Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Phoenix, The 39 Steps, Desert Botanical Garden, Casa Grande ruins

Phoenix, February 2014

E- and I took a trip to Phoenix to meet up with MIL and go see our cousins production of The 39 Steps.   (go see a Black Box production if you are in the Phoenix area!)
Of course there is a scene with sheep and these guys were up to the part.  Do you recognize the little guy as Shaun the Sheep?  If not go watch some-sure to make you smile.

It is a fun play/comedy and every production will be different.  It verges on farce and is worth paying close attention as there are sight gags galore.  This production was extra nice because the cast has an improv background which works really well with this play.  

Desert Botanical Garden
During the rest of the weekend we hit some highlights of Phoenix.  The Desert Botanical Garden was a beautiful way to spend a morning.  I've been inspired to think about cacti and succulents for our backyard landscaping because there is such a variety!



Okay, these might be TOO spiky for me.



The aloes are so beautiful


 I don't think we have enough space for this!

I've always loved barrel cacti since I learned that they hold water.

The garden also has exhibits of the people who are desert dwellers-here is a sleeping hut.  I love that they made an actual structure rather then just having pictures.



I really want a Boojum tree-but they are sensitive to the cold, I will see if it could work in my microclimate.

When you are going to bloom, go big or go home!

Neat-o sundial.  Those are mini-cacti forming the slices.


and nice water features.

Here are the succulents I have at home

This jade is about 8 yrs old from a small cutting, but I only recently re-potted it.  It's a start...

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

It is always a good idea to stop at a National Park.  You get a dose of important history in way no other country (I've seen) do as well.  The Casa Grande ruins are about an hour outside of Phoenix and worth a quick stop.
This area is protecting what is left of one of the larger desert settlements.  The most intact is The Big House.  It is pretty amazing that they were able to build a multi-story structure basically with mud.

The covering went up in the early 1930s to protect the remaining structure from the elements and vandalism.



Plus we got to eat Chinese food on New Years to usher in the Year of the Horse!

The Ma Po tofu was especially tasty,


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