Time-traveling to the past and future in Cave Creek, Arizona


Yesterday I visited the History Museum in Cave Creek, Arizona, which is just north of Phoenix. And I did my usual time-traveling. I stood there and imagined what it looked like and felt like, over 100 years ago. There's a wonderful display outside of the museum that most people walk right past, that gives this feeling. You can see the old stuff, and also see the mountains as the backdrop, smell the desert air, hear the quiet. Yeah, most people who go to museums immediately head inside to look at displays, which is fine for them, but doesn't really do much for me. I prefer the road less traveled.


And yesterday as I was walking up to take a photo of an old gate from one of the original ranches in Cave Creek, I saw that I wasn't alone. There was a young man carrying a baby, trailed after by some toddlers. The baby looked as if it had been born about ten minutes ago (I don't know nothing about no babies!), and he carried it with ease, slung over one arm. He greeted me, and even stepped courteously aside as I took the photo. I thanked him, and then my mind immediately went to time-traveling into the future. I looked at the baby and the toddlers, and mentioned that they would have no memory of doing this with mom and dad. He agreed, and then pointed out a child that I hadn't seen up to that point, who was five. She would remember, although in a very hazy way, what it was like before the 2020s began.


And that's how it works. Time is a continuous river. I like thinking about the people who lived there in Cave Creek, who maybe raised families, and looked for gold, and maybe found it. There's a little church there on the museum property, and you can go in there. Inside of that building I had a real sense of the people who had been there before me. It's a tiny building, quiet and dark, with that amazing smell that only old buildings have. And if you go into it, leave the door open and turn around and look outside to see the desert, the mountains, the saguaros. People come and go, but the desert stays the same. To me it's a nice thought.


Thank you for time-traveling with me to Cave Creek!


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