GOING HOME

One family's diary, journeys and thoughts

Monday, January 05, 2009

Arizona

After Christmas Roxy and I rented a car and drove to Arizona to visit a long-time friend of mine in Phoenix. I haven't been in those parts before, and can't say I was very impressed with the landscape or the climate. It's as desert-y as they come, and mile after mile the landscape is unchanged with low shrubs and cacti with jagged mountain ranges in the background. And it's either freezing cold, or hot and sunny, with rarely anything in between.

The snow-capped mountains in the first picture are in California. The landscape in the foreground is what we saw for the next 200 miles.




On the first day our host took us hiking to a small nature reserve smack in the middle of Phoenix. From the top of the mountain we could see a 360 degree view of the city, two airports and a lot of fog... or smog, not sure which one it was.


The rest of the hike consisted of views of cacti and other prickly things, some of which looked quite nice.




Phoenix - and a cactus.


Roxy and my friend Paro - and a cactus.


These species of blackbird were everywhere in the city. Still don't know what they are called.


Armenian mafia in Phoenix Zoo. Roxy and my friend's kids.


The kids interacting with wildlife.


A few of the Zoo faces.



The next few pics were taken at Old Town Scottsdale, a small Western town adjacent to Phoenix. We took a nice little walk there and looked at some amazing stuff in the many art galleries and stores along the way.







Don't get too hungry - the candy is made of glass!


I wonder what kind of horse in olden times was the equivalent of a BMW?