Papa and I drove to Patagonia, AZ yesterday for the Patagonia Fall Festival. We went to this festival 7-8 years ago and it has really grown. There were about 100 arts and community vendors/exhibitors at the Festival, held in the center park of Patagonia. The park is shady and there was nice music. We walked all around and up and down the aisles of artists wares. I bought a raku pot from a New Mexican potter. Artists always amaze me with their varied forms and interpretations of art. We crossed the street for lunch at the Velvet Elvis.
The whole experience was laced with wonderful memories of spending time in Patagonia over the 10 years that we had a vacation house just out of town. We bought the house in 1995 when the girls were 12 and 13. We spent a few weeks a year there, hiking, playing games, going to the Patagonia library for books, shopping in Nogales, Sonora, and generally hanging out. We were in Patagonia one New Year's Eve and started a conversation with some hot air ballooners. They invited us to go up with them the next morning in the San Rafael Valley. We got up way before dawn and drove down in the dark. There were 15-20 balloons all laid out in the grasslands when we arrived. We pitched in to help get them up, and then we all got to go on our first hot air balloon rides. It was a beautiful morning and I remember a rainbow over the Patagonia Mountains. The San Rafael Valley took our breath away with it's beauty.
Yesterday, we drove from Patagonia down the Harshaw Road to the San Rafael Valley. It still takes my breath away. The rolling grasslands as far as the eye can see, down into Mexico is a beautiful sight!
The whole experience was laced with wonderful memories of spending time in Patagonia over the 10 years that we had a vacation house just out of town. We bought the house in 1995 when the girls were 12 and 13. We spent a few weeks a year there, hiking, playing games, going to the Patagonia library for books, shopping in Nogales, Sonora, and generally hanging out. We were in Patagonia one New Year's Eve and started a conversation with some hot air ballooners. They invited us to go up with them the next morning in the San Rafael Valley. We got up way before dawn and drove down in the dark. There were 15-20 balloons all laid out in the grasslands when we arrived. We pitched in to help get them up, and then we all got to go on our first hot air balloon rides. It was a beautiful morning and I remember a rainbow over the Patagonia Mountains. The San Rafael Valley took our breath away with it's beauty.
Yesterday, we drove from Patagonia down the Harshaw Road to the San Rafael Valley. It still takes my breath away. The rolling grasslands as far as the eye can see, down into Mexico is a beautiful sight!
