# Arizona photos (new shots posted evening of 6/30)



## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

My elderly stepfather had never seen the Grand Canyon, and I helped him correct this deficiency in his experience last week, as we went to Arizona. This was part of a group tour by an organization called Road Scholar. I'll post some pictures over the next few days.










This is The Chapel of the Holy Cross, built by a lady who was a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. We were told she wanted to build a special chapel, and originally had a site in Europe in mind, but World War II intervened and stopped everything for several years. After the war, she decided a US site was better, and wanted to build in the beautiful red rock terrain near Sedona. The chapel was completed in 1956, and this is the result.










We were told she wanted to find the best site, and diligently searched large areas near Sedona seeking religious inspiration. A big factor in selecting the final site was the rocks you see here. The two large pillars near the top center reminded her of nuns, and the small pillar near top left reminded her of the Madonna with child. It is a lovely site, however she picked it!










That evening we had musical entertainment! Cowboy musician and poet Ken Mikell fiddles his heart out for us.


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

Cool photos, Claw.  There's nothing like Sedona.  Post more!!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

The next day of our trip, we visited Montezuma Castle (which is not a castle, and has nothing to do with Montezuma, but is a National Monument anyway....) and took the Verde Valley scenic train ride.










Here's a shot of the Montezuma Castle. It was occupied for several hundred years ending about 1400 AD. Access was only through ladders from the cliff base. Of course the ladders would be pulled in at the first sign of bad guys approaching.










Don't those rangers know that snakes can't read the sign? Besides, I want the snakes to stay OFF the trail, not slither around on the trail where I am walking!










Closeup of the "Castle."










In tribute to Scarlet's bus shots, here is a shot of people on the train. I just held the camera over my head pointing backwards and shot away!










Here's the train stretched out ahead of us, a mix of passenger cars, and flatbed cars with rails for those who wanted to go outside and get a better view.










The cliffs went up quite high above the train cars in many places.










We went through a tunnel with unfinished stone walls. It wasn't illuminated, but I used flash to grab a shot of the bare stone.










At the end of the line, they just left the cars in place, detached the engine from the string of cars and moved it to the other end to bring us back the way we'd come. The seat backs flipped over so we could reverse our seats for the ride home, and the engine passed close by outside our window.


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

Nice, Hooded Claw.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

The next morning, we had an elderly Hopi Indian woman as a speaker. Very interesting tales of growing up in the Pueblo in the 1930s. We had a free afternoon, so I took a jeep tour of the Honanki ruins. These were supposedly built by the Sinagua Indians around 1200, and occupied for about 200 years. The site had been occupied before that.










The ruins are at the base of a cliff. You can see the ruins barely peeking up above the vegetation.










Detail looking at the cliff. The guide told us the dark streak was from water runoff at the top of the cliff, but I have my doubts (see later pic for my reasons).










General view of part of the ruins as we approached. There were several small complexes along the cliff base.










Our guide explains some details. The line of dark holes behind his head held timbers that supported the roof.










Looking straight up the cliff from next to the ruins. Note how the smoke trail at lower left blends into the dark streak running down the face of the cliff.










Detail of a corner wall.










This pictograph is thought to represent a birthing ceremony. A stick figure human is holding up an infant to the Sun. Think "The Lion King."










This especially interested me, as I had read about carvings like this one, which are scattered across the Southwest. This is thought to represent the eruption of the supernova which we now know as The Crab Nebula. The eruption happened in 1054 AD, and on the morning of July 5th, the supernova was visible very close to the crescent moon. This carving has a crescent that presumably is the Moon, and to the right of it are two circles which may represent the supernova (much brighter than anything else in the sky except the sun) and possibly the planet Venus. There are a couple of figures whose meaning is not known, and above them are an array of small stick figure humans presumably staring in awe at the "guest star" and wondering what it means for their world. This interpretation is not proven of course, but there are several similar carvings in other sites, and their age is approximately right (can't be determined more than plus or minus 100-200 years).










Through the jeep windshield on the way home.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

These will probably be the last of the AZ photos, they were taken at the Grand Canyon (well, one on the way to the GC).










I was amused by this bus schedule, found on the wall at a "Navajo Trading Post" (that's a tourist trap, to you and me) on the way to the GC.










From our first view of the GC. Unlike most places in the Canyon, you can actually see the blue of the Colorado River from the rim here.










California Condor, largest bird in North America, with a group of raven hangers-on.










Crop of a Condor with a really close "wingman."










Courtesy of the stitching feature on my camera, a panoramic view.










Tourists at one of the overlooks, with more of the Canyon in the background.










A lady ignored the signs warning not to feed the animals, and looked on with bemusement as the squirrel raided her lunch. I enjoyed getting the picture off of her misdemeanor, but this is really a very bad idea.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

These are great photos, Claw.


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

Great photos, thanks for sharing.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

While I visited home last weekend, my stepfather asked me to send him some more photographs from the trip, so I went through and found a few more, including a couple that deserved to be in the first batches. So here are a few more photos, taken from various times throughout the trip.









A view from the Bright Angel area. If you ever wondered why they were able to get such high rates for the lodges right on the Canyon, the location of the lodge at upper right should help you understand....A raven soars overhead, certain that this entire place is HIS lodge!









Some of our group at an overlook over the Colorado River.









"Closeup" of the Colorado River a mile below us.









The back side of the chapel. When you are close, it is really a small place, to be so spectacular to look at!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Oh no! Not more Arizona photos! But yes, it is true, I made one last pass and found a few more that were somewhat worthy...










Previously I posted another photo of this same overlook, but it was much tighter. I like this one better, shows the surroundings, and I suspect for someone who didn't see the original scene, it is easier to figure out.










These are the Indian ruins I jeep-toured to on my free afternoon. I like the way this photo shows the overhang of the cliff giving some protection to the buildings.










Yet another train shot, with the bridge crossing and the scenery, I feel like this looks like a scene from a western movie.










I tried to get some shots as the train exited the tunnel. Originally I viewed them as failures. But upon reflection, I think this photo evokes the speed and the confined space rather well.










Earlier I posted a shot of a squirrel that ravaged a German woman's lunch, with her bemused tolerance. There were actually two beggar squirrels, and both were quite bold as shown here.










And the world just needed yet another shot of the Montezuma Castle.



















And a couple more chapel shots....


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

Really lovin' this series, Hooded Claw.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

R. Doug said:


> Really lovin' this series, Hooded Claw.


Thanks! Alas, I think I've mined all the gold from this vein....but there will be other trips!


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

Thanks for the pictures Claw!!  I have been to the Grand Canyon, the Chapel and Montezuma's Castle and your pictures captured the majesty of the views quite well.  I haven't been to the Grand Canyon since 1993 (I'll have to see if I can find my pictures) and seeing your pictures makes me want to go back.  It's sad that I have lived in Arizona pretty much my whole life and have only been to the Grand Canyon twice that I can remember.  Sedona is a beautiful place and the views are spectacular, like no other place I have ever been to.  Montezuma's Castle is also very beautiful and serene, I have several pictures of the Castle and surrounding area.  Did you see the big beehive in one of the small caves off to the left of the Castle?  Thanks for the mention of the train ride, my sister & BIL live in Casa Grande and when I visit them from Tucson, we take day trips around the State and I'm going to mention the train ride to them for a possible destination.

Thank you for posting your beautiful pictures.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Hi BK, glad you enjoyed the pics. I didn't see the bee hive, I may have to blow up some of my pics to 100% on the screen and see if I can spot it!

The train ride is worth doing. My stepfather had a sort of dizzy spell (I've recommended that he confine future trips to sea level or very close) in the terminal, but wanted to proceed on the train, and they treated him like royalty, shuttling him to the train car and to the bus after the train ride in a golf cart. The view is great, and the people who run the train are awesome.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Nice pics, Claw! We just did the Grand Canyon (both south and north rim), Sedona and the Painted Desert a few weeks ago. I haven't even found time to go through my pics yet.


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