The official word: the Patagonia Museum enjoyed another educational and entertaining bus tour to Mexico. On November 9, 10 and 11, museum guests traveled to Casa Grandes, Chihuahua and Mata Ortiz.

Highlights of the tour included a picnic lunch at Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus, New Mexico, a guided tour of Paquime and El Museo de las Culturas de el Norte, a pottery making demonstration in Mata Ortiz and a visit to the plaza at Viejo Casas Grandes .

Don’t take it from us…here’s what one of the participants had to say:

“Just wanted to thank you again for a great tour with wonderful people! You did a super job of getting everything organized and making adjustments when needed! Having Bobby Ronstadt along was an added bonus. Becky was also an excellent guide…..we learned so much!

Thanks to the generosity of the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, the Museum’s home (formerly the Patagonia Elementary School) is looking pretty spiffy, if we do say so ourselves.

The Museum was awarded a grant by the South32 Hermosa Project Community Fund and used it to contract with Doctor Construction out of Tucson who was definitely up for the challenge.

A much need paint job and repair to the wear and tear of the last century leads us to believe the grand old lady is good for the next 105 years.

If you haven’t stopped by to see us in a while, please do. We think you will be pleasantly surprised by the updates, particularly to the exhibits inside.  The Museum is open Thursday – Saturday 2 to 4. Other times are available by appointment.

Our Fall hours go into effect next week: Thur – Sat 2 to 4.

If you haven’t been up to check out the Museum recently, we have new things on exhibit and even more on the horizon. Special items from the George Proctor collection are making their way into our exhibit rotation.

Thanks to the people in the community who are helping make our vision of preserving the memories of eastern Santa Cruz county a reality. You know who you are and we appreciate your generosity.

The Patagonia Museum invites you to join us for our second fund-raising bus tour to Mata Ortiz on November 9, 10 and 11, 2019. We depart from Patagonia on Saturday, November 9, at 8 am. By mid-afternoon we arrive in Paquime and tour the Museo de las Culturas del Norte. We lodge and dine at the Hotel Hacienda in Nuevo Casas Grandes for 2 nights. On Sunday, we proceed to Mata Ortiz and view a pottery making demonstration, visit with several pottery makers and enjoy lunch provided by our Mata Ortiz hosts.Rebecca Orozco, a history and anthropology instructor at Cochise College and the University of Arizona, will provide commentary throughout our tour. Peter Dalton Ronstadt and Company will provide the musical entertainment during the tour. On Monday, we return through  Puerto Palomas and dine and shop at the Pink Store. We return to Patagonia by 6 pm that day.

The fee for Museum members is $550 per person (with double occupancy) and includes your transportation, lodging, entertainment and meals. There is a $50 per person surcharge for nonmembers of the museum. Membership to the museum is available to anyone interested in supporting our work and begins at $5 for students, $35 for individuals and $50 for families.

Please click on the link below to download the Tour Registration form that needs to be returned along with your check.

The Borderlands Earth Care Youth and The Patagonia Museum partnered to plant 4 apple trees and various native flora on June 17 and 18 at the Lochiel Schoolhouse.

The project included an elder sharing session on the evening of June 17. Bud Bercich, Gooch Goodwin, Maureen De La Ossa, Frank De La Ossa, Ramon De La Ossa, Bob Brandt, David Ellis and German Quiroga were the elders attending this event that was supported in part by a grant from the Patagonia Regional Community Fund.

Congratulations go to Gianna (Gigi) Martin who recently graduated from PHS. She began her school career in the building that now houses the Museum so it’s only fitting she was our inaugural Student Docent.

She helped us design the program and recruited her successor for which we also owe her a big round of thanks. Gigi is off to the University of Hawaii and we hope the scholarship she was awarded by the Museum Board will come in handy.

On a personal note, we are looking forward to hearing of your adventures, Gigi, knowing you will represent Patagonia well.  As Dr. Seuss said:

“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact.

And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act.

And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)

Kid, you’ll move mountains.”

The Patagonia Museum and Borderlands Restoration Network are collaborating to install apple trees and native vines at the Lochiel Schoolhouse.

On Monday, June 17, and Tuesday, June 18, the Borderlands Earth Care Youth will dig water-harvesting basins and plant 4 apple trees in the rear yard and native vines near the cistern of the Lochiel Schoolhouse. This activity is funded by the Patagonia Regional Community Fund and will include an elder sharing activity on Monday evening at the schoolhouse.

Visitors are welcome to join us on either day. Please, bring water, lunch and gloves.

Please join Murphy Musick on Monday, May 27, at 8:00 AM by the Patagonia Town Cemetery Flagpole. Murphy will walk the grounds and replace the small flags by the veteran’s headstones that are in poor shape. Please help him honor our veterans with new flags.

Best wishes to all for a safe Memorial Day holiday.

Thanks once again to our co-sponsor Borderlands Restorative Network and all the many volunteers who helped us pull off a wonderful day. Hundreds of people enjoyed the April 20th event in the Patagonia Town Park which included:

Speakers: (Connie Williams on climate change; Kate Tirion on permaculture; Sean Schrag-Toso on water resources; Rodo Sofranac on the Arizona Trail; Stephen Strom on Bears Ears; Kiyomi Morino on tree rings plus Ashley Avila & Connie Williams on our legacy). We extend heartfelt thanks to the organizations that sponsored the speakers: Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, the Deep Dirt Farm, Arizona Borderlands Democrats and the Patagonia Public Library.

Events: The Story Time Walk facilitated by Laura Wenzel, our librarian; kite giveaway & flying; face painting courtesy of  Patagonia Creative Arts Association; yoga in the park led by Samantha Shore of Sol Fit AZ plus movie screenings of “Modified: A Food Lover’s Journey into GMO’s” and “The Beaver Believers”.

Booths: Friends of Sonoita Creek;  Patagonia Area Resource Alliance;  AZ Democrats;  Borderlands Restoration native plant sale;  Energy bike demo; Friends of the Library book sale; Patches O’Nassis – Blue Road sustainable living demo, Tucson Audubon, the 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors and the Lending Shed rummage sale.

Food: Rose Quiroga’s burros thanks to the Museum; Cassina Farley’s baked goods; Jackrabbit BBQ foodtruck; Ovens of Patagonia sweets and entrees from The Happy Cooker.

Music: was provided by Mariachis Penumbra, Gertie and the T.O. Boyz, the Zach Farley Band, Rebekah & Matt Rolland and the Hog Canyon Band.

Tours & off-site activities: such as area tree plantings, an art show and recycling lessons were provided by the Tucson Audubon’s Paton Center for Hummingbirds, Nature Conservancy Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve, the Deep Dirt Farm & Institute, The Patagonia Museum, the Patagonia Regional Times, Patagonia Creative Arts Association/Tin Shed Theater and Borderlands Restoration.

If you missed the event, folks like Kayla Lewis-Simpson took lots of great photos. Please check out our EARTHfest photo gallery where we’ve saved some of the 2019 pics because preserving memories is what museums do.

Mark your calendars. EARTHfest will be back on April 18th, 2020. Until then, take good care of our environment. As we all know, there is no Planet B.