Colorful adobe houses. Prickly pear cactus.
Walking across the bridge into Nogales, Mexico.
Vistas
My favorite things from southern Arizona. I've drafted detailed posts on these subjects, and will surely get back to some of them, but for now a sense of how different it was, strange and wonderful--both desolate and welcoming.
No picture of how hot (97 degrees in October) and dry (as someone, said, you don't need a towel when you get out of the shower). The Javelinas and Saguaros, were everywhere (along with roadrunners and rattlesnakes) and so amusing. The border crossing was disturbing, but the best taco of the trip was from a cart in Nogales, Mexico.
I'm off to green, cool, wet, upstate New York.
Enjoy your weekend--
Jen
Hello Jen, The Southwest must seem surreal to someone from New York State. I'm sure the cool greenness feels bracing now, but when you are digging your car out of the snow, the pendulum of appeal will be swinging back to Arizona.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Jim--you are so right about that! I'll be dreaming of a road trip through New Mexico and Arizona.
DeleteGreat photo's Jen. I especially like the shop fronts. They are so colourful!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend,
Madelief x
Thanks, Madelief. Happy weekend to you!
DeleteYikes! How close were you to that varmit? He looks a tad scary. Yes, I know 97...but it's a dry heat :) Actually when you think about it 97 and humid is unbearable.
ReplyDeleteThey are more cute and scary. Comical, anyway. I have to do a post on them. 97 and dry is much better than 97 and humid. Plus the mornings and evening were cool, which was wonderful.
DeleteIt's sure not New England! I've heard those Javelinas can be really viscious. We you as close as it looks?
ReplyDeleteThey travelled in small herds and shied away from people. I was told they are aggressive only when they have babies, so I stayed away groups that had smaller ones. Maybe they are vicious in some places--but now where we were.
DeleteWell now I want pork carnitas. Pleas eto not put food suggestions in my head, immediate craving.
ReplyDeleteDid you make chili?
xo J.
No chili yet--I got sick. I'm thinking next Sunday, with football.
DeleteJen,
ReplyDeleteWow, that's different! It's beautiful but scary at the same time.
Christa
I know what you mean, but find the differences exhilarating--it makes me want to see every kind of landscape/vista/geography/topography that I can.
DeleteI had that album when I was a teenager. Played it so much, I cannot bear to open your portal now and listen to it again. Glad you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean--things like that can bring back such memories/feelings. I need to get it again myself. Funny how I'm associating music with the southwest. The emptiness?
DeleteEverything looks exotic to me! I wonder where javelinas' are living. You also found rattlesnakes? Sounds like an adventurous trip.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy upstate New York as well, Jen!
The javelinas roam the countryside in Southern Arizona--they are fairly new to this country. My little 1959 Golden Guide to the Southwest didn't have them. They've made their way uo from South America.
DeleteI'm always so pleased to be reminded how different everyday life is elsewhere, and I'll swop their prickly pear cacti for my fuchsia bushes any day.
ReplyDeleteNo, don't do that. Fuschias always remind me of a couple of summers I spent in a California seaside town, they love the humidity. Prickly pears and cactus would look good in the same garden, I think. Contrast.
DeleteJen...nice dry heat... Not a concept we understand here! Love seeing the glimpses of your trip. The javelinas not too worrisome since we have wild pigs here in the South. However, rattlesnakes always a worry! The walk across the border sounds interesting...and Marty Robbins' smooth, mellow voice always good! Hope you enjoy the beauty of your woods.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. I feel fortunate to have these different kinds of nature and beauty to admire and enjoy.
DeleteIs that a Boar? I love them but have to admit I see them as wood animals, never imagined they lived in prairie/deserts too. There is something magical about them, scary - yes, but enchanting too. Lovely photos as always! x
ReplyDeleteIt's called a javelina. I'll be writing a post about them. It was kind of magical to see something so different and wild looking wandering around.
DeleteBeautiful - never been there! Sounds great to have an original taco! The song is wonderful and makes me long to come to the States! Safe travel back home! Christa
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christa.
Deleteoh, how I want to go there. the dream of my childhood fantastic photos!!!
ReplyDeleteReally? You've travelled so far and wide--but it is very different from Penang or Malaysia or Singapore or .... :)
Deletehow beautiful colors dear Jen!
ReplyDeleteand how much I want to go to a place "you don't need a towel when you get out of the shower" It's windy and rainy and cold here.
I am wishing you a lovely trip back home
hug
I love the contrasts--these different landscapes make me want to travel more that the idea of seeing new cities. I lived in a part of California that was dry, but this was almost unbelievably dry--though it is a desert, so why am I surprised?
DeleteThinking it was quite the jolt coming back to Massachusetts & then the Catskills. Love that turquoise house....and I don't think I ever heard of a javelina!
ReplyDeleteContrasts, indeed!
Delete