Photo: Optima Camelview Condos in Central Scottsdale

This is a wider view of the Optima Camelview condos.  I showed a closer view yesterday.  The project is designed so that many units have terraces that capture the glorious Arizona sun.

This week we have photos of Punahka, Bhutan, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Optima Camelview Condos in Central Scottsdale

This view of a portion of the award-winning Optima Camelview condos near Scottsdale Fashion Square.  This is a green building, with rooftop and terrace gardens.

This week we have photos of Punahka, Bhutan, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Aerial Photo: The Former General Motors Proving Ground

I think this is a photo of the former General Motors Proving Ground in Mesa.  I make that assessment because there is a pattern in the desert soil that looks like a large round track.

General Motors closed the facility about a decade or so ago.  They used to test their production cars and their developmental concept cars here.

When it operated as a test track, there was a large berm an fence around the facility so that people could not see what cars were inside.

With the closure of the GM Proving Grounds, home developers have their eye on this area.  Some of the new home developments are visible on the left of this photo.

This week we have photos of the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Aerial Photo: Sun Lakes

This is a closer view of part of the Sun Lakes master planned community in the southeast valley.  There are lakes and golf courses that snake through the homes in a symmetrical layout.

Houses command a premium price if they are on a golf course, so naturally they golf course is laid out to increase the number of homes that are adjacent to it.

This week we have photos of the people of Guatemala posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: A very large Paradise Valley home

Yesterday I posted a photo of a large Paradise Valley home.  Part of its roof is visible at the bottom of this photo.  In the center of the photo posted today is a home that is twice as large.  

According to one of the real estate websites, this home has 28,000 square feet (2600 sq. meters).  I think in a home that size the family would have to wear cell phones to call each other just to find out what room they are in.

Check out our Viva la Voyage travel photo site to see photos of the Great Synagogue of Budapest, Hungary.

Photo: A large, Paradise Valley home

Yes, this is a house.  If you hike up Camelback Mountain, the size of some of the Paradise Valley homes is revealed in ways not visible from the streets.

Some of the homes look like they could be resorts, not just a private home.

Check out our Viva la Voyage travel photo site to see photos of the Great Synagogue of Budapest, Hungary.

Photo: A House with a View in Boynton Canyon

There are a few private homes on the grounds of Enchantment Resort, just before the National Forest land that comprises the rest of Boynton Canyon.  The people who live in the house shown in today's photo have a spectacular view of the red rock canyon.

The view changes with the light, although we hiked past these homes on a rare cloudy day.

This week we have photos of the Hassan II mosque of Casablanca, Morocco posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Camelback Castle

You may have noticed in yesterday's photo that there is a house that looks like a castle high up on Camelback.  Here is a closer view.

This is known as the Copenhaver Castle, named for the orthodontist who built if from 1967-77.  He listed it for sale in 1985 for $7 million, cut the price to $2.5 million in 1987.  He still could not sell it and he filed for bankruptcy.

The next buyer bought it from a bank in 1989 for $985,000, but filed bankruptcy in 2004.  An insurance company bought it for $2.6 million in 2005, but the insurance company was later liquidated and the house went into foreclosure.  I local man bought it last year for $1.45 million, but estimates that it needs $3 - $5 million in renovations.  It has 7.900 square feet of living space with unusual castle-themed features.  

This week we have photos of Galway, Ireland and the Cliffs of Moher posted  on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Camelback Mountain homes

This is a wider view of the house I showed two days ago.  It shows the remarkable setting for the houses that climb the slope of Camelback Mountain.

These houses have great views across the Valley, especially at sunset.  They do not have any flat space for a lawn, however.

This week we have photos of Galway, Ireland and the Cliffs of Moher posted  on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Camelback Mountain House

This is a house high up the slope on the south side of Camelback Mountain.  They have obviously designed this house with lots of windows to take advantage of spectacular views across the Valley.

This week we have photos of Galway, Ireland and the Cliffs of Moher posted  on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: High Desert Scottsdale Homes

Here is another photo from Stuart's hike to Tom's Thumb.  There are some large homes scattered in the high desert at the foothills of the McDowell Mountains.  It is about 3-4 degrees cooler for every 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

This week we have photos of Blarney Castle, Ireland, this week posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Paradise Valley hillside home.

This is a Paradise Valley home.  Lots of Paradise Valley homes are on the slopes of Camelback Mountain, Mummy Mountain, and the nearby foothills such as this.  The homes on the hills have nice views across the Valley.

My husband and I live in Paradise Valley, but we live in the part right next to Scottsdale.  Our next door neighbor's property is the dividing line between Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of Trinity College, one of the major attractions of Dublin, Ireland.

Photo: Optima condo courtyard

The Optima Camelview condo building is close to our house, and we cut through this center courtyard whenever we walk to a restaurant in downtown Scottsdale from our house.  It is more pleasant to walk through here than along Scottsdale Road, where there is a lot of traffic.

There is a new restaurant in this courtyard, which we must try.

The Optima Camelview project has about 750 units, designed with more than 200 different floor plans.  One might think that the builder would have complained about the architect, but the builder and the architect were the same.

This week we are showing photos of wild animals and a coffee plantation in Tanzania, Africa on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Camelback Mountain homes under the clouds

This is a view of the east side of Camelback Mountain from our back yard.  The rain that we had a few weeks ago brought low clouds that shrouded the top of Camelback, just above the houses that creep up the mountainside.

These clouds are a very unusual sight for us.  It is usually sunny and clear, and clouds rarely come down so close to to the Valley.

This week we are showing photos featuring the people of Papua New Guinea on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Camelback Mountain Mansion

The house high up on Camelback Mountain had many spectacular features besides the negative edge swimming pool that I showed yesterday.  This photo shows the living room on the right, reflected in a glass wall.

The glass wall slides back, and this living room becomes open air on two sides, with views across the valley below.

The Phoenix Symphony Parties of Note held in showcase homes have been very successful.  Amazingly, they have more people volunteering to hold the parties in their houses and to underwrite the costs of the dinners than they have dates set aside for these fundraisers.

Today is Sunday so we have new photos posted on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are featuring the wildlife of Africa.

Photo: Camelback Mountain Swimming Pool

This is the swimming pool of the house high up on Camelback Mountain.  There is a negative edge overlooking the Valley, with the lights of Arcadia, Scottsdale, Tempe and beyond in the distance.

Like yesterday, this is just an iPhone photo, as I did not take a camera with me to the Symphony fundraiser at this dramatic home.

This we we are showing photos of some scenes of the people, markets, and scenery of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Santa Barbara architecture

When I showed a photo of the Heard Museum recently I mentioned that I like the Santa Barbara architecture that is popular in Arizona and California.  This house in the Encanto neighborhood of central Phoenix. photographed from mu office, is another example.

I think you wold call this a Santa Barbara bungalow.  Most of the houses in the Encanto neighborhood were built in the 1920's - 1950's, which is very old for Phoenix.

This we we are showing photos of some scenes of the people, markets, and scenery of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Camelback Mountain Home

Last evening my husband and I attended a dinner that was a fundraiser for the Phoenix Symphony.  It was a reception in a private home way up high on Camelback Mountain, with a concert by a string trio, followed by dinner.

This is an iPhone photo from the balcony of the home, with the sunset and city lights in the distance.  The host generously opens up his home for charitable events.  Good Morning America once used his patio as the location for one of its shows.

The Phoenix Symphony's "Parties of Note" are a series of fundraising dinners and intimate concerts in private homes.  David and I held one of these parties in our home last year, as David is the longest serving member of the Board of Directors of the Phoenix Symphony.

Tomorrow I will show a photo of the swimming pool of this house.

This we we are showing photos of some scenes of the people, markets, and scenery of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Paradise Valley Hilltop Home

This is a hilltop home in Paradise Valley, perched to get a spectacular view of Camelback Mountain and the sunsets across the Valley.

Of course the steep driveway never has has the problem you would have back East of having to shovel snow.

This week we are showing photos of the recent total eclipse of the sun off the coast of Australia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Theme Day -- My Street

The worldwide City Daily Photo Theme for November 1 is "my street."  This is the entrance to my street, which is actually in Paradise Valley, right next to Scottsdale.

This shows the gate house at the entrance to our street.  There is a littl water fountain visible in the bottom left of this photo.

There are 18 homes in our little neighborhood.  The Scottsdale city line is at the back of the development.

One of the expenses for our little neighborhood association to maintain is the trim these tall palm trees, of course.   It is nice to come home and be greeted by the flowers, trees and the fountain at the entrance.

This week we are showing photos of Papua New Guinea on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  We returned about one week ago.  It was a wonderful mix of native cultures, South Pacific scenery, a total solar eclipse, a volcano erupting at night, and colorful coral reefs.