The humans left us for Phoenix, Arizona. It was their first time ever in the southwestern US - Mom's aunt and uncle have started snowbirding there for the winter and invited them to visit. Mom was imagining warmth, sun, and barren, flat expanses with cacti and maybe a few scraggly bushes.
She was right about the cacti. They're abundant, alright, and she never got tired of looking at them in their many various forms. Most landscaping is gravel with desert plants rather than lawn.
As for the warmth and sun... sort of. It ranged from the 50's to low 70's, was windy most of the time, and clouds rolled in and out. So, great weather for exploring the outdoors, but not exactly lounging poolside weather.
She was somewhat right about the terrain. Phoenix is in a valley surrounded by mountains. So, it did seem mostly flat, unless you head towards the mountains, but mountains are there in the distance being all picturesque. Phoenix is huge and sprawling, but the pockets of undeveloped land Mom saw were quite well populated by all kinds of plant life: bushes, trees, and of course cacti. (No desolate expanses of sun-cracked dirt.)
Mom was very happy to finally see this on the night they flew in. (Their flight got delayed several hours thanks to intense snow and icing in Michigan that day.)
Cactus on an island. =)
Saddest cactus award. They're trying to help it, at least...
Don't they look like little pineapples?
These ones remind me of coral
Aww!
Some grow straight up...
...while others seem a bit afraid of heights
They got a bit turned around on the way home... and this just happened to be in the parking lot where they stopped to get their bearings. <3
On Day 2, they drove up South Mountain. (Really? Nobody could think up something more original than "South Mountain?") Mom took in some gorgeous views from the backseat as they twisted and turned their way up. She was very glad her uncle was driving, not her!
As you can see, definitely not barren!
this personable cactus welcomed them to the top of the mountain
Wow, yeah, Phoenix is big, alright!
How cool is it that cacti can grow all the way up these mountains?
Their next stop of the day was to Papago Park. They viewed this sandstone formation that reminds us of Jabba the Hut.
The main attraction, however, was Hole-In-The-Rock. (Again, where's the creativity, Arizona?)
Naturally, Mom and her sister wanted to climb up there and look out the big hole. So they did. (There's a trail behind it that isn't nearly so steep.)
The view from the top. (And a super cute dog.)
...and looking the other way
Prickly pears will always make me think of Horse Isle. =)
my personal favorites, barrel cacti
not sure what this is, but talk about dramatic flair
It's almost like this one is still decorated for Christmas...
Mountain-ish thing resembling a giant rock pile they saw on the way out
The mall they stopped at for ice cream on the way home had an open-air courtyard with palm trees!
...and, likely due to the proximity to Valentine's Day, a giant teddy bear made out of (fake) flowers!
They spent the rest of the day swimming in the complex's pool (water was warmer than the air...), relaxing in the hot tub, and watching the sun set.
They headed back to the airport the next morning for a much faster return trip, though it didn't really seem that way to them due to the time change.
Goodbye, Phoenix
Goodbye, mountains
Almost home
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