Arizona Ghost Town

In addition to travelling parts of New Mexico on our trip we also drove around parts of Arizona.  Justin's aunt lives in Mesa, which is where we stayed for a couple of days at the beginning of our vacation and at the end of our vacation.  Justin's Aunt Betty Jane played our tour guide and took us to a ghost town and a few other spots of interest. We really enjoyed our trip, except that it was still unusually hot.

Justin, the baddest gunslinger in town.

Ah, thank goodness for tripods

We went on a mine tour.

Gravity pull.

Ta da!  I did it.



Superstition Saloon in Tortilla Flat, AZ.

The Joys Of Vacation

It doesn't take much to please me.  I enjoy the simpler things.  Who needs fine dining when you've got the Waffle House for breakfast?  I'm not a coffee drinker so I took a photo of Justin's coffee cup.

I love exploring new towns and discovering quaint little buildings along the way.

You can't tell from the photo, but the roo fabove is made from alumunum cans.

There are so many different things that catch my eye while travelling down the road.

For instance, this tiny little alter standing alone just off the highway near Miami, Arizona was intriguing.

And this rock sitting close to the altar.  I suppose their team can use all the prayers they can get.

While in Santa Fe, New Mexico we took a city bus tour that drove us past hundreds of art galleries.

Here, the bus let us off for about a ten minute break to use the restroom and for photo ops.

Rock Paper Scissors Sculpture.  I shot this as the bus drove on by.

I learned that Santa Fe, NM  is the number one art mecca in the United States with New York following behind in second place.  There's no way to see it all in just a few days. 

Our tour bus driver told us this guy on the bike rides all around Santa Fe.

His dog loves riding past all the tourists.

The miraculous staircase at Loretto Church is fascinating.

The craftsmanship is absolutely beautiful and elegant.

The inside of the church is really gorgeous too. 

So much architectural detail to be noticed and appreciated.

I like this picture of Justin.  It makes me smile.



Camel Rock just north of Santa Fe. 

Taken around 10:30 or 11:00 pm

Each day we drove around trying to scout out locations for night shoots.

Sometimes we would drive for another 30 to 40 minutes from the hotel just to get some night shots in.

Camel Rock was really close to the freeway and really close to a casino.

Ideally, pitch black night would make the best photos for the stars and the moon and foreground objects.

but I kind of like this one anyway.

I caught some motion blur in the speeding cars going down the highway.

Well, I have so many more photos to showcase from my vacation so I will do that tomorrow.

Don't worry, I won't show them all.  It would take me a year to upload them all and to post them, not to mention bore you to death.

I hope you have enjoyed some of the highlights so far.

: )

Happy Birthday To........

 ME!

Today, I am 46 years old.

My mind doesn't feel like it's aging.

I still think of myself as a young, carefree girl in her late twenties or thirties.

My body, on the other hand sometimes reminds me that I am not twenty something or thirty something,

by behaving way beyond its years.

It punishes me physically, as if I were a ninety year old woman.

I breathe the air and smile that I am still here. 

Ferris Wheel and Fireworks

The one thing I like about Las Vegas is that when something is going on in town I can drive to the top of the parking garage of a casino, set up my tri-pod and capture things in motion.  This photo was taken last night from the parking garage of the Silverton Hotel Casino looking out towards the San Genarro Fes,t which is an italian festival that is held every year.  The sky was already a bit hazy and smoky from the previous fireworks that were let off.  Ah, I love learning new photo techniques and night time shooting is by far the most fun for me....and things in motion. 

FMTSO: Flora, Fauna and/or Pets

Where the wild things grow......

Red Rock Canyon is an extremely popular area for hiking and biking.  Here, you will come across wild burro, cactus and other plant life that I have not identified as I am terrible at horticulture.  The following photos were taken in Red Rock a few months ago. 



The above picture was taken in a hilarious moment. 

A friend and I had just eaten at the restaurant located at Bonnie Springs in Red Rock Canyon and my friend had some potato wedges and something else to take home to her son.

We spotted a couple of wild burro near the road so we stopped to take some photos.

Well, the burro pictured above got a whiff of the food and hewalked over to our car and stuck his head through the car window. 

My friend was screaming because she was afraid of the burro.

I was laughing my ass off and told her to give him a treat.

So she gave it a potato wedge and the burro kept trying to get more. 

My friend ended up feeding the burro the entire contents of her "to go" box.

It really was a hysterical moment.

Above:  Sasha just after her bath on Wednesday.  Three months shy of fifteen years old.

She has some health problems but still gets around really well.

That's it for my flora and fauna.

To see more amazing photos click here.

Special Delivery

The other day when I opened my mailbox, 

I was delighted to find an unexpected package sitting inside.

Hmpf!  Who could this be from?, I wondered.

I couldn't wait to get back to the house to open it and discover the contents of the gift.

I noticed the return address which revealed that the mailer of the package was my Mother-in-law.

She's on vacation right now in the midwest.

I cut the tape that held the box so tightly locked and I peered inside.

Oh, how wonderful, my eyes gleamed.

Inside was the perfect birthday gift for me.

I love to cook and I love using spices.

I was thrilled going through the box to discover several different varieties.

I really love this gift. 

It not only fits my personality,

 but I think it's wonderful because it came from someone else's vacation spot which means

that she was thinking about me even when she should have been thinking about herself and having fun.

What a wonderful and thoughtful gift.

It even came with these empty jars to transfer the spices into.

I think I'llgo  buy some filet mignon and tryout  the steak seasoning tonight.

Ah, it's wonderful getting snail mail.

I really hope that snail mail doesn't die out.

FMTSO: Lines and Stripes

There are lines everywhere. 

Thank goodness because that is the theme for this week's

Friday My Town Shoot Out.

To see some really amazing photos for this week and/or to participate yourself

all you need to do is click on this link and you'll see a list of blogs who joined in on the fun.