Prescott, AZ, Day 2, December 2007

   Rain fell as Linda and I drove northward from the Valley of the Sun to Prescott and we saw lots of rushing water in the normally dry washes along the sides of the road.  But that didn't matter because we were on a quest to see Linda's new house there and for me to see Prescott for the first time in many years AND if we found a quilt shop and had some adventures along the way, so much the better.  

Saturday morning arrived with the rain still falling, but we got out and drove around for the tour of this charming town that is arranged around a courthouse square with large buildings housing stores, restaurants and a hotel around the edges.  We had heard the annual Christmas parade would be going through town that day and were lucky enough to get window seats in the Bistro St. Michael at the Hotel St. Michael (see photo above) that is located right across from the courthouse square and right on the parade route.  While we ate our lunches (we each had a cup of very good soup and shared a Reuben sandwich), we were able to watch the parade floats as they made their way around the square.  It was fairly cold outside and the rain showered down in bursts every so often so most of the bundled-up parade watchers huddled against the buildings to keep from getting soaked.  The floats in the parade were all that you would hope for in a small town Christmas celebration with marching bands from several local schools, the fire truck, floats sponsored by businesses, old restored cars, and Santa Claus. 

The Hotel St. Michael located at 205 W. Gurley St. in Prescott is on the National Registry of Historic Places and is called the "Grand Dame of Prescott, the Cornerstone of Whisky Row."  It is a large brick building with hotel rooms,  a restaurant, the Bistro that serves lunch and dinner, and some shops on the lower level.

After lunch Linda and I went exploring some of the antique shops near the square and also found a quilt shop -- you knew there had to be one in here somewhere!  The one we found (I think there is another one in the area that I didn't discover until I got back home) is called Creative Pursuits.   This small shop is in a nice old downtown building and has gift items as well as fabric.  They offer an assortment of fabric (not huge amounts but enough to support a quilting hobby), fat quarters, some quilt notions, books, and classes for different projects.  I bought a few pieces of reds and greens that will end up in my red/green Civil War quilt.

By afternoon the sun was out but it stayed cold.  On our way back to Phoenix,we stopped at the local casino in Prescott -- not to try the slots but to see the gingerbread display that was made by the townspeople of Prescott.  I have been making gingerbread displays for over 15 years so I was anxious to see what they had done and I have to say that I was very impressed at the size and number of the gingerbread creations that were arranged against a long side wall of the casino lobby and a model  train circled through the town created by the gingerbread.   Many local businesses and the schools had recreated their buildings in gingerbread -- there were tall Victorian houses, small adobe homes, igloos, a dentist office, some schools, a large casino slot machine, people and animals, all made outof gingerbread. Ribbons were awarded for the best entrants, but over all, I was impressed by the whole display.

Creative Pursuits,  228 N. Cortez St., Prescott, AZ    928-771-1522