Southwest toward Woods Canyon

This is taken from the Mogollon Rim overlook on I-17, and I think that's the opening of Woods Canyon. 

Pine cones

I hate to admit it, but I didn't know that all those little red cones are the male cones.

We also saw blue ones. An online search didn't enlighten me as to why they have different colors. 

Humphreys Peak from the top of Agassiz Peak

This is a sacred mountain for many of the area tribes. It's the Navajo's Sacred Mountain of the West and the home of the Hopi Kachinas, or so I understand.

Snowbowl lift

From the top of the Snowbowl ski lift on Mt. Agassiz, part of the San Francisco complex. 

Mormon Lake and the San Francisco peaks

The lake is the largest natural lake in Arizona, except when it's not. It sometimes even dries out if there's a drought.

The mountain is about 35 miles away. The San Francisco peaks are the tallest in Arizona (Humphreys Peak is, anyway) but they are all the remnants of an extinct volcano that is estimated to have reached 15,000' before it blew out, much as Mt. St. Helens did.

Trees and moon

I just saw this a couple days ago and snapped the picture. 

Weaver's Needle, the Superstitions and the Goldfield Mountains

This is looking south and east from near the north end of the McDowell Mountains east of Scottsdale. I liked the subtle textures. 

Mexican Bird of Paradise - or not...

These are all over the place - About.com lists this plant, with many pictures, as one of the 7 easy plants to grow in the Phoenix area. You can see them along the highways and in yards all over the valley. They bloom for quite a long time, too, so they brighten up the summer nicely (at least they do based on my one full summer's experience!).

Now for the fun part. It's really a Red Bird of Paradise. The Mexican one is a yellow-flowering tree. Kind of like the American Bison isn't a buffalo, but don't tell Buffalo Bill! Bison Bill doesn't have the same ring to it... 

Carefree's Sundial #2

The thing makes for an interesting sculpture in its own right. It's set in an interesting little park with several other sculptures and a nice fountain. Not a bad drive, since I had to be up toward the north end of the valley anyway. 

Carefree Sundial #1

Carefree's sundial, taken at 11:06 AM.

Note that with the width of this arm it isn't a precision time piece!

Saguaro Blossoms

I finally found a saguaro with an arm bent low enough to actually see the flowers... 

Saguaro in Eagle Pose

Cactus doing yoga - who knew? 

Cars and the Cadillac Ranch

After seeing Cars last night, I was inspired to dig out this shot of the Cadillac Ranch, taken on a trip in March. The Ranch is on the south side of I-40 (the old Route 66) just west of Amarillo, Texas (between mile markers 60 and 62).

I absolutely loved the way the movie picked up this detail.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXAMAcadillac.html for more information. 

Saguaro flowers

Alien flowers on an alien plant... 

Cactus blooming

These are from a neighbor's yard. We were heading off to work a couple mornings ago and they were so bright that I just had to stop and take the picture.