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.

A Montana Girl

My cousin, Bonnie Rae, has been here for a couple of days visiting.

It's quite a trip. She lives in Billings, Montana.

Yesterday we spent all day touring Northern Arizona.

First an examination of an Arizona Sycamore tree at Montezuma Castle Park.

Then a trip to Arizona's most popular tourist destination. No - not my house. The Grand Canyon. Bonnie had visited the North Rim but this was her first trip to the South Rim.

She was amazed at the vast number of other tourists there - especially as we hunted for a parking place. We would have found parking easier had we been traveling on these.

We stopped in at a motorcycle shop the other day and Bonnie tried out a Victory bike. I was amazed at the size of the biggest bikes but was assured that while weighing about 800-plus pounds they were delicately balanced and easy to ride on the highway.

I'll take their word for that.

Anyway, it was a good visit with this adventurous Montana girl.

Tokin' with Larry

I just don't know if I can believe this. But . . . you decide.

St. Patrick's Day

Oh it's that day again.

As always the leprechauns have been out painting a shamrock in a P-town intersection.

Actually, the leprechauns come from this nearby establishment.

The folks at Murphy's bar and restaurant tend to celebrate St. Paddy's Day in a big way every year. But they have some competition now from another Irish pub and restaurant.

The folks here intend to get into the day early.

And after one or two of those 60 ounce pitchers of Killians, the flag out front may look more like this.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and . . . take a cab home from the pub!

Spring is in the air

This may be my favorite time of year here because of the flowering trees.

These purplish trees are everywhere right now.

As always the photos are even more spectacular if you click on them.