Arizona: Globe

Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

I began my exploration of State Highway 77, which extends from Tucson (as Oracle Road) up past Holbrook to the edge of Navajo Nation. I made a modest plan for the day with the town of Globe as my destination.

Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

Besh-Ba-Gowah

I spent the largest chunk of my Globe time at the ancient Salado community called Besh-Ba-Gowah, which is what the Apache called Globe in the 1800s: "Town of Metal," in recognition of its mining industry.

I'm not all that much into ancient ruins, preferring more modern-day ruins. But the Besh-Ba-Gowah site is accessible to most folks and is very much part of a living town. 

It's so much a part of a living town that it literally butts against an athletic field. At first, I found this slightly unsettling, as in: Hey, you're messing with my head-in-the-past vibe, but after that initial reaction, I did a 180, finding that I very much appreciated how two epochs sat side-by-side. 

Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

 Oooh, but watch out for the ants there! The place teemed with them.

Ants at Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

Two barrel cacti hosted a drunken party of ginger arthropods. Birds squeaked overhead, but in the video below, you can imagine the chirruping coming from the ants:

There's a good reason there are so many ants on the barrel cactus. From an article here:

The barrel cactus is an important partner for lots of desert species. Not only does the plant receive pollination from insects and seed dispersal from vertebrates, but it also hires ants to defend it against insect herbivores. It does this by producing sugary nectar that the ants can feed on.


A couple of bees tussled briefly over nectar in this video:

The Besh-Ba-Gowah museum had real pottery shards to smooth one's fingerpads over. It felt special to touch the same surfaces held by our first Americans so many centuries ago. A way to hold the hands of our antecedents.

Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

The differences among preservation, conservation, restoration, renovation, and reconstruction interest me. This sign presents a quickie explanation of stabilization and reconstruction:

Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

A plethora of lizards, of course. This lithe one tucked himself behind a stone face, but hey little dude, I could still see your curled tail!

Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

A garden is adjacent to the ruins and museum; there is also a lower botanical garden, which is a ribbon along a path.

Besh-Ba-Gowah, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

Overall, I received many utils of pleasure in return for the investment of a four-hour round trip drive. There's a tight little museum with artifacts gleaned from the site, a video that's not too long and not too short, pleasant museum staff, an interesting and accessible ruin site itself, and two gardens to stroll.


Holy Angels Catholic Church

Pretty.

My favorite stained glass window: the holy flautist, as she reminded me of a Celtic flautist friend.

Holy Angels Catholic Church, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

One discordant note, however. I get that pews and statuary and windows often have the names of the donors inscribed on same. But it discomfits me for the Christ over the altar to also have the donor's name. It makes me think of a sports stadium that has no sense of place at all, but only the name of a corporation.

Holy Angels Catholic Church, Globe, Arizona. August 2019.

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A slide show of Arizona State Highway 77 below (inclusive of Globe):