Respite in Downtown Phoenix

A Spanish gate graces the entryway of an otherwise relatively modern building in downtown Phoenix, AZ.  The interior courtyard reclines in beauty, serving as a place of respite.  We could all use a respite from the tumult of life from time to time.  To enhance the drama, I utilized a black and white color scheme, intensifying the drama with noir.

Old Tucson, AZ

I have a confession: I've been lazy these days.  The result has been my neglect in posting photos from Old Tucson.  As I mentioned previously, Old Tucson is a theme park with an American frontier theme.  Multiple Western films, including Tombstone with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, have been filmed here.  For any history buff, Old Tucson provides a good time.  In addition to gift stores and restaurants, there are exhibits and cowboy-themed performances throughout the day.  One of the times I visited here they were holding a reenactment of a gunfight.  Here are some choice photographs from my recent visit.  Enjoy.

I didn't manage to have this confirmed, but I believe this church facade served as the church in the opening scene of the movie Tombstone.

I have always thought antique wanted signs from the Old West were cool, including these reproductions.

This reminds me of a Gypsy caravan, or a circus wagon.

Classic Old Western scene.

Ending with a cowboy serenade.

Red Rock Beauty in Sedona, AZ

Yesterday was a beautiful crisp autumn day in Sedona. "Crisp" not in terms of temperature, as it was still relatively warm there, but in the vivid quality of blue sky that domed over the desert. It was a great day for taking a hike, and so we did. Here are some of my favorite photos from yesterday's excursion. Some of these photos are of the same red rock formations from varying vantage points, but I just couldn't resist.

As seen with the above, I really wanted to get photos of red rocks with yucca in the foreground.

Initially, I didn't want to include the above photo in the collection, as it is the one exception to all the blue sky beauty present in the other photos, but the red rock formation and the grasses at the forefront insisted on taking this starring role.

I fell in love with this dead tree stump the moment I saw it. Look at the graininess of its texture and its variation of color.

Bell Rock. The trail we took actually winds around this majestic rock feature.

There is a certain regal quality to the way this red rock is captured in this photograph, all front and center with formidable height and mass.

Some dead tree action here. Dead trees rock! (Disclaimer: Living trees also rock, and I love both equally.)

A bouquet of red rocks. I love it.

I like the mushroom-top feature of these red rocks here.

A classic view that has been the subject of multiple photo-taking fits of mine in the past. I never tire of it.

Entrance to Tlaquepaque, Sedona, AZ

This is one of the entrances to the popular Sedona shopping destination. I always love walking through it.

Ristra Fiesta

Nothing says American Southwest better than a chile ristra. It reminds of days back in Santa Fe, during late summer, when vendors would roast chiles out on strip mall parking lots along Cerillos Road. Such a good scent, it quickly became associated with the arrival of autumn. I love the festive multicolored ones the best.

A Spicy Start

Okay, fine. I am taking a momentary hiatus from my hiatus, in order to share with you this colorful mural, found on the wall of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport's Barrio Cafe.  A local restaurant, Barrio Cafe has an airport location, as seen above, and a location in central Phoenix. They have great coffee, served in a French press, and excellent chilaquiles. This is a local gem, and you must check it out when you're next in town. Waiting for my flight, after breakfast, I was inspired by the cafe's festive mural. It speaks of adventure and the open road, Southwestern style. I have just returned from my own adventure and have more photos to share, in time. Meanwhile, enjoy the summer.

Green Glory: Close-ups of the Palo Verde Tree

Here are more close-up photos I managed to take of the palo verde tree. I really love these because they manage to showcase the tree's green bark rather vividly. I kind of like the gnarled brown patches disrupting the tree's smooth green skin. It provides for a rich variety of textures.

I confess that I took this photo to capture the image of the broken branch at the right. I like seeing imperfections break up the monotony of seeming perfection. That's life, after all.

Seeking Signs of Autumn in Phoenix

I might have mentioned this before, but I love autumn, and one of my difficulties with now living in Phoenix, AZ, is the Valley's near complete lack of autumn. True, the heat that presses down upon the Valley in summer lessens considerably, loses its intensity, and in the autumn and winter months we do enjoy cool weather and sometimes beautiful rainy days. However, this is not the autumn I am familiar with, being a born-and-bred Midwesterner. Four fully and uniquely defined seasons are a beautiful thing; they help to provide the punctuation of change that is needed to observe a sense of moving forward and appreciate that which is passing. One aspect I really miss right now is the change in leaf color that occurs in autumn, with green giving way to leaf shades of red, orange, and gold. As we always say in the Valley, you have to drive north to Flagstaff or Sedona, or to Prescott, to get a taste of autumn in Arizona. But this week, driving through the South Mountain community, I was pleasantly surprised to see a band of street-front trees partially changing leaf color to a shade of burnt red. This afternoon, determined to enjoy a local version of autumn without having to drive two or so hours north, I journeyed to the site where these trees are planted and here are two photos from my encounter with ever-elusive autumn in the Valley. Part of the red I was seeing were bunches of berries the trees bear, but other parts are actual changes in leaf color, as you can see above. I confess I have no idea as to the type of tree these are, but they gave me the wonderful gift of enjoying autumn "right in my own backyard." Many thanks.  

A Sunny Second Look

"Rhino Rock," Sedona, AZ

I forgot to include a photo of my favorite Sedona red rock formation in my last post. Well, here it is, along with my signature dead tree standing out from among the green multitude. I never tire of this particular red rock formation, and I wanted to post a photo of it in sunlit splendor, with the daylight detailing its variation in color. Sedona is really a magical place.

Dead Valley

Because it's early November in the Valley, and because the Dead truly rock, the Desert Botanical Garden held its own Dia de los Muertos celebration on their grounds. The afternoon was a nice mix of skeleton-themed art, art vendors, music, and, of course, desert botanical beauty. Here are some of my photos from today's event. As you can see from the photo above, even the Dead took the opportunity today to get out and soak up some fun and sun. And that's good, because it's all about appreciating life and cherishing the memory of those we love who have passed.

With a prickly pear cactus blooming at the bottom, this mural really adopts a Southwestern sensibility.

With the heart and roses, this piece employs some traditional Southwestern symbols.

I wish this one came out better. If it did, you would see more clearly the toys assembled on the board to compose the figure of a large skull. Very cool.

I love the crazy colorfulness of the mural above, bordered with the artificial rainbow lei. Surrounding the skull are a variety of philosophical and religious symbols.

This one was my favorite. It's quite eerie. You can almost anticipate the skeleton becoming animate and turning its head fully to gaze upon you. Or maybe she's just gazing at that photograph and reminiscing about days gone by.

This was one of the performance numbers on stage. Look at the loving gaze between these two, above, and then look at them lean in towards each other, below, sitting shoulder to shoulder. It is true. Love never dies.

There was also an all-women mariachi band, and they were excellent. Listening to them perform, I couldn't help but to think of my mother, who loved mariachi music, as well as the beauty of the desert. Needless to say, I could have listened to them all day.

Here, two skulls recline on the steps in the sun and take it all in. It's all about loving life, and each other!