Open Space
Golden Light
Desert Varnish
Navajo Child
A Place of Peace
Canyon Refuge
Antelope House
Antelope House
Canyon de Chelly, near Chinle, AZ
Photography
Springtime in Tucson
A Beautiful, Blooming Time in Tucson
Hawaiian Images
Here are a few photos from a recent trip to Hawaii – a 7-day Un-Cruise adventure that plied the waters of Moloka’i, Lanai’i, Maui, and Hawaii. The itinerary included whale watching, cultural stops, and plenty of water activities. When it comes to taking pictures, I like the quirky and get a kick out of scenes and signs that are a bit off kilter. I hope you like them.
Check out www.un-cruise.com for trip details.
Nevada Museum of Art – Reno
The Nevada Museum of Art in Reno has to be one of the best, if not the best, art museum beyond major hubs like New York and Chicago. Lucky me, I enjoyed lunch at the in-house Chez Louie restaurant and took in Late Harvest, the 40-artist exhibit last Thursday (December 18). Richard and I drove straight from the airport to the museum. Curated by JoAnne Northrup, the paintings, sculpture, and taxidermy “explores the relationship between humans and animals . . . . the roles of predator and prey. . . .” Andrew Zuckerman wowed me with images of a great bear, a lion’s head, and the deer creature in my photo gallery. I grew up in the great city of Newark, and the installation of trash and animals speaks to my experience. (Another wowser!) For an overview of exhibits, and all of the exhibits are fabulous, visit the web site. Better yet, when you are in Reno reward yourself with a few hours of total pleasure by visiting the museum.
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His and Hers – Foreman Grills
I want to tell a story about two people and their Foreman grills. The man’s grill stays outside on a wooden table. A hummingbird feeder shared by goldfinches and bats hangs from a chain right close to the grill. (Yes, those are feathers on the dish.) When the woman wants to grill, say a 3-cheese sandwich on rye, she takes her Foreman from a kitchen cabinet, sets it on a counter top, and plugs into an electric outlet.
The woman equates the man’s grill to a mangy dog left to live outdoors with minimal care. No grooming. No bathing – fend-for-yourself-until-you-die, Buster. When the woman is done, she removes food stains and grease from her grill. She likes things clean. When the man wants to grill, he pre-heats the Foreman and shuts the lid on a sausage for 10 minutes. The juices drain into the catch dish until the hot Italian sausage is smokin’ done. The man ignores the build up of carbon and crud. After all, the grill is an electrical device and high temperatures burn away bacteria and bugs. The man never grills on his Foreman when friends are invited for dinner. End of story.
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Done with Thanksgiving
Let me tell you why I am done with Thanksgiving. Meal planning, grocery shopping, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cleaning the house, and arranging flowers add up to a week of self-imposed oppression. Those long-gone Pilgrims and Wampanoags gave thanks for a harvest. I do not harvest anything, not even water. Duck and venison were cooked over an open fire and men actually participated. Times have changed, and duck is way too expensive.
Today I created the perfect Thanksgiving meal and did a modest amount of work. I roasted a half turkey breast, made bread stuffing the way my mother did, and Frenched some green beans. When our Champagne lunch on the patio ended, Richard and I drove to Catalina State Park. We walked the Canyon Loop trail and passed many hikers who also cherished a beautiful Thanksgiving afternoon. I am done with the sit down and stuff-your-gut-be-thankful-dinner. Let me celebrate every feast day by enjoying the great outdoors.
Catalina State Park
Road Trip – Northern Arizona
Sturdy shoes and sandstone grit will take anyone into northern Arizona’s slot canyons, Horseshoe Bend, and the Grand Staircase, a national monument. Slot canyon tours are popular, especially with serious photographers. Think Arizona Highways and gorgeous calendars with 12 luscious sandstone images. Slot canyons are primarily on the Navajo Indian Reservation and that means No Tresspassing. My white tennis socks turned dusty red on the upper and lower Antelope Canyon treks. Between the two, I preferred the narrow trail and unhurried lower canyon experience. Two thumbs up for the 1.6 mile round-trip hike to see rock formations shaped like toadstools.
The beginning of November is a primo time to visit Lake Powell. Boats are docked and locked for the winter. The Bulgarian hotel workers are gone. Bus tours stop for a day to see the Glen Canyon Dam and visit the John Wesley Powell Museum. The place has a coolness that acknowledges a seasonal change. I took some photos and was wowed by smoke stacks rising from the desert floor. The Navajo Generating Station, a 2250 megawatt coal-fired plant that sends smoke to the Grand Canyon and electricity to Los Angeles, stretches across the landscape – an impressive temple to technology.
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Consider Writing 