This would be a good time to clarify some aspects about this "Amazing America" tour of ours. What is actually truly amazing is that so many photos have turned out acceptable and worthy of publishing. During the many stressful incident along the roads I have come up with a few observations concerning the survival of a photographer in an "Engineer vs. Romantic" combination. I call it the "Eight Points of Photography with an Engineer at the Wheel."
- If you want to take pictures on your trip, do not travel with an engineer.
- If you have to travel with an engineer, be contented to snap photos from a speeding car.
- Take lots of pictures from the speeding car. Some may turn out OK.
- Be sure the passenger-side window is non-glare glass.
- If your pictures do not turn out as well as you would like them to, do a lot of editing. (Like removing glare and reflections.)
- If editing is not enough, download photos from the Internet.
- Do not ask your engineer to slow down for a picture.
- Do not under any circumstance ask your engineer to turn back for the greatest picture you ever missed.
Along I-40
Well, anyway, this morning we entered Arizona. It was a peaceful, inspirational stretch on this trip, for we were able to listen to the General Conference. The time that we needed to be in Arizona did not allow us the stay in Happy Valley to enjoy the conference there nor to attend any of our mission reunions.
Along the Arizona road were many surprises, though some we already knew about. This time they seemed more pertinent to the meaning of this blog, "Amazing America."
Loved this colorful parade on rails, an important part of industrial transport.
I think Arizona along I-40 must be the corridor that has the largest number of billboards (more than these...):
This was my favorite...
There is a meteor crater off I-40 in Arizona, about 37 miles east of Flagstaff. It lies at an elevation of about 5,710 ft above sea level. It is about 3,900 ft in diameter, some 570 ft, and is surrounded by a rim that rises 148 ft above the surrounding plains. One of the interesting features of the crater is its squared-off outline, believed to be caused by existing regional jointing (cracks) in the strata at the impact site. They say the crater was created about 50,000 years ago and that the meteor was already 10,000 old when it hit the earth at this site. Hmm, very interesting...
Soon after, there was a natural landmark, Petrified Forest. Petrified wood (from the Greek root petro meaning "rock" or "stone"; literally "wood turned into stone") is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of Earth's vegetation. It is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having completely transitioned to stone by the process of permineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals, while retaining the original structure of the stem tissue. Unlike other types of fossils which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material. A forest where such material has petrified becomes known as a petrified forest.
Finally something for the "engineer" (no, he didn't):
Something beautiful along the road:
I loved the yellow flowering bushes along the road. Anyone know what they are? I'd like to think that this plant would look good along our driveway. (Sorry about the blurred picture; I refer back to the Eight Points of Photography with an Engineer at the Wheel...)
When we were preparing the road map for this trip, we decide that it would be fun to see some ghost towns similar to Dodge City. Well, there are some in Arizona, one not too far from our planned route to Phoenix, namely Jerome. We decided to stop and see it. As it turned out, this little town is anything but a "ghost."
Jerome
Jerome
Jerome is a town in the Black Hills of Yavapai County in Arizona. Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, it is more than 5,000 feet above sea level. Supported in its heyday by rich copper mines, it was home to more than 10,000 people in the 1920s. As of the 2013 census its population was 448. (Grown by 4 since the 2012 census!)
Driving up to the town is arduous while the road zig-zags up from the valley, rising a good 2000 feet. There is never a feeling of “having arrived,” for the road modulates into streets that are flanked by businesses, homes and hotels. Though no more a Western mining town, the bygone years are preserved through careful restoration to the point where Jerome has become a popular sight-seeing and vacation destination.
Many beautiful homes dot the hillside, this being one example, one that caught my eye instantly for its turrets and tall Italian cypresses.
In comparison, here is one of the renovated old-timers:
It was totally useless to try to photograph the majestic hillsides and the beautiful valley below; a picture will never convey the depth and dimension of the mountainous landscape, but here are a couple attempts:
This visual aid of the vast difference on elevations on our drive off the mountain down to Prescott Valley will best illustrate the point: a water bottle was opened at Jerome, high on the slopes. The pressure outside the bottle grew as we descended and the bottle lost its shape and became a mutilated mass of plastic. But as soon as we opened the bottle again, the pressure became balanced and the bottle was, well, a bottle again!
ARIZONA: PRESCOT, GILBERT
BABY BOY
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