ARIZONA QUICKIE

Each year we try to plan a trip around watching our San Francisco Giants play in another city. Their schedule & ours didn't allow for a longer trip this year but we did manage a "quickie" to Phoenix & Tucson for a few days to take in a baseball game among other sightseeing.

Fourteen years ago we visited part of Saguaro National Park near Tucson & planned to tour the recently opened Kartchner Caverns but to our dismay the tours were all sold out at the popular attraction. Both attractions were on our list for this getaway.

This photo in Saguaro National Park shows the three primary cactus plants - the tall, stately saguaro in the background; the cholla cactus in the middle & the prickly pear in the foreground.

Some of the thousands of saguaro cactus. They can grow to 50 feet tall & live to be over 150 years.

No two saguaro seem to be alike. The arms grow at all angles & sizes.

The cholla cactus seem to almost glow in the light. They say do not get close because the thorns will stick into you skin & are difficult to remove. We didn't for sure!

Some detail on the saguaro. If I remember correctly it takes about 30 years before a saguaro grows the "nubs" which will become arms in the next 100 years.

A barrel cactus. The blooms on top were at the end of their life span. Normally the cactus bloom between February & early September. We were a little late but it was still beautiful.

When Darrin lived in El Paso for a year, he enjoyed the ocotillo. He cut several stalks & kept them in a vase in his apartment. I took this photo & texted him, "Remember this?" He immediately replied, "Ocotillo!"

Most of the prickly pear cactus was done producing its fruit but we found a few that still had prickly pears on them.

I moved around to put the sun directly behind the top tip of this saguaro.

We lucked out on the weather since the temperatures were only in the mid to high 80s when it could have been well over 100 degrees. Here are a few creatures we encountered along the trails in Saguaro National Park. 

Lizards were everywhere. We saw several different varieties & all of them did a good job of camouflaging themselves in the desert landscapes.

This little cottontail rabbit stayed put for some good photo ops.

We wondered how this bird didn't hurt his feet perched on top of a saguaro cactus. This is Lou's photo since mine wasn't quite as clear.

Kartchner Caverns doesn't allow any photography inside the cave. BUT we had a delightful surprise! One of the two men who discovered the cave in 1974 was in attendance on our tour! Gary Tenen shared his insights with us regarding his first forays into the cave & their efforts to preserve it. These men kept their find a secret to protect the cavern until a deal was made with Arizona State Parks to keep the cave in its "living" state while conducting tours for the public. 

Just to the right of this photo is where Gary Tenen & his partner, Randy Tufts, found the entrance to Kartchner Caverns.

In contrast a couple hours later we visited Colossal Cave just a few miles away. It is no longer "living" & was decimated by people who either didn't know better or didn't care. When a cave is actively growing, it can take thousands of years to add just a couple inches to the formations.

 

Look at the broken stalactites. Our guide told us how many years ago people would enter Colossal Cave with sledge hammers & break off stalactites for souvenirs. It was accepted practice to take pieces of the cave. Of course, this destroyed the formations which took thousands or even millions of years to form. It is sickening to think how people destroy our beautiful natural resources. Thank goodness for those who are working hard to protect these incredible places.

Another formation in Colossal Cave that is no longer growing.

We dined at El Charro Mexican Cafe in Tucson. It was established in 1922 & has been continuously operated by the same family ever since. Lou saw it on Travel Channel so we decided to check it out - good food & half price margaritas! 

I'm not sure how this all happened but I seem to have been to more air museums in my life time than I ever would have imagined or needed to see! Actually I know exactly how it all came about - having an ex-husband, son & current partner who all love airplanes & flying! The Pima Air & Space Museum (and Aircraft Boneyard) in Tucson were next on our itinerary.

There were 6 or 7 hangers filled with various aircraft as well as another 150 outside. I'm not even going to attempt to tell you what these are - I figure if you are an airplane geek, you'll know what they are & if you aren't, you don't care.

I do know what this is from all my airshow days & air museums - it is a P-51 Mustang. I passed up a chance to ride in one owned & flown by Russ Francis (former 49ers tight end) 30 years ago. Air aficionados were upset with me but I figured if we crashed the headline would read, "Russ Francis & Unidentified Woman Killed in Plane Crash".

The Boneyard houses hundreds of aircraft. Many of them are being stored in case they ever need to be pressed back into service. Hundreds more are earmarked for parts or to be destroyed.

I loved the crazy paint jobs on some of the display aircraft. You can click on any of these photos to view a larger shot.

The final night of our four day quick trip we headed to Chase Field in Phoenix for a game between our Giants & the Arizona Diamondbacks. We picked the right game - this one we won easily but the next night we lost big!

Chase Field in Phoenix is another beautiful ball park. We still enjoy the games even though, unfortunately, our Giants are lousy this year. We have the worst record in baseball & are working hard to not lose 100 games. 

The stadium has a retractable roof which they opened to take advantage of the mild nighttime weather.It seems that the past 25 years have produced some state of the art downtown baseball venues. 

Our infielders chatted as they waited for the results of a challenge replay by the umpires. The Giants went on to win the game 9-2. It was fun to win a game easily for a change. We sat next to some D-Backs fans who were friendly & nice.

 

This was my 17th Major League Baseball stadium in which I have watched a ball game.

Having explored many Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings on previous trips to Arizona, Lou found a few more to see before our flight this morning. AND there are still several more for our next visit!

The Frank Lloyd Wright designed Gammage Auditorium on the campus of Arizona State in Tempe.

The back of the Gammage Auditorium. 

These flowers were growing outside the auditorium. As always, I have no idea what they are but they were striking.

First Christian Church in Phoenix. This church was built from plans designed by Frank Lloyd Wright many years after his death. The office people were happy to let us in to see the facility.

The interior of the sanctuary. Many liberties have been taken with FLW's design. They guessed that he wouldn't have been too happy at the changes to his plans.

The clouds created a gorgeous background to the tower of the First Christian Church.

ICELAND, GREENLAND & NORWAY

This traveling thing can be pretty crazy sometimes but it is always an adventure! We just returned from a two week cruise sailing from Edinburgh, Scotland, that visited Iceland, Greenland & Norway - countries number 100 &101 for Lou (fantastic accomplishment!) & numbers 57, 58 & 59 for me! Way cool!

The only thing that didn't cooperate was the weather. We had many days of rain & some really rough seas - unfortunately, you can't control the weather, but just have to make the best of it.

Our first port of call was Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.

A view of Reykjavik from a lookout stop at the Perlan. We had agreed prior to the cruise to forego sightseeing in the city to do an all day tour of "The Golden Circle" attractions outside the city- we'll visit Reykjavik some other time.

Hallgrimskirkja - the famous church in Reykjavik that towers over the city.

Our first stop on The Golden Circle tour was Thingvellir National Park which shows "rifts" between the North American & European plates - or something like that. If you want the technical info visit Lou's Facebook page. I just love the scenery!

Walking through the rift & lava formations.

Some small waterfalls in Thingvellir National Park.

Geysir Hot Springs - Iceland is filled with geothermal & volcanic areas. This is one of two geothermal areas we visited - kind of like their Yellowstone.

And this is Strokkur Geyser that erupts every 5-10 minutes - the Iceland version of Old Faithful. Lou took this photo.

Gullfoss Waterfall was our third stop on The Golden Circle. We saw a couple of really large, powerful & gorgeous waterfalls in Iceland - plus lots & lots of smaller ones. 

Now this is something I have not seen before. I've never understood the custom of charging to use the bathroom - isn't that a natural function that we all have to do? Iceland took it to new heights with credit card machines that can be used when nature calls!

These ports were far apart which meant lots of sea days & lots of time changes - about six if we counted correctly. Our bodies rebelled big time at a new time zone every day. But one of the amazing things on our journey were lots of icebergs, BIG icebergs. I must have 40 photos of various icebergs. 

The huge icebergs fascinated me. As big as these were, they were still just the tip of the iceberg as they say.

All shapes & sizes made up interesting formations of huge blocks of ice.

The ice blue color of some was really beautiful but others were just white.

We spent many hours in The Observatory, a lounge at the front of the ship on the highest deck. We could run outside for a photo op when we passed a particularly interesting iceberg.

Next stop was Tassilaq on the eastern coast of Greenland. With 2000 residents it is the largest town on Greenland's east side - and there is not much there. I cannot fathom living in such a remote place with such limited creature comforts. No way, Jose! They did have TV satellite dishes which must be lifesavers in the harsh winters - assuming they still work.

We were scheduled to cruise the Angmagssalik Fjord in Greenland prior to our arrival in Tassilaq. The visibility was so poor that our captain turned the ship around & headed to the town early. The description reads, "A chance to appreciate the spectacular scenery of the fjord in all of its untouched natural glory." It was disappointing to miss it.

This is pretty much all of Tassilaq, Greenland. It is inhabited mostly by Inuit people.

The homes & other buildings were very basic but colorful. My impression was that the people lead an extremely simple life. To me it would seem depressing when this cold, rainy day was in summer - what must the winters by like with freezing cold, snow & little daylight?

Our ship Fred Olsen Cruise Line's, Black Watch. If full it holds 800 passengers, our cruise had 670 people. It is an old ship, about 45 years, with amenities that I termed "old school". The daytime activities consisted of lots of lectures & trivia contests (they call them quizzes) that were questions only Brits would be able to answer - we gave up after a few tries. Every meal - breakfast, lunch & dinner - was served on china with tablecloths & formal place settings.

From Tassilaq back to the northern shore of Iceland we encountered the roughest seas with gale force winds. Fortunately, I don't get seasick & Lou did pretty good, only taking a couple Dramamine. The ship rolled & jerked & pitched about the northern Atlantic like it was a toy boat! 

When I went to bed that night, I recall thinking, "I hope we don't wake up to find the ship upside down like in the movie, The Poseidon Adventure." I said a prayer & thought, "This ship has been around for 40 plus years. I can't believe that tonight is the night it will be torn apart by the crashing seas." And although the rough seas continued the next day, the ship survived just fine!

As we made our way back to Iceland's northern shore there were many interesting sights. The clouds hanging over this mountain had an interesting appearance as they circled the top.

Many waterfalls cascade into the ocean along the remote coast. I had to zoom way in on this one to get a photo.

Whale watching is a big thing in northern Iceland. If you look to the left of this whale watching boat you can see the blow & dark outline of the top of a whale. We saw several, along with many dolphins, but I gave up trying to take photos & just watched them. 

Due to the difficult conditions we were about seven hours late arriving into Akureyri, Iceland. The ship's crew did a great job of rescheduling most tours for the afternoon & evening so we were able to still see the sights. Unfortunately, due to the delays we had to skip the final Iceland port of Eskifjordur on the eastern side of the country. That also meant we were unable to cruise Iceland's longest & widest fjord, Reyoarfjordur. Guess we'll have to make a return trip to the country some day.

Approaching the port of Akureyri, Iceland, on the north of the island. That is a Holland America ship that beat us to the destination.

The Godafoss Waterfall - I think it translates to Waterfall of the Gods. I do have to say that Iceland has some extremely impressive waterfalls that give Niagara Falls a run for its money.

These are just a couple of smaller waterfalls near Godafoss. The big falls are to the left.

Needless to say, it was cold, damp & occasionally downright wet but we bundled up & made the best of it. We haven't figured out how to control the weather yet, but we're working on it.

This is the Namafjall geothermal area, sometimes called Hell's Kitchen. This area looked like a lunar landscape & had a definite other worldly vibe to it. I loved the amazing pools, mud pots, fumaroles & strange colors.

One of the fumaroles with rocks piled around it to let people know to stay back from the boiling landscape.

Part of the huge area called the Lava Labyrinth near Lake Myvatn. There are many trails through this maze of lava from eruptions over 2000 years ago. An episode of Game of Thrones was filmed in this very spot.

Lake Myvatn at dusk. This lake was comparable to Lake Tahoe in size.

Before we get to Norway, I need to point out that we were likely the only Americans on the ship! It is a British cruise line, Fred Olsen Cruises, with an extremely loyal clientele of older British people. They all spotted us immediately due to our accents - what accents? They are the ones who talk funny, not us. I had to work at not giggling when they called a geyser, a geezer - isn't that an old man ??? (of which there were many on our ship). The other laughable pronunciation was of what we call a glacier - in British talk, it is a glass-ee-er. What?

Although the weather was a factor in Iceland & Greenland, it improved somewhat in Norway. Lou & I both agreed that the Norwegian scenery was spectacular & the highlight of our trip - they saved the best for last!

The city of Alesund, Norway, from across the fjord. Our little 800 person ship looked like a baby next to the Celebrity Eclipse which holds over 2800 passengers that was in port the same day

Our tour took us to the countryside. I loved the reflections in this crystal clear lake.

Borgund Church in a small village on the outskirts of Alesund. 

The famous view of Alesund from Aksla Viewpoint overlooking the gorgeous mountains, stunning fjords & the lovely city center. 

Lou turned around for a minute to get this photo, then it was back to the beautiful view.

Yayyy, the sun! What is that round, yellow thing in the sky? We finally had at least part of a beautiful day in Alesund. The rain came later in the afternoon.

The 418 steps leading up the mountain to the Aksla Viewpoint. You can also drive up to the top which our bus driver did - not sure how he made it on the narrow, winding, crowded roads. Alesund & Aksla Viewpoint were featured on one of our favorite shows, The Amazing Race, last season. Contestants had to climb these stairs for their next clue.

As we set sail from Alesund to Olden, the sunset was finally worth a photograph! All I did was snap the shot, no photoshopping, no color enhancing, nothing. To be honest, the picture looks better than the actual sunset.

Our final stop was in the tiny village of Olden, located on Nordfjord, the second longest fjord in Norway. We skipped the final formal night of the cruise to enjoy the beautiful journey through the Nordfjord which happened to be the same exact time as our dinner - a no brainer for sure!

Our ship approached the village of Olden in the early morning with fog & clouds shrouding the gorgeous views. 

Our tour took us on a morning "walk" to the base of Briksdal Glacier Arm, one of the 25 arms of the gigantic Jostedal Glacier. The "walk" was actually a fairly strenuous hike & I wasn't alone in my opinion - many people thought the description should have been more accurate as to the difficulty. But it was well worth the effort - the waterfalls & peaks made it a beautiful sight to behold.

The Briksdal Glacier Arm & the ice blue glacial water from its run off.

A close up of the lovely blue color of the ice.

The walk down was much easier than the trek up the mountain. Plus we had cakes & refreshments waiting for us below. Just as we returned to lodge, the rain started to fall steadily - great timing!

One of the many lakes along the narrow road on the 35 minute drive to the glacier.

The grass was bright green & houses were all maintained beautifully adding to the incredible scenery of this picturesque town.

This stunning view of the mountains, meadows, buildings & water was breathtaking. I could just imagine a  Norwegian Olympic athlete being from this village as they did a TV spot on his idyllic home town.

The beginning of our three hour cruise along Nordfjord to the sea. We finally reached the exit into open waters after it was totally dark. Many small communities exist on both sides of the fjord - it must be a quiet, peaceful lifestyle for sure.

What trip would be complete without a few photos of flora & fauna?

I loved these bell shaped blue flowers growing wild along the road in Tassilaq,, Greenland. You can click on any photo to enlarge it - this one has water drops from the rain on the leaves & blooms.

More wet, beautiful flowers in Tassilaq. Our tour to Flower Valley was cancelled due to a lack of guides to take us on our two hour walking tour - too bad.

These flowers were in Alesund, Norway. I always love how people from places with harsh winters plant lots of colorful flowers during the spring & summer.

I enjoyed the various shades of pink in these daisy-like flowers, also in Alesund..

This is a Norwegian horse - he was too busy eating to let me get a good photo. There were thousands of Icelandic horses that have a distinctive shape & build all over Iceland. I tried & tried to get photos but our bus was speeding by too fast & every time we stopped there were none in sight. Darn it!

These twin baby goats were with their mother & a few friends alongside the path that led to Briksdal Glacier Arm.