Historic Bonelli House

The historic Bonelli house is located just off of Beale Street in old downtown Kingman. The building to the back of the picture is the Mojave County Courthouse, which was built in 1915. The building to the right was built in 1935 as a U.S. Post Office. It now houses the Kingman Engineering Department. I don't know what the trees with the yellow blossoms are, but aren't they gorgeous. Palo Verde trees, which are quite prevalent in his area, look similar to these. Maybe these are very mature ones. 

This little red schoolhouse was built in 1896 and replaced the first school. It now serves as the municipal court building. The Kingman Visitor's Center has a nice walking tour map, with historic buildings labeled and some general information. 

This is the Bonelli home. It was built in 1915. Tours are offered for a minimal donation. George Bonelli was the 4th child of a Swedish immigrant. He took over managing a large cattle operation his father had amassed, as well as, four retail stores. George married the local Santa Fe Railroad station master's daughter.     

You enter this living room, as you come through the front door. Many of the furnishings are original to the family. Isn't the clock grand!

To the right of the living room is this bedroom.

Through the bedroom was an adjoining bathroom.

Here is the laundry equipment! The metal plunger is called a Rapid Wash!

We came through the bathroom into the kitchen. The stove has a tank at the top that served as a water heater. One of the Bonelli family's sons lived in the family home until around 1970. It was said that he continued to use this original stove!

You can see from the kitchen back into the bedroom. I love the way these old houses are a maze of rooms!

The door by the stove (a few pictures back) enters into the dining room. The door to the right goes outside onto a large wrap around porch and overlooks a big yard. Through the door to the left you enter a stairwell.

There was plenty of stair climbing exercise to be had in the Bonelli home!

This is the upstairs landing and a bathroom ahead.

To the right of the landing is the male children's bedroom. The doorway leads to a big wrap around balcony. There is an opening in the ceiling that goes up into the glassed in room on top of the house. It served to vent heat from the room, but the boys also used it as a playroom.

Across from the boy's bedroom is the girl's bedroom.

The door goes to the balcony.

To the right is the girl's bedroom shown in the prior picture. The center doorway is the bathroom, and the doorway to the left is a sitting room.

This is the sitting room.

Across from the sitting room by the stairway railing is the parent's room. The door on the right goes to the balcony.

Here is the bottom of the stairs looking from the living room back towards the dining room! It's a nice home said to be inhabited by welcoming spirits!

Scary Air

When we first told people that we were going to spend the Winter in Arizona, we got lots of dire warnings about there being something in the soil that could make a person ill and even kill them! We were told there wasn't a cure! Nobody seemed to know what it was, but had a healthy fear of it! We were concerned, but figured it couldn't be all that bad if there weren't reports in the news of large numbers of people in Arizona getting sick and dying from the mystery illness. We just recently learned that the thing to be concerned about in the soil is a fungus and that it gets carried through the air on windy days. It is not only a concern in Arizona, but in all the southwestern states and Utah. In Arizona it is referred to as Valley Fever and in southern California it is referred to as San Joaquin Valley Fever. Because of it's flu like symptoms and the ache it can create, it is sometimes referred to as Desert Rheumatism. It can affect humans, as well as, other animals. Get the facts at this link: Scary Air . Org 

Prior to leaving Texas, our Malamute had itchy welts and large oval rings on her belly. The sores would occasionally break out on other parts of her body. We had been in Texas a year and on prior occasions had been there for two years without a problem. We believe the difference was that on the visit where she caught this fungal rash, she and our shepherd were allowed to lay in the soil. On our prior stays they laid on our vinyl outdoor carpet. We surmised from our Internet research that the large oval sores may have been girth itch rather than the rounder sores produced by ringworm. It didn't appear to be infectious as neither the other dog, two cats, or Roy or I caught it. Our research indicated that it could be treated with Monistat (Miconazole) such as used for women's yeast infections. We started treating her with that.  

We discovered this great spray in the horse department at Tractor Supply. It was less expensive than using Monistat and it provides a broader coverage.  The treatment takes weeks! The spray can be used as a treatment, as well as, a preventative.  It seemed to be healing, but not as soothing as the next product.

We later discovered this wonderful anti-fungal lotion at a vet's office. It is available without a prescription and can be ordered online. It seems to be very soothing, as well as, very healing! Our cat, Odie, goes outside. Although he didn't develop welts on his skin, he did lick his fur on his belly to such excess as to lick the fur off and create lick sores. This lotion seemed to stop the itch and desire to lick. It can be distributed through the wet fur following a bath or put on the dog or cat's dry fur, as needed to reduce the desire to lick. The animals are well now, but have recently developed some mysterious shaking of their ears. I've begun suspecting fungal involvement and again went to the internet for answers.  I found this great resource:  Anti-fungal Ear Treatment. We have learned to stay out of the wind and limit the pets contact with the soil. We hope this helps keep you and your pets healthy!   

The Mystic Maze

The "Topock or Mystic Maze" is an officially designated archaeological site 12 miles southeast of Needles, CA. It is a 100 acre site with a 100 year controversy! 

Three hypotheses have been studied: 

1. That the gravel rows were made in conjunction with prehistoric agricultural activity.

2. That they were made as geoglyphs or earthen art and/or for prehistoric use in ceremony.

3. That they were byproducts of a modern gravel procurement operation and erosion control in conjunction with the construction of the railroad bridge and bed grade.     

Go to the following link for an entertaining explanation of the history of the Mystic Maze: SCA Proceedings, Volume 25 (2011)    

The Mystic Maze was locked into the minds of the public as a spectacular Indian ceremonial site when this artist's fanciful rendition of the then believed to be maze was released as a postcard for tourists. The artist accentuated the windrows of gravel as a maze, enlarged the rocks making them appear to be hand placed, and added Indians based on a rumor of their involvement with the structure's creation.

From Needles take Hwy. 40 south to Park Moabi Road. Turn right, which is the opposite direction from Pirate's Cove. Turn left at the first road and go until the pavement ends. Turn left and go about a mile down this well maintained road. The archaeological site is on the left side of the road. It sits back a ways from the road beyond a cabled boundary. You will see an industrial complex further ahead down the road. 

While visiting the area, a lizard came out to greet Roy, the lizard man! Do you see it? It blends in well with its surroundings!

Here it is and still looking quite camouflaged!

We enjoyed our first hand look at the Mystic Maze and getting to meet this lizard. We think you would enjoy this site, too!