Sedona Photos

On our first day in Sedona, we went out taking some pictures.  Our first stop was Cathedral Rock, which is one of the most photographed spots in the country.

 

 

Of course, we weren’t the only ones there.  I took this shot after three other people left.

 

The next day we went for a hike among the red rocks.  We intended to hike for 2-3 hours but missed a turn and were actually hiking for 4 1/2 hours.   The trail was quite steep and rocky in some places but gentle in others as seen below.

Here are some of the views along the way.

 

You can see how far we hiked by looking at the first picture and the same rock formation behind me, below.

 

Sedona

We arrived in Sedona just before sunset on Friday and I must say the views are spectacular.  It’s kind of like the Grand Canyon in reverse – the Grand Canyon is a big hole in the ground while the red rocks of Sedona tower above the landscape. 

Sedona is a small town (about 10,000 residents) that is nestled right against some of the most scenic rock formations.  It was first settled by Anglos inn 1876 and was formally established in 1902, when Theodore Carlton Schnebly, the city's first postmaster, applied for the name of Schnebly’s Station.  But that name was too long for a postal stamp so they settled on Theodore’s wife’s name – Sedona!  You can learn more about Sedona at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedona,_Arizona.

They resort we are staying at is a little old but nice nonetheless.  Here is our apartment…

 

And our balcony.

Here is the view from the balcony.

 

And some other views from the property.

 

While we are here, we plan to spend some serious time at the pool.

 

April 16 - Anniversary in Tucson

Thursday, April 16, was our 44th wedding anniversary and we stopped to celebrate at the JW Marriott resort in Tucson.  It was very nice to just sit around the pool and relax.

Here's the resort.

Here's the view from our room.

Here's my world famous impersonation of a cactus (I'm the one in front).

And, here I am with my new friend Larry Redhorse.  His father was a Navaho "wind talker" in WW II in the Pacific.

White Sands

On Wednesday, we went to White Sands National Monument,  located about 16 miles south of Alamogordo New Mexico.  The area is in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin and comprises a 275 square miles field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. It is the largest gypsum dune field in the world.  You can learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Monument.

We hiked all over the dunes and took pictures at sunset.  Here are some of them.

 

 

Shidoni Foundry and Glass Works

On Saturday, we visited the Shidoni Foundry and Glass Works and what an education we got! 

The foundry pours bronze sculptures using the lost wax method of bronze art casting.  It turns out that the artist is largely dependent on the foundry for the quality of the finished product.  Once the artist turns over the original art to have it cast, the foundry goes through about 10 steps to finish the piece, including welding sections together on larger pieces and doing all the finish work.  The entire process is described here:  http://shidonifoundry.com/processenlarge.html

We were there for a pouring and boy was it hot!  Here, the foundry workers pour molten bronze into a vessel used to fill the molds (i.e., ceramic shells).

 

Here they are filling the ceramic shells.

 

Here they are dumping the excess bronze into ingots which will be melted and reused for another pour.

 

We also visited the glass works and watched an artist create a glass vase.  It is also very hot and requires the piece to be constantly moving / spinning.  The artist would heat the glass, spin it, shape it, swing it to elongate it, and blow it to make it larger.  This part of the process took about 45 minutes.

Here the glass is heated in the furnace.

 

The artist is shaping it…

 

and blowing it.

 

It was such a nice day, we decided to take a hike in the mountains.  It was 72 degrees when we left home.  This was what it was like on the hike.

 

 

Tent Rocks National Monument

Yesterday, we went to Tent Rocks National Monument http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/rio_puerco/kasha_katuwe_tent_rocks.html.  It was a truly amazing place.  We hiked the three mile trail to the top (whew!), passing through a slot canyon, and passing by the unusual tent rock formations. 

Here's Karol, about to enter the slot canyon and the view inside.

There was some pretty interesting sights along the way, including the tent rocks.

 

 



 The scale of the rocks was huge.  The ones I'm in front of are some of the smaller specimens.  The ones below were hundreds of feet high.

All in all, it was a great day and I'm still smiling after three hours of mountain climbing.

 

Santa Fe activities

Right after we got to Santa Fe,  I got an upper respiratory infection.  Two doctor visits and six prescriptions later and I am starting to feel better. 

We've gone out a few times to shoot sunsets.

We also went to Bandelier National Monument - where ancient people lived.  http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm  They used to be called the Anasazi, but apparently that term is no longer politically correct, since in Navaho it means ancient enemy.  Nonetheless, we toured the ruins and Karol even climbed the ladders to see a cave they once lived in.  I stayed below to capture her adventure.

 

 

On Sunday, we went to Ghost Ranch, where Georgia O'Keefe lived and painted.  http://www.ghostranch.org/  It was pretty desolate country.

This is chimney rock, which is frequently painted and photographed.

We climbed all the way to the top of the butte next to it to get the best view.