Walking around the Sahuaro Ranch, Glendale, Arizona


Walk with me. Today we're going to the Sahuaro Ranch (yes, they misspell it that way), which is just north of Glendale Community College, which is at 59th Avenue and Olive in Glendale, Arizona. I've been there more times than I can count, and yes, I want to go back.

I find wonderful serenity there, but it's also a place of activity. I choose to go there when the activities, such as art shows, or weddings, or whatever, aren't going on because I'm kind of a dreamy person who wants to imagine what it all looked like 100 years ago.

The Ranch is only a few blocks from me, and it's right next door to where I worked, so it isn't as if it's very far away, and yet it feels millions of miles away when I'm there.

I took the photo at the top of this post as I was walking home from my dentist, which is on 51st Avenue and Olive. I walked through the neighborhood and entered on Mountain View. And the instant that I stepped through the arch on 59th Avenue (which has a wrought iron peacock on it) I felt better. There are trees, and shade, and grass. And yes, there are peacocks, and bunnies, and other little furry and feathery animals.

If you see me there, you may be wondering what I'm looking at. In my mind's eye I see the ranch as it was in the 1890s, when it was mostly surrounded by desert, and it was miles away from Glendale. Of course there weren't any convenient benches to sit on then, and if I were there I'd probably be working hard. Or maybe I'd be one of Bartlett's honored guests from back east, staying at the Guest House. Yeah, that's what I'd be, I don't know anything about farming and ranching! I'd just sit there and sip a mint julep, or whatever was being served at the time.

Thank you for visiting the Ranch with me!

Image at the top of this post: at the Sahuaro Ranch, just north of the Guest House. You're looking east.
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