Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Desert Botanical Gardens

If you ever go to Phoenix you should go:




Saturday, March 17, 2012

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Silent Essay

One of the competitions of my photo club is a silent essay- its a series of images that tell a story. I decided to do my essay based on the photos of my son's Royal Military College Parade. I hope that you enjoy it.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The End of the Apache Trail

we made it safe and sound. At that point we had a choice- go back the way we came or go the 'long way'. We chose the long way. :)

At the end are Roosevelt Dam and Roosevelt Bridge

Saturday, March 3, 2012

and more shots

I should warn you that I took over a thousand shots on this vacation. Now many are duplicates and some just suck but it still gives me fodder for lots of blog posts. By the way, we still haven't reached the end of the trail.....



Thursday, March 1, 2012

In the Mountains

here are some shots of deeper into the Apache Trail. As you proceed there are more and more switchbacks. Then there is a spot that it turns into a dirt road.
The sign even warns you 'dirt road for the next 22 miles'.
Ha! I thought. 'Dirt, schmirt. I'm from Nova Scotia. I'm not afraid of dirt roads.'
However, what the sign doesn't say is that this 'road' will turn into a 10 foot wide washboard path. With no guardrail and that there is a drop of a couple hundred feet. Did I mention that there are cars coming the other way? Did I also mention that I have this recurring dream in which I am driving up the side of the mountain and drive over the edge?  I'm not sure why I believed that my death grip on the handle of the door as we wound our way up and down would stop us from careening over the cliff, but I did. That's the benefit of magic. It doesn't have to make sense. I also took comfort in the fact that I wasn't driving. My self talk went something like this:
 "Teresa, you are not psychic. Those recurring nightmares are not prophetic."
"But don't you remember that Psych experiment you were in University? The one that said you were able to predict the future? What about that?"
"But you are always driving in your dreams, you're not driving now. So there"
"okay"
"Now look at the beautiful landscapes and smarten up"
"well it is stunning...."

I then look over at my husband as we go around a particularly tight corner and he's digging in his pocket. He's driving with one hand! He's now using both hands to open his pill bottle"
'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" I shriek
he looks at me and explains in a perfectly reasonable voice that he needs an antacid.
'GIVE IT TO ME THEN AND PUT YOUR HANDS BACK ON THE WHEEL'
'Relax' he says. "I'm a skilled race car driver"
"And we can play that later tonight if you like, but for now TWO HANDS ON THE WHEEL'
dead silence ensues for a few minutes.
Then my son (19 years of age) speaks from the back 'um, you know, we don't need to hear this'.
'oh we're not fighting, don't worry' I say
'uh, not that, but the other thing...the race car driver thing'.
Poor boy. the things his parents expose him too.
anyway, enough story here are some photos to show you why it's worth it to do this drive:






to prove I am not exaggerating