Those Pesky Rights-of-Way

All right, already. Call me picky, picky. However, today marked the second time that our daily newspaper has printed the same incorrect map. On page 1. Story about Lincoln School's property problem. How do I know? Well, I happen to walk the area frequently, as you may have noted. Examine the map above. Picture yourself in your car, heading straight up Beach street from the back side of the Sharlot Hall Museum to get to Lincoln school.

Oh oh! What have we here? Look what's ahead of you. Even in your SUV, you aren't going to get up this little cliff! Pretty, though. Quite walkable -- there's a well worn neighborhood path. Yes, this is on some maps as part of Beach Street.

Now here's the map with my corrections. See the little stub of Beach? See the "new" street going past the other side of the United Methodist Church over to Gurley? MapQuest online has corrected its map to this configuration. On the other hand, my 2003 edition of the Yavapai/Coconino Counties Street & Road Atlas still shows the map just as the Courier printed it.

By the way, that isn't the only Prescott street found on some maps that in the real world goes over a cliff. Likely, the problem is that city rights-of-way do exist and the map makers mistake them for actual thoroughfares. No way. They should get out on the land more often!

As for the Lincoln School property problem -- I'd say that the city should quietly deed its "strip of land" over to the school and be done with it. After all, it did pass the whited-out portion of Beach Street to the adjacent land-owner, I'm told. And, after all, city had apparently lost the piece of land which the school has used for all these years. Isn't there a term for land ownership that passes as a result of long-term use? Oh, yes -- squatters' rights.

Of a Tuesday Afternoon Walk Downtown

Before setting off down the hill, I was determined to get a picture of the long-flowered 4 o'clock seed presentation. What else can one call it? Pretty little cups, each containing a single seed, which will soon roll out and down to the ground.

Approaching the lush garden down at the corner, what should I spot but several butterflies. I have to take back my whining about this year's shortage. All along my walk today, there were great numbers of Painted Ladies -- almost as if they were suddenly coming into bloom. Was I wrong about the lack of butterflies? Had I missed them because I refused to take the long walk downtown in the summer heat? I've no idea.

As ever, there were lost things. I really hope that Luna was found. As for the Easter egg, I wonder if it's been missing since spring.

I chose the little cliff path that connects upper and lower Beach Street. It's an area that's been home to the homeless, to teen-age trysts, to heavy drinking and, yes, to an expanding agave plant complex. Originally, this stretch was public right-of-way, but I was told the city had ceded the land to one of the nearby property owners, presumably the United Methodist Church. Whoever is the new owner is now asserting their rights. Wonder what precipitated the sign below: a real incident or the lawyer warning of potential lawsuits.

It's a pretty, sylvan spot oh so close to the Square! I'm especially fond of the stone wall, all that remains of an old house that overlooked the path for many years.

Downtown, a pause to admire the rooftop garden of El Gato Azul. The owners have landscaped nicely on the ground, too. Further along, on Granite Street, my day was completed by this unexpected chair at Fancy That. Ah, paisley! I've sung its praises before. And will again.