Ann’s Arizona

ImageArt said:
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.
Click to expand...
Ah, you're probably in the wrong place for that. Come to Santa Cruz, and you'll have natural food stores and gluten-free menu options on every corner. :lmao:

Cars, we're split maybe 50/50 between oversized pickups and hybrids/EVs (lots of Teslas and Priuses). Yes, many tattoos, including among the senior crowd. Everybody here brings their own reusable bags or just carries things out without a bag. When walking on sidewalks or trails, you need to be alert to dodge manic bicyclists and e-bikers. (These things are mostly true in California but not everywhere -- it's a big state.)
 
terse said:
Ah, you're probably in the wrong place for that. Come to Santa Cruz, and you'll have natural food stores and gluten-free menu options on every corner. :lmao:

Cars, we're split maybe 50/50 between oversized pickups and hybrids/EVs (lots of Teslas and Priuses). Yes, many tattoos, including among the senior crowd. Everybody here brings their own reusable bags or just carries things out without a bag. When walking on sidewalks or trails, you need to be alert to dodge manic bicyclists and e-bikers. (These things are mostly true in California but not everywhere -- it's a big state.)
Click to expand...
So just having said not much GF, I’m sitting in an espresso cafe/bakery where I’m spoilt for choice with about 8 cake options. Just ordered a GF chocolate cranberry bread pudding. Yum!

Cycling big in the UK too and e-bikes starting to be a problem especially amongst non e-bikes on cycle paths. E-scooters on sidewalks a menace mostly in cities. A friend of ours got taken out by one in London and was badly injured. Broke his pelvis. In hospital for weeks and took a whole year before he could go back into work full time.
 
Last edited:
terse said:
You might try ProCamera, if you have it. It has capture options for Highly Detailed, Natural, and Unprocessed that may help you find a look you like (and it'll also solve the problem of the native cam switching lenses on you).
Click to expand...
I do have it. Have used it on and off and can’t remember why I keep giving it a miss.

One thing I really like about the iPhone 15 is that you can programme the new Action Button to do anything so it’s possible to set it to any camera. I’ve just got to work out first how to set the phone to Silent mode a different way. So many new settings to learn and I’ve got a bit lazy in my old age.
 
ImageArt said:
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?
Click to expand...
Plastic bags have been banned in New York State for several years. I didn’t realize the whole country hadn’t followed suit. I’m a little surpurprized about the gluten free thing, too. I don’t have a large selection in my little home town store, but 8 miles down the road is my favorite store and they have a large selection of GF products. Also, most restaurants have GF items labeled on the menu. They also are pretty happy to wrap a sandwich without bread in a lettuce leaf.

Nice to hear the drivers are polite in Arizona. Don’t come to NY! :lmao:
 
ImageArt said:
I do have it. Have used it on and off and can’t remember why I keep giving it a miss.

One thing I really like about the iPhone 15 is that you can programme the new Action Button to do anything so it’s possible to set it to any camera. I’ve just got to work out first how to set the phone to Silent mode a different way. So many new settings to learn and I’ve got a bit lazy in my old age.
Click to expand...
The silence mode is in the control panel. Swipe down from the right corner and there’s a little bell. I was concerned about that, too. I used the little silence switch quite often.
 
ImageArt said:
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

View attachment 197713

View attachment 197714
Click to expand...
We were just there at the end of October. We lucked into seeing the Day of the Dead festivities at
Tlaquepaque.
 
Starzee said:
The silence mode is in the control panel. Swipe down from the right corner and there’s a little bell. I was concerned about that, too. I used the little silence switch quite often.
Click to expand...
Ah, thanks. I had a look at the control panel but didn’t associate the bell with silent mode.
 
Starzee said:
Plastic bags have been banned in New York State for several years. I didn’t realize the whole country hadn’t followed suit. I’m a little surpurprized about the gluten free thing, too. I don’t have a large selection in my little home town store, but 8 miles down the road is my favorite store and they have a large selection of GF products. Also, most restaurants have GF items labeled on the menu. They also are pretty happy to wrap a sandwich without bread in a lettuce leaf.

Nice to hear the drivers are polite in Arizona. Don’t come to NY! :lmao:
Click to expand...
I forget that in the US, states all have different rules. Instead of impressions in the US, I definitely should have said Arizona!
 
No Edits

Sunrise from our hotel yesterday morning
IMG_0909.jpeg


Then we went to see the Chapel of the Holy Cross built into the side of the mountain.
IMG_0915.jpeg


Then in the afternoon we did the Soldier’s Pass Hike - 5 miles
IMG_0942.jpeg
 
Then today we played Sedona Golf Resort course and the highlight was a bobcat and the view from the 10th hole

Bobcat taken with 5x lens and cropped in. Would never have got anything nearly as good without the zoom.
IMG_5679.jpeg

IMG_0961.jpeg
 
ImageArt said:
Then today we played Sedona Golf Resort course and the highlight was a bobcat and the view from the 10th hole

Bobcat taken with 5x lens and cropped in. Would never have got anything nearly as good without the zoom.
View attachment 197824
View attachment 197825
Click to expand...
Love the bobcat shot. My favorite wildcat (the whole lynx family).

The scenery around the course is spectacular. I guess regulars get used to it, but I think I'd have a hard time keeping my mind on what I was doing. (Not that I play golf at all.)
 
.
ImageArt said:
Then today we played Sedona Golf Resort course and the highlight was a bobcat and the view from the 10th hole

Bobcat taken with 5x lens and cropped in. Would never have got anything nearly as good without the zoom.
View attachment 197824
View attachment 197825
Click to expand...
We have had some recently move into our area. I haven’t had the pleasure to spot one, yet. They are beautiful.
 
We nearly had a major international incident today. We went to play at a small local golf club in Flagstaff and we were meant to be in front of two older men who had a little disabled flag fluttering from their motorised cart. We had what we call pull-carts and were walking. We weren’t quite ready so they asked if they could go ahead of us and I said fine ‘you will probably be faster in a buggy anyway’. He looked at me in a weird way and walked to his cart. Well we caught up to them easily and I couldn’t understand why they weren’t letting us play through.

We finally managed to get through them on the 11 and raced around leaving them far behind. We packed our things into the car and dawdled in the pro shop and when we came out he came up and apologised. What he hadn’t realised is that we in the UK call motorised carts, buggies and people in the US call what we would call a pram, a buggy (although we do use this too). So this chap thought I was being derogatory. He thought I was basically saying ‘you will probably be faster in a pram’! :lol:
 
Did the Grand Canyon today. Immense! A day not to be forgotten

Snapseed.jpeg


We walked from the Visitor Centre to the South Kaibab Trail down to Cedar Ridge. You just darn well know that all that down is going to be all that up! But fully worth it.

This photo shows where we started at the top to Cedar Ridge where we had lunch. The path down obviously zigzags down the other side of the mountain. Very well done and maintained. I really did question whether some of the other people would actually make it back up! It took us 70 minutes to get back up. Hard going.
IMG_5819.jpeg


Having lunch on the orange rock
Snapseed.jpeg


A female elk drinking from the water fountain at the restrooms.
IMG_1143.jpeg
 
ImageArt said:
Did the Grand Canyon today. Immense! A day not to be forgotten

View attachment 197932

We walked from the Visitor Centre to the South Kaibab Trail down to Cedar Ridge. You just darn well know that all that down is going to be all that up! But fully worth it.

This photo shows where we started at the top to Cedar Ridge where we had lunch. The path down obviously zigzags down the other side of the mountain. Very well done and maintained. I really did question whether some of the other people would actually make it back up! It took us 70 minutes to get back up. Hard going.
View attachment 197933

Having lunch on the orange rock
View attachment 197934

A female elk drinking from the water fountain at the restrooms.
View attachment 197935
Click to expand...
And a silhouette of a crow in the upper right of that marvelous first image! Wow!
 
The weather has turned cold and a little rainy. We were lucky to get to see Grand Canyon when we did.

So we had a lazy morning at our favoured coffee shop and then decided to see downtown Flagstaff and fortuitously the sun came out. A lot of what I would call ‘knick-knack’ shops - tourist tat - but some pretty buildings and some good graffiti.
IMG_5933.jpeg


IMG_1201.jpeg
IMG_5935.jpeg
IMG_5934.jpeg
 
We then went to see Sunset Crater which was recommended to us by the owner of Lund Coffee Shop in Flagstaff which has been our coffee haunt in Flagstaff. What an excellent recommendation! It looks like the crater eruption occurred fairly recently ie within the last 100 years but in fact it occurred 1000 years ago. The lava rock, from a distance, looks like big clumps of upturned black earth but it’s rock hard.

IMG_5949.jpeg
IMG_1264.jpeg
IMG_1249.jpeg
IMG_1237.jpeg
 
ImageArt said:
We then went to see Sunset Crater which was recommended to us by the owner of Lund Coffee Shop in Flagstaff which has been our coffee haunt in Flagstaff. What an excellent recommendation! It looks like the crater eruption occurred fairly recently ie within the last 100 years but in fact it occurred 1000 years ago. The lava rock, from a distance, looks like big clumps of upturned black earth but it’s rock hard.

View attachment 197973View attachment 197970View attachment 197971View attachment 197972
Click to expand...
That black looks so unnatural in the landscape, really says something happened there.
 
Today we went to Oljato-Monument Valley. Wow, more spectacular scenery. We did the scenic drive and then a 1hr 40min walk around the Wildcat Trail.

None of these photos have had edits except the one with the horse which needed straightening. Interestingly they are all 5x. Somehow getting close up images just gave more dramatic shots. It was often frustrating that the 2x was too far but the 5x too close.

IMG_1510.jpeg

IMG_1444.jpeg

IMG_1476.jpeg

IMG_1411.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom