Another set of photos from the archives. These are from a short weekend trip to visit some friends in Phoenix in October 1998, which was my first-ever trip west of the Mississippi River. Phoenix itself is pretty much a shithole of a city and not worth taking photos of, but some of the surrounding areas are incredible. Enjoy.

 

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Sunset at South Mountain Park in Phoenix. We were there for a twilight horseback ride through the park.

 

 

 

Downtown Scottsdale. Or at least I think it was... I suppose it could be Tucson. Remind me to label my photos next time. Either Scottsdale or Tucson has a nice little downtown area.

 

 

An outcropping of rocks on the way back from either Scottsdale or Tucson. Phoenix is very flat overall, but there are occasional rock outcroppings or even whole mountains that appear in random locations.

 

 

 

Taliesen West. This is where Frank Lloyd Wright hung out when he got tired of Wisconsin. We're looking at the main entry here.

 

 

A view toward a courtyard and a nice little fountain. Taliesin West is located on the fringes of Scottsdale, just east of Phoenix.

 

 

Looking towards Wright's main studio space.

 

 

Looking out towards the open desert from Taliesin. Legend has it that Wright refused to face that direction after those power lines were built.

 

 

The people out at Taliesin are nice, but a little strange. I had the uneasy feeling that I was touring the compound of a cult.

 

 

Wright never could figure out how to keep a roof from leaking, but he managed to create some really incredible spaces.

 

 

Another view of the little courtyard area.

 

 

Looking towards the porte cochere.

 

 

Looking towards the studio. Unfortunately, that area was under renovation and closed to tours at the time.

 

 

Looking at a nice little rainbow from Arcosanti, north of Phoenix on the way to Sedona.

 

 

Arcosanti, an experimental town in the high desert north of Phoenix, the brainchild of Italian architect Paolo Soleri. Arcosanti strives to create a more ecologically-friendly urban form. Good luck with that.

 

 

Unfortunately, we got there before the visitors center had opened for the day, and things were pretty quiet.

 

 

Montezuma Castle. This ancient Sinagua Indian dwelling was perched on that cliffside a century before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. This monument is surrounded by a nice state park on the road between Phoenix and Sedona.

 

 

On highway 179 from I-17 to downtown Sedona. It's amazing how the landscape changes from desert to alpine within just a few miles. It was around here when the realization hit me that I wasn't in the Midwest anymore.

 

 

Red rock formations overlooking the canyon just north of Sedona. Try finding a scene like this in Ohio.

 

 

The steel bridge that carries highway 89A over Oak Creek Canyon. I really wish I had more time to spend in Sedona, but we were in a rush to get back to Phoenix in order to see a friend off at the airport. I've been itching to get back there ever since.

 

 

Looking up the canyon from under the bridge.

 

Beautiful countryside. I pretty much agree with your assessment of Phoenix, although they do seem to be making an effort to change things. I never thought I'd see the day when they'd accept the idea of decent bus service, let alone rail.

 

 

Yup, that's definitely Scottsdale.  Not sure if you're still down there, but if you are, you should try the County Rd 395 loop off of US-89. It's a nice little 1 hour detour off the route from the Grand Canyon back to Flagstaff, but it goes past Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments.  The lascape changes color every 10 miles on that road.

Good stuff! The landscape of that area, even the flat and empty parts, is fascinating. Phoenix is kind of bleh, but I always did enjoy that South Mountain Park. They claim it's the largest city park in the country or some such, right?