Monday, July 01, 2013

REMEMBERING YARNELL ARIZONA

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KELLY’S FAVORITE YARNELL STOP IS/WAS THE CORNERSTONE BAKERY ON HIGHWAY 89…NO IDEA IF IT SURVIVED THE FIRE

So sad to hear news this morning about 19 firefighters losing their lives in that ongoing Yarnell fire. Nineteen young men leaving Prescott Arizona to battle a forest blaze about 25 miles south of them. Nineteen young men who would never return home again.
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YARNELL’S WIDELY KNOWN HARDWARE STORE WHERE I BOUGHT MY WHEELBARROW ETC LAST NOVEMBER
We have many fond memories of Yarnell & the surrounding Peeples Valley. With the exception of passing through Yarnell on a quiet dark early April morning on our way home a few months ago I think the last time we drove around up there was with Aunt Jean last winter. We drove through the very neighborhoods that are now or were on fire. Watching video clips from the parking lot of the RANCH HOUSE RESTAURANT we can see fires burning homes across the road. Think the last time we ate in that restaurant was when Kelly's brother Peter & wife Leslie were out to visit us last winter. I forgot GEOGYPSY had left the area awhile back to resume her summer job at the Grand Canyon's North Rim. Judging from the videos we saw this morning I would say it is doubtful Gaelyn will have a place to come back to in the Fall. The video clips showed fires destroying homes in that very area.
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RIGHT ON HIGHWAY 89 IN YARNELL

We are not too worried about our house in Congress because it sits at the foot of the Weaver Mountains. No forests of pine trees there like atop the Weavers. The difference in landscape between YARNELL & CONGRESS is like night & day.  Yarnell, about a half dozen miles away from our house sits nearly 2,500 feet higher & the terrain is green & forested.  Congress sits on the floor of the Sonoran Desert & fire just doesn’t have the same abundant fuel source the higher elevations have.  I would think the only danger to our house would be if the winds began blowing south carrying hot embers over the town of Congress. Lots of old wood buildings there but at least it is not a densely populated area. We have a few things going for our house. Three quarters of the roof is tin/steel. The old wooden structure is now encased in adobe & I spent a lot of time last winter clearing dried brush, grasses, & dead tree limbs all around the perimeter of the property. Part of my reason for doing that was the risk of a brush fire.
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NO IDEA IF ANY OF THESE PLACES ARE STILL STANDING
If anyone types ‘Yarnell’ into the search bar near the top of this blog’s right side column they can find my past posts pertaining to Yarnell.  I'm sure we will see a difference this fall when we pass quietly through the tiny town on our way to Congress. Double checking MAPQUEST this morning I see our house is 10 road miles southwest of Yarnell. Much closer & half the distance I thought it was in Sunday night's post. I'm guessing maybe 5 or 6 miles from our house the way the crow flies.  Last we heard tonight the fire is moving northeast & that would take it away from Congress.  And thanks to the folks who have sent in ‘fire update sites’.
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THIS IS THE ‘RANCH HOUSE RESTAURANT’ THAT APPEARS IN SOME OF THE FIRE VIDEOS I HAVE SEEN…THEY HAVE GREAT FOOD HERE….OR AT LEAST THEY DID

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FROM WHAT I SAW ON NEWS REPORTS TODAY THE FIRE DEFINITELY WENT THROUGH THIS AREA WHERE GAELYN FROM GEOGYPSY SPENDS HER WINTERS

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NOT SURE IF THE FIRE WENT THROUGH THIS AREA OF THE PEEPLES VALLEY

Rather than write a lot today I decided to include photos of Yarnell & how we saw it not so long ago.........................

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WE DON’T KNOW IF THIS ‘SHRINE OF ST, JOSEPH’ SITE IN YARNELL HAS BEEN DESTROYED BUT IT WAS ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY WHERE THE FIRE WAS

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A professor arrived late for his lecture and found a most unflattering drawing of himself on the whiteboard. Furious, he asked the class, "Who is responsible for this atrocity?" From the back of the room, one joker whispered loudly, "I strongly suspect your parents!"

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

18 comments:

  1. I was so sad to hear about the death of so many firefighters. It is a frightening thing to think of fire burning with such intensity. I'm glad you aren't in harm's way at the present, and hope they get that fire contained soon.

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  2. Very sad about the young men who lost their lives. nice trbute to the town

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  3. I share your sadness at the loss of life. Those young men are true heroes. Such a terrible loss. It sounds like much, if not all, of Yarnell will be lost and that is a sad loss as well.

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  4. Arizona is in deep mourning today...it is all just so sad. There were seven news trucks parked at the Dollar Store today in Congress where they started the road closure but other than that Congess seemed to be pretty much shut down....most everyone that works here lives in Yarnell. I am anxiously waiting until Weds. to see if MaryAnn (library) has a place to stay...will find out Wed when they open. Not sure about the Hardware store though Paul at the post office said it was gone...

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  5. So many things happen during our lifetimes that I don't have an explanation for or understand.

    A beautiful area is burning away and 19 heroes lost their lives.

    When I was in Colorado last summer I went on a hike near Glendale. It was the anniversary of the "Storm Mountain fire that 14 "hotshots" from Oregon lost their lives in 1994. After all that time, "hotshots" from many areas did the hike as a tribute to those that lost their lives.

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  6. It is very sad...

    Nice memories and tribute.....

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  7. So tragic, I hope there is no more loss of life.
    Buildings can be rebuilt, but sadly people cannot.
    Hope everyone stays safe out there.
    Great tribute to Yarnell.

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  8. Thank you so much for this lovely tribute and for showing us Yarnell.
    Prayers to the families affected by this fire, The Granite Mountain Hot Shots and families who have lost everything in this wicked firestorm!

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  9. such a sad day for the families of the firefighters, and for the residents of Yarnell.

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  10. Thank you Al.

    Dave (Marcia and Bubba and Skruffy)
    GoingRvWay.com

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  11. I remember Skip and I gong to Yarnell with you and Kelly last winter, so sad about the firefighters, and the poor people who have lost there homes.

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  12. Thank you Al, a nice retrospective and a wonderful tribute.


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  13. Thanks for sharing your accolade of the Yarnell area...sure it's even tougher for those who have been to the area. Hopeful the Shrine made it...watching the news this morning and viewing you photos sure opened my heart more.

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  14. I know that the people around Yarnell will open their hearts and homes to those who have lost theirs..Something that cannot be replaced are the lives of those 19 brave souls who ran toward the fire instead of away..Such is the life of a firefighter..RIP..

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  15. Firefighters, police and military: ALL give some, some give ALL. We seem to only remember them when they die. Truly a sad day - thank a living member of those professions when you see them.

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  16. I'm so sorry to learn about the 19 young men that died....I'll pray for their families.

    I would love to visit Yarnell..it's such a neat looking place...hopefully the fire missed it.

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  17. Yarnell is one of the places I thought I could winter...so unique with boulders and vegetation and moderate climate, it was the quintessential western town that got stuck in the 50's. I remember the Storm King fire that claimed the lives of 14 firefighters over by Glenwood Springs. Changes were put into place so that kind of tragedy wouldn't happen again. What a loss for Prescott...Arizona...all of us.
    Box Canyon Mark

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  18. I've heard that the entire business district survived. Worse damages done in my little neighborhood of Glen Illah. The area I live is "either severely damaged or gone." Some houses, like a friend who you have photos of above with all the cool yard glass stuff, still stand. Will probably be at least 5-7 days before residents are allowed back in. My storage shed is probably toast. Yet the worse is the loss of the 19 firefighters.

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