As we drove up to the downtown square, I had flashbacks of Denton, Texas ~ the town we called home from the time Nate was born until two years ago when we moved.

Denton summers were full of parades, events, ice cream and running into friends.

I love small towns with squares and courthouses. There is something amazingly quaint and cozy about hometowns like Denton.

Prescott, Arizona reminded me so much of Denton, Texas.

Prescott has some amazing history ~ most of it centered around Whiskey Row.

On July 14, 1900, this block was totally destroyed by fire. Within a few days of the fire, new construction was underway in brick and masonry. Most of the buildings on this block were constructed between the fall of 1900 and 1905, and include Sam’l Hill Hardware Company, the Highland Hotel, the Palace, the Levy Building, and the Hotel St. Michael. All of these buildings are constructed with permanence and appearance in mind in styles typical of early 20th century buildings.

Most of the color and stories of Prescott originated in this one block landmark that still celebrates that fact that it once hosted over 40 saloons. If you have ever been to Downtown Prescott and witnessed “The Row”, it would be hard to imagine that so many saloons could have fit on one block. Prior to 1877, “The Row” was rumored to have been located a couple blocks to the west of its present location. But it was moved due to the insistence of many of the local employers and wives, because the patrons of “The Row” had to cross a foot bridge over Granite Creek to return home and in the wet season, some of the more sot would fall into this very shallow creek and drown.

Some buildings were architecturally progressive, such as Sam’l Hill Hardware Company, or architecturally outstanding, such as the Palace and the Hotel St. Michael. All present a united front to the Courthouse Plaza, resulting in a unique turn-of-the-century facade which is essentially intact today.

We  parked right in front of this store… yummy ~ ice cream, ten million types of popcorn, peanut brittle, taffy… heaven. {The peanut brittle reminded me of my dad… ::waves hello::}

Hello, Love!

This sign cracked me up! I love it!

Prescott was a lovely change from the 111 degrees were having in Phoenix. It was green and breezy… so nice.

There were friendly people with big smiles, great shops, delicious food and trees! {This relocated desert girl misses her trees sometimes}

Be sure you wander into each shop ~ some of these shops were just facades that lead to entire collections of shops!

On the way home, we stopped at Sunset Point. This historic rest stop opened in 1970. For the last two years, every time we went north towards Flagstaff, it has been closed for renovations…

It was almost Sunset. I am so glad we stopped.

 Happy Fourth of July, friends! Get out there and make some memories!