Arizona Steve

Evening at South Mountain

Made my way up South Mountain for the first time in a few years. It was good to get back up there and take a few photos. Hey, we even had a few friends show up!

Old Primitive House on the Mountain

Phoenix From Up Top

Mary Enjoys the View

Panoramic View From South Mountain
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

Mary Portrait

The Shannons are Here!

Paul & Sheenae at Sunset

Andel's First Hiking Trip

He's More Interactive Now

Phoenix at Night (HDR)

Paul and Grandpa Hebert!

Labels: Arizona, Friends, HDR, Landscape, Mary, Panorama

Andel Shannon

Paul and Sheenae just had their first baby! Andel Shannon was born on August 27th at
St. Joseph's Hospital. He was 9lb 12oz!

Andel's First Day

Baby Close-Up

Mary Holds the Baby

Daddy With His Baby

Labels: Friends, Mary

Fabulous Las Vegas!

Paul and Sheenae invited us to go out to Las Vegas with them for the weekend! Well, actually, it was a few weeks ago and I've just been too lazy to get the photos up here, but you get the idea! It was fun!

We Stayed at the Venetian

It's A Really Nice Hotel

Our Suite Was Sweet! (HDR)

Did I Mention How Nice This Place Is?

There Were Some... Interesting Slot Machines

A Winnar Is You!!!

Damn! Should Have Worn My 3 Wolf Sweater...

Traveling On the Monorail!

To Bellagio!

Mmmmm, Fruity!

And To MGM!

Where They Have Lions!

And M&M World

Somebody Loves M&M World...

And Don't Forget World of Coke!

Oh No, The Dreaded Beverly =:o

The Beverly Approaches...

Mary Has Danced With the Beverly Before

Paul Will Try It!

WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT!?!

And then Paul died from ingesting the Beverly and Another great trip came to an end! Until next time, thanks for the fun!

Labels: Friends, HDR, Mary, Vegas

First Camp of the Year!

I was invited to go camping with a few folks from work last weekend. We went up to the Mogollon Rim (pronounced Mug-E-On) this time. We drove a little off the beaten path and set up a primitive campsite right on the rim itself. I love camping there, since the views are unbelievable. Did a little hiking, took some photos and just relaxed. Hopefully we can get back at least one more time before the summer ends. It gets pretty cold up there early.

Here's Camp! (HDR)

Look! There are Trees in Arizona! (HDR)

Rusty and Heather

Jason and Rusty

Cassie Loves Camp Food!

Self Portrait

I Found This Cool Bumpy Tree (HDR)

Did I Mention the View was Awesome? (HDR)

I Sat on the Edge of That Ledge to Take Panorama Photos. Talk About a Real Pucker Inducer! =:0 (HDR)

Panorama of the Whole View in HDR! (Click Image for Large Panorama)

Did I Mention the Wind Gusts On This Ledge? =:0 (HDR)

1hr & 40min Exposure of the Stars Traveling

Labels: Arizona, Friends, HDR, Landscape, Panorama

NRA Annual Meeting

The NRA Annual Meeting was in Phoenix this year! The best part about the NRA Meeting is the show they put on. It's kinda like E3, but for guns. Awesome! In the past, I've traveled to attend the meeting, but this year it was right here at home.

I tried riding the new Phoenix light rail to the show so that I could give a bit of a review to the new system, which I have to say fails in a pretty epic fashion. First, in an entire day of riding around town on the train, I was the only person I actually saw buy a ticket. In fact, the ticket vending terminal actually had to boot up once I touched the screen since nobody had used it in so long. There are no turnstiles, access control, or as far as I can tell, persons enforcing ticket purchases. I'm pretty certain I was the only person that actually bought a ticket to ride that day. Next, the average wait between trains is about 10 minutes, and the stations are in the middle of the road with almost no shade. When its 120 degrees out, little canvas stretch shade thingies do not do the job. Finally, riding the light rail was inconvenient. Park n' Ride spots are few and far, and it's slow. I would rank it as slightly faster than riding the bus, but much, much slower than taking your car. Overall, I probably won't be using the light rail again for a long while. The only reason I could see trying it again might be to avoid the traffic problems when going to a ball game. I'll post another review when I try that one...

That being said, the NRA Show itself was sooooooo much fun! :D