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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

Première Ètude

Première Ètude

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We paid a visit to the Nordic Tug factory yesterday to go over options — how many fans? where? Cummins or Volvo engine? where to put the watermaker? — and confirm that they plan to build the boat we think they’re building.

Now comes the part that everyone who has ever

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

Étude

Étude

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We started discussing a new boat built to our specifications in late 2020. Like building a house, there are a lot of decisions to be made and a certain amount of financial negotiation. After several years aboard Fiona Bean, a Nordic 26 and Impromptu, a Nordic 32, we had a
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