Day 6 - On a Mission

The critters were noisy last night.

There would be a nearby bark, followed by a responding bark somewhere in the far off distance.

The barking noises did not seem to belong to dogs. Yet, they did not have that shrieking, blood-orgy sound that I have heard coyotes make. But then again, coyotes have more than one type of vocalization.

And I was going to say those barks belonged to the coyotes until I read that javelinas also making barking noises.

Yes, javelinas bark. Their bark is a "togetherness call" when they are trying to find other herd members. And they "woof" in alarm when they are running away.

So maybe what I heard that night were javelinas. And that was the closest I was ever going to get experiencing javelinas on my trip out west.

Today was going to be my last full day in Arizona, and there were things that needed to get done today.

The first thing I had to do after breakfast was to drive down to the post office to mail some stuff back home so that I would not have to schlep a heavy suitcase.

There were those books that I packed ~ airplane reading and technical stuff that dealt with my original reason for coming to Cave Creek. The 2-pound portfolio could also be packed, along with all the real estate books that Carolyn got me. The same went for my notebook and information folder. I would not be needing them on my trip back home.

Then I had the gifts and goodies that I bought, the cowboy boots I wore only once, my bathing suit and a top that I never wore. They were to provide extra cushioning for the breakables.

I was originally intending on sending 2 packages ~ the reading material going as media mail, and the other stuff going priority.

But when I selected my mailer from the post office postal products stand, there was plenty of room left to pack everything into one box ~ even with the bubble wrap I bought to further cushion my breakables.

I had to wrestle to remove that damn cardboard hanger thingie from the packaging tape. And in retaliation, it bit me and drew blood. It got me good. But fortunately everything was under control by the time I reached the window. And I did not have to request the first aid kit.

The package was going to go "Priority."

"Do you want delivery confirmation with that?"

"I don't think so. I'll know when it gets there."

Upon saying that, the clerk realized that I was sending the package to myself. It was kind of hard not to notice since the return address was the same as the delivery address.

Having been a postal window clerk 10 years ago, I struck up a conversation with both of the window clerks. It was interesting comparing notes.

After paying for my postal products and postage, it cost me just slightly over $40 to save me from having to pay an additional $25 fee for an overweight suitcase. However, it also saved me the trouble of hauling around a suitcase that weighed a ton.

That mission accomplished, I was off on my next mission.

At first I was considering in going for a horseback ride. But I figured that I had enough of outdoor adventures. Besides, I needed to find a bracelet to replace the one I had to return after the stone fell out.

I planned my attack.

First of all, I was going to drive down to North Scottsdale and check out the gift shop at the Heard Museum. Their ad on the local map looked promising.

So, driving to Carefree, I took a right onto Tom Darlington Road. The museum was supposed to be at the corner of Scottsdale Road (which is what Tom Darlington turns into) and Carefree Highway.

I got there alright. But where was the museum? I drove into the mall-like area on my right, where I saw a Starbucks and some other shops with very familiar names. However, the museum was nowhere in sight.

Going a few miles down Carefree Highway did not meet with any success either.

OK. Let's turn around and go the other direction and see if that elusive museum is tucked somewhere inside El Pedregal, an up-scale, multi-level and open-air shopping plaza.

However, I didn't see too many signs of activity. Could it be because it was not quite 10 in the morning?

Oh well, all I could do was to head back to Cave Creek and hit every shop along the way.

I was first going to hit the shops in Carefee. But while driving through the shopping areas nothing caught my eye.

It was hard to spot any interesting shops among the plethora building supply stores, real estate offices, and nail salons. If there were any neat and interesting shops, they must have been Carefree's well-kept secrets.

Shortly upon entering Cave Creek I passed the Town Dump. No sense in stopping there, especially after I have done some serious damage to my wallet 4 days earlier.

The next shop, Indian Village, was a bust.

Big Bronco was interesting. There was even a really cool antler basket that I was almost tempted to buy. However, I was on a mission for a bracelet.

And besides, with all the disarray in my house from my stalled studio renovation project, where would I put the antler basket without Attila thinking it was another litter box alternative and the dogs thinking I brought home a new bone for them to chew on?

The fellow there was a nice chap ~ a Brit actually. He got a big kick out of the fact that I was born in Corby and that Roma had attended Our Lady's Convent School in Kettering.

"Oh. there aren't all that many convent schools anymore."

And there also wasn't that special bracelet that I was looking for either.

I could smell the Cave Creek Candles and Gifts from the outside. And even though I knew that I would not find my bracelet there, I still went in for a look and and a whiff.

Neat place! There were candles everywhere. Duh! And some of them had scents that I never encountered before in a candle, like leather.

In addition to candles, there were scented oils and incense, a hookah, interesting metal sculptures, and a few pieces of clothing.

I also poked my nose into a tiny art gallery next to the candle shop and had a pleasant conversation with the gallery keeper.

(Yeah, I've been having lots of pleasant conversations wherever I went. People were incredibly friendly where I was visiting.)

Further up the road, I stopped at the Shoppes At the Creek. Only 2 stores were open at the time, a western clothing store, which carried had no jewelry except for belt buckles, and Spirit of the West Boot Company, which was a lot more promising.

And boy was it promising!

Hey! Now we're talking!

There were tons of gorgeous jewelry there ~ even silver cuff bracelets with turquoise. The shop keeper was very friendly and patient, allowing me all the time in the world that I needed to try on all the bracelets that caught my eye.

After trying one countless bracelets, my eye kept coming back to this one cuff that was made out of multiple skinny bands of silver and had 2 good-sized stones set on top.

The stones weren't as beautiful as the pale green turquoise from the original bracelet. However, they were beautiful in a different way. The stones had greenish blue spots in a black matrix. And it was a shade of greenish blue that agreed with my complexion.

The store had more than just silver and turquoise jewelry.

There were ropes of tiny beads that were beaded in a spiral pattern so that they had a very serpentine appearance. Simply gorgeous.

I wanted to buy one for Roma, who I knew would appreciate such fine bead work. Unfortunately, I had to balk at the $400 price tag. If only Roma were there to see the bead work herself!

There was also a wall full of gorgeous western boots ~ some even custom-made, along with their custom-made price tags.

There were Tony Lama and Lucchese boots ~ the premier names in western boots.

Oh! The temptation was great ~ especially for a girl who loves her shoes! (And what girl doesn't love shoes?) In fact, I had even considered coming home with a pair of gen-you-ine cowboy boots. But I remained firm resisting all temptation.

And then there was the shop bird ~ an African Grey parrot. What a delightful character! And nowhere near the ornery bugger that our Double-Yellow Amazon was.

I liked that bracelet, but I decided on holding off until I explored my other other options.

I did mention to the shop keeper that I tried finding the Heard Museum, but that it was not where the map said it should be.

"Oh, that's because it just moved. Just go further down the road and you'll see it. But if you get to Ashler Hills, you've gone too far."

OK, I'll keep that in mind.

After leaving that fabuloso store I went to the very funky Lazy Lizard, a consignment shop that would have had Roma spending hours exploring every nook and cranny.

And guess what? There were quite a few used Tony Lama and Lucchese boots there ~ and at a fraction of the cost of those just a few stores down.

Unfortunately, none were in my size. I left the store telling the shop keepers, "There are no Tony Lamas or Luccheses in my size. I guess God doesn't want me to get a pair of boots just yet."

At this point, I continued further up the road, turning left onto Skyline Road to check out the Cave Creek Museum. I over-shot it and had to turn around in the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall parking lot. However, when I got to the museum, I discovered that it was closed.

Keep on driving.

I was going to stop at the Blue Coyote Gallery, but I over-shot that, too, and did not feel like turning around. In retrospect, I wish I had turned around and stopped in for a visit. But at that time I was a woman on a mission.

The next stop was the various shops in Frontier Town, the same place where I bought my goodies 4 days ago. And while I did find some more wonderful conversation, there were no bracelets to distract me from the one I saw at the Spirit of the West Boot Company.

However, I did buy some more of that intriguing southwestern style candy and those very inexpensive rose-scented clay-like thingies (presumably for your lingerie drawer) that I forgot to buy earlier when I was there.

Time to move on.

Deciding to by-pass the Western Mercantile store that was near Carefree (mainly because I did not get the feeling that I would find what I was looking for), I made my way back to North Scottsdale to find the Heard Museum.

And find it I did, after driving to Ashler Heights and having to turn around.

It wasn't big for what I was expecting in a museum. But then, this location was the main museum's (which is in Phoenix) northern annex.

I paid my $5.00 admission and received a museum booklet, bookmark, and paper fan before I made my way to the single gallery room. It featured mainly contemporary Native art from the area. The jewelry was gorgeous. The other stuff was note-worthy too. But I had jewelry on the brain.

After spending sufficient time in the gallery, I exited through the side door to the much-anticipated gift shop. However, I did not rush to the jewelry counter right away. I first lingered over the books and folk art that was for sale.

The prices on many of the folk art pieces already gave me a foreshadowing of what to expect at the jewelry counter. But undaunted, that's where I proceeded to after I checked out all the other wares for sale.

As expected, the jewelry was stunning and the sales help extremely accommodating. (I had yet to meet someone who was not friendly and accommodating!)

The sales lady graciously got out every single piece that I was interested in trying on. I tried not to look at the price tags, but I couldn't help it.

These pieces were the costliest I've seen so far. But then, since the museum did not charge sales tax, I probably would have wound up paying close to the same amount elsewhere.

As with the other store, it was hard finding a bracelet that would fit me. I have very skinny wrists, which are perhaps the only parts of my body that are still skinny. So, I did not have as many choices as I would have liked.

And even the smaller bracelets would have still has to be taken to a jeweler to be properly sized to my skinny and bony wrist. (I was warned many times not to do the sizing myself.)

There was one bracelet that I absolutely adored and would have even considered purchasing over the one I saw in Cave Creek. It was gorgeous ~ the nicest bracelet ever.

But the sucker had no price tag. And why was that? Because it was part of a $3200 set! Ouch!

Why? Oh why does the most expensive bling catch my eyes? Why doesn't my eye find something far less expensive more pleasing?

Yeah, I did have the money to buy that set. But was I going to spend the amount of money that was more than a mortgage payment on a drool-worthy bracelet and a delectably gorgeous squash blossom necklace?

I don't think so.

And just for the heck of it, I decided to look at the other squash blossom necklaces. They, too, were off limits in price.

Just as God did not want me to get a pair of boots, He also did not want me to get a bracelet from the Heard Museum. So, I left empty handed,

but not without first stopping at the sculptural garden before making my way back to the car.

It wasn't an overly large sculptural garden, but there were some interesting things to look at.

Of course, I was more interested in the cacti than I was in the sculpture.

However, I wasn't the total cultureless Philistine. The sculptural garden did have some whimsical pieces.

And it also had some more traditional-style pieces.

Here's a closer look of the Native American woman with an umbrella. Check out the nice copper patina.

The Red Bird of Paradise was one of the desert plants that was still in bloom. People often speak about how gorgeous the desert looks in springtime when just about everything is in bloom. But there are also plenty of flowering plants whose blooming season falls later on in the year.

Here's a close-up of the Red Bird of Paradise flowers.

Anyhow, I was all done with the Heard Museum. Now it was time to venture back the way I came.

Seeing that it was around lunch time, I figured there would be more signs of life at El Pedregal than there were when I passed by earlier.

The many cars in the parking did make it look more promising.

The hills at El Pedregal were very different from the ones I saw at Cave Creek. These were very "bouldery." In fact, El Pedregal is located in the area of North Scottsdale that's known as "The Boulders."

Here's a closer view of the boulders.

And a bit further away was this rocky hill.

There were definitely signs of life inside El Pedregal. Not only were there people inside its many shops and restaurants, I saw a significant number of people wearing the type of ID tags one would find among conference-goers. Obviously whatever conference was going on broke for lunch at the time of my visit.

One of the most intriguing shops at El Pedregal was Adelante, a gallery that featured folk and devotional art, and jewelry.

It was obvious from the start that this was not the place for me to find that special bracelet that I was looking for. But that did not matter, because Adelante was quite the visual treat in itself. This gallery deserved a special visit on its own.

This is how El Pedregal's web site described Adelante:

Folk and devotional art and jewelry. A featured gallery on CNN International's program "Art Club", Adelante celebrated its 10th year at el Pedregal in September. Adelante showcases paintings, sculptures, and jewelry by local and international folk and fine artists, whose work runs the gamut from the devotional to the irreverent.

And this how Adelante was described by AZCentral.com:

Adelante features whimsical art, photographs, paintings, a few furniture pieces and objects that defy description. Check out the tower made of brightly colored paint cans and the giant pig sculpture. Owner Meg Witwer calls her shop "a singular vision . . . an interesting gallery for people who are interesting."

I must say that both descriptions were fitting.

One of the first things that I noticed was the proliferation of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) artifacts. My eyes could not get enough of all the many various Day of the Dead figures, altars, nichos, etc.

There was also a painting of St. George slaying the dragon, which was a fairly common motif in traditional religious folk art. However what was not common ~ nor typical ~ was seeing Michael Jackson's face on St. George!

There were frames, mirrors, and wall art made by this one artist using only found material.

Another artist cut bracelets out of tin cans that had the labels painted on, and then lined the inside with felt.

There was also an intriguing snake sculpture that was made by stringing loads of bottle caps on a thick, but flexible wire.

What was also intriguing was the story behind the couple of tiny Sculpy clay figures in the display case. They were made by a 9-year-old New England boy whose aunt lives locally.

Whenever the boy came to Arizona to visit his aunt, he would bring with him his tiny Sculpy figures to sell at Adelante.

To me, that spoke very highly of Adelante. Here was a gallery that welcomed and supported the work of even very young artists. No one could accuse Adelante of being a hoity-toity gallery that's too big for its britches.

The shop-keeper (who may have been Meg, the owner) was a nice and interesting person to talk to. She very eagerly showed me around the small gallery, even unlocking the glass case so that I could have a better look at the pieces inside.

On the sales counter were a pair of socks that Meg(?) was knitting in a complex Fair Isle type of pattern out of very lightweight wool. (Honestly! Who would be wearing socks in Arizona, let alone socks knit out of wool?)

In another glass case, there were some interesting silver rings where the top of the ring was fashioned in a graceful knuckle guard. Not only were these rings unusual and gorgeous, they were also quite comfortable.

And guess what? One of them was a size 6 ~ just perfect for my pointer finger. (Too bad there wasn't another one the same size, otherwise I would have bought a second ring to give to Ariana.)

After lingering a considerable time at Adelante, it was time to mosey on and check out the other shops in El Pedregal.

While there where other neat shops on both top and bottom levels, none had matched Adelante in the "Blow-Me-Away-and-Knock-My-Socks-Off" category. Adelante was by far the most interesting establishment in El Pedregal.

Seeing that none of the other shops at El Pedregal had what I was looking for, it was time for me to head back to Cave Creek. My destination? Spirit of the West Boot Company.

When I got to Spirit of the West Boot, I noticed that one of the shops in the building that was closed earlier was now open. And because it looked promising, I went in.

There were 2 people there, a burly fellow that I presumed was the owner, and a quiet Native shop girl. The guy was impressed with my most recent jewelry purchase.

After letting Mr. Burly know what I was looking for, he directed Miss Shy & Quiet to assist me. There were plenty of silver and turquoise bracelets to be seen.

But none were as pretty as the ones I saw in the Horny Toad gift shop and the Spirit of the West Boot Company. Also, none seemed to carry the aura and mystique that I was seeking in a bracelet.

And besides, while the folks in the store seemed pleasant enough, the vibes of the store did not quite sit right with me. Thus, I made my polite farewell and walked towards the Spirit of the West Boot Company.

The shop keeper I talked to earlier was outside, getting ready to smoke a cigarette ~ American Spirit, methol flavor. Even though it was a few days since I had a butt, and not missing it in the least, I asked her if I could have one too. She gladly obliged.

So we sat on the bench and talked for awhile. We talked about guacamole and sales tax.

That was when I found out that the Cave Creek city taxes went to buying up the land at the Spur Cross Ranch to save it from developers. Cool! I would not complain if my tax dollars went towards conservation efforts.

In the meantime, another shop girl came out with the phone in one hand and the African Grey parrot on the other arm. Shop girl #1 paused to take a call from a customer who was inquiring about posters for Cave Creek's Annual Wild West Days.

After the phone call was done, we all went in, where it was time to make my wallet scream.

But those screams fell on deaf ears as I admired the gorgeous new bracelet that was now sitting on my wrist.