friday the long-anticipated interview with photographer, Lisa Coleman about how to organize your photos. This helpful post will also feature your tips.
Thanks for joining me, friends.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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