25 Foot Tall American Gothic Sculpture in downtown Mesa, by renowned American artist J. Seward Johnson.
The piece was inspired by painter Grant Wood's American Gothic. The sculptor transformed the work into a three-dimensional scene that towers over the street and pedestrians. The sculpture is part of a series by Johnson using artistic icons.
Our trip started this past weekend going to Lake Havasu City, Nv. located in the northwestern Az. on the shore of Lake Havasu, which was formed in 1938 by Parker Dam on the Colorado River.
Lake Haasu City boasts over 25 hotel and resort properties its a gambling mecca which attracts visitors from around the world. Pictured above is looking down the street of all the casinos. From there we went to Oatman as shown in the pictures below and then to Lake Havasu City only then to return to Mesa. London Bridge designed by John Rennie, the Bridge was constructed from 1825-1831 over the River Thames in England. The founder of Lake Havasu City, Robert McCulloch, purchased the bridge in 1968 after it was discovered to be "falling down" sinking into the River Thames as traffic continued to increase in the years were it stood. He had the bridge moved 10,000 miles to Arizona.
Stickers are placed on young burros letting visitors know they are too young to eat the carrots and are not to be fed. Oatman, Arizona ( Elevation 2700 ft)......The town was founded about 1908. The area mines had produced gold until the boom was over in 1942. The burros came to Oatman with early day prospectors, however after the mines closed they were released into the surrounding hills. The burros that are now there are descendants. The donkeys are very friendly and tame, although there are signs warning people not to ride them or harass them. Most of the shops carry carrots for one to purchase so people don't feed them junk food. In the late afternoon they return to the hills until the next day.
The town is also part of the legendary highway 66, so many of the shops cater to bikers selling Harley t-shirts.
What does one do when it's raining cats and dogs and stuck in a camper as I am today. The answer is.......CREATE a few cards with my recent purchases of stamps and limited supplies I have on hand.
Pictures from Scottsdale's 57th. Annual Parada Del Sol Pro Rodeo at WestWorld. Jerry, trying on cowboy hats....we liked this one on him. Coolest grill I ever seen. Friends and family Start of the Rodeo and pictures below of me trying to capture some of the highlights of the event on film.
South mountain Park has been mentioned as the largest city park in the world. At nearly 17,000 acres it certainly covers a lot of ground, although it isn't a park in the sense of grass, and playgrounds, and lakes, and ducks, as one might think. South Mountain Park is a desert mountain preserve.
Below is a view of downtown Phoenix from South Mountain.
Jerry and Linda hiking up to one of the trails on my suggestion only to find out we could have drove to the start of the trail. Jerry and Linda posing with a background view of Phoenix. That's me and my cousin posing as my husband tries out my camera. Captured this man jumping from mountain peak to mountain peak....so cool.
More photo's from our stay in Arizona.....hope your enjoying them.
Most of us have heard of stores called Build A Bear well in Glendale we found a store to build cars. Since our grandsons love the Sion car we build one for each of them as shown in these photo's. The last photo is the finish product of one of the cars. The next photo's were taken at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Here we hiked for several hours and enjoyed the scenery with my cousin and her husband.
When we lived in Arizona we often took our guest to Rawhide for a day of experiencing the OLD WEST. Since our last visit there they have moved and expanded what they have to offer for entertainment. They have gun fights on the street, shows, donkey rides and one can get a steak dinner and view an old western movie as one eats, plus the many gift shops of western wear. They now have a small museum on the premises which I posted one picture of a coin operated machine that plays a violin. I thought this was so unique for I never saw one before. The day we went the AGRA met at Rawhide, no opinion on this. The other photo's, are of me that my husband took as we toured the grounds.
Happy Valentine's Day to all. Sorry no cards to show you lately hopefully I'll find time this week to make some.
The above photo's are from a dinner show extravaganza that we attended called the Howdy Show! My husband got picked to be on stage with the actors, which caused major hysteria. All the above pictures are from our trip up to Superstition mountain and the Lost Dutchman Museum and Ghost Town.