First Impressions: Entering Patagonia

In this posting you'll see two "drive-by" Welcome signs at either end of town, and a grouping of other signage after the overpass over Sonoita Creek just before Taylor Avenue on Route 82. Please take a look at the images taken two days ago, just in case they have not come to your attention recently.

The two identical 3 x 5 ft. yellow signs say the same things:
Welcome to Patagonia (that's real nice)
Step Back, Relax, Stay Awhile (that's nice too, but step back into what?]
Highlight one annual event the second weekend in October
Give credit to the Patagonia Area Business Association and a website address
. . . and nothing more, so pull over to the side of the road, stop, and whip out your laptop, IPhone or PDA to get information you can use? Come here once a year?

Surely we can do better.

Keep in mind that these two Welcome signs are what people - both residents and visitors alike - see entering town from the West and the East on a section of State Route 82 called the Scenic Patagonia-Sonoita Highway. If you're not using alternative means of transportation or traveling on backroads and trails, it's the only way into Patagonia from the neighboring towns of Nogales some twenty miles to the south and west, and and twelve miles north and east to Sonoita-Elgin.
Highway signs at town/city lines usually state Entering [Name of Town], Founded/Incorporated [The Year], Population, and Elevation, advise motorists to reduce speed ahead, and have directional signs to assist travelers for finding their way to destinations and points-of-interest, or to services available in the community [public telephone, visitor information, community services, police, or public restrooms for example].

The image of the group of signs shows a mish-mash of information (one of which is the Museum of The Dead recognized by The Smithsonian Institution] and points the way to only two of the five "Ghost Towns" found down the road to the left (?) - no wayfinding information about the town offices or traffic court, post office, fire department, the family health center, the marshal's office, a public telephone or public restrooms, the public library, food and shopping, gas station, visitor information, lodging, the Coronado National Forest, The Arizona Trail, The Tree of Life, The Nature Conservancy Sonoita Creek Preserve, or any other attractions in town.

. . . it's no wonder to me that people say "We're just passing through! . . . that's one of the consequences of calling Patagonia a hidden paradise.
When they do take the time to stop, they want to TO KNOW what there is to see, where to go, what to do, where to eat, where to stay, where to shop, where to relax or where to recreate or where to rejuvenate, where to walk, where to hike, where to bike, where to watch birds, where to go rock-hounding, where to camp, where to ride horses, how to get to somewhere in the area, how to find a guide for birding or hunting or historic destinations, or they simply say, "Tell me about Patagonia".

That's the reasoning behind our working on The Patagonia Heritage Tile Mural Project 2009 . . . those wishing to keep Patagonia "a hidden paradise" have just lost their way: Time to take off the blindfolds and open your eyes to the small wonders of Patagonia in the big landscape of The Mountain Empire