Ann’s Arizona

[ImageArt]

Have just had the most wonderful first day of our trip to Arizona. The morning spent pottering around the shops. Always fascinating to see how another nation lives and what they have in their shops that we don’t. The highlight of the day was not this however. It was an afternoon on the golf course and this is the reason why I love golf so much particularly on holiday - the bird life and animals. Anybody who thinks that golf courses destroy animal habitat have no idea. I have seen more animals and birds on a golf course than I ever would have otherwise. They are like national parks. My only regret is that while playing golf you do not have the opportunity to immerse yourself and photograph it all.

So today I saw rabbits, chipmunks, deer and the pièce de résistance was the bobcat which unfortunately I did not get a photo of before it disappeared in the undergrowth. Then birdwise highlights were Great Roadrunners, Gambel’s Quail, Cactus Wren, Gila Woodpecker and much, much more which I did not have the time, unfortunately to identify including humming birds.

A Great Roadrunner. Another advantage of the golf course is that birds and animals become accustomed to humans so it’s easier to get closer. iPhone 15 5x

A rabbit on the tee on a par 3

Taken by my DH. I think it was on the x5. I was really concerned I might hit that fella in the middle with my tee shot but fortunately hit a good shot.

Cactus Wren 5x

Gambel’s Quails and rabbits on the tee.

 

[terse]

Have just had the most wonderful first day of our trip to Arizona. The morning spent pottering around the shops. Always fascinating to see how another nation lives and what they have in their shops that we don’t. The highlight of the day was not this however. It was an afternoon on the golf course and this is the reason why I love golf so much particularly on holiday - the bird life and animals. Anybody who thinks that golf courses destroy animal habitat have no idea. I have seen more animals and birds on a golf course than I ever would have otherwise. They are like national parks. My only regret is that while playing golf you do not have the opportunity to immerse yourself and photograph it all.

So today I saw rabbits, chipmunks, deer and the pièce de résistance was the bobcat which unfortunately I did not get a photo of before it disappeared in the undergrowth. Then birdwise highlights were Great Roadrunners, Gambel’s Quail, Cactus Wren, Gila Woodpecker and much, much more which I did not have the time, unfortunately to identify including humming birds.

A Great Roadrunner. Another advantage of the golf course is that birds and animals become accustomed to humans so it’s easier to get closer. iPhone 15 5x
View attachment 197476

A rabbit on the tee on a par 3
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Taken by my DH. I think it was on the x5. I was really concerned I might hit that fella in the middle with my tee shot but fortunately hit a good shot.View attachment 197478

Cactus Wren 5x
View attachment 197479

Gambel’s Quails and rabbits on the tee.
View attachment 197480

Love that second shot. What a beautiful course it is.

 

[ImageArt]

Love that second shot. What a beautiful course it is.

It is. Really stunning.

 

[ImageArt]

So today we played We-ko-pa. Not nearly as pretty as Troon North. It was more out in the ’desert’. Such a pity because we played on our own this time and because the pace of play was so slow we had the opportunity to see stuff but not a lot to see. None of the animals we saw the day before although we did see a coyote at the end. Limited birds too.

This was probably one of the prettiest holes.

A Gila Woodpecker on a saguaro cactus

Two coyotes unperturbed about me being there.

The 5x zoom makes a massive difference when taking photos of birds and animals but darn, I do miss the 2x zoom for landscapes and taking pictures of people. If Apple put four cameras on the next model which is rumoured, I might have to trade in this one.

 

[RoseCat]

What an amazing course! I love Arizona! My mom lived there for 7 years and I visited a few times. Are you in Phoenix?

My favorite places: Bisbee, Sedona, Jerome, Tucson (proun “TWO-sawn”).

 

[Starzee]

What an amazing course! I love Arizona! My mom lived there for 7 years and I visited a few times. Are you in Phoenix?

My favorite places: Bisbee, Sedona, Jerome, Tucson (proun “TWO-sawn”).

My brother lived in Tucson for a while. I spent a Christmas vacation with him. It was lovely.

 

[ImageArt]

What an amazing course! I love Arizona! My mom lived there for 7 years and I visited a few times. Are you in Phoenix?

My favorite places: Bisbee, Sedona, Jerome, Tucson (proun “TWO-sawn”).

Loving it so far. Scottsdale rather than Phoenix.

 

[zenjenny]

Glorious pictures. It looks almost surreal: the manicured golf course surrounded by desert — and the birds and animals blurring the boundaries.
As you know Australia has plenty of desert but it’s different. Hardly any cactus, for one thing

 

[ImageArt]

Another brilliant day. I let my DH loose in a couple of golf superstores this morning. A kid in a candy store .

At midday we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. Fabulous for photography. I have very mixed feelings about the results on the iPhone 15 Pro Max which I have discussed here: https://mobitog.com/threads/iphone-15-talk.25250/page-4

One thing I found amazing is that the phone identified the butterflies I took which I found in the photo info!

Here are some of my good shots. The main camera worked better on long distance shots

Main Camera (reduced in size in Photomator)

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel - Telephoto Lens (cropped and tuned in Snapseed)

Gambel’s Quail - telephoto lens (cropped and tuned in Snapseed)

Telephoto Lens

I do love the telephoto lens. Just not sure yet about macro and the main camera.

 

[ubbyisis]

Another brilliant day. I let my DH loose in a couple of golf superstores this morning. A kid in a candy store .

At midday we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. Fabulous for photography. I have very mixed feelings about the results on the iPhone 15 Pro Max which I have discussed here: https://mobitog.com/threads/iphone-15-talk.25250/page-4

One thing I found amazing is that the phone identified the butterflies I took which I found in the photo info!

Here are some of my good shots. The main camera worked better on long distance shots

Main Camera (reduced in size in Photomator)

View attachment 197538

Harris Antelope Ground Squirrel - Telephoto Lens (cropped and tuned in Snapseed)
View attachment 197539

Gambel’s Quail - telephoto lens (cropped and tuned in Snapseed)
View attachment 197540

Telephoto Lens
View attachment 197541

I do love the telephoto lens. Just not sure yet about macro and the main camera.

Great photos. What an amazing cactus, the left one in the last photo

 

[zenjenny]

amazing cactus, the left one in the last photo

Isn’t it? I’ve never seen anything like it. Looks like it’s been put through one of the Circular -type apps.

 

[terse]

Isn’t it? I’ve never seen anything like it. Looks like it’s been put through one of the Circular -type apps.

Or crossed with a head of broccoli.

 

[ImageArt]

Today we travelled to Tucson. Went to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. I think my expectations were higher than what it actually provided but not a bad afternoon. We had a voluntary docent who gave us an hour of his time to explain the desert plants. Very interesting. There is quite a lot to see but the enclosures make it a bit like a zoo. Hate to see wild cats in restricted pits or even the deer who are usually social animals. Not too much of it though.

I have been able to identify birds from the telephoto images so that is massive for me.

A picture of the typical vegetation of the area dotted with saguaro cacti. What I learnt today is that they take an incredibly long time to grow so one my height would probably be my age - over 60 years old. The tall cactus on the right is probably more than 200 years old! Tuned with Snapseed. They have massive root systems which is probably why they don’t get blown over.

A shot of a Cactus Wren which are abundant. Taken with the telephoto lens (no edits). No way would it have been discernable without the 5x.

 

[terse]

The tall cactus on the right is probably more than 200 years old!

!!!

 

[ImageArt]

A relaxed day yesterday. Shopping in the morning and then 9 holes late afternoon which I absolutely love because we tend to see animals on the course and not many people playing.

We found this great coffee shop just down the road from where we are staying. I look for the names of coffee shops on google maps which sound interesting because they tend to be one-offs with great coffee. This one was called Decibel Coffee Works and was in a small collective of arty startup shops. Clearly popular with the cycling fraternity. Outside was a big shrine for the Day of the Dead, a procession occurring this evening which we unfortunately missed as we were playing golf.

Some of the detail. Applied one of my own saved settings in Snapseed which I call Dreamy

Later on the golf course.

A cactus in front of one of the tees, splattered by golf balls!

 

[ImageArt]

Just about to leave Tucson. The internet has been down at the suites we are staying at which has been hugely frustrating as we have limited data on my pay-as-you-go (prepaid) sim. So it’s down to the restaurant each time to check our emails and Whatsapp.

Here’s a selection of pics from the last four days:

We visited Tombstone, an old mining/cowboy village that still has its old main road. A bit commercial but quite fun. Not sure they had mobile phones in those days .

We wanted to go to the aircraft ‘boneyard’ which is the biggest in the US but they don’t do tours since Covid so we had to make do with just seeing a bit over the fence. Hipstamatic

Hiking the Phoneline at Sabino Canyon (13 miles)

 

[ImageArt]

Interesting rock formations on our way up to Mt Lemmon. Hipstamatic

Looking down on Tucson on the drive

Playing another pretty course today - Dove Mountain

 

[terse]

I'm enjoying your trip, Ann. Even though I live a whole lot closer to Arizona than you do, I've never been there.

 

[lkbside]

If you’re going back up to Scottsdale, check out the Rancho Manana course in Cave Creek. Beautiful course, really friendly staff and more reasonable than many of the AZ courses.

 

[ImageArt]

If you’re going back up to Scottsdale, check out the Rancho Manana course in Cave Creek. Beautiful course, really friendly staff and more reasonable than many of the AZ courses.

Thanks for that. We are going back to Scottsdale at the end and staying about 9 minutes away from Rancho Manana and may well have time to fit it in even if we just play 9 holes. I had planned another hike but I think it would probably only take a morning and feel like we have seen quite a lot of the Sonoran Desert scenery of that area anyway.

 

[ImageArt]

We are now up in Sedona. Amazing vista but lots of tourists. When we arrived we visited the Tlaquepaque Village in Sedona with quaint shops and quality art and craft shops. Heaving with people but as it was late afternoon it got a lot quieter.

No Edits iPhone 15

 

[ImageArt]

Today we went to Red Rock State Park to do a bird walk at 8am. Very chilly at this time - needed my gloves. Saw about 10 birds I had never seen before, the highlights being a Red-napped Sapsucker, a Northern Flicker (woodpecker family) and a Spotted Towhee which has a bright orange breast.

The red rock after which the park is named. We took a walk along the top of it.

An interesting cactus at the top (Hipstamatic)

 

[ImageArt]

Sunset over Sedona

I’m finding the sharpening on the iPhone 15 almost too much. I reduced the structure a bit in Snapseed in this first image.

 

[ImageArt]

Impressions of the US so far.

We had been warned that the US is expensive which to some extent is due to the exchange rate. Wow, eating out is REALLY expensive and don’t cater as well for gluten intolerance so I can’t always find something I like. There are only so many bunless burgers I can eat and I miss my veggies (not that the UK is always good on veggies eating out either). Not much in the supermarket compared to the UK which often has a whole aisle of GF stuff. I had always organised to do our own breakfast and lunch: muesli or yoghurt and fruit for breakfast and a ham/cheese or tuna roll for lunch. We have now bought salads and something like a cooked chicken for supper (which lasts three meals) and only eat out every third night. Golf is also expensive and we would rather spend our money on this.

Petrol (gasoline) on the other hand is cheap.

We have also forgone going on organised walks. At £150-£200 each, it’s a bit ludicrous. I can easily plan our routes with my hiking apps and study up on google.

The drivers here in Arizona are extremely courteous and patient. Always stop to let us cross. On the other hand, when walking on paths I find that I’m the one stepping aside to let other people pass. Also in the UK people would thank you for doing that but not a custom here. People here are friendly, particularly our generation and almost always greet.

I’m amazed at the number of people we see with tattoos. Yes, we do have it in the UK but there seems to be much more here. It might just be that back in the UK I’m amongst people who don’t tend to have them.

From an environment point of view, everybody has massive cars. Are there any electric cars? Also, people in shops are still using heaps of free plastic bags. In the UK, you take your own reusable bags or pay for a reusable bag when you go to a supermarket. Single use plastic bags were banned in 2015 and the number have plummeted from 7.6 billion a year to 311 million now. Also, you can’t get takeaway plastic knives and forks in the UK anymore. They are all recycled paper (I think) that feels like wood.

I feel like people in the US are much better at not littering. We have to have lots of volunteering groups to pick up litter. Is it similar here?

 

[rizole]

Great photos. What an amazing cactus, the left one in the last photo

Isn’t it? I’ve never seen anything like it. Looks like it’s been put through one of the Circular -type apps.

Or crossed with a head of broccoli.

Looks like a genetic mutation or reversion of a recessive gene to me. I've seen similar abnormal growth patterns in other non-cactus succulents.
Maybe even a parasite, like a gall can form on trees when parasitic wasps hijack the genetic expression of the cells for their own purpose.