Continuing on a southwesterly trajectory through the “Valley of the Sun”, we enter Phoenix and proceed to the Desert Botanical Gardens. This is a museum which showcases desert plants from all over the world, including a large variety from the local Sonoran Desert.
I was quite surprised to see just how tall some of these cactus [...]
Greetings from Arizona! We had a splendid relaxing drive back from Washington, though we didn’t take many pictures along the return trip.
My traveling companion lives just outside of Phoenix, so he thought he would show me around town a bit, starting with the winter home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright in Scottsdale.
It was designed [...]
We had time for a brief stop in Seattle for some sightseeing. We visited the Science Fiction Museum and the Experience Music Project, and took a brief ride on the monorail.
Happy Independence Day! I hope everyone in the U.S. is being careful with their nighttime festivities.
We decided to spend the day visiting the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
It’s been almost 20 years since the blast devastated the surrounding area, and the area has shown great progress in recovering.
Goodness! More birds of prey! I think [...]
Greetings from Oregon! We had a little extra time, so we traveled north to observe some of the scenic portions of the northwest. First stop – Crater Lake.
This is a freshwater lake which is fed entirely from rain and snow, and sits inside the crater of a dormant volcano.
Because it is so high in elevation, [...]
I next found myself in the city of San Rafael, just north of San Francisco Bay. Apparently my traveling companion has an interest in the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, and one of his more distinctive designs was the Marin County Civic Center.
Constructed over the period from 1957 to 1970, it was one of the [...]
We didn’t spend as much time in San Francisco as I’d hoped to, though we certainly could not leave without visiting the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge.
The views from the bridge were quite amazing, though it was extremely windy. There were a few times where I almost blew away!
Next we journeyed up to San Francisco for a walk around the waterfront. The docks were very crowded and touristy, but still provided some interesting views.
We thought about taking a ride on the cable cars, but the line was extremely long.
So instead, we opted for a short cruise around the harbor. It was great to [...]
