Archive for the ‘Down By The River FAQ’ Category

Our San Pedro River B and B Pinterest Project

June 11th, 2013 by Mike Hug

Our San Pedro River B and B Pinterest Project is going strong.

Mike asked me if I would do a blog for Our San Pedro River B and B on the Pinterest Project that I have undertaken. “Who Me?” I protested. Since I am the one that has developed it and since I am taking time and effort to keep it updated, I guess I am the best one to talk about it. So I will share my pinning experience with you. To see our San Pedro River B and B Pinterest website, click on the picture or here. If you do go to the Pinterest site to see what is there you will be able follow me, if you wish.

This is a view of the Down By The River Pinterest Project that Angie has started.

As many of you know social media is becoming another way to market your business. Facebook, twitter, MySpace, linked in and now Pinterest all are ways to let potential guests know what you are doing and what you have to offer. Mike has been working on the Facebook website for about a year with some contributions from me, but Pinterest has been my project. I wanted this to be something different and when we got our website to link to Pinterest, the tech at our web hosting company, Inside Out, said that my concept was interesting and appealing. So far so good.

Initially it was fun to create the boards that reflect my likes; boards for food that we create, serve and food we would like to try; more boards to display the interior and exterior of our San Pedro River B and B; other boards to show the reasons to visit the area and the attractions that are near to us. I like to believe that I am a creative thinker. Board titles came to mind such as “ Starry , starry nights”, “Sights for sore eyes” and “ Make your tongue dance.” “Let us take you to your chamber” was another name I liked. Each board has a theme and purpose but the Chamber board main purpose is to show off the b and b with pictures of our rooms. Then it hit me – Pictures! Now what do I do? Where do I get the pictures and how do I upload them.

I did some uploading from the website and other locations but then I decided I could use the photos Mike had already taken. Oh but even better, another idea hit me. I have the ability to take pictures with my Kindle. (Handy item that Kindle!) After Mike emailed me pictures, I found I could upload them to my various Pinterest boards or in “Pinterest Speak” I could pin them! Since I could also pin my own pictures in the same way, I felt good and knew that I was on a roll! I found that I could also add a web link to Down By The River, our San Pedro River B and B. I am hoping that potential guests will see my pins and go to our website to see more about us and what we have to offer.

I am always open to ways to improve my pinning process and make the time I spend on the Pinterest Project easier. If you have some tips to make this more efficient and easier, let me know by commenting here on the blog or email us by clicking on the “Contact us” button. If you would prefer you can always go and reserve a room so that we can have the face to face contact and we can exchange ideas over the fine breakfast that we serve after your great nights sleep in our comfortable beds. It is so much nicer to share in person don’t you think? Just call Angie at the b and b to make that reservation.

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Canadian Travel Writer Highlights Down By The River

May 20th, 2013 by Mike Hug

In April, Angie and I hosted a Canadian travel writer Bruce Penton and his wife Barbara at Down By The River B and B. Bruce has owned and run papers but now he is free to be away from the day to day at times and be a travel writer as he tours different locales. After his visit to Southeastern Arizona, our San Pedro River B&B got a rave review by Bruce on Trip Advisor and then he followed that up with an article in the Kamloops This Week travel section. The article can be seen at their website, although I don’t know for how long. In case the article disappears into the archives we have a PDF of the article here.

Bruce stated that they had “a one-night stay at what must be one of the most spectacular bed and breakfasts in the States.” We have had other guests write in our book that Down By The River was one of the best or the best B and Bs that they have ever stayed in. However we have never had that put in public print before. We feel humbled by what has been said about our B and B and we thank Bruce for the kind praise he has given to our efforts to provide a great B and B experience to our guests.

Down By The River B and B offers world class breakfasts and a quiet ambiance not found in many places. Some guests state that we are off the beaten track but we say in return that this is where Memories are Made. Come for a visit to our St. David, AZ bed and breakfast and find out why this is the place to relax and enjoy.

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San Pedro River History

May 15th, 2013 by Mike Hug

The headwaters of the San Pedro River start in the foothill of the Sierra Madre Mountains 30 miles south of the US border in Mexico.

Today the San Pedro River is the major source of water sustaining the wildlife in Southeastern Arizona and Cochise County. In Arizona it is unusual to find a greenbelt as lush as you see along the San Pedro River. The river starts in the Sierra Manzanal as a spring about 30 miles south of the American border near the City of Cananea. The San Pedro River is about 140 miles long and flows north into the US terminating at the Gila River. Because of the water source provided by The San Pedro River, there are approximately 400 species of birds that can be found in the area at different times of the year. The San Pedro River Valley is one of the five best birding migration routes in the US. To protect this valuable resource, The San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area was set aside by The US Congress in 1988. The area covers nearly 57,000 acres and runs from the border to just south of our San Pedro River B & B in the town of Saint David, AZ.

The San Pedro is formed by a rift valley with mountain sky islands having peaks from 8,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation along the river valley. In the 1890s there was a seismic event, or earthquake, about 60 miles south of the border in Senora Mexico that actually changed the flow of the river. The area that is now the Town of St. David was once an ancient lake bed. During that time alluvial and clay deposits at the bottom of the lake gave St. David the artesian springs that add to the vitality of the area. These ponds and streams flow continuously to supplement the water sources for animals in the area. The San Pedro River Valley has been home to people for at least 13,000 years. There are many Clovis sites along the river and the prehistoric peoples hunted mammoths and bison in the area. Some sites along the river valley have been excavated for artifacts. A map that is on the Friends of the San Pedro Website show the San Pedro River Riparian Area features.

Charleston Narrows restricts the San Pedro River. Te hawks fly over looking for prey.

The Spanish first entered this area around 1539. Fray Marcos de Niza and his companion Esteban traveled in the San Pedro Valley in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola – The Cities of Gold. Coronado, believing the rumors, decided to lead an expedition up the San Pedro River Valley to the Gila one year later. He continued on to the Zuni Villages in New Mexico and probably ventured into present day Kansas before turning back without finding anything. There is a very interesting book written by Douglas Preston called the Lost Cities of Gold that traces Coronado’s route and recaps the contrast of the area found then and now. After Coronado failed, Father Kino worked his way up the Santa Cruz River Valley and established missions all the way to Tucson. In 1776, The Spanish started building The Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate along the western bank of the San Pedro River just north of where Highway 82 is today. Because of the Apache attacks and the tough life, the fort was abandoned in 1780.

Fur trappers lead by James Ohio Pattie followed the San Pedro River in the 1820s and called it the Beaver River because of all the beaver that were in the area. The beaver dammed the river and created swamps or cienegas which are permanently saturated wetlands. The beavers were trapped out over the years and beaver dams were dynamited to remove mosquitoes that caused malaria. With the removal of the dams, much of the river swamps and cienegas disappeared. Beavers were reintroduced around the San Pedro House in the 2000s.

Northern Harrier searching for prey.

In 1877, a year before the silver discovery in Tombstone, Saint David was founded by Mormon Settlers. Saint David has the distinction of being the oldest continuously inhabited community in Cochise County. There are many descendants of the original families still living in the area. After Tombstone was established, there were many towns that sprung up along the San Pedro River including Charleston, Contention and Fairbank, all of which are now ghost towns. Ranches were established along the San Pedro including the Clanton Ranch, and the Boquillas Ranch. There is a petroglyph trail that is located just north of Charleston Crossing on the San Pedro River.

Down By The River Bed and Breakfast lies just to the north of the San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area on the banks of the San Pedro River. There is easy access to the San Pedro River from the property for birding enthusiasts. Our San Pedro River B&B is open all year and allows birders the luxury of lodging close to the San Pedro River. Birding in the area is good at all times of the year. During the spring and summer, flycatchers live off the insects that are found around the San Pedro. Tent caterpillars are found feeding on the leaves of the cottonwood trees that grow along the river. Harks, eagles and vultures are flying overhead during the day looking for prey or carrion. The area is home to as many as 84 species of mammals, 100 plus species of birds that make the valley their year-round home and numerous reptiles and amphibians. During the migration periods there are over 250 species of birds that use the San Pedro River as a flight corridor. Approximately 100 butterflies also migrate through the San Pedro Valley. We have seen raccoons, skunks, coatimundi, mule deer, white tail deer, javelina, grey fox, coyote, bobcats, squirrels and even a small bear. Neighbors have seen cougar many years ago.

The San Pedro River flooding can be so strong that trees are uprooted and flow down the river during the monsoon season.

After non-Arizonans see the San Pedro River, some have told us that from where they come from this is only a creek or crick. Most of the year, the San Pedro is a quiet river without a large flow. In some places the San Pedro appears to disappear and people think that it dried up. That is not the case. The San Pedro goes underground in some areas but is still flowing. If you dig down a short depth in the river channel, you will find water. We built the Lodging Hub of Cochise County, Down By The River BnB along the San Pedro, the river has never stopped flowing. In July and August, there are times that the river is flowing bank to bank and is at least 10 feet deep. During heavy monsoon storms the river can be heard roaring. In some cases even the washes are flowing and there is a roar that can also be heard from that direction.

The San Pedro River during most of the year is s slow moving river that allows the migratory birds to have food and water.

The San Pedro River flooding occurs during the summer rainy season. with the river reaching 10 feet depths.

Water is the life blood of the desert and supports the animals that live within the area. We do have people that come to this part of Arizona just to see the monsoons and to photograph the lightning storms. If you would like to have a little adventure and experience vivid sunsets after watching and hearing a Southeastern Arizona afternoon thunderstorm, then come on down to Saint David in July and August. With a little luck you might even be blessed to see a double rainbow. They do happen here and we have the wide open spaces to take it all in. We are at 3800 feet in elevation, generally 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix and a lot wetter. The smell of the desert when the rains come is something that I have always loved. You can experience all of this when you stay at Down By The River and watch an Arizona rain storm during the summer.

A monsoon sunset in Southeastern Arizona can be spectacular.

A double rainbow is on display during a monsoon storm just at sunset.

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What is that wind sock for across the road?

March 6th, 2013 by Mike Hug

There are a lot of unusual things and interesting people that are found in Cochise County. We have famous people, people that provide optics to the military and NASA, people that are cowboy poets and story tellers, a doctor that specializes in immunity problems such as when molds infect the body, visionaries that want to protect the environment, people that are authors and I could go on with more examples. We also have people who have different occupations that they are good at doing. I wrote about one person, Wezil, who has spent his whole adult life doing bird tours for clients. There are also people who have hobbies that aren’t the normal ones.

One of the questions that I have gotten when I talk to guests is “What is that windsock for? Is there a landing strip over there on the other side of the road?” Well as a matter of fact, there are two landing strips here at DMR Ranch where Down By The River, a San Pedro River B and B, is located. Chester is one of the first people that we met when Barb and I came down here and decided to build our b&b. He is a first class heavy equipment operator and did all the excavation on the property when we built this southeastern Arizona b&b. Chester also has an airstrip on the other side of Efken which he uses for his hobby.

The fan from the paraplane inflates the chute prior to taking flight.

Chester has flown off the landing strip many times since we have been here. He operates less now than when we moved into the b and b in 2005. This is mainly due to the cost of fuel. Every once in a while when the weather is nice and calm, he goes out, checks the strip for holes and rocks and then preps his paraplane for flight. He is able to fly for an hour or so and then returns home.

An explanation of Chester’s wonderful flying machine is in order here. Paraplanes were developed in the early 1980s. The paraplane is made of two main parts. One is the specially designed parachute that gives the plane lift and the other part is the framework that is the seat for the pilot and supports the motor and fan that powers the plane. The frame can be best explained as something you would use in a swamp with the big fan at the back. The only difference is that this frame has wheels instead of floatation devices.

The paraplane take off can be done in a relatively short distance.

The parachute is laid out on the ground behind the fan in a specific manner. After starting the engine, the fan blows air at the parachute and the chute lifts off the ground into the air. Letting off the brake the frame moves forward and the chute rises further. It takes approximately 50 feet to become airborne and after a couple of circles around the field the plane has reached enough height to pass over the power lines and surrounding hills. The paraplane is steered by leaning left or right to make turns. To gain height you increase the fan speed or reduce the speed if you want to lose elevation and land.

Paraplane in flight over our B and B

When Chester flies, it is usually on a Sunday morning when there is no wind. We have had guests watch him take off after breakfast. The last time he flew, I got my camera and took pictures of him taking off. His paraplane has a colorful chute and I am sure that this helps other planes see him as he is flying. It is fun to watch him leave but I think that having my two feet on the ground works just as well for me. If I fly, I like fixed wing aircraft since it gives me a greater sense of security. But that is just me. If you are lucky when you come on your visit to Down By The River, you will have a glimpse of Chester as he takes off or lands.

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Wezil Walraven – Birding Tour Guide

February 20th, 2013 by Mike Hug

Since our bnb is on the San Pedro River at the northern end of the San Pedro National Riparian Conservaiton Area, we have many birding guests at Down By The River B and B. They will relate to us what they found and the locations that they have been at during their trip. A recent guest couple told us about their experience with a “Wonderful Birding Tour Guide” that they had met when they first came to Cochise County to stay on a birding vacation. They told us of a couple of tours that he was their guide and escort. They raved about how he was able to take them to just the right areas and finding the birds that they had hoped to see on their trip to Cochise County, Arizona. With their rave review of the tour with their guide, we asked for his name and contact information. Since we are in a centralized location for Cochise County, we felt that learning about the guide might be a great benefit to our birder guests. We made an effort to contact Wezil and set up a time to meet and talk with him.

Angie and I finally were able to meet with Wezil Walraven on February 19^th when he stopped on his way home to New Mexico after spending time in Southeastern Arizona doing tours. Wezil told us that he is of Dutch decent and his name is pronounced like the animal, weasel although in Dutch it is Vesil. He told us that he had been doing birding for almost 40 years and really enjoys working with his clients. He told us that he was more of a teacher than a guide. He wants to be able to give them some guidelines to use when they are on their own. He also told us that he likes to have fun birding and related some stories about things that he has done.

Vermillion Flycatchers are found in the San Pedro River area and on the property of Down By The River B and B in St.. David.

Wezil is a senior tour guide for High Lonesome Bird Tours. He told us that he has gone all over doing tours but tends to stay in Southeastern Arizona and his home state of New Mexico. When he isn’t doing the High Lonesome tours he does his own tours under the name of Wezil Walraven Bird Tours. When he does a High Lonesome tour in this part of Arizona, he also can set up a reservation for private tours before and after High Lonesome tour before he returns back home to New Mexico. He told us that he has acquired a good knowledge of birds, their songs and behavior as well as knowledge of their habitat. He demonstrated some of the songs and gave us some insight on what we could find out the back door of our BnB on the San Pedro River.

To that end he talked about our area here at the Northern End of the San Pedro River National Riparian Conservation Area. He was telling us that there are Gray Hawks and Western Screech Owls along the river in this area. He also confirmed that we had probably seen Golden Eagles last year and the Mississippi Kite in early February. He said that the Mississippi Kite used to be in the Winkleman area and had migrated down into this area maybe 10 years ago. He said that this is one of the unique locations for finding this bird and the Gray Hawks. As we talked, he told us that March through May are good birding months in this part of the state. But he went on to state that June is very good too. That is because the birds are nesting and they stay close and are therefore easier to spot.

Wezil can be contacted through his website, email wezil@wezilwalravenbirdtours.com or phone him at 828-575-3107 to set up a tour reservation. Angie and I believe that you will be pleased with your experience with Wezil.

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Birding Areas Near Down By The River B and B

January 20th, 2013 by Mike Hug

Lesser Goldfinch and Warblers love to visit the feeders

Birding is one of the many things to do in Southeastern Arizona, in particular Cochise County, and our B&B is near to all these locations. In fact there is a path to the San Pedro River that is right out the back door of our BnB. The B and B is located on the west side of the tree lined San Pedro River away from the noise of Highway 80. We keep most of the 15 plus acres of the property natural so that the wildlife has shelter and food sources. We do keep feeders for the birds and the resident birds frequent them. Many finches, sparrows, doves and quail frequent the feeders during the day. During the spring summer and fall the hummingbirds are always around to grab a sip of nectar. There are the territorial hummingbirds that run the others off but once in a while a hummingbird will hold it ground and fight. If you want to get up close and personal, sit in a chair on the patio, sip some wine and wear some read ear rings. You may hear a hum next to your ear. turn slowly as it will probably be a hummingbird looking for a drink.

We do get the Raptors at times that come over the field on the hunt. I did do a blog on a Northern Harrier that

Northern Harrier flies low over the back acreage looking for prey.

spent most of the spring gliding over the property. He was back again in the fall and we see him every once in a while this winter. In the mornings and afternoons during the spring we have some American Kestrels that show up and hover over the fields. It is fun to watch them dive down for a morsel and fly back up to a limb and then repeat the cycle. We do have Red Tail Hawks in the area but last summer we had something larger. It took a while but I got a long shot at the bird sitting on a limb of a tree at the river. After walking toward the tree I saw how big the limb was and my best guess along with some other birders that were here was that we had spotted a golden eagle. We saw that bird many times over the summer. Just after the New Year we were coming home late at night and an owl took flight from a pole as we came around the corner. We couldn’t tell what type but there have been Great Horned Owls seen at the San Pedro by Angie and me last summer. Check out this list we have of birds that have been spotted on the property.

Vermillion Flycatchers are found in the San Pedro River area and on the property of Down By The River B and B in St.. David.

There are other locale areas that are near the bnb in Benson and St. David. Benson has a birding trail that is near the waste water plant along the San Pedro River. This can be reached by heading north on Ocotillo Road at the corner where Safeway is located. Go under the I – 10 freeway and turn right at the sign for the San Pedro Valley Golf Course. Turn left at the T and follow the road to the waste water plant. The other local area is the Holy Trinity Monastery that is about 1/2 mile north of the B and B on the east side of the river. The Monastery has an award winning birding trail that was dedicated in 1993 that starts on their property. The Monastery also has pond and 150 acres of open area adjacent to the tree lined river. There is also a trail south of St. David along the San Pedro River at Fairbanks. This trail is wooded and goes back to the ghost town of Contention. For other birding areas click here for a list of locations and then reference the map below to get a perspective of distance from the B & B.

It has been a bit on the cold side in Arizona over the last week and so the birds are really hitting the feeders. It

Black-chinned Hummingbird taken by our guest Egil from Norway.

seems that the year is moving along relatively fast for us. Christmas came and went and now we are half way through January. The birds will start migrating back through the area in March and April. In April of 2008, we had a birder that spent three days at the b and b either on the porch or with occasional walks to the river and sited 53 birds. She was very excited that she could find such a large population in such a small area. I was amazed that she could identify that many birds in such a short time. Migration isn’t too far off and we have future guests that have already made their reservations for that time of the year. Check out our list of the birds that have been seen on the property and at the San Pedro River that flows behind the property. Come join us and see what we have to offer. We are centrally located so that trips to other birding areas are close by. We just updated the map. Please right click on the map below and click on view image to get the full size map and you can see what I mean.

Down By The River B and B is “The Lodging Hub of Cochise County” and you can see all the things to do in the area from this map

Tags: Bird waching BnB, bird watching San Pedro River, San Pedro River B and B
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Guest Shares Experience

October 31st, 2012 by Mike Hug

We recently had a small item show up in the Arizona Republic. The item was published on October 28, 2012 in the travel section. We have had other items published in newspapers by travel editors including the Republic. What surprised us was that this item was one that a reader shared with the paper. The reader has been a guest here on multiple occasions and she took it upon herself to let others know what her experiences were when she had visited our B and B. We didn’t know that this was published until we got some phone calls from people that said they had read about us in the paper.

It really is gratifying to know that you have positively affected someones experience to the point that they want to tell others about how much they liked what we do and how we do it. Both Angie and I feel that this type of compliment is humbling. It also tells us that our focus on the guests and making their memories of Down By The River B and B unforgettable is on the right track.

Additionally, Judy’s item was followed by another reader talking about the John Slaughter Ranch near Douglas, AZ. I showed the location of the ranch in one of my previous blogs. The ranch is a little over an hour away from Down By The River, the “Lodging Hub of Cochise County” and we have visited it. In an upcoming blog I will go into some details on what you can expect to see there.

We would like to thank all our guests and especially Judy for the confidence that they show in us to take the time and effort to share their experience at Down By The River B and B. It means a lot to us to know that we are able to provide a great get away for our guests.

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New Years Eve at the River

October 26th, 2012 by Mike Hug

Sometimes we do get snow at the B and B but it doesn’t last very long. It is usually gone before noon.

Down By The River B and B has a tradition on New Years Eve. We celebrate the New Year with all of our guests and pop some Arizona Sparkling Wine at 12 AM. Every year we invite the guests that are staying with us and we invite some of our old neighbors and friends to attend.We celebrate the end of the old year and look forward to the next one which we always hope is better. The best part is that we don’t charge our guests any extra for the evening although there are some restrictions.

The tradition actually goes back before Barb and I started the BnB. We would have an open house with our neighbors and friends. After Barb and I had moved into the B and B, we decided to keep the tradition going. It has been over 20 years now that we have celebrated New Years Eve in this fashion. Our old friends and neighbors still make their way down to St. David every year to ring in the New Year at our southeast Arizona B&B with Angie and me. It is fun to make new memories and remember the old ones.

New Years Eve we provide a variety of snacks for our guests to enjoy

This year we decided to advertize the affair. and give people a chance to come join us. We have always had guests here on New Years Eve. Prior to this year, we would inform the guests when they make their reservations for that time of the year and ask them to join us. We start the festivities at 9:00 PM. There are munchies to eat and we have music on until close to midnight. At that point when we turn on the TV and watch the ball drop from Times Square. Last year we had guests in all the rooms from as many states along with our friends and neighbors. Karl brought a Yule Log for us to eat. It was mighty tasty. We had other items to taste like meat balls, shrimp, cheese and crackers and much more. We always find something enticing.

This year we decided to give out the information for perspective guests who are looking for something to do

Yule Log was brought by our friend Karl

on New Years Eve while visiting Southeastern AZ. Some of our guests have come to Arizona to root on their Alma Mater at the Fiesta Bowl and have extended their vacation to visit this part of the state. They have chosen us because of our central location to all the great things that make up Cochise County. So if you want to celebrate NYE at an Arizona B&B that is the Lodging Hub of Cochise County, consider Down By The River for the unique experience of ringing in the New Year.

The only requirement of the guests is to bring their own drinks and be in a cheerful mood. We also require that the reservation must be for a minimum of 2 days at the normal room charge. The use of discounts, certificates or gift cards are not allowed during the stay. Reservations are first come first served and the full non refundable charge will be taken at the time of the reservation.

Tags: New Years Eve BnB, New Years Eve Lodging, NYE B&B
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Website Updated

October 12th, 2012 by Mike Hug

Down By The River Bed and Breakfast announces that the new website is up and running. It has changed our presentation of the Bed and Breakfast into what we feel is a much more user friendly form. The Navigation bar is now across the top of the website with some drop down tabs. In the next couple of months you will see more content being added. We want this to be an informative site where our guests can see what is available to them when they visit Southeastern Arizona.

We will be working on expanding our information about the many delightful places that our guests are able to visit. We have done some exploring and we will have future items in the blog and also on the website about the different attractions. We recently added a page that lists all the wineries in Sonoita/ Elgin and in the Willcox/Sulphur Springs Valley areas near our b&b. All these wineries are within a short driving distance of the B&B. We also keep updating our website birding list when we see birds along the San Pedro River or on the B&B property. Our guests also tell us of birds that they have seen and if the bird isn’t on the list we will add it.

We are hoping to start offering more specials during the year and have a tab that will be used to highlight what we will be offering. We currently have a “Brewers Weekend” scheduled for the first Saturday in November that will allow the guest to see a demonstration on how to brew beer. We have had some comments on this and we will be ready to demonstrate the process and also have hand-outs on what we did. There are other events that are going on in the area and on our “Area Upcoming Events” page we list the events up to three months ahead of time. This page gets updated on a monthly basis so that guests can plan and schedule their trip. Take a look to see what is being offered in Cochise County. We are the “Lodging Hub” for the area with easy day trips to most of Cochise County and the eastern parts of Santa Cruz and Pima Counties, including Tucson.

We wish to thank Inside Out Solutions for the work that they put into the website. The old website was developed by Mike but was becoming outdated and wasn’t as functional as Down By The River B & B needed. We had many guests tell us that the old website didn’t do the B and B justice. After these types of comments were heard Mike looked at updating the website but time restraints kept him from being able to perform that task. We knew we needed to have the website revamped and so we chose Inside Out because of our long relationship with them. We are pleased with the resulting website that they have produced for our Southeast Arizona bnb. Let us know what you think about it by commenting on the blog or by going to our Facebook page and liking the post.

Tags: bnb SE AZ, Down By The River, San Pedro River B & B, San Pedro River BnB, tombstone bnb
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Working With Stained Glass

September 14th, 2012 by Mike Hug

Partial Picture of the 40 foot stain glass window in the Gadsen Hotel

I have made most of the stained glass on display at Down By The River B and B in the bedrooms and in the common areas for our guests to view. I always liked to look at what artists did with stained glass when I was growing up. When we traveled, the glass that I would see in churches fascinated me. I wondered how anyone could make such beautiful things out of glass. I lived in a small town and we didn’t have resources to explain to me how it was done and no one that I knew had an inkling of what it took to make those colorful scenes out of glass. I would help my mom clean the church so that I would be able to see the sun coming through the glass.

By chance in 1992, I found a glass shop that taught people how to work with glass. I had previously been buying pieces in stores, at swap meets and yard sales for gifts. When I walked in the door of the shop the variety of colors and shapes awed me. All the windows were covered with sun catcher creations and there were items hanging from the ceiling. Along one wall were shelves that contained sheets of glass of all sizes, types and colors for hobbyists to buy. Before I left the store I had signed up for the next class to learn how to work with glass.

Vendors display of glass for sale.

The class started out learning how to cut glass and not have the glass cut you. This was surprisingly not a simple thing to do when I first started. And I learned that cutting a curve is trickier than a straight line. When I broke the glass I learned what to do to prevent a crack that ruins the piece and not down the line I scribed. But after some practice I didn’t make the foolish mistakes that I did when I first hurried through the process.Learning to cut a piece of glass so that if fits perfectly into the pattern takes some time. Too big a gap and I had to re-cut the piece or fill the extra space with solder. Having the piece too large made the rest of the pattern looked shoved out of place. I thanked the person that invented the glass grinder many times. This can be expensive since the grinders are made out of diamond dust. It is better to learn how to cut correctly so that the grinder is not needed.

Cut pieces of glass before foiling.

I learned to put the glass in lead channels and also the art of foiling. These are the two ways of binding the glass pattern so that it all stays connected. With leading, smaller pieces can be covered up because of the thickness of the channels. This process is mainly for larger glass projects that are going to be framed. Foiling allows you to make smaller lighter pieces. Foiling is more tedious since the foil needs to be evenly spaced on both sides of the glass.

However, both leading and foiling require the joints and pieces be soldered together. Foiling requires more solder work than leading but smaller pieces are lighter and can be hung with suction cups from windows. The next skill that I needed to perfect was soldering. Soldering takes a lot of practice so that there aren’t bubbles and uneven lines in the work. When I quit working with glass for a while I ended up needing to reacquire my skills at soldering again.

Finished Glass of an Angel on the Moon

Now that I am here in St. David, I am no longer close to a glass shop. The nearest one is in Tucson, an hour away. I first found the shop because Barb needed glass for a shade to complement an Art Deco lamp that she found. I didn’t have the colors she wanted so we went to Tucson, found the glass and purchased it. The shade now sits on a floor lamp in the Prospector Room. At the time we were in the glass shop, the owners were just finishing up a class on fused glass. I asked about when the next class was and signed up. I found that fused glass has some other aspects that are unique to the art. With my cutting skills, I found that it was easier than foiling or leading glass. The one drawback was that I didn’t have the variety of colors that are available in the other mediums. This is because all the glass has to have the same coefficient of expansion so that when it heats up and then cools it doesn’t crack and ruin the work.

When Angie and I go into Tucson we will sometimes stop to buy some glass for projects or get ideas for things to do. We are also looking at creating some sun catchers to have available as souvenirs from the B and B for our guests to purchase. This summer Angie and I went up to our web hosting company and met the people there. We talked about what we wanted on our new website and we are excited that this is being worked on at the present time. We are hopeful that it will be up and running this month.

Fused Glass Plate

On the way back to the airport, we took time to stop at the Museum of Glass. I had heard of this museum when I visited the Chihuly exhibition in Phoenix in 2009. The museum was a great find and the exhibits that we looked at were unbelievable. We also stopped at the Space Needle in Seattle to see the Chihuly exhibit there. I have some photos on the B and B Facebook page. We hope you view them and “Like” the pictures and our page. You can also Like the B and B.

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