Photo: Scottsdale Fire Department Crew

This is the crew from the Scottsdale Fire Department that responded to a problem at our house last evening.  I appreciate their help immensely, and they obliged me by posing for a quick photo as the crew picked up their gear before leaving.

The smoke detectors went off in our new house and set off the alarm.  I apologize to all of our new neighbors, as I could not get the alarm off.

The Fire Department responded and checked out the house.  There was no fire.  They determined that the alarm was set off by the dust and fumes from the construction activity from remodeling work that we are doing and they set up a giant fan to blow out the air in the house.  The problem did not occur while the construction crews were there because the windows were open, but when the house was closed up at night the lack of ventilation caused the problem.

This is just a quick cell phone photo in the dark, but I post it as an expression of appreciation to a wonderful crew.  It is so reassuring that such dedicated, trained, skillful and helpful professionals respond to people in need.

This we have posted photos of some of the mountain temples of Bhutan on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: The Costa Rican and Mexican Former Presidents Visit Arizona

Former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla and former Mexican President Vicente Fox visited Arizona on Tuesday to promote trade  and investment in their countries.

They met with members of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  My husband is a Board member and took this photo during the meeting.

He was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet Presidents Chinchilla and Fox and they both spoke eloquently and forcefully about the progress and opportunities of their countries.

With this connection between Arizona and Costa Rica, Dave and I are for the first time using the same photo for his Costa Rica Daily Photo website and my Scottsdale Daily Photo website.

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

Photo: Citrus Grove Viewing Platform

Some of the homes in the Valley of the Sun are located in former citrus orchards.  The Arcadia area of Scottsdale-Phoenix is one example.  The groves are of Mesa is another.

This is a photo of a backyard in the groves area of Mesa.  The houses are typically on several acres and they include old citrus trees.  They are located near the Falcon Field airport.

The people who have the backyard shown in this photo built a viewing platform in their yard.  This would enable them to see sunsets across the valley, and also to watch the planes take off and land at Falcon Field.   It seems like a very large and sturdy structure for only occasional use.

This week we are showing photos of the Galapagos Islands on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Patient being loaded into ambulance

Concluding this series that I have been showing, the paramedics loaded a patient into the ambulance.  Fortunately, it is only about one mile to Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, which is a level 1 trauma center with outstanding emergency room facilities and staff.

The paramedics were exercising care and were not rushing, so it appeared that the patient was not experiencing a severe emergency, although I am sure the situation was very serious to her and her loved ones.

This week we have photos of the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Ambulance arrives & unloads

A moment after the fire truck arrived,  an ambulance of paramedics arrived and unloaded this gurney.  Someone in one of the restaurants must have needed medical assistance.

Thank goodness for the rapid response and expert training and dedication of our first responders.

This week we have photos of the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Fire Trucks and Paramedics Arrive

While on the roof of the parking garage for sunset photos, a fire truck pulled up in the alley between the garage and some restaurants.  It presented this unusual view of the top of a fire truck.  More on this tomorrow.

This week we have photos of the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Cats on a bus

I admit that this is goofy.  Why do you think there would be cat pictures in the window of a bus?

I will do something that my husband likes to do on his Costa Rica Daily Photo site.  I think I will run a little series to reveal what this is about over the course of several days.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of the Spanish Colonial architecture of Grenada, Nicaragua.

Photo: Gadzooks

Gadzooks is an enchilada restaurant in Phoenix.   But, gadzooks!  Someone crashed through their sign.  Half of the sign remains, but the half that was closest to the street is a pile of cinderblocks.

The stunning things about this scene is that the sign is located across the sidewalk from the street, which means that a vehicle crossed over the sidewalk before hitting the sign.  The second photo shows the location of the sign in relation to the street.

I sincerely hope that there were no pedestrians on the sidewalk at the time.  The driver must have been drunk to lose control of a vehicle while driving up 7th Street in central Phoenix.

This is one time that it is a good thing that there are so few pedestrians on the streets of Phoenix.

(iPhone photo)

This week we are showing photos of Raboul, Papua New Guinea on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  It is the former capitol, but has been destroyed by volcanic eruptions.

Photo: Luggage on the Runway

This is a photo of a nightmare for air travelers.  A luggage cart heading for a plane made a turn too quickly on the runway and the suitcases that you see on the pavement went flying off the luggage carts onto the tarmac.

My husband and I were having lunch   in a restaurant while changing planes at the Denver Airport and saw these suitcases spill out of the luggage cart.

This story has what I hope will be a happy ending.  The operator pulling the train of luggage carts returned and picked up the suitcases.  Well, it was a happy ending as long as there was nothing fragile in any of those suitcases.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of the cathedral and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua.

Photo: Spice Market in Meknes, Morocco

This is another contrasting photo of a spice market.  This was an indoor market in Meknes, Morocco.

The strange thing about this is that the cone of spices in the left, front is a mixture of a lot of different spices. I don't know how people would get their choice if they want a spice from the bottom or middle of the pile.  Maybe it is for decoration only.

This concludes my little spice series.

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

Photo: Spice Market in Marrakech, Morocco

I showed a photo yesterday of our task of reloading our spices in our Scottsdale home.  As a photo, it was not up to the customary standards for this website, but I showed it so that I would have a transition and excuse to show today's contrasting photo of a a very different and more exotic approach to the sale of spices.

Unlike the jars of spices in Safeway that are the source of the spices that I keep in Tupperware in my kitchen, in North Africa and the Middle East people buy spices in bulk from markets such as this market in Marrakech, Morocco.

I would worry that a gust of wind would blow the spices off the tall cones, or someone would be careless or malicious and bump into them.

I will show a closer view tomorrow or another spice market.

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

Photo: A spice job

Yesterday's goofy photo of tupperware spice container lids was part of the chore of changing out all of the spices in my kitchen.

This photo shows part of the process of lining up each new spice with the Tupperware carton that contains the label for the carton.  This was a good kitchen task to delegate to my husband.  His culinary skills are limited, but they include reading spice labels.

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