Phoenix, Arizona

Cactus, cactus everywhere!

Some friends from home were visiting Phoenix for a few days, so we jumped on a cheap flight from Allegiant Airlines and stayed with them. Allegiant is one of those airlines with very few frills, rush seating, $2.00 soft drinks, but enjoys the added bonus of using a smaller airport in Phoenix, which is a relief when you're new somewhere!

All cacti are succulents,
but not all succulents are cacti!

The first thing we did, upon arriving, was visit the Desert Botanical Garden. A little expensive, I thought, (free if you're in the military though, at least on Remembrance Day [Veteran's day here]) but it turned out to be huge. There are many different kinds of cactus, by the way. 

Cactus skeleton

After viewing the cacti, I saw my very first live NHL game, for $20. This included a free drink!

Petroglyphs, department store Chinese Murals, Frank was a man of many inspirations.

The next day, we visited one of Frank Lloyd Wright's estates, Taliesin West, (Tally-essin) where we enjoyed the 1-hour panorama tour. What did we learn? Frank's summer home was not a very polished place. It was made in the late 30's, out of whatever building materials he could find cheaply, by him and his students, as a testing ground for his ideas.

Can't find work? Start your own school, train architects,
and have them build you a  home, just like Frank did!

For all of that, it was still a very impressive site!