🏛⛰🌅 Arizona Trip Collected - 21 Photos

This post is made up of pictures I took while visiting Arizona earlier this year. Many of the pictures were spread out over quite a lot of posts so I thought you might enjoy seeing them together.

Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did wandering around in the desert to capture them.

Red Rock Desolation Wilderness

⛰🌳⛰ It's not so bad to get lost in the desert

This is where I leave the trees that won’t grow for the path that I know

In the heart of the desert - a hint of rainbow

This photo came out pretty decent considering that the sunlight was rapidly fading.

Another road winding through the desert

Sometimes we can’t see the path but it’s still there..

⚡️Power lines across the desolation

Current Rising

....but slower than you might think.

We're getting there. Even in desolate places there are pathways.

🐮🐄🐮 The desert cow says "Moooo”

I wish I had squared up this photo properly but it’s still kinda cool with the two cows aligned in the center.

🌅 When the desert goes to sleep

The road was going on forever into an endless landscape. Honestly, I was lost and my phone had no signal. I was just praying that the direction the car was taking us was correct. There was only my memory of the topological landscape and the setting sun to trust that I would eventually make it to the destination.

If you're lost in the desert, there's probably a reason.

Jerome Collected

Downtown Jerome is tucked into the hillside. A former mining community that has reinvented itself or perhaps shed itself from it's initial industrial roots to a degree.

Front and center in this picture is the Hotel Conor where I stayed a night while passing through. The 1898 structure had all the charm of a building erected from that era and maybe a few ghosts haunting it as well. Beneath the rooms was a saloon named "Spirit Room". The play on words wasn't lost on me and I hung out there the night before, though only a few others were around the conversation was still spirited.

I woke up in the morning early, ready to see the Jerome that had been shrouded in veil of night when I emerged from the desolate wilderness. It didn't disappoint.

Curving around the treacherous dirt road in the hills had shown me a sprawl of lights through the valley. I couldn't make out anything in particular though.

A morning walk revealed what I couldn't see the evening before.

This old mining town still has a legacy and you can explore its history. Both at this museum and via industrial elements spread throughout the streets.

The town of Jerome, Arizona combines art, mining culture, and the western aesthetic into a unique cultural experience that is tucked into the hills that become the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness.

North Central Arizona has a unique flair that is one of a kind for visitors. As I was releasing these photos through my Instagram account, many of my friend came out of the woodwork to share their experience or appreciation for past visits to the area.

Mark Galen Lucas

Three dimensional, mixed media artwork really speaks to me. While Mark Galen Lucas uses primarily glass, I would add that his use of negative space, or even just open space within his structures is a medium as well. If you ever find the journey leads you to Jerome, Arizona look up his workshop for yourself.

The intricate designs of these few pieces I photographed bring the forms to life. We are viewing humans not just glass. They are expressing emotions and messages.

Maybe it is projection, but this form is feminine to me. It is called "molecular self destruction". I see this entity creating something new from itself. Transforming itself and through that process altering both the environment and the experience of it.

Perhaps this figure is genderless, it is certainly in a submitting position. Awaiting the opportunity for instruction to action.

What do you think? What do you see?

Hey pup!

There is unique decor throughout the town. This dinosaur skeleton was set up in front of someone's house on the road that lead out of town.

Sights like this are quirky and would be missed if you aren't willing to take the time to explore. That's why when I travel, driving my own car is so valuable. It enables me to take as much time as necessary, breathe the local air and go where ever the map leads (or doesn't in the case of getting lost in the desert).

The view of town on the way out is characterized by the hillside. This mining cart was left in place as a reminder of the legacy that built up a lot of the west. Minerals and resources built those states in times when domestic life was hard. Railroads made communities viable but the environment conditions were brutal.

In the distance, there are the visual signs of excavation - a reminder of the past in terraced steps.

Capital Building

The Arizona capital building is located in Phoenix. it's a unique combination of both the traditional classical architecture style we see across the country but also utilizes the materials and color styles prominent in the southwest.

While I didn't go into the building, there are more pictures of the grounds located within the park in front of it. Look for those posts soon.

In the park in front of the entrance to the Arizona capital building, there are a number of permanent art installations. Many of them are related to branches of military and the people that served.

However, there is also a rendering of the Bill of Rights in stone. Here is the introduction and the 1st Amendment in stone for visitors to read, learn and become better acquainted with the inalienable rights.

History and values are tangible concepts that we interact with regularly.

Work isn't money, it's building things that help stabilize a society. Focus on making efforts to do that and find out how positive culture is made.

This peace officers memorial had wreathes laid around the base of the platform for the figure. This picture, along with most of the others I take while traveling are captured with my Canon Rebel. It's nothing special but I've been running around with it for about 10 years.

I didn't photograph much of the base of this sculpture, so I'm not clear which branch or conflict is associated with it. There is an entire series of sculptures honoring servicemen just outside of the Arizona State Capital.

I'm fairly certain this sculpture was in recognition of those that served in the Vietnam War. It was important to find an angle to capture the expressions on the three soldiers faces in this because it felt as if the artist had really focused on their faces.

The motion is perceptible too, it's like the man on the right is actually moving to the right and will either pull up the man his is holding on to or slip off and attempt to get to a more secure location.

Thanks for reading!