Tucson

 We will be in Phoenix at the beginning of February, so I may get down  to this WPHS event in Tucson which I have thought about attending for many years.

I have often made the drive down to Tucson in the past to visit two favorite places there.  My cameras have accompanied me on those occasions to the Pima Air and Space Museum and many of the aircraft pictures I have made there are posted in a Flickr album.

Constellation - pinhole

 I have also enjoyed visits to the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona to see the current photo exhibits.  The CCP is the repository for the complete works of many of photography's greats including Ansel Adams.

Visits to Tucson invite the possibility of exploring the Saguaro National Park.

Salt River Crossing

In our past visits to family in Phoenix we have always opted to take the quickest route from Albuquerque, passing through Flagstaff and then south on Highway 17.  This time we decided to take a more leisurely path, striking south from Holbrook and heading down along Arizona's east side through Show Low and Globe.

The spectacular Salt River Canyon is located mid-way between Show Low and Globe.  Two bridges span the river there; the single lane steel bridge built in 1933 is now just for pedestrian traffic

We retraced the same path on the way home and enjoyed an escape from the summer heat of Phoenix in the higher elevations north of Globe.  We stayed on Highway 60 through Show Low which ultimately got us to Socorro, New Mexico, just an hour from Albuquerque.  Rain followed us much of the way, and the temperature dropped to a low of 59 degrees as we passed the Very Large Array.

The Highway 60 two-lane road traverses a great variety of terrain including pine forested mountain slopes and arid grasslands.  The trip was a little longer than going through Flagstaff, but the added time seemed insignificant because of the sparse traffic and the great scenery.