Enjoying the Beauty of Phoenix

We awoke to another beautiful day in Phoenix but decided to forego rock climbing and head into the city instead, to see what sites we could enjoy.  Our first stop was the Japanese Friendship Gardens. 

You might be able to tell from the photo that this place offers peace and tranquility to the viewer.  It is located near high rise buildings in the city, but is a little oasis offering a lovely respite from a hectic world. 

The story behind the garden is simple.  It was proposed in 1987, by the mayor of Himegi, Japan, as a joint project between his city and Phoenix, to reinforce the bonds between the two cities. It continues to be a work in progress as the landscape undergoes more changes in development. 

Swimming in the pool of water are Koi, some as old as 30 years old, brought here originally when the garden opened.

There is a paved trail that encircles the pond, and we set out to enjoy what the garden had to offer.

We certainly were not disappointed. 

Along the way, we noticed some unusual floral displays, and upon asking one woman about her's we soon learned that the 14th Annual Ikebana Exhibit was happening this weekend, and the artists were arranging their displays for the competition today.  I'll admit that this was an art form of which I was completely unfamiliar, but we were both impressed with the beauty that was presented in so many unique ways.  

Here are a few examples:

As you can see, there is quite a variety of medium, style, and position,  and the garden background was the perfect venue to enjoy such displays.

It didn't take long, however, to circle the pond, and we were soon enjoying the last views prior to exiting.

From here we decided to venture out to Dobbins Point, located south of the city.  That involved a very long, switchback road, that eventually led to a summit  in South Mountain Park.

Believe it or not, it was actually rather hazy today, so the clarity of the vistas weren't all that sharp,

but it was still fun to drive to the top to appreciate the variation in landscape and to admire Phoenix from a distance. 

We headed back down the road, into the city, towards Heritage Square, as I was interested in taking a peek at Rosson house. When we got to  Heritage Square, we soon learned that the parking garage was an "event only" admission, and we were directed a block away to another garage adjacent to the Arizona Diamondbacks stadium.

That actually played to our advantage, as we were able to capture this photo on the raised crosswalk from the garage.

But it wouldn't be the only one that we spotted.

The walk to Heritage square offered some interesting sites as we passed two science museums along the way.  Marty managed to capture a photo of this old train engine that was exhibited in the glass wing of one of the buildings.

The heritage clock added charm to the square, 

and it stood in front of a building adjacent to the Rosson House.

The Victorian structure wasn't open for touring, but it was certainly photo worthy, don't you think?

The square is directly across from Arizona State University and I was impressed by the architecture of the buildings, and how pristine it looked.  

I was also a bit surprised to find it to be like a ghost town, so I can only presume that students are on break of some sort.

By now, our tummies were grumbling, so we went in search of a place to eat. 

We ended up at Carcara in the hotel Sheraton just down the street.  It was fun to see the place all decorated up for the upcoming super bowl festivities.

Note the Steeler emblem above Marty's head. 

It was equally fun being among the buzz of activity as we sipped a refreshing drink and watched the scurrying people come and go, most with some sort of NFL or Super Bowl emblem upon their shirts and jackets. 

After we finished our meal, we made our way back to the car, passing the beautiful St. Mary's Basilica with her lovely gardens, along the way.

It was a lovely day, and this was just enough gallivanting for a day, so we headed back to our home base to spend the evening with Aunt Susie.  

Another brilliant day to add to our adventures. You really can't beat that, can you?