Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #6

 

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #5

It appears that our little guy is somewhat sad at the passing of their companion...

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #4

Here is our heroine again, the first to die:

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #3

There was only one female among the actors, but she was just as tough as the rest of them.

Naturally I focused on the revolvers they used, some of which appeared to be Rugers:

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #2

Of course you can't have a shootout without someone shooting out, and they had a half-dozen or so actors to fill those roles.  This little guy caught my eye right away, being a midget, which I think added to the authenticity of the performance, as surely they had midgets in the Old West.  He was a key player, appeared to enjoy what he was doing, and we thought did a good job.

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #1

The idea behind going to Williams is that you spend the night in the hotel at the train stop, then board early the next day.  This we did, but about a half hour before boarding they performed a 15-minute Old West shootout, complete with fake storefronts.  I made sure to sit at the top of the spectators' bleachers so that the Bigger Cahoona could get to work.

One thing I noticed right away was that the windows opened up to the parking lot beyond, showing cars, pedestrians, etc.  This takes a lot from the immersive experience, and I'm considering making a layer of some western scenes from the Canyon, placing them behind the storefronts, then sending this pic, modified thus, to them as an encouragement to at least place something to look at besides automobiles.  We'll see whether I actually get around to doing that and, if so, whether they'll even take a look at a pic sent from the thousands of tourists that email them every year...

Grand Canyon - Getting There

Since we were at our daughter's for a good two months, and since the parents of our new grandchild needed time to themselves, a couple of side trips were planned.  Our first was to Sedona, which has already been posted here.  The no-brainer choice for another excursion was the Grand Canyon for a longer stay of four nights and five days.  How could we not do that?  But first we had to GET THERE.  Since I didn't relish the prospect of driving and the potential of running into overcrowding on the road, we first drove to Williams, AZ, then hopped on the train you see above.  Williams acts as a sort of "Park & Ride" for those seeking an alternate way into the park, with a bonus of entertainment on the way.

While there wasn't much to see outside during the ride - mostly just high desert scrubland - each car had a guide of sorts that kept us informed of what we were looking at, and the history of various sites along the way.  Then a guy with a guitar was moving from car to car, picking and singing old cowboy songs.  It really was a nice alternative to driving.

We reversed course on the way back from the Canyon, this time springing for one of the bi-level super luxury cars with windows on top for better views.  We were very disappointed, however, because alcohol was served and flowed freely; they were treating the ride as a big party with whooping, hollering, etc.  Since we're not drinkers, and are averse to whooping and hollering in public, we retreated downstairs, which was decked out as a quiet lounge with big, soft couches.  This was a great reprieve from the party going on upstairs, and as a bonus the train conductor also used this as his mid-trip lounge, and we learned a lot from him regarding the history and ownership of the train itself.  He broke away to park our ride, and when it stopped at the hotel we spent the night before driving back to Chandler the next day.

So this is how we traveled to and from the Grand Canyon.  As for our time there, these posts will be divided based on where we went and what we did.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Sunset Endcap

This sunset pic might be an apt way to conclude the posts from our walks in the neighborhood around our daughter's house in Chandler, AZ.  Lots of beauty and interest to be found even in the city.  Next stop: the GRAND CANYON!

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Succulent with Glowing Edges

The pattern here is what caught my eye, as I thought it might look good in Glowing Edges:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Cat in Window

Published a cat-in-window picture from the recent cruise we took in New England.  They make pretty good subjects, but this one is a step up due to the serene atmosphere created by the furniture and foliage outside.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Work Truck

This truck, just down the street from Allison and DeQuan, was loaded up like this every night for the next day's work with various items, always piled high.  Gotta hand it to 'em...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Flower Sprays

Everything in nature has its beauty - bugs, snakes, trees, cacti, mammals, birds... everything.  In the flora world, however, nothing can beat natural sprays of flowers such as these.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Praying Mantis / Fact Check Verification from a Valuable Contributor

Suppose these guys are found just about everywhere; pics here of some encountered in Taiwan and Japan.  This one was reposing on the front door of the kids' house there in Chandler.  They are pretty scary looking - even more so if you've seen them lightning-strike prey with those forearms.  And the way they cock their head up and swivel around to look at you seems a bit too personal...

It's in family lore that Bob, my oldest brother, when he was a little tyke, saw one on the handlebars of his tricycle and was terrified enough to scar him for life.  Will have to fact-check that one.

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FACT CHECK RESULT:  Bob responded with verification and so much more...

This is true and happened shortly after we moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in the summer of 1957 when I was five and before Jim was born.  I had no idea what was this giant ferocious bug that landed right in front of me on my trike, and I started screaming.  But what's not mentioned is that my friends and I later became enamored with praying mantises.  My best friend in Wilmington was Mike Farantino.  He and I would catch them in an adjacent vacant, overgrown field in Wilmington, and fly them like balsa wood airplanes.  They'd fly a distance and we'd catch them again.  One time we launched a praying mantis and it flew over our two-story apartment building (probably to get away), and we followed it in the air and went around and found it again.  You had to grab one behind the head because they could latch on to your finger and bite.  When launching you'd transfer your grip to under the thorax/wings and sort of gently throw it horizontally, and it would fly - sometimes pretty far.  We never harmed them and would release them when we were done playing.

In Jim's picture the praying mantis is green.  I don't know about Chinese insects but in Delaware they would change color from green to brown, and back, depending on the background.  I have seen them in Houston and Austin occasionally.  Here they seem to be mostly brown, although I know I have seen a green one in Texas too.

I attended a private Christian school in Wilmington (since closed) for grades one through three, and I started first grade at age five - kindergarten was not common them.  In second grade I took a praying mantis nest in a jar to class to show everyone.  Those nests look like a brown papery blob about half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter on a grass stalk or twig.  Fairly solid and somewhat crunchy.  Anyway, the thing hatched while I was there and somehow the jar lid came off (not my fault, I said and still say) and we had 50 tiny little mantises scurrying around the classroom all afternoon.  They come out very pale then turn dark brown, almost black, a couple of hours later.  The boys thought it was cool but our teacher and the girls in the class were not amuse.

Bob

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Palm Seed Pods

The seed pods on some sort of palm tree they have over there.  Koko ate some of these after they'd shriveled and fallen to the ground, which created a bit of a scare, but they turned out to be harmless.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Ornamental Yard Cactus

Another bear of a cactus.  Had to be very careful with Koko on walks, as she would want to get close to sniff and identify these strange new plants.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Prickly Pear Cactus

These grew everywhere where I lived down in Mexico ('80 & '81), and my friends there introduced me to the tunas, those red things that are actually quite tasty.  Unfortunately, they left me a little bit estreñido (you translate)...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Disappearing Rain

One thing interesting about being in the high-and-dry desert is this phenomenon.  The sun is shining at an angle that allows us to see this rain falling from the could above.  It's pretty obvious that it's fallen about halfway to the ground.  I tried to trace its fall downward, but it didn't seem to change at all, even after the usual three minutes it takes rain to go from cloud to ground.  Why is this?  Well, as it turns out, it is so high and dry in the Sonoran desert that it never makes it all the way to the ground.  Yes, in some cases the rain evaporates completely before reaching terra firma.  Don't see that in Houston...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Pima Park Willow Tree

 

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Succulent from Above

Like pictures of plants taken from this perspective, which remind me of this post, a favorite from the Houston Zoo.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Sotol Cactus

I remember seeing these things in peoples' landscaping in Orange growing up; think maybe we even had one in our back yard.  Evidently this species of cactus thrives in humid, sub-tropical as well as dry desert climates.  Scientific name is Dasylirion graminifolium, commonly referred to as sotol or grass-leafed Dasylirion.  Not that I knew this while growing up...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Family Portrait

 

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Interesting Tree Trunks

A couple of interesting tree trunks we came across while out and about on our walks.  The one above is in Pima Park adjacent to a schoolyard; the one below is...somewhere else, I think South Gilbert:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Very Tasteful and Understated Halloween Decoration

...a unique, artsy and fun Halloween decoration in the middle of a yard just a few doors down the street.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Yet More Halloween Decorations / A Skeleton in the Classroom

As stated earlier, those in Chandler went all-out to celebrate Halloween in grand style.

Can't look at a skeleton without thinking about my 10th grade biology class.  In those days most schools had at least one real skeleton for study in their science classes.  This was Orange Stark High School in 1973, a standout school even in those days, when schools were generally better than they are now.  One day the teacher introduced us to their skeleton-in-residence, showing us how he knew it was a female (pelvic bone widened due to having kids) and her approximate age (via the dentition), which was mid-forties.  She was about 5'4" tall, had this or that disease, and through lifetime engaged in this much or that much labor.  Was very interesting, and the teacher was tactful and respectful in the way he handled the lesson.  "Can we touch?" some of us asked.  "Yes, if you come up one at a time," was the response.  Some of us did and some of us didn't.
 

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - More Halloween Decorations

Believe it or not, this was captured at the same address featured in the last two posts.  It wasn't a huge house, so we wondered where all this stuff was stored during non-Halloween times.  And are they just as eager about Christmas?

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Halloween Lady

Saw this lady at the same address.  Actually they do Halloween in grand style there in Chandler, as can be seen in these and the pics to be posted in the next couple of days:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Alien Creature

Spied this creature on one of our morning walks as the rising sun caught the webbing on its wings just right.  Koko was not too interesting in getting to know this guy better...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Strange Blue Yard Plant

Closer-up shots of one of those strange blue plants featured in yesterday's post...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Rock Yards and Strange Plants

No less interesting to us were the yards, typically covered over with rocks instead of grass.  The suburban plant life there is full of strange and - to us - exotic plants, such as these blue things.  Naturally the cactus plants used in landscaping was varied, including saguaros, which are sold by nurseries or transplanted from other areas.  The larger saguaros, such as the one below, carry a price tag of $100 or more per foot:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Sunset-to-Dusk Cloud Formation

Enthralled by this cloud formation, a little further down the trail I zoomed in a little and recomposed for this shot.  Lucky it was captured, as only a few minutes later the brilliant sunlit scene was lost in the edge of dusk:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Reflected Cloud Formation at Sunset

Having said that about the dried-up parks, there are canals that snake through the region that have continuously running water with trails aligning both sides for all to enjoy.  Our son-in-law was eager to show us this one just north of Chandler, in the city of Gilbert.  This is where our dog Koko met a horse for the first time, an introduction that lasted about a millisecond.

What caught my attention here was that awesome cloud formation at sunset, with its brilliant orange hues; as a bonus we have a reflection in the water of the canal.