The Pleasant Valley Trip in Young, AZ.

One afternoon, my husband, and my daughters A and S, suddenly, decided to go for a ride to Young, AZ. It is an hour and 15 minutes drive from where I live. I decided to stay home to finish my household chores, do some errands in town and mainly, to be left alone.

This is A posing with the sword that belonged to Geronimo when he surrendered. He was a
feared leader of the Apache Indian in the 1800. To the Apaches, Geronimo embodied the very essence of the Apache values, aggressiveness, courage amidst adversities. The Spaniards raided and killed Geronimo's young wife and child, thus, caused him to hate the whites and vowed to kill as many as he could.
My daughter, S, posing in front of the cabin where Frank used to live in 1946. Frank Chapman is the owner of this property. The house is no longer livable at this time. It has a musty odor not having been occupied for a long time. Frank now owns a modern house.

Frank teased the girls that he wouldn't mind having them in exchange for horses. He did not only say it once but several times. The girls didn't care for his sense of humor and were rather pissed off! My husband went along with joke and told the guy that he is not easy person to deal with and that he would want many many horses from the exchange. The moment they arrived home, A rushed inside and told me the story. I thought that was funny.
When the creek changed its path coming too close to the backdoor, they had to move the cabin to a new location. In 1946, Frank spent his childhood years in this cabin. Original cabin was built in 1878. Many years thereafter, rooms had been added but this particular cabin was the original one. If you see closely, you will see round bullet holes which were presumably from Indians' attacks. There are also some bigger holes to put the gun barrel through to defend themselves from attackers. It was sure a hard life those days. I wouldn't want to live in fear and in constant watch of my back in my own home.
This is the oldest tractor from the Pleasant Valley. It doesn't work anymore.
This saddle was used by Olga Young in about 1900 for 50 years. She was the postmaster of the Pleasant Valley, which was later named after her. So, that is how Young got its name.
Good shot of my husband holding the sword of Geronimo. Notice the two buttons of his shirt came undone? Hehehe...

Here are some qoutes from Geronimo, the great warrior.

• I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds, and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes
• I was living peacefully when people began to speak bad of me.
• Now I can sleep well, eat well and be glad. I can go anywhere with a good feeling.
• The soldiers never explained to the government when the Indian was wronged, but reported the misdeeds of the Indians.
• We took an oath not to do any wrong to each other or to scheme against each other.
• I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us.
• There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say.
• When a child, my mother taught me to knell and pray to Usen for strength, health, wisdom, and protection.
• Sometimes we prayed in silence, sometimes each one played aloud, sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us...and to Usen.
• I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures.