A Slice of Life: Route 88

June 08, 2008

Route 88

Ralph and I went out for a desert adventure. It's been a bit warm around here so we took the car and headed out to Route 88. It's spectacular: miles of steep, winding and mostly unpaved road past magnificent scenery of twisted igneous mountains with dense forests of saguaro. There was so much in bloom and almost no one about. Some of the drive is a bit treacherous as you drop down a canyon, one-way only, tight switchbacks and steep drop-offs with only a paltry guard rail... but the rest was entirely stress-free and beautiful. The nicest part was that we stumbled upon a shady glen with a running stream so I got my shoes and socks off and went for in the cool water up to my knees, poking around the tadpoles and algae.

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About

Pinal Peak

These photos were taken on November 24th. The light and colors were amazing today... it's been far too long since Ralph and I have been out east exploring. I had forgotten how odd the little cities are that we drove past and how high the elevation is to Pinal Peak.

Home decor creations

There seems to be endless possibilites as to what to embellish... here are some items that I had a lot of fun creating. Watch this space for a set of scallop coasters in a box and triangular box, a box that is a book for photo storage and wooden frames.

Digital Layouts

Here are the first of (hopefully) many more digital layouts I hope to create using Photoshop Elements 6. There is certainly a huge learning curve ahead, but now I've at least got my feet wet, it's not nearly as intimidating as I thought. Watch this space for more soon!

BOOKS - miniBOOKS

Here are some miniBOOKS I have been making recently. I guess I got a bit bored with 12 x 12 layouts and wanted to do something a bit different.

Layouts for scrapbooking

I love to scrapbook. I can't put it more plainly. It allows me the time and space to be by myself but it also gives me the mindspace to be around my family, relations and old friends. Why do I scrapbook? Because there are no boundaries to what idea you can create a page with. It seems a richer form of either a diary or journaling; it's a way of preserving a moment in it's entirety. Moments in time are nuggets, like gold, and worth keeping. Almost nothing is insignificant. Once gone, memories may or may not return. We're all aware how the intensity of a moment dims, no matter how good that moment ever was. Scrapbooking can keep that feeling alive for a long time. I love to document the simpler things in life, not necessarily just the important events. I can see how myself and others close to me in my life are growing. I can appreciate the now.

Desert Photography

Here are some of the many thousands of images that I have taken of the Sonoran Desert. I love the desert so much. Anyone who really knows me knows this. I chose to live in the US southwest above anywhere else, and that has made a real difference. Not circumstance, but choice. It is inspiring to me for my art and in other areas. So many trails, so many views and such variety. It's breathtaking. Every single day, really and truly I appreciate it, whether it's small things like my little but beloved cactus container garden, or a certain light of day or something in bloom (because there's always something in bloom here)... the desert is endlessly fascinating, a source of constant awe and inspiration, and I'm so glad I have discovered it in this lifetime. Thanks for looking.

San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo is an amazing place. It has to be one of the best zoos in the world, hands down. I love it there so much. I have a mental note that 2 times a year is the minimum I would want to visit. I love all the tropical plants, the vastness, the enormous variety of plant life as well as of course the huge variety of animal life. The ways of transport in the zoo are so cool: skychairs over the entire site, open-top double-decker buses, trains, etc, it is fabulous. Ralph and I have taken some of our very best photography here and there is more to come.

Phoenix Zoo

I love zoos! I'm really happy to get these shots as the time before this visit, I took 150 photos and at around 4pm (an hour before closing) I discovered I had left my memory card at home and had been snapping away at nothing....eek!

Edwards Park

Ralph and I went out on the atv to Edwards Park. It is beautiful remote area near Four Peaks here in Arizona. It is entirely wilderness. We did not see a soul all day. These photos were taken in May of 2006, long after Spring down in the valley. The elevation there is 6000 feet, so Spring is longer coming, hence these shots of wildflowers. This alligator juniper is charred as two summer prior, there was a large wild fire that spread through the entire area. It was quite strange and eery to see such vibrant bright wildflowers springing up amongst such black charred decay.

Daryl's Garden

These are some shots I took of Daryl and Merlin Flemion's lovely garden, back in 2003 or 2004 I think. I used these images and more to make a hardback book, sized at 8 x 10 with 20 double-sided pages. I made it for their 2005 Christmas present. Making it was a lot of fun and allowed me to appreciate their garden all over again. Daryl and Merlin are members of the Milwaukee Rose Society, but there are much more than just lovely roses in their garden. Each time I visit, there is something new to enjoy, photograph, and then later share.

Wisconsin Wildflowers

Love Wisconsin when it is lush and green and before the cold takes over. Daryl is the best person for exploring the beauty of this area. All these photos were taken in one lovely afternoon. Thanks for looking.

Sunsets

There are always sunsets in Arizona, or in the southwest for that matter. The skies are bigger, I mean seemingly more expansive here, I am not sure why it is, or seems that way. It's easy to take sunsets and sunrises for granted, but they are spectacular, and these images are just a few of many I have taken over the years. Hope you like them.

A Slice of Life

capturing meaningful moments of the everyday