Just before leaving Arizona, heading into California, this saguaro cactus seems to wave goodbye while beckoning us to come back soon.
Well, suffice it to say, we will be back, Mr. saguaro. And soon . . .
Click image to enlarge.
October 2009
Casa Grande Ruins in 3D
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, in Coolidge, Arizona, just northeast of the city of Casa Grande, preserves a group of Hohokam structures.
The national monument consists of the ruins of multiple structures surrounded by a compound wall constructed by the Hohokam, who farmed the Gila Valley in the early 1200s.
“Casa Grande” is Spanish for “big house” (Siwan Wa’a Ki: in O’odham); these names refer to the largest structure on the site, which is what remains of a four story structure that may have been abandoned by the mid-1400s. The structure is made of caliche, and has managed to survive the extreme weather conditions for about seven centuries. Graffiti from 19th-century passers-by is scratched into its walls; though this is now illegal. Casa Grande now has a distinctive modern roof covering built in 1932.
Click on the image to enlarge. Just in case you do not have a pair of 3D glasses, you can see the 2D version by clicking here.
Chicken Dinner
This was the main course for today’s camping adventure. Anointed in extra-virgin olive oil, lightly salted and peppered, cooked to perfection* over charcoal. What a delightful meal for a fall evening** in the Valley of the Sun!
* Really moist and tender and tasty!
** 102° today, only 95° at dinner time.
We Interrupt This Blog . . .
Our ISP advised possible service interuptions . . .
Dear Customer:
On Saturday October 17, 2009 at 10:00 am PDT we will be migrating all MySQL databases to a new server. The new server is to alleviate recent issues caused by high load on the current server as well as to upgrade to MySQL version 5.1.
The procedure we will use to migrate will ensure the least amount of downtime per database.
The window for this maintenance is 2 hours. During this time there will be periods of intermittent connectivity errors to MySQL.
Thank you,
Omnis Network, LLC
Overdue Turquoise
Verna and I were in Tombstone, AZ yesterday and today. While we were there, I was able to finally get Verna’s eleventh anniversary gift. According to the anniversary gemstone list, year eleven calls for turquoise. We found a little boutique near the O.K. Corral in town that had this bracelet, which nicely matches her earrings that I got for her at the same time. Click for bigger.
Happy belated anniversary, Baby. I love you.
