Flagstaff, Arizona, USA - 30th August 2009
By: ashl_bee
Unfortunately, there has been more rain this week, but the other Tv's and I got to learn a little more about Flagstaff and all the interesting things to do here.
Flagstaff lies near the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, along the western side of the largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest in the continental United States and is adjacent to Mount Elden, just south of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountain range in the state of Arizona. The first permanent settlement was in 1876, when Thomas F. McMillan built a cabin at the base of Mars Hill on the west side of town. During the 1880s, Flagstaff began to grow, opening its first post office and attracting the railroad industry. By 1886, Flagstaff was the largest city on the railroad line between Albuquerque and the west coast of the United States.
In 1894, Massachusetts astronomer Percival Lowell hired A. E. Douglass to scout an ideal site for a new observatory. Douglass, impressed by Flagstaff's elevation, named it as an ideal location for the now famous Lowell Observatory. In 1930, Pluto was discovered using one of the observatory’s telescopes.
Route 66 was completed in 1926 and ran through Flagstaff. Flagstaff was incorporated as a city in 1928, and in 1929, the city's first motel, the Motel Du Beau, was built at the intersection of Beaver Street and Phoenix Avenue. The Daily Sun described the motel as "a hotel with garages for the better class of motorists." The units originally rented for $2.60 to $5.00 each, with baths, toilets, double beds, carpets, and furniture. Flagstaff went on to become a popular tourist stop along Route 66, particularly due to its proximity to the Grand Canyon.
Flagstaff grew and prospered through the 1960s. During the 1970s and 1980s, however, many businesses started to move from the city center, and the downtown area entered an economic and social decline. Sears and J.C. Penney left the downtown area in 1979 to open up as anchor stores in the new Flagstaff Mall, joined in 1986 by Dillard's. By 1987, the Babbitt Brothers Trading Company, which had been a retail fixture in Flagstaff since 1891, had closed its doors at Aspen Avenue and San Francisco Street.
In 1987, the city drafted a new master plan, which would transform downtown Flagstaff from a shopping and trade center into a regional center for finance, office use, and government. During the 1990s, the downtown area underwent a revitalization, many of the city sidewalks were repaved with decorative brick facing, and a different mix of shops and restaurants opened up to take advantage of the area's historical appeal.
As home to a major astronomical observatory, the city has recognized an interest in preserving its dark skies by keeping light pollution to a minimum. In 1958, the city council passed the nation's first ordinance governing outdoor lighting, and similar ordinances in the latter half of the 20th century have maintained this commitment to preserving Flagstaff's dark skies. On October 24, 2001, Flagstaff was recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association as the world's first "International Dark-Sky City."
Also, Flagstaff is sister cities with Barnaul (Russia), City of Blue Mountains (Australia), Hsin Tien City (Taiwan), and Manzanillo (Mexico). I learned a lot of interesting facts about this beautiful town that I could write a whole book about it!
Ashley told me that I should be heading onto my next host soon. I am very excited!
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Posted Sep 6, 2009, 4:59 am
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Casa Grande, Arizonia, United States of America - 19th September 2009
By: zeroghostly
Look Mama I made it!
Today i arived to Casa Grande, Arizonia-
Zero told me of some adventures we will be going on,
and I think the one im most excited about is Disneyland!!
Im just so excited!
Right when i got out of my stuffy envelope Zero was quick to introduce me to her family,
This is one of her nice cats, his name is Emo, she named him emo [short for emotional] becuase when he was just a bitty kitty he used to cry and cry and cey [he still does] but later on she found out he cry's becuase he's blind.
Then i met two of her RATS! Can you belieave it!! she has RATS!!
of corse we became the best of friends,
here is myself on top of there house
and then theres me again greeting this lovely girl named Denia.
and then this sassy little girl. her name is flower,
Zero says she has four rats, but these are the only two i got pictures with, ill be sure to get pictures with the others before i leave though!
One of the ratties is an excape artest says zero, her names caramell and shes currently liveing in her dresser in her room, LOL
and the other is an all white baby named Alakay shes just a baby and is quite shy,
oh yes and two of Zero's rats are Dumbo's
oh and she also has two mice named Awon and Pants, they were asleep so we let them rest,
and here is me meeting Zero's little sissters,
the one on the right in blue is Sydney the one one the left is Bailey-annabelle
And this is the littest sisster ha! she fell asleep on the floor how cute, her name is Emily-skye and she just went to sleep in the hallway!!
I still have yet to meet her brother, Theodore [he dosent like to take pictures] her mother Melissa [who was sleeping when i arived] and her stepdad David [who was out and about running errands]
today we did not do much, Rode some bikes, watched the sunset, and made some soup! and just relax's took a nap,
Zero said her mother and her might go out later tonight on a trip to walmart, they tend to do that in there spare time they said its an adventure and most of the time they don;t even buy anything! how silly
well here are some pictures from today
the nice sunset;
Zero's sisster Bailey-annabelle gave me a spin on her bike!
she said i can take a spin on my own if i wanted too but Im afraid her bike was just a tad too big
oh and while i was outside i met her other kitty his name is Christofur, the cat's are not alloud outside without someone out there with them, kinda like dogs! how strange,
makeing some yummy soup!
and finnaly nap time!
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Posted Sep 19, 2009, 4:21 am
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Casa Grande,Arizonia, United States of America - 21st September 2009
By: zeroghostly
Hello mum!!
Sorry for the late update Zero was just too sleepy to update lastnight
but here we go!
We diden't do much just sat around and watched movies and relaxed.
Zero and I were SUPPOSED TO go to a concert, to see her favorite band Blink 182
but her mom had to work so we diden't get to go, she was so upset so we just watched movies all day
the first movie we watched was one of Zero's favorites!
It was a great movie!!
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 romance film made in the United States. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Rhodes, and Jerry Orbach. The story is a coming of age drama that documents a young débutante's rebellion against her father by starting a relationship with a dance instructor during a family summer vacation. Almost a third of the film involves dancing scenes choreographed by Kenny Ortega, and the finale has been described as "the most goosebump-inducing dance scene in movie history".
[taken from wiki]
and then we watched Eturnal Sunshine of spotless mind, wich is also one of zero's favorites. she would recommend this movie is ANYONE, and mama i must agree it was a really good movie!
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American drama by French director Michel Gondry. The film uses elements of science fiction and neosurrealism to explore the nature of memory and romantic love.[1] It opened in North America on March 19, 2004 and grossed over US$70 million worldwide.
Gondry worked on the story with Charlie Kaufman and Pierre Bismuth, a French performance artist. Together, they won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2005. The film stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet and features Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, Jane Adams, and David Cross.
[taken from wiki]
ooh and we had subway!
Zero was sure to share some, shes a vegetarian
[6 years and counting] so of course her sandwich was all veggies!
And i got to meet Zero's mom finally!
she was verry nice but also very sleepy she just got off work from working 20 hours! but she was a good spot and posed in a picture with me!
and in the end we ended the day by playing an online game called World of Warcraft,
Zero promises today's update will be far more excited that yesterdays ha
Love you and miss you-
Ricky T. Rat
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Posted Sep 21, 2009, 12:59 am
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Casa Grande, AZ , United States of America - 30th September 2009
By: zeroghostly
Hey!!
We have just been so busy over here,
We havent had time to update plus Zero got bit by an ant [shes highly allergec] so she had to go to the hospital for 6 hours
But we will have an update tonight!
promise!
as soon as the battery for the camera is charged
we had loadsss of fun at disneyland!
oh oh oh! and we went to the beach!!!!!!
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Posted Sep 30, 2009, 6:41 pm
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