Another outing with my photo group- this time close to home!
We visited the Vulture Mine outside Wickenberg and enjoyed wandering around the old ghost town taking photos. Gold was discovered there in 1863 by Henry Wickenberg, who started the mining operation. Eventually a town of 5,000 grew up around the mine, which became the most productive gold mine in Arizona history. It was shut down in 1942 by the government, but is now owned by a private corporation and is open for tours.
The 3:10 to Yuma was headed to the Yuma Territorial Prison, as were we the day after we toured Castle Dome. It is now a museum- a good one. You can see the cells and learn about the notable prisoners and administrators- and gain insights into Arizona history.
An archway leading into the locked area:
At first it almost looks like a church window- but it’s a view through a cell. In person, there are NO similarities to a church!
Tiny houses are certainly a big deal now- but who knew they were a big deal in the 1870’s? I don’t know the story behind this little building in Castle Dome, but it certainly caught my eye!
Castle Dome Road seems longer than it is, especially for us city slickers in our shiny cars! Every time a car drove by as we were pulled over taking photos, a dust cloud lingered long after the car disappeared. On the way back out to the main highway, I decided it was a photo op and shot this through the windshield.
Last week, we spotted a roadrunner coming into our back yard several times each day. One day, Carol and I were out there for over an hour with our cameras, and the roadrunner was everywhere! We even watched him kill a large lizard by- sorry!- whacking him repeatedly against the rocks (don’t worry- no photos). At one point, he came down to the lower level and drank from the fountain- leisurely and unafraid.
Here he is in all his glory:
Here is another shot of Mr. Quail. I love being able to get closeups with my long lens.
Bystanders at Prescott’s Hose Cart races yesterday:
I love living in this small town1
A sad view indeed . . .
The Goodwin fire has been burning since Saturday, I think- and is over 4400 acres, forcing the evacuation of the town of Mayer and other small communities southwest of Prescott. And no, it is not contained or controlled. If you look closely at the photo, you can see one of the planes that were flying over the fire this afternoon. With this area’s still vivid memories of the 2013 fire that took the lives of 19 hot shots, fire is taken very seriously here. Although we are in the monsoon season, no rain is in the forecast.
A monochrome view:
A few more photos from our road trip with Joan and Rudy- this time we were shooting the Skull Valley gas station.
Let the fun begin!
It is a beautiful show- and I am honored to be a part of it!
P.S. One of my photos has SOLD!
The views go on forever!
We were absolutely entranced by the view from the Mogollon Rim on our recent trip to Payson. The views of rolling hills and mountains seem to go on forever. This image started as an in-camera multiple exposure, which was then layered with another multiple exposure and edited in Photoshop and other programs.
Lonnie and I took a short trip over to Payson for two nights. We had never been in the area east of the Verde Valley and wanted to explore a bit (and I wanted some photo ops!). Our first visit was to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park to view the 183 foot tall travertine arch (believed to be the highest in the world). After reading that the hike down to the bottom of the arch was strenuous and on slippery, unstable ground, we decided to save our knees and look at things from a higher vantage point- on level ground.
The arch is magnificent- I wish I could post photos from the bottom looking up instead of the top looking down! Here are two shots (basically the same except for the orientation) from one of the viewpoints at the top. That white stuff is water dripping down.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Prescott- perfect for a walk and some photography. The water is high at Willow Lake, and areas where we normally walk are under water. The upside is that the water surrounding the boulders create beautiful reflections- and waterfowl is everywhere! The usual ducks were there, as well as egrets- and there was a hawk perched high in a tree (too far for a photo with my limited lens).
melinda anderson photography 