A Personal Amateur Photography Blog
An unexpected, brief, trip to Chicago left me without a camera – so this posting is solely the result of an iPhone camera.
A quick internet search for some of the more interesting murals in the city, plus discovering some not on the list by chance. I like to find murals that the surroundings add to the photo as well.
Many were in locations that made it tough to get a clear photo, but the varied angles also have added to the composition, rather than a ‘directory of images’.
A warm Labor Day morning was the perfect opportunity to walk among the shade from the downtown buildings with very few people around.
As noted is the last posting, Jerome Arizona prides themselves on being a ghost town. Just outside of town is the King Gold Mine – in actually a quirky, but cool, tourist spot where you can pan for gold. Their real ‘gold’ however is in the huge collection of old rusty trucks!
A 3 day weekend of wanderings resulted in a number of topics for a posting, and a few random shots that weren’t enough for a single posting.
Jerome, Arizona – What was once a medium sized town for a large copper mine, the town went nearly extinct, but has returned to life as a tourist attractions as … a ghost town full of people.
Another mountain town is Superior – east of Phoenix.
Roosevelt Lake is located near the Tonto National Monument. The reservoir supplies water to Phoenix.
The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located about 60 miles east of downtown Phoenix near the town of Superior. It has a great collection of regional plants, cactus and trees.
Sedona, Arizona is a well known as a town with numerous spas as well as artists, who all have gathered among the amazing red rocks. We passed through town on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and it was packed, taking away from the natural beauty.
The long weekend provided a great opportunity to explore the many historic dwellings that are scattered around Central Ariona.
We started at Montezuma’s Castle. The Europeans who first visited the remnants in the mid 1800s were mistakenly convinced that Montezuma had lived there, hence the name. This however is inaccurate – it is believed that Hopi, Yavapi and Hohokam lived here.
Nearby is Montezuma’s Well. Much like the Castle, it was the home to numerous local cultures. This natural limestone sinkhole produces 1.5 million gallons of water a day from an underground spring.
Tuzigoot Is a 3 story pueblo ruin at the summit of a ridge near Clarkdale, Arizona. It is very large, with 110 rooms, as a home for Sinagua people.
The final stop of the weekend was at Tonto National Monument. Home to Salado culture more than 800 years ago, it sets high up on a hill above what is now Roosevelt Lake.
After the previous failed sunset we went up South Mountain, just 5 miles south of downtown Phoenix. This time there were no clouds to obstruct the view!
An internet search of best sunsets in Phoenix suggested Usery State Park – just east of Mesa. We headed off for the short drive out, but in the end sunset was not to be as storm clouds moved in. While disappointed about the sunset, the clouds provided a great backdrop not often seen in Phoenix.
The drive back into town also provided some great shots
Before you knew it we were back in Mesa.
While much of Phoenix is a vast suburban landscape, there are a number of architecturally interesting buildings in the area.
Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked in Phoenix for many years. There are a number of his designed homes, churches and public buildings in the area.
