Photo: Porsche being loaded in the truck

This Porsche was loaded onto a lift, then raised and driven into the upper deck of this car-carrying truck.  This whole car loading operation made me nervous.  I can only imagine how nervous the new car owners must be after just paying a lot of money for their purchases at the classic car auction.

This week we are showing some photos of the architecture and gardens of the villas on the Borromean Islands in the Lakes region of northern Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Detail of Classic Woody Door Handle

Yesterday I commented about how impractical is seems to have a car exterior made of wood.  Even more improbable is having the wood work on the car exterior be in such elegant condition on a vehicle that is more that 50 years old.

I assume that such fine cabinetry-quality woodworking must have been restored or replaced.  After all, when this car was new people probably did not pamper it as they do today, as they did not imagine that it would become a classic worth many times its original price.

This week we are showing some photos of the architecture and gardens of the villas on the Borromean Islands in the Lakes region of northern Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Classic Plymouth Woody door

Continuing with the series from the past several days, here is a photo of the door on the Plymouth Woody car.  I can't imagine using wood like this as the material for the outside of a car.  I would be too worried about scratches and door dings to park such a car in any parking place.   In fact, even today I park my car way away from other vehicles in parking lots so I don't get door dings.

This week we are showing some photos of the architecture and gardens of the villas on the Borromean Islands in the Lakes region of northern Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Classic Plymouth Woody

Yesterday's photo showed a side view of a Plymouth Woody loaded into a tractor-trailer.  I poked my camera into the truck to get a photo of the front of the vehicle.  This car looks like it belongs on a Beach Boys album cover.

This week we are showing some photos of the architecture and gardens of the villas on the Borromean Islands in the Lakes region of northern Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Classic cars loaded in truck

This is a closer view of the cars being loaded onto trucks after the classic car auction.  Some of the classic cars bring prices of more than one million dollars.  If I had just paid a lot of money for a car, and of course I would not, I would be nervous about it being loaded into a truck like a sardine in a can.  On the other hand, I am sure no out of town classic car buyers would drive their cars from Arizona back to their home.     

Classic car owners are very serious about their cars.  The couple who used to live across the street from us moved to a new house they had built for them so that he could keep his 9 classic cars at his home, rather than in a storage facility.   If you want to enjoy your cars, I guess it helps to be able to look at them at home.

This week we are showing some photos of the architecture and gardens of the villas on the Borromean Islands in the Lakes region of northern Italy on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  

Photo: Loading classic cars after the show

Scottsdale is home to the nation's leading car auctions each January.  The Barrett Jackson auction is nationally televised and is the most famous, but there are several other auctions held at the same time that compete for cars and customers.  One of them, the Gooding & Co. auction is held in several giant tents set up in the parking lot of Scottsdale Fashion Square, close to our house.

We have never been to the car auctions, but when driving by on the day after the show closed, we had to stop and get a few photos of the process of loading cars onto tractor-trailers.  I assume that these are cars being loaded for delivery to their new owners.  I will show some closer scenes of this activity in the days ahead.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.   This week we are showing some photos of the architecture and gardens of the villas on the Borromean Islands in the Lakes region of northern Italy.  If your family had been wealthy enough to have owned an island since the 1500's, your ancestors might have created a garden like the ones we are showing this week. 

Photo: Fire Sky Lobby Fireplace

I showed a few photos of the Fire Sky Resort lobby a few days ago, but missed the fireplace, so here it is.  In the winter, we actually make good use of fireplaces in Arizona, as it cools down at night.  The temperature swing can be about 25-30 degrees, so if it is 70 (21 C) during the day, by the end of dinner it might be 60 (15 C).  And first thing in the morning it could be in the 40's (4 - 8 C).  Brrrr.  That's when I wear my winter coat.

This concludes my little series on the Fire Sky Resort.  I hope you will find it of interest.  Tomorrow I will begin a new series on a very popular attraction in Scottsdale during the winter resort season.

This week we are showing photos of the animals and people of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.   If you have not been on a photo safari, come take a look, as our posts will show some of what you would likely see and experience.

Photo: Fire Sky Resort Fountain

Scottsdale Resort, similar to others elsewhere, like to have little surprises to add visual interest to guests.  This fountain and garden area is relaxing in appearance, as it should be because it is along the walkway to the Fire Sky Resort's Spa.

Spas seem to have boomed in popularity during the past decade.  I guess baby boomers have advanced to position in life deserving of some pampering to help one relax.

This week we are showing photos of the animals and people of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.   If you have not been on a photo safari, come take a look, as our posts will show some of what you would likely see and experience.

Photo: Fire Sky Resort Outdoor Lobby

This is outdoor lobby at the Fire Sky Resort, just outside the lobby area that I showed a few days ago.  When the interior decorator presented his or her concepts to the hotel's management, i imagine they pitched that the chandelier and polka dot ottomans would be design elements intended to attract a younger, hipper crowd than the golf course set, as would appear to be consistent with the Resort's more urban location in central Scottsdale.

This week we are showing photos of the animals and people of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.   If you have not been on a photo safari, come take a look, as our posts will show some of what you would likely see and experience.

Photo: Fire Sky Pool & Beach

What is a beach doing in Scottsdale?  The Fire Sky Resort pool has an area with a sand beach, so children can build sand castles, under the protection of tall trees that shade the beach from the direct sun.

And with the ambiance of the beach at a resort, I don't think that sunbathers have to worry about people running past them kicking up sand, or throwing frisbees into people lounging around.  Things are more refined here.

And, of course, you can be served food and drinks from the Resort staff, not stand in line on a boardwalk for fried beach food.

This week we are showing photos of the animals and people of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.   If you have not been on a photo safari, come take a look, as our posts will show some of what you would likely see and experience.

Photo: Fire Sky Resort Pool

This is a portion of the meandering swimming pool behind the lobby of the Fire Sky Resort.  A pleasant pool is a necessity for Scottsdale resorts.  The design element of the stone scuppers from the lobby and front entrance are repeated yet again at the pool.

This week we are showing photos from a photo safari in Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  

Photo: Fire Sky Resort Lobby

This is the reverse view of the photo that I posted yesterday.  This looks from the rear of the lobby back towards the front entrance.  You will notice that the stone columns echo the same design elements as the water feature out in front of the lobby entrance.

But enough of the lobby.  Shall we step out back?  After all, tourists usually come to Scottsdale in the winter to enjoy the weather outdoors, not to sit around in a hotel lobby.

This week we are showing photos of the animals and people of Tanzania on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.   If you have not been on a photo safari, come take a look, as our posts will show some of what you would likely see and experience.

Photo: Fie Sky Resort Lobby

Once you walk into the entrance that I showed yesterday, this is the ambiance of the Fire Sky Resort that will welcome you.  This is an older resort that was extensively remodeled and renovated about 7 or 8 years ago.

Unlike some of the newer, larger resorts built farther out, it does not have an expansive lobby with views of the mountains, desert or a golf course.  But it offers the convenience of walking to the amenities of downtown Scottsdale, including the Arts District, Entertainment District, and the best shopping in the Southwest.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.   This week we are showing photos of the animals and people of Tanzania.  If you have not been on a photo safari, come take a look, as our posts will show some of what you would likely see and experience.

Photo: Fire Sky Resort Lobby Entrance

This is a view of the lobby entrance to the Fire Sky Resort.  It combines both tropical and desert landscaping, and the use of water flowing from scuppers is a welcome sound on a warm day.

Dave and I will occasionally walk here from our house for dinner.  We like to live close enough to downtown Scottsdale to walk to a quality restaurant for dinner.  It seems so, well, European, to be able to enjoy an excellent dinner without having to drive.

We are showing photos of Egypt this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Entrance to Fire Sky Resort

This is the entrance to the Fire Sky Resort on Scottsdale Road, just a short walk from Scottsdale Fashion Square.   It is a Kimpton Hotel.  I live only about a half mile from here, and it is relaxing boutique hotel/resort.

We are now in the hear of the Scottsdale resort season, as we have warm sunny weather that brings lots of tourists from the East and Midwest.

We are showing photos of Egypt this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Theme Day: Electricity

Navajo Generating Station

Today is theme day and this month it is electricity.

Here is a photo I took of the Navajo Generating Station.

This plant is a major employer and provides electricity for much of Arizona,  but it is very close to the Grand Canyon so some people thinks its emissions cause haze at the Grand Canyon.

I loved getting this photo but then the security guard came and told me that I could not take any more photos as photos were prohibited.  However, it is a great image to photograph so I am glad to share it for theme day. 

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

We have travel photos to share of Abu Simbel in Egypt this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Lake at McCormick Ranch

This is yet another of the many lakes at the McCormick Ranch master planned community, which I have shown recently.

There is a lot of water in Scottsdale, even though the Phoenix metro area is the desert, with only 7 inches (18 cm) of rain per year. Perhaps people like the lakes and ponds to give the impression that we are not in the desert. Developers like to add lakes and ponds because they can charge more for the houses they build around them.

Under the initiative of former Governor Bruce Babbitt, who later ran for President and served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Clinton, since the 1980's it has been illegal for developers or cities to use ground water from wells for lakes and ponds. It is obviously wasteful to pump water from the aquifer for decorative features.

We have photos of the stark landscape of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Baby ducks

I like the stripe across the face of these baby ducks and the color catching the late afternoon sun.

We have photos of the stark landscape of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Ducklings leading their mother

Usually baby ducks follow their mother, however these seemed to be

quite confident to make their own path, with their mother following, close behind. They must be teenagers.

These ducks are in one of he lakes in Chaparral Park, which is part of the Indian Bend Wash green belt that runs through Scottsdale. It about a mile from our house, and just one block from my mother's house. She can walk her dog each day in the park past a series of lakes. There is also a dog park area, although she does not take her dog there because there are too many other dogs. And, yes, she always picks up after her dog.

We have photos of the stark landscape of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Mallards in the desert

I am not particularly knowledgeable about ducks, but these certainly look like mallards to me. One time we had some ducks fly into our back yard and make themselves at home in our swimming pool.

We called a bird rescue wildlife center so that the birds could be removed safely, as we did not think that the chlorine in the pool would be good for them. Plus, they were kind of messy on our patio.

We have photos of the stark landscape of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: McCormick Ranch lake, golf and houses

Here is another photo of the ambiance for the houses in McCormick Ranch, with golf courses, lakes, bike trails and other community amenities running throughout the master planned community.

McCormick Ranch was the last large cattle ranch within the City of Scottsdale. In 1970 the family sold 4,236 acres (1714 hectares) for a master planned community to Kaiser-Aetna. With the concurrence of the City of Scottsdale, the City Planner was hired by the developers to plan this lovely community.

The McCormick family also donated 100 acres of land to the City, which became McCormick Stillman Railroad Park, with old train cars on display and small trains that ride around the park.

We have photos of the stark landscape of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Goose getting ready for a take off

Geese share the lakes in Indian Bend Wash and McCormick Ranch with the ducks and other water fowl. The geese are rather aggressive at times.

I like to try to catch the tracks of water fowl on take off and landing, although Dave's son Stuart took this photo when he and Dave went out for a bike ride together and took a little point-and-shoot camera in case they could get some photos to share for my website.

We have photos of the stark landscape of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Great egret

The lakes in Indian Bend Wash and McCormick Ranch contain not only ducks and geese, but egrets ad herons. This looks like a bird that I would expect to see on my husband's Costa Rica Daily Photo blog.

My late father-in-law used to love to watch the herons outside his family room windows, which overlooked a lake where he and my late mother-in-law lived in Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona, about 15 miles east of Scottsdale. (When they passed away and we were no longer responsible to take care of them, we moved from Mesa to Scottsdale/Paradise Valley about 10 years ago).

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we return to the stark landscape of the Atacama Desert in the Andes of northern Chile. It provides quite a contrast to the Arizona desert.

Photo: Duck family

An advantage of living on a lake is the opportunity to enjoy observing the water fowl, which is something that you would not ordinarily expect in the middle of the Arizona desert. Scottsdale has a series of lakes and ponds running the length of the original city limits.

The Indian Bend Wash green belt provides pleasant hiking and bike trails and golf courses along what was originally proposed to be a big concrete drainage ditch like they have in Los Angeles. Thank goodness Scottsdale had the foresight to insist upon a natural greenbelt.

We have photos of Chicago during different lighting conditions this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: McCormick Ranch Lake and Golf

After the long series of photos of the mine and desert jeep trail that I have shown recently, I think it is time to rest the eyes on a relaxing Scottsdale scene of a lake, palm trees, and a golf course. If you lived in one of the patio homes on the right, this would be your view every afternoon.

McCormick Ranch is a masterplanned community on the site of the former ranch purchased by the McCormick family in the mid 194o's. The original purchaser was the grandson of the inventor of the McCormick reaper. The McCormick family bought the ranch as a winter home, as they also owned homes in Quebec; Pleasantville, New York; a farm in Illinois; an apartment in Chicago; and a villa on the French Riviera.

I will share some more information about McCormick Ranch in the future.

We have photos of Chicago during different lighting conditions this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Arizona desert sunset

On Stuart's drive back to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area from the desert east of town, he paused to capture the classic Arizona sunset.

These giant saguaro cacti take 80 years before they start to sprout an arm. They weigh about 100 pounds per foot (135 kg per meter).

I hope you have found this series on Stuart's desert road trip of interest. I appreciate Dave's son, Stuart, allowing me to use some of his photos, as I would not drive my vehicle on the type of roads needed to reach the Sunflower mine.

We have photos of Chicago during different lighting conditions this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Sunflower mine timbers

After yesterday's interlude for the observance of Arizona's 100th anniversary of becoming a state, this is the final photo of the abandoned Sunflower mine.

To link the Sunflower mine with Arizona's statehood, the ore in this location was discovered the year before Arizona became a state, the mine opened the year after Arizona became a state, and the mine has been abandoned for just about half of the time of Arizona's statehood.

Tomorrow will be the final photo in this series on Stuart's trip to the mine. It will show a scene that is almost obligatory for how a trip into the Arizona desert should end.

We have photos of Chicago during different lighting conditions this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Arizona's Centennial

Today is Arizona's Centennial celebration.

Arizona became a state on February 14, 1912, the last of the contiguous 48 states.

I took this photo in Monument Valley to recognize the beauty of Arizona. The Arizona State Flag is on top, along with the Native American/US Flags. The Native Americans were here first so this seemed a proper recognition for this special day.

I am a fourth generation Arizona so I love Arizona and celebrate and applaud its diversity and strength.

I liked the symbolism and style of this image for Arizona's Birthday. Happy Celebration!

We have photos of Chicago during different lighting conditions this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Sunflower mine cooling tanks

This is a close view of the mercury vapor cooling tanks at the Sunflower mine. I considered changing this to black and white, but I ended up liking the patina of the rust.

We will take a one day interlude from this series tomorrow for a post about a special occasion, then I will conclude this series on the Sunflower mine.

We have photos of Chicago during different lighting conditions this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: gears of Sunflower mine separator

Here is another industrial black and which photo of the mine separator, which I showed in black and white a few days ago. The size of the gears on the engine that turns the giant pipe shows how much force it must have taken to pulverize the ore so that it could be heated and the mercury vapor removed.

Factories fascinate me. A little over 20 years ago I was chosen by Rotary International for an exchange program and was sent to the industrial midlands of England to speak to Rotary groups to promote professional opportunities for women and to spread goodwill from Arizona and the USA. My gracious British hosts opened their homes for me to stay in and gave me tours of mines and factories. To my surprise, some of the people I met in the old industrial towns had never met an American before.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site. This week we are showing photos of Chicago during different lighting conditions, such as the late afternoon glow, sunset, night and sunrise.