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Visiting Dr. Atomic

Visiting Dr. Atomic

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Prior to the Second World War, there was nothing much to Los Alamos except for a private boarding school for rich Eastern boys and a few homesteaders. When the government decided that Los Alamos was just the place to try to develop an atomic bomb in complete secrecy, the boys
Taos

Taos

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Taos has a reputation far beyond its size. You have to endure a long drive through strip malls that your screaming brain thinks will never end to reach the rather charming old core of the village.

Taos has a reputation as an arts community and if your taste runs to

Cool Junque

Cool Junque

Do you have the Roadside America app for your phone? You should if you like finding quirky stuff as you travel. That’s where I found Camel Rock and that’s where I found this jewel.

This collection of, well, “stuff” sits beside the highway with no explanation of who

259

259

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We are not given to returning to the same places to do the same things as a way to relive the past. But when we visit Santa Fe we always stay at The Inn of the Governors.

Painted Desert – Part 1

Painted Desert – Part 1

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Here’s what I don’t get: the Painted Desert covers thousands of acres, but doesn’t merit national park status on its own.

Get Your Kicks… in the Badlands

Get Your Kicks… in the Badlands

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You know why they’re called the Badlands, don’t you? It’s because the area is … bad … land. Having the afternoon temperature pushing 110 degrees – and that’s at 5000 feet – didn’t make them any better.

But I don’t mean to whine about the heat. For someone

Little Sucia Island

Little Sucia Island

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Before we begin, let me ask you this: If most folks call Matia Island Mah-TEE-ah, why isn’t Sucia Island pronounced Sue-SEE-ah?

Just goes to show that you can’t count on anything.

Prior to this trip, I didn’t know that the small Island that forms part of Fox

Poe-tay-toe, Poe-tah-toe

Poe-tay-toe, Poe-tah-toe

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There’s some disagreement about the pronunciation of Matia Island’s name. Most say Mah-TEE-ah but there are diehards who insist on MAY-sha. Then again, there are multiple pronunciations for a lot of things around here.

Matia is very difficult to visit, particularly during the crowded high season. The coastline

Sedona and Tuzigoot

Sedona and Tuzigoot

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When the weather in Phoenix starts to get hot, people start thinking about heading north to higher elevations. Example: on the day we arrived in Sedona, it was a comfy 70 degrees (21c). Back in Scottsdale the temperature was above 90 (32c).

On the recommendation of a friend, we paid

More than enough

More than enough

I told myself that I wouldn’t post any more photos of cacti. Then we visited the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix and I couldn’t help myself.

We dropped by the Arizona Biltmore for a drink before dinner. Unfortunately, it’s been closed for a year due to COVID-19

San Xavier del Bac

San Xavier del Bac

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Long time readers may remember this Spanish mission from an earlier blog post. Or maybe it was Facebook before I decided to drive them out of business by closing my account. We paid a short return visit to this interesting place today on our way to Tucson.

San Xavier Mission

Mobility

Mobility

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We like the Phoenix Art Museum. It’s huge, which means lots of large open galleries, and both the permanent and the temporary exhibits are consistently interesting. We once found a display of Frank Lloyd-Wright designs that were never built (Frank had a lot of these). Another time it was
Cactus Time!

Cactus Time!

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During our first week in Arizona we bought groceries, visited hardware stores, registered the Plucky Corolla, and did other chores necessary to set ourselves up as part-time Arizonians. Alas, getting out into the desert for a hike was not on the list. Until now.

We drove north about twenty miles

Goddess

Goddess

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We rarely leave Scottsdale without visiting a small park at the northern end of the Promenade shopping complex. The site is anchored by a spire that was part of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design proposal for the Arizona State Capitol. His design was not accepted but in 2004 the spire