Photos by David S. Robertson » Phoenix, Arizona

A day at the Phoenix Zoo

David — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:07:47 +0000

After living in Phoenix for 5 years, I finally decided to visit the Phoenix Zoo. The weather was beautiful with warm air and blue skies. The monkey exhibit was a lot of fun. The monkeys would run all over the place and were very fun to watch.

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Boyce Thompson Aboretum, November 2009

David — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:18:12 +0000

The Aboretum was filled with color today. The birds were singing such sweet music and the trees were putting on a delightful color show. I hope you enjoy these photos from the day.

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More info on Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Full Moon over Goldfield Ghost Town

David — Sun, 10 May 2009 05:18:37 +0000

Its a full moon over Goldfield Ghost Town. Join us as we look for ghosts. We start at the top of the hill at the church on the mount at sunset. We work our way down the hill through town capturing images of various building after dark.

Lulu’s Bordello is looking very quiet tonight. I wonder where the floosy’s are? Visit during the day to learn some history of the women of the 1800′s.

The Coffee Cantina is also closed tonight. I don’t think they were expecting us. You will find Cappuccino, Espresso, Brunch, Lunch & Pastries here during the open hours.

The Blue Nugget pictured here with a golden sunset on the horizon. This shop features beautiful Sterling Silver jewelry and geological rocks. Also Native American Turquoise Jewelry, Rocks and Fossils.

At the bottom of the hill or near the entrance to the town is the Goldfield Station. Behind the station is where you board the train. A mile and a half of track circles the town, and the narrated journey lasts 20 minutes. The engineer tells of the history of Goldfield, the Superstition Mountains, and the desert southwest in general. The train departs every 35 minutes on a 20 minute journey. The ghosts may have taken the train out tonight.

Finally, the moon rises. The moon took its time reaching the top of the mountain — it was nearly 10pm when it peeks out.

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Japanese Friendship Garden – Phoenix

David — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:09:08 +0000

The Japanese Friendship garden is located just north of downtown Phoenix and is reachable via the lightrail. My photo group decided to visit the park on this fantastic winter day in Phoenix. The weather was cool and we had blue skies. I found the garden very relaxing and spent several hours here contemplating life.

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Salt River near Lake Saguaro

David — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:19:53 +0000

These photos were taken from the upper drop-off point for tubing on the Salt River. This location is just below the dam at the low point of Lake Saguaro.

The view of Four Peaks was kindly pointed out to me by a nice young girl who was enjoying a picnic near the river.

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It’s Spring Time in the Arizona Desert

David — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:55:32 +0000

It’s spring time at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior Arizona, near Phoenix. I was tipped off to this years bloom by fellow photographer Bob Estrin who has an exhibit of his work on display at the arboretum — I recommend you check it out when you go.

My photo mission today was to capture flowers mixed with cactus. I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful display of cactus and desert wild flowers. I have included a small sample of them here. I was also looking to capture some macro (close up) shots to submit to my photography groups monthly challenge. Overall, I left the arboretum with a feeling of success — I had captured some great photos and covered my two main goals for the day. I hope you enjoy these new pictures.

The arboretum is a great place to escape to when you want to walk amoung the trees, enjoy the singing of birds, and feel the cool breeze flow through your hair.

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2008 Superbowl Party on Tempe Town Lake

David — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 05:23:37 +0000

The Superbowl comes to Phoenix this year and generates parties all over town. There was a very big party on Tempe Town Lake which included a free concert and nearby NFL sponsored private party at the Tempe Arts Center. Here are some photos of the lake and the fireworks show that followed. These photos were taken from the north side of Tempe Town Lake.

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Chase Field – Guided Tour

David — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:41:05 +0000

Chase Field offers a guided tour for fans as many Major League stadiums do. Chase Field is home to the Arizona Diamond Backs (DBacks). Today, I joined a group to get the Chase Field experience. Does this tour hit a Home Run?I think the tour strikes out. I was very disappointed at the information and presentation of the field. Don’t get me wrong, I think the field is great. I love the fact that the roof can be opened to see the blue sky above and closed for those hot days when you want to escape the Phoenix heat.

This is not the first field tour I have taken — In the past two years, I have taken the field tour at Seattle’s Quest Field and San Diego’s Petco Park. I was disappointed on the Chase Field tour because they didn’t include a visit to the press box, they wouldn’t allow us to even step on the dirt surrounding the field (even when the grass was dormant and scheduled for replacement), and they didn’t show us memorabilia. The two other fields that I toured had much more to do and see on the tour. I hope Chase Field will make changes and improve the tour for future fans.

Here’s some photos I took — I wasn’t inspired to take very many pictures on this tour.

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Mystery Castle on South Mountain

David — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:46:56 +0000

Today we take a fun tour of Mystery Castle in Phoenix. The Phoenix Pride Commission lists Mystery Castle as a Phoenix Point of Pride. The house was built by Boyce L. Gulley who left his wife and daughter to move to Phoenix when he learned he had tuberculosis in 1930. Gulley was awarded the land under a program of giving land to settlers on the public domain. He began building this castle during the depression era with recycled materials and almost anything he could find.

Mary Lou Gulley was a child when her father left. She later moved to the castle in 1945 and lives there today. She still gives tours of the main house and has additional guides to tour the rest of the property. Her bedroom is the only part of the house that is not open to visitors.

Address and Directions: 800 E. Mineral Road, Phoenix, AZ 85042. Take 7th street south from Baseline road, through the traffic circle to the left or east onto Mineral Road. Follow to the end for parking. Parking is free.

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Hidden Valley on South Mountain – Phoenix

David — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:58:10 +0000

Today was a group hike on the Hidden Valley loop by way of Fat Man’s Pass. It is an easy four mile loop on the top of South Mountain. We are starting from the Buena Vista Lookout parking lot at 10 am and hiking a total of four miles on easy trails.Hidden Valley is probably the nicest little valley in the park. Phoenix will disapear when we enter the valley. We will squeeze into the valley by way of Fat Man’s pass and exit the valley through a natural tunnel. In the middle we will slide down some polished rocks, see some petroglyphs and possibly spot some wild animals.From Phoenix, take Central Avenue south to the park entrance, then follow the signs about six miles to the Buena Vista Lookout. From there we will head east on the National trail to the Hidden Valley turn off. We will rejoin the National trail when we exit hidden valley and return.

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