Happy 4th!

In what has become a tradition, the Beautiful Rich Daughter (BRD) and her beau celebrated their 4th anniversary this morning. For the 4th time, the BRD and JNorm traveled by chauffered limousine to the county courthouse to take out a marriage license. As of yet, those licenses have not been acted upon. After going through the formalities (the folks at the license window now recognize them) they go to the Peacock Room at the Hassayampa Hotel for Bloody Marys, Mimosas and Eggs Benedict. It's an odd sort of ritual but they seem very happy.

This time they included She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO) and I in the fun. While we didn't accompany them to the licensing, we did join them for breakfast. As the expression goes - a good time was had by all.

Is this really necessary?

Politics!

All right.

Here's where I lose some of you.

Maybe all of you.

Whatever.

It's time to talk of politics.

I think Barack Obama is doing a pretty good job as President. Sure, he's not pleasing everyone, especially some of the people who supported him in his run for the presidency. But. But. He can not make everyone happy. When he became president, he learned many things that he didn't know as a candidate. He perhaps changed some of his positions, or some of his actions based on his views during the campaign. But a campaign is not a presidency. So things change. Live with it.

Again. The campaign is not the presidency. The candidate does not know all that he will come to know as president.

So. He is now the president. His decisions have angered some...perhaps many. But he's been president for TWO MONTHS!!!! Give the man a break!!!

And that's all I've got to say.

At present.

What a little water will do, do, do . . .

Here's a photo of the terrain around Prescott Valley. Pretty dry. But you have to remember this is the high desert so dry is in.

BUT WAIT!!!

Let's pull that lens back a bit.

Oh! What's all this green stuff? Why it's the Stoneridge (aptly named) Golf Course. See what some water and some mowers can do . . . even here in dry, dry, dry Arizona? Did I mention money? Yeah, a lot of money helps, too.

Arizona Sycamores

The part of Arizona where Montezuma's Castle is located appears to have once been covered with water. The Arizona Sycamores grow there, looking as if they have been living underwater.

Their bark appears, at a distance, to be ghostly white.

But the closer you get, the more you see the bark resembles camouflage.

It is very noticeable when you get very close.

You can learn more about these trees here.

The Grand Canyon

Arizona's greatest tourist attraction.

The Grand Canyon.

Or as a sardonic friend of mine once said, upon first seeing it, "Well, it's a great canyon but I'm not sure it's a grand canyon."

It's still an awe-inspiring sight.

There are those who can't seem to get close enough to the rim. (Click on these pictures for a "closer view.")

But wait! There's more! As we were heading away from the Canyon, we spotted these two cow elk. There really are two. The lighter one has her head down.

And, in spite of all those signs in Northern Arizona that say "Watch for Elk" and I had never seen one, these two and several others were peacefully wandering very close to the road. Here's the initial shot.

Montezuma's Castle

I drove over to Montezuma's Castle National Monument the other day. It was built and occupied by the Sinagua Indians around 1400 A.D. The first photo shows what was called Castle A by archaelogists.

It really is nothing more than some caves hollowed out of the cliff. Years later, a five-story masonry construction was built higher up on the cliff wall. Supposedly about 45 people lived in the "apartment house" before mysteriously fleeing the area, never to return.

The ruins are now off-limits to tourists although a park is operated at the base of the cliff and thousands of visitors come to the park annually. I've been there several times but this week was a perfect time to visit with temperatures around 70 degrees.

Incidentally, the name "Montezuma's Castle" is a misnomer. When the ruins were discovered by European Americans in the 1860's, they were believed to have been built by followers of the Aztec emperor of Mexico. In truth, he never came anywhere near this far north. But the name stuck.