I had to post this after hearing that the sea lions had disappeared from Pier 39 in San Francisco. From what I understand, they suddenly turned up in the harbor after an earthquake in 1988 or 1989, and now they've just as suddenly disappeared some time after Thanksgiving this year. I'm just glad I got a chance to see them before they left.
Here's a sample of Allan Houser's work, now on display at the Desert Botanical Garden, through August 2010. Houser (b. 1914, d. 1994) was an Apache sculpture considered by many to be the father of American Indian sculpture. I'm not sure why I like this particular piece...maybe because it reminds me of a pregnant woman.
I was playing around with different shutter speeds, and I thought this one came out kind of interesting, although the composition could have been better. Anyway, I took this at Polar Ice in Gilbert, much closer to home than some of my recent posts.
The last couple of days have been super busy, so I'm posting an older photo, one from my Williams trip a few months ago. I believe this was the sign for a themed restaurant.
Here's a fun photo. I thought I was seeing things when I noticed these colored needles on some of the saguaro at Tohono Chul Park in Tucson. No! Each year, they've marked the growth as part of a botanical experiment. (The docents couldn't give me any more detail than that.) One of the interesting things I noticed is the growth on each saguaro seemed to be different, leaving you to wonder if the saguaros all grow at their own pace.
After the dude ranch, I visited Tohono Chul Park, a botanical garden in Tucson. I liked the colors of this arrangement: the blue pot, the red stairs, the white walls and the green plant.
This is one of the Tanque Verde Ranch horses. The ranch has 168 geldings (mares have a mind of their own and distract the males). Most of the horses are between 5 to 7 years old, and they tend to be bigger-boned, larger animals suitable for riders of any size (under 250 lbs).
I visited Tanque Verde Ranch yesterday and got to take a horseback ride through the desert. Here's a photo I took as I was riding.
One of the pieces on display at the Arizoan Ceramic Research Center on the ASU campus in Tempe.
This is the best shot I could get of the Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Garden. Unfortunately, it's in the parking lot on the way out.
This guy was having such a great time playing that I had to take his photo.
I was at the Tempe Arts Festival on Saturday, and a friend pointed out these metal flowers. She wants a yard full of them because they look great and she can't kill them. LOL! At her request, I took a few photographs.
I'm on a press trip in Tempe, Arizona, this weekend (which is why I didn't have an opportunity to post yesterday). I took this photo last night, looking from the Tempe Performing Arts Center and across the Town Lake.
Something about this cactus creeps me out a bit. To me, at least, it looks a little like a face even though the second "eye" is so far off to the side.
I rediscovered these photos from my visit to Ted DeGrazia's studio and thought they'd be great to share. DeGrazia painted angelic figures in bright colors. I'm sure you'd recognize the artwork if you don't recognize his name. Above is the entrance to his studio. Below the actual studio. To learn more, please visit my other site, The AZ Traveler, at http://www.greatescapesaz.blogger.com/.
Hanny's used to be Phoenix's premier downtown department store until it closed about 20 years ago. To find out more about it, visit my other blog, The AZ Traveler at http://www.greatescapesaz.blogger.com/.
I was in this Sheraton for the first time a few weeks ago. Very modern. Very cool. (Unfortunately, I was there for a business meeting and didn't have an opportunity to take photos inside.)
A few more shots from the American Heritage Festival to wrap things up...
I watched a Revolutionary War reenactor make bullets Saturday by melting aluminium foil over an open fire and pouring the liquid metal into a small mold. When he was done, he crimped the runoff away so it formed a perfect circular bullet. Then, he threw the bullet back into the aluminum to melt down and start all over again. (Something an actual soldier, of course, would have never done.)
Another photo from the American Heritage Festival...This reenactor represented the mountain men. After we had moved past him, he pulled out his banjo and began to play.
We went to The American History Festival yesterday at Schnepf Farms here in Queen Creek. The event is put on by a group called We Make History, and my brother was one of the reenactors. Over the next few days, I'll be sharing some photos. Todays are from the Civil War reenactment.
I took this photo in my backyard. It's not uncommon to open our back door and have two or three rabbits run off, though I've seen as many as half a dozen. The rabbits are definitely what's drawing the coyotes into our neighborhood.
We've had light rail in the Valley for less than a year now. I haven't taken it from the East Valley to downtown yet (the closest stop for me is Tempe), but I've heard from those who have that it's great, especially if you are going to a Diamondbacks or Suns game.
This is another photograph taken from the 9th floor of the Arizona Center parking garage. You'll see a large metal pole in the middle of the photograph, anchoring two blue circles just above the buildings. From where I was, I couldn't get a better shot of "Her Secret is Patience," a new artwork in Downtown Civic Park. The net sculpture, inspired by monsoon clouds and cactus blooms, moves with the wind and glows at night. See a shot of it at night in this month's issue of Sunset magazine.
