A perk of living on the western tip of Texas is the possibility of reaching Tuscon, Arizona in time for lunch. Driving west from my home town of El Paso, the desert of southern New Mexico passes like a flash. Before you know it, you are entering the state of Arizona, where the dashboard clock rolls back to give you the luxury of one extra hour. (Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time.)
My husband, Wayne, and I were on our way to a new experience, the annual conference of the National Stage Coach and Freight Wagon Association, being held in Tuscon and surrounding venues. Wayne was attending because of his interest in all things western. I was tagging along, hoping to get new inspiration for landscaping with native plants.
Our Friday activity was held at the Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum.We toured the Buggy Barn, where carefully restored wagons of a variety of uses were on display. One of the most impressive was a coach used by Maximilian and Carlotta when they ruled in Mexico in the 19th century. It is currently valued at $500,000!
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Saturday morning found us rested and ready to drive south to Tubac, Arizona, with a stop along the way to tour the Historic Hacienda de La Canoa.
We visited restored buildings where one could easily imagine the lives of former inhabitants, both the prosperous and not so prosperous.
Native landscaping plants throughout the property, maintained by a local garden club, made me long to visit local plant nurseries. I came upon a delightful herb garden tucked into a space between two walls that could surely be replicated at our house.
Once in Tubac, a popular tourist town, conference activities were held at the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park. We attended lectures on the history of the Santa Fe Trail and other related topics, given in a restored school house with classroom rules still written on the chalk board. Do you suppose the setting enhanced the attention of the participants?
A chuck wagon dinner, served outdoors, was a chance to meet fellow conference participants, many of whom were well versed on the topics of western history and construction and restoration of wagons.
I ducked out of the afternoon conference sessions to do a little window shopping in the colorful village of Tubac. No purchases, but lots of decorating inspiration.
Back at home in El Paso, we resolved to start on a landscaping project that we have talked about for several years. We want to build a walking trail around our property which is almost an acre in size. The property is already planted with native plants. All we need is a trail to view and enjoy them. We dubbed the project "The Santa Fe Trail" in honor of the new knowledge we gained at the Arizona wagon conference.
