Phoenix

Last Monday, Heidi Of The Mountains and I drove eight hours from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to arrive in Phoenix, Arizona, where her parents have a winter home in Sun City, the sprawling retirement community.  The weather during winter is balmy—warm enough for shorts. I am coming to know my in-laws, and played a round of golf with Heidi’s father.

Colorado, 8 x 10 inches, oil on board

I brought my paint supplies with me, but honestly, although the weather is great and Phoenix is a major American city, I am not impressed with the physical appearance of the area. It is very flat, in a desert, and non-descript houses are wall-to-wall everywhere. So when it came time for me to choose a painting, I did several, but from photographs retrieved from my computer.

We love the Sonoran Desert environment; the only place in the world where the Saguaro cactus grows in the wild. This morning, we left home just after dawn to drive to a place where we could hike. We found a trail in mountains near Sun City and walked among the saguaro with our puppy, Chamo. At the end of the winding walk, we came to a rock wall with a small pool of water at its base. The morning light was good for picture taking, as you can see from the one  I am including here at the top.