Strawberry, Arizona - Old Schoolhouse

The Strawberry Schoolhouse claims to be the oldest standing school house in Arizona.  It was built in 1884.  It's final restoration in 1979 and 1980 was by the local Pine/Strawberry Archeological and Historical Society and is now a beautiful glimpse in to the earlier days in Arizona.  Here is the webpage to see the details of the decline and restoration of the property.

It is a well built structure and the detailed photographs should provide a good view of the construction.

 The build sits in a open space with a parking lot for about ten cars. There is also street parking. It is on Fossil Creek Road about 1 3/4 miles west of Highway 87 in Strawberry.  Also note that entrance to the interior is ramped.

A shady picnic area.

 A stone marker.

 This sign will be road side when the school is open.

 The log construction is interesting.  A lot of log cabins use the whole log but this one has flattened sides.

 A view of the interior through the glass windows.

A shake roof.

 Close up of the wood

 This little crawler is beautiful. I don't know what it is or what it will turn out to be.

 A school bell sits on top of the building.

 A school bell sits on top of the building.

  The area is surrounded by local pines.

  The clop clop clop of horses out for a morning ride.

  I went back to the car to get my telephoto lens so that I could take a better photo of this little crawler.  If you know what this is, please leave the name in the comments.

Payson, Arizona - Ox Bow Saloon on Historic Main Street

The Ox Bow Saloon is on the National Register of Historical Places so I thought that I would drive down "historic Main Street" and photograph the saloon.  I was out very early so that I could photograph the buildings without a lot of traffic.  You can see from the long shadows that this was just after sunrise.

This is the "Historical Journigan House" is now a fine food restaurant, a full bar, and an outside patio with a grill.  I took this photo so that I could remember to come here for dinner.

 This is the nearby parking lot. If you look closely, you can see various horses painted on the wall.

 The entrance to the street from Route 87 (the main highway that bisects the town).

 This is my destination, The Ox Bow Hotel and Saloon.

 Fun look to the western style front.

 Special parking.

Payson, Arizona - Payson Pioneer Cemetery

I was up at dawn to see if I could photograph a misty Pioneer Cemetery.  I didn't get mist but the light was nice and I enjoyed a stroll through this old historic graveyard.

I also wanted to take some photos to include in the wikipedia page for this location.

This is the main entrance from the street. The sign requests that you close the gate when you enter.  Dogs are not allowed in.

 Many thanks to the volunteers and staff who have prepared a listing so that it is easier to find a marker if you are searching.

I liked the look and color of the stones in the steps.

 I wasn't looking for a particular person. Here are seem photos from my small walk through.  It was well maintained and cared for.  I did not notice any destruction of the older headstones.  There were a large variety of settings.

 The wild flowers that grow throughout the property are very pretty.