Patagonia, Arizona

Patagonia is a pretty little town, with museums, galleries and gift shops -


as well as all the usual facilities you'd expect in what was once a cowboy town:


which made me wonder once again why hairdressers all around the world give their salons names with double meanings or which are puns. I think I might make a photographic collection of hairdresser name signs form around the world, and another of British Fish and Chip shops (who also seem keen on puns!)

The town is not far from the Mexican border, and we saw lots of Mexican influence, indoors and out, including this beautiful painted cupboard, being used to display shop stock:


and other pieces, used to liven up the displays of goods for sale:


This was a museum sign - sadly the museum was closed as we went on a Wednesday on October, out of the main tourist season. As a UK resident, I had heard of the Day of the Dead, and seen images, and thought it was all a bit gory. Now that I understand that the purpose is to cherish, remember, celebrate and provide for ancestors, I can see why there is so much emphasis on the whole concept.



The town also has what looks like a thriving community arts centre.


The arts centre really made their buildings stand out, with lots of mosaics on the walls:





and a mural:


There were interesting decorative touches in other parts of the town - here's some detail from the doors of one of the local food stores:


And, the Velvet Elvis looked pretty neat, inside and out, and the food was very very good!



You'd never walk into the wrong toilet there:



Of course, some parts of the town are on better condition than others, and this must be the oldest vehicle I have seen anywhere in the US:


This one was much newer, and was still being used. I love the rust finish you can achieve on metal in the dry heat of Arizona - here in the damp UK, once metal starts to rust it doesn't stop until the metal is all eaten away...


The final picture is a little quirky, and made me smile - wonder what kind of bird laid this egg???

Tubac, Arizona

Tubac is a very arty little town in southern Arizona. There are many galleries and gift shops, with a smattering of eating and drinking places, and a health food store and a couple of places to pamper yourself. There's also a collection of rusted metal sculptures, used as decorative elements throughout the shopping complex. I took way too many photographs to share, but here are a selection that begin to give you a feel for the place.


There were several tiled murals, I saw these in other places too, so they must be a southern Arizona/Mexican speciality:


The tiled theme had been extended to the street signs, each of which was unique:



There was a lovely old looking bell in the garden wall of the bar, which served great margaritas!


Many of the pillars supporting the verandah roofs were carved:


There were so many beautiful objects and paintings displayed in the galleries, and sometimes outside. These ceramic pieces have gorgeous patterning, created by adding horsehair, which burns off quickly during the firing process.


The surrounding countryside adds to the beauty of the place:


There are quiet cool corners:


and interesting architectural features:


and a variety of lovely light fittings:





some lovely plants:


including this wonderful display of cactus plants:


which turned out to be made from metal!


Privacy must be an issue, with so many visitors, but what a pretty way of ensuring it!


The sun was a common theme for the wall decorations, hardly surprising really, it was in the 90s in mid October, goodness knows how hot this place must get in summer.


There were lovely and unusual sculptures around every corner:



and on the walls:







It was a lovely place to spend an afternoon - which was only enough time to see about a third of the town. I could have spent many fortunes there, it was a probably good job I knew I had no room in my suitcases!

Tukwila, Washington state

We drove through Tukwila today, on our way to Kirkland. The colours of the leaves were absolutely stunning. We took just a few pictures.




Later in the day I saw five raccoons, but sadly didn't have the camera with me.

Gig Harbor, Washington state

I travelled from Portland to Gig Harbor last Sunday. I am staying with a friend who has a house overlooking an inlet off Puget Sound. The weather has been fabulous - clear skies and sunshine, with some morning fog over the water the last couple of mornings. The views from the deck are beautiful, and the birds are much more colourful here than most of the ones I see at home. I am missing my camera, and don't want to be asking my friend to take pictures for me every few seconds, so here are just one or two pictures of things which have really caught me eye. These Zinnias are growing just outside my bedroom window, and are the first thing I see every morning when I open the blind. Wow!



We don't really grow Zinnias in Wales, but I did have a green one grow from a mixture of 'white' themed annuals once, so I think I will look for some seeds and try growing some in my own garden next summer. Look at the gorgeous saturated colour in the orange ones above, and the colour contrast in the ones below...


We also don't really see many pumpkins in British supermarkets (although they do seem to be getting much more popular in the run up to Halloween each year). However, the ones we see tend to be the 'ordinary' pumpkins, so these beautifully coloured striped pumpkins really caught my eye.


The colour, shape, and surface texture on these Cinderella pumpkins is rather wonderful, too!


I fly to Arizona on Sunday, and another friend has a spare camera for me to use for that part of my trip, so hopefully, there will be lots of Arizona desert pictures coming soon.