Oracle, Arizona is a community of about 4,000 that live just northeast of Tucson, AZ. There are ranchers, poets, farmers, miners, artists, and normal everyday people who have struggled through the ups and down of mining, cattle ranching, and all the trials and tribulations that bring a community together. You will find many churches here, and not many bars or taverns. One of my favorite places to eat is Casa Rivera's Mexican Restaurant. My favorite trading post is the Jerry and Sue Trading Post. Jerry is an artist who makes old metal pieces turn into amazing pieces of art. One of his sculptures is called Skeleton Crew and is located in the nearby town of Mammoth. It depicts the hard working miners who worked late shifts, night shifts, and tried to eke out a living underground in most cases, spending long tedious hours mining gold, silver, copper, and what ever brought money. They were a hardy lot. This community is a mixture of the old, new, and evolving life styles with a feeling that everyone cares for everyone. My pictures capture some of the life of the community, but I wish I could encourage the every day tourist to take the time to not just drive through, but explore the Oracle State Park, walk some of the trails, check off the sites I have noted in this book as kind of a scavenger hunt to see in and out of Oracle. some of the ranches noted in this book have overnight accommodations, weekly accommodations, and receptions for weddings, reunions, and family gatherings. If you want to go horse back riding, yep, got that! If you want to hike the trails looking for the gold or silver nugget that some other miner overlooked, yep, got that. If you can take the time to cautiously climb 2 o'clock Hill, you will see a beautiful view of Oracle, and you can even see Picacho Peak from here. Picacho Peak is on I-10 Between Phoenix and Tucson. (I climbed it with my son-in-law and daughter. You need a pair of good gripping gloves.) Take the time to visit the Historical Society Building, the Tri Community Building, and walk the Oracle Cemetery. So much to see and do. You could spend half a day just browsing through all the stuff and art work to be found at Jerry and Sue's Trading Post. A meal at the Oracle Inn would occupy a few hours if you just let yourself relax and enjoy. So, can you find sleeping quarters in Oracle? Yep. There are bed and breakfast accommodations, and a chalet type motel available. Oracle will be worth several visits to inhale the feeling, and let yourself relax and meld into the history of the community. Put Oracle on your "to do" list, and don't let the years pass by.
About the Author: Stuart Watkins lives in SaddleBrooke, AZ. He taught in Oracle, AZ and has visited many times, including climbing 2 o'clock Hill numerous times. Stuart is a poet and is currently President of the Tucson Poetry Society. He has published several books including Arizona: 100 Years, 100 Poems, 100 Poets to celebrate Arizona's 100th year of Statehood in 2012. His next book was Black and White are only Shades of Gray, or so they say. It is a collection of his short stories, poems, memoirs, and some wit and humor. His book titled The House that Ran Away is for parents and grandparents to read to their children. This is about a house that got tired of being neglected, tired of the noise the children made running up and down the stairs, slamming the doors, banging balls against the walls, and it just ran away one day when everyone was gone. A fun read. Stuart's next book is titled Kona, Hawaii, Walking Alii Drive. It includes amazing pictures of sites that most tourists overlook while visiting Kona. He took pictures of beautiful gates, unusual mail boxes, designs on houses, sacred sites, and if one finds all the sites in this book, a feeling of knowing Kona will encompass the reader. He has recommended places to eat, and has captured the feeling of walking Alii Drive quite well.