Cactus Kate

Chihuly, And A Great Time In Phoenix

5th April 2009

Chihuly, And A Great Time In Phoenix

posted in Adventures in Food, Birds, Plants, Travel |

I know, I know.  I am late posting this.  We returned from our trip to Arizona last Wednesday, and it has taken me this long to sort through all the photos, and choose a reasonable number to share with you all.  Yikes.  What a job!

The purpose of our trip to Arizona was to see the Chihuly exhibit at Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix.  We went on Tuesday (May 31).  The exhibit was amazing.  I loved it!  It was incredibly impressive to see all that glass among the desert plants!  Here are some photos of the glass installations:

DSC02593 Festival_yellow_and_orange_chandelier_2 float_boat_5 float_boat_6

Green_NOID_installation_1 Mexican_hat_and_horn_tower_4 Mexican_hat_and_horn_tower_2 mirrored_hornets_5

Neodymium_reeds_3 Orange_hornet_and_eelgrass_chandelier_3 Phoenix_15 red_reeds_and_black_saguaros_3

Scorpion_tails_and_Bamboo_7 Squero_di_San_Trovaso_chandelier_3 The_Moon_6 The_Moon_4

The_Sun_1 The_Sun_2 The_Sun_4 White_Belugas_7

White_Belugas_8 Sonja_Katie_Chihuly_exhibit_1.1

We saw more than just the glass – there were lots of wildflowers, birds, and blooming cactus to enjoy!  The Verdin and the Phainopepla were new additions to my ‘life bird list’!

Verdin_2 Phainopepla_1_female Phainopepla_2_male hummingbird_NOID_1

Desert_blue_bells_1 Echinocereus_NOID_1 Echinocereus_NOID_2 Fouquieria_splendens_flowers_1

On the way down into Arizona, we stopped at the Sunset Crater Volcano Nat’l Monument, and had lunch.  We had to eat in the car, because it was so incredibly windy.  There were a BUNCH of Steller’s Jays vieing for food people tossed out of cars for them.  I had to get in on the action, and I sat for a while in the wind, and tossed out a few crackers.  I guess that’s like a bribe to get them to hold still for a split second while you take a picture.  Here is the best one I got, cracker still in his little birdie lips:

stellers_jay_3-29-09_50

Part of these trips with my mom is always about food.  We went to Red Lobster in Phoenix, and also Cafe Istanbul.  That place has some GREAT food (this was our second visit)!  This time we tried their babaganoush.  This is a dip made with roasted eggplant, garlic, lemon, and olive oil.  It was fantastic on the pitas!

I guess that about covers everything.  Thanks for reading!

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Adventures in Food, Birds, Plants, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 18 responses to “Chihuly, And A Great Time In Phoenix”

Tell Katie what you think! C'mon...

  1. 1 On April 5th, 2009, Caryn Caldwell said:

    Those are gorgeous! I’m especially jealous of your hummingbird picture – so well-framed and captured in the perfect pose, too!

    posted on April 5th, 2009 at 4:48 pm

  2. 2 On April 5th, 2009, Aunt Marcy said:

    Katie, What a feast for the eyes. Your pictures are gorgeous. It looks like you and your mother had a wonderful time.

    posted on April 5th, 2009 at 5:43 pm

  3. 3 On April 5th, 2009, Lesley said:

    Hi Katie, fabulous, fabulous pictures!
    I love that great glass art, the bowl of glass looks something like the bottom of the swimming pool at his home.
    I can’t remember where I saw that, it could have been a profile of him on 60 minutes.
    I know you and your mom must have had a great time.

    posted on April 5th, 2009 at 6:18 pm

  4. 4 On April 5th, 2009, Lorraine said:

    Wow! The colors are fabulous. I love the curlycue glass sculptures best. i think he calls them chandeliers. Sounds like a wonderful trip. thanks for posting the photos. They are always a treat.

    Lorraine

    posted on April 5th, 2009 at 7:30 pm

  5. 5 On April 5th, 2009, Robytch said:

    Is it wrong that I’m just a little turned on by some of those glass sculptures? I mean…it’s not just me. Right?

    Awesome pics! Love the Jay-Dude BTW. Of course, I like any animal that looks naturally annoyed lol.

    posted on April 5th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

  6. 6 On April 6th, 2009, Tom said:

    Those are some real professional pictures of very beautiful objects. Is this the place that inspires your dad to decorate his tree outside at Christmas time? You and your mother must have had a great time. Keep smiling and enjoy life to the max.

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 7:25 am

  7. 7 On April 6th, 2009, Katie said:

    Those pics make me miss the desert even more! Thanks for sharing :)

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 7:27 am

  8. 8 On April 6th, 2009, Sonja said:

    Terrific pictures! It is the most amazing exhibit as it produced only happy faces throughout the garden; not one critic in the bunch. Mom

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 7:32 am

  9. 9 On April 6th, 2009, Doug said:

    Some great colorful pictures. Good looking women hanging around the pictures too. Must have been a great trip.

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 8:47 am

  10. 10 On April 6th, 2009, Lorna said:

    Great photos Katie.

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

  11. 11 On April 6th, 2009, amber said:

    wow, girl! cool pics! sounds like a great trip. thanks for sharing your experiences and pics. i’ll probably never get there (heaven forbid if the hubby go to an exhibit ;) — so it’s fun to see.

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 5:24 pm

  12. 12 On April 6th, 2009, Catherine said:

    Beautiful! I wish that exhibit was coming to Portland. I’d love to see it in person, your pictures are so vividly gorgeous.

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

  13. 13 On April 6th, 2009, cactuskate said:

    Hi, everyone. Sorry I am late responding.

    Caryn – Thanks! There were seriously hummingbirds everywhere! They were easy photos to take!

    Aunt Marcy – We did have a wonderful time, and thank you for the compliments on my photos! Here, you could pretty much just aim the camera and shoot…there wasn’t a bad angle or bad light ANYWHERE!

    Lesley – I was amazed at seeing the art in person. I have seen photos and documentaries, but this was outstanding!

    Lorraine – The curlicues of glass fascinate me, too. It is an art I would love to learn, but would never be able to afford to practice! :)

    Robytch – He he he. They Jay DOES look a bit annoyed. I don’t think he was. Maybe he was just stuffed full of food that tourists threw out their windows for him. Either way, he was lovely! :D

    Tom – Yes, I am sure this will inspire further decorations this year. I ALWAYS smile, and enjoy everything! :)

    Katie – I miss the desert, too – the REAL desert. Moab is a cheap imitation of a desert…not nearly warm enough in the winter, and not nearly as full of prickly plants as I would like it to be.

    Sonja (AKA ‘mom’) – That is something I had not thought about, but you’re right. I heard nothing but GOOD reviews and happy people there!

    Doug – It WAS a great trip! If there is a Chihuly exhibit closer to you, I HIGHLY recommend it!

    Lorna – Thanks! I had fun taking them, and I am glad they were mostly good pics.

    Amber – I am sure if you batted your eyelashes enough and smiled, and said things about how he would be doing it for you, etc, your DH would go! :D

    Catherine – It was honestly amazing! I loved it. I wish Rich could have seen it, too, but Chris was in school, and blah, blah, blah…you know how it goes. Good to hear from you!

    I hope you’re all well and happy. Thanks for commenting!

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 8:16 pm

  14. 14 On April 6th, 2009, Hillary said:

    Wow Katie these are gorgeous! I saw an exhibit of his in Portland years ago. I loved all his color, but the mirrored green hornets remind me of something in a horror flic (?) Anyway, super cool. I’m getting to know this whole wholesome artsy plantsy birdy side of you!

    posted on April 6th, 2009 at 10:44 pm

  15. 15 On April 7th, 2009, Magpie said:

    COOL Katie! Thanks for sharing your pics from the Chihuly Exhibit. I’m forwarding to my Mom a link to this page; we saw a Chihuly Exhibit in a Venice Beach Gallery a couple of years ago. I think the works are MUCH more powerful in the Botanical Gardens setting!!!
    Peace, Love & Happiness
    Magpie

    posted on April 7th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

  16. 16 On April 17th, 2009, Maria Hathaway said:

    I love your pictures. I really like the one of the stellar jay with the cracker in his mouth. Thanks for sharing. I’d never even heard of the Chihuly Exhibit. Now I’m interested.

    posted on April 17th, 2009 at 12:12 am

  17. 17 On April 17th, 2009, cactuskate said:

    Hillary – Thanks! I loved this exhibit. Now I want to go to other exhibits of his!

    Maggie – EVERYTHING is more powerful in a botanical gardens setting! he he he

    Maria – Thanks for stopping by! This exhibit was amazing. I highly recommend his art. It is big, and bold, and beautiful.

    posted on April 17th, 2009 at 1:52 pm

  18. 18 On April 27th, 2009, Herman and Yvonne said:

    Great pictures of Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Things have changed there the past 10-15 yrs.
    Herewith a link to our official introduction for the British Cactus and succulent Society: http://www.bcss.org.uk/forum/read.php?41,128581,128581

    Enjoy Life
    (Life is full of cactus but you don’t have to sit on it)

    Herman & Yvonne in South Africa

    posted on April 27th, 2009 at 7:36 am

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