Arizona 2021

February 13, 2021

The Cholla Cactus Garden at Joshua Tree National Park. They are pretty but hazardous to touch. Keep your distance.

Dense cholla cacti covered in pale yellow spines fill a sandy desert floor with mountains visible in the background.

Close-up of cholla cactus segments covered in dense white spines with small yellow-green flower buds, blue sky in background.

Dense field of spiny cholla cacti stretching across sandy desert floor with rocky mountains under overcast sky at Joshua Tree

Teddy bear cholla cacti with dense silver spines fill the foreground of a desert landscape under a partly cloudy sky.

February 13, 2021

Joshua Tree.

February 13, 2021

Heading to Joshua Tree National Park for a couple of days. 4h 30m drive. 👍

It is amazing how long it takes to just get out of Phoenix!

Google Maps route from Phoenix to Joshua Tree National Park, a roughly 4.5-hour drive west through the California desert.

Highway I-10 West toward Los Angeles and SR-101 North interchange signs over a busy multi-lane freeway with moderate traffic near Phoenix.

February 12, 2021

Day 12 of the February Photoblogging Challenge: Sporg.

A group gathered to watch and attempt to sporg a frisbee off the roof.

Person standing on a patio roof edge using a stick to retrieve a frisbee while a group of people watches from below at dusk.

February 12, 2021

It was Tyler’s birthday today and we decided to get a really cool Minecraft themed cake to celebrate. Lesley’s Creative Cakes did an amazing job on this creation!

It was a little confusing to figure out how to cut into it, but the main cube was delicious Red Velvet cake.

There was plenty of cake. Cake decorators probably know this but I was surprised that the more decorative blocks were actually Rice Krispie bars.

Most importantly Tyler loved it!

Minecraft-themed birthday cake for Tyler with pixel grass blocks, Steve, a Creeper, TNT, and a house on top, displayed outdoors on a table.

Minecraft grass block cake cut open revealing red velvet interior, decorated with green and brown fondant pixel squares

Minecraft Creeper birthday cake cut open revealing red velvet interior, with decorative fondant character figures on a black board beside a knife.

February 12, 2021

Tyler got Mario Kart Live for his birthday and we’ve already had a ton of fun playing it. We setup a couple of quick tracks and it is really fun to have a game that is played both in front of you and on the Nintendo Switch.

Mario Kart Live toy kart with Mario figure sitting on top of an encyclopedia book on a table

February 9, 2021

Day 9 of the February Photoblogging Challenge: Mudy.

While visiting the Salt River wild horses today I noticed this horse that had been having some time in the mud recently.

Muddy chestnut horse nuzzling a lighter brown horse in a sandy desert area, with several other wild horses in the background.

February 9, 2021

Salt River Wild Horses

Today we visited Coon Bluff Recreation Area to see the Salt River wild horses. The non-profit Salt River Wild Horse Management group helps provide for these wild horses, and they are currently putting out hay for them each day. You can visit while they do this and walk among …

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February 8, 2021

Day 8 of the February Photoblogging Challenge: Hope.

This is the first Saguaro cactus flower, arriving over a month early, showing hope for another spring.

Large multi-armed Saguaro cactus with a single pink bloom amid Arizona desert hillside under clear blue sky

February 7, 2021

Saguaro National Park

We visited Saguaro National Park today. We didn’t have a ton of time so we only (and accidentally actually) went to the East park. We did a quick hike but it was our second hike of the day so we didn’t go too far. It looked like an incredible set of trails for hiking and the loop …

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