Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!

Fence

There is something about the symmetry of this fence that appealed to me.

Bath Time

I spotted this little bird splashing away in a puddle of water left by the recent rains.

A new life

This might look like a small church but it really is an office building.  I’m guessing that the building has been converted into office space to house the offices of R C Lurie, an industrial lighting and equipment company.  It has all the appearance of a country church.

Sagewood

Right behind the brand new Musical Instrument Museum is a brand new housing development called Sagewood.  This is located way, way north in Phoenix.  It appears to be a combination of single family homes, two-story condominiums, and apartment-like condominiums all with similar architecture.

I like the style of these using rock and stucco together.

Quiet

One more set of photos from the Musical Instrument Museum.  The museum is arranged on two floors with a theatre, café, and special interactive displays on the ground floor and the main displays arranged by continent on the second floor.  The top photo is of the hallway on the second floor which leads to the display rooms.  I thought it was very sleek and since I was there right at opening, I could snap a photo before it filled with people.  And it did fill with people very quickly.

The photo to the left was taken in one of the special rooms on the lower level.  The display was about the diversity of the guitar throughout the world.

MIM

Yesterday I visited the new Musical Instrument Museum for the very first time.  I must admit, I wasn’t expecting what I found.  First of all, the museum is huge.  When I left the house I expected to be gone for no more than three hours.  I spent five hours there and could have stayed all day.  It was an amazing experience.

Every country in the world is represented and the majority have video screens showing the instruments on display being played in their native environment.  Visitors wear ear phones and magically the audio changes as you move from display to display.

Adding Copper

I happened to catch sight of workmen applying copper panels to the side of the new Maricopa County Superior Court Tower under construction in downtown Phoenix yesterday.  Copper was chosen because it is durable and will last decades, even centuries without maintenance.  They will be using more than twice the amount of custom fabricated copper than was used in the Statue of Liberty; 405,375 pounds.  If stretched into wire, it would wrap around the earth at the equator 4.4 times.

In 2008 and into 2009, copper prices were high but, they dropped mid year in 2009.  The decision was made to purchase the copper for this building in July of 2009 when the price was $2.23 per pound.  By the end of the year, the price has risen to $3.00 per pound.

The copper panels on this building will not be the same green color as the Statue of Liberty.  Copper oxidizes differently in different climates.  The dry climate of the desert will cause the copper to turn a brown or bronze color.  When completed, the tower will have 22 courtrooms with room to add 10 more in the future if needed.  Construction will be substantially complete in November of 2011.   Another whole year to go.

Red

A little bit of rain in the desert makes the cactus explode with color.

Resting

It’s hard work keeping those tiny wings flapping so fast.  A little rest from time to time to catch one’s breath is needed.

Cleaning Day

I’ve been wondering how they keep those Chihuly sculptures at the Desert Botanical Garden so clean and sparkling. 

Some Like it Hot

If you like your Mexican food on the hotter side, this is the place for you.  Los Dos Molinos is known for the face-reddening, brow sweating heat in the food they serve.  It is a very popular place!  Yes, I do eat there from time to time but, I’ve learned the things I can order that won’t scorch my mouth or my eyebrows.

The words on the front door say it all.

Heading into the city

When you leave South Mountain Park and head back into the city along the southern stretch of Central Avenue, the downtown high-rise buildings loom ahead of you.  I took this shot straight out of the windshield of my car.  And yes, I was stopped at a traffic light at the time.  I even managed to capture an airliner coming in for a landing.  I didn’t see that until I downloaded the photo.

TV & Radio Towers

Sitting at the very top of South Mountain is a vast array of TV and radio towers that serve the multitude of broadcasting facilities in the Phoenix area.  Everyone who lives in the valley can see the red, twinkling lights at night.  This photo only shows about a third of the towers.

Scorpion Gulch

Just as you enter South Mountain park, there are several vacant buildings in various stages of decay.  At one time this was an amusement area.  The only thing remaining from that time are the horse stables.

Long Distance View

This photo of the Phoenix downtown and central core was taken from the top of South Mountain, quite a distance away.  As you might expect with most big cities, I had to shoot through a lot of haze.  I did some post-op work to clarify the shot.

Big City

The city of Phoenix is situated in a large valley with mountain ranges on all four sides of the city.  The mountains south of Phoenix are part of the park system designated South Mountain Park.  If you drive to the view point at the top of the mountains you get a wonderful view of the cities in the valley.  I say cities because from this vantage point you are seeing about 8 cities with Phoenix right in the center.  In this photo you can see the high-rise buildings that make up the core of Phoenix.

Tomorrow I'll show you a close up of those buildings.

Morning Sky

Beautiful morning sky hovering over the Cheesecake Factory.

"Easy Rider"

40 years later....

Drawing

I went to the botanical garden last weekend and the place was full of young artists.

I'd love to see what they created.

Long Shadows

The morning shadows are starting to get longer!

Buzzing around

These bees were headed for the same cactus blossom.

Building for the view

I’ve had pictures of “the praying monk” rock formation on Camelback Mountain before, but this time we see a home under construction in the shadow of this Phoenix landmark.  This house will have some amazing views when it’s done.

Driving in the rain

I was going to delete this photo, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it.  I took this Tuesday evening when I was driving to a meeting right after work.  It had been raining for the past 2 to 3 hours and I had just come through a patch of heavy rain. Then there was a little break in the storm, clouds started to separate and the setting sun came into view to glint off of my wet windshield.  When it rains in Phoenix you can count on very heavy traffic.  I was staring at these tail lights for a long time so when I saw the sun light up the street and cars ahead of me, I grabbed my camera and hoped for the best.

Cotton Candy

If you watch the sky after a storm, you can find amazing cotton candy clouds.

Stormy Weather

More storms roll into the valley yesterday.  I saw a lot of heavy rain and wind but, from the news stories parts of the city got it a lot worse than we did.  I stopped at a grocery store on my way home and snapped this picture of the wet streets.  The good news.....the intense heat we've been having has been washed away.  Finally, some fall weather.

Entrance

This entrance to a home in central Phoenix has a certain drama all its own.

Drama in the sky

Saturday night I saw the most amazing sky.  Storm clouds moving in from the east and the sun setting in the west created a sky the just glowed.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to get to a good location and I only had one camera with me, so these were the best shots I could get.

The top is looking southeast and the small photo is looking west.

Del Norte, again

Here is another home in the Del Norte Historic District.  This one is very different from the one I featured yesterday.

Del Norte

A Spanish style home located in the Del Norte Historic District.

Theme Day - Graffiti

This building in downtown Phoenix appears to be covered with graffiti.  It might be painted this way on purpose, but it appears a little cluttered to be called 'art'.

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