Janice Pell
March 31, a perfect Southern Arizona spring day, seventy-nine members of The Women of Quail Creek traveled by bus to spectacular Texas Canyon in the Little Dragoon Mountains for an enjoyable field trip touring the Amerind Museum and Art Gallery, followed by a tasty lunch complete with wine-tasting at the historic Triangle T Guest Ranch. Docents were stationed throughout the Amerind to answer questions and give information about the museum’s extensive collections of Native American art and artifacts which span a time period ranging from the last ice age to the present. The name Amerind is a combination of the words American and Indian. For many of the women it was their first visit to the museum, and they were surprised and delighted by the beauty of the Spanish Colonial Revival style buildings housing the exhibitions and by the vastness of the collections. A special treat was in store in the Art galleries—in addition to the permanent works with western themes, a special exhibition from the private collection of the Tucson Mountain Oyster Club was on display. If there were any complaints about the visit, it was only that more time was needed to truly experience the wonders of the Amerind.
Then it was on to the historic Triangle T Guest Ranch, one of the oldest guest ranches in the country and the site of the filming of the 1957 movie 3:10 to Yuma with Glenn Ford. Before lunch, the women posed for pictures in front of the bunkhouse featured in the film. During lunch, Linda Kelly, current owner of the ranch, told about the history of the property and the many famous people such as General Pershing, Steve McQueen, Will Rodgers and John Wayne that were guests. Afterward the ladies were free to wander around and visit the casitas, or just enjoy climbing around the majestic boulder formations. It was a fun filled day, enjoyed by all. To see a video of the trip put together by Eileen Sykora and Marianne Cobarrubias visit TWOQC website at www.womenqc.com.