Travel

The Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale is one of my favorite places. It’s immense. The upper floor is organized by continent. As you approach an exhibit, your headphones will automatically play a recording of the instrument or genre. No pushing of buttons, no scanning of codes. What to see

I think “Return to the Garden” has a certain biblical tone, don’t you? Rest assured this is the last whiff of religion you’ll find in this post. Unless your theology involves cactus worship.

I believe I’ve posted photos from the Desert Botanical Garden once or twice before,

I don’t have a lot to say about this exhibit other than I found it interesting. I think you can see how native culture is reflected in many of these works.

From a distance, this painting reminded me of the pointillist style seen in Australian Aboriginal art. On closer

If we lived forever, would we value life less? Would we value it at all?

Is scarcity an essential attribute of value?

Was it better when cameras relied on film and we didn’t take so damned many photos?

I was pondering the last question whilst sorting through the mass

Leaving Roosevelt Lake, we headed southeast to Globe, Arizona for breakfast at a typical small town cafe. That is to say, everyone in the place knew everyone else. Except us. Didn’t matter. Everyone was either friendly or uninterested and no one got shot.

After downing our tasty scrambled eggs

Back in the day, and by “back” I mean about 900 years ago, a group of people now known as the Salado found a couple of great caves to live in. Two hundred years later, they left.

The higher, better preserved one can only be visited on guided tours that

When they see the word “Tonto”, people of a certain age can’t help but think of Jay Silverheels. A fine fellow to be sure, but he’s not the topic of this post.

A circuitous route through the mountains left us, two hours later, exactly east of Scottsdale at