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!

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

Phoenix Tea Party

I went to the State Capitol today to take part in our local Tea Party protest against high taxes and out-of-control debt spending. There were substantially more people there than I had expected, and I ended up parking about four blocks east of the Capitol.

I've never been to a protest before, and I'm no expert at counting people, but the crowd went all the way from the park to the Capitol building itself, and almost from end to end. I'd guesstimate that there were upward of 5,000 people there. The crowd was also pretty thick, so I couldn't actually get anywhere near the center stage area to see what was going on. There wasn't much along the lines of an organized amplification system either, so I didn't really hear what the speakers had to say.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty cool gathering. I walked around and saw lots of interesting revolutionary era flags being carried by people. There were also a lot of humorous signs being toted around. I didn't see any fights or particularly angry people, and the police presence was very minimal. I think I personally saw about four police officers in total. I was also expecting some sort of counter-protest to be going on, but I was never able to find any. I suppose freedom from taxes is a bipartisan issue.

The Crowd Went All The Way To That Domed Capitol Building

They Had a Fire Truck Decked Out in Flags

News Crews were On the Ground and In the Air

There Were Lots of Gadsden Flags

But This Was My Favorite :)

Lots of Signs!

Debt Star Sighting!

Longest Line? For the Bathroom

Someone Tell Joe Biden the Unpatriotic People Are Here

Here's a Panorama of the Whole Crowd!
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

Five Years!

Hooray! It's been five years since Mary and I got married at Walt Disney World! To celebrate, we decided to go back with our friends and family to where it all started, in sunny Florida!

Anniversary Time!

WDW Was All Decked Out For Christmas

And So Were Paul and Sheenae

We stayed at the Contemporary, on the Atrium Club level. It was pretty cool since they had free food and drinks all day and night for us. We also had our own private lounge where we could relax, watch fireworks, or play cards and watch TV.

You Can See MK From the Concierge Lounge

As Well as the Polynesian

And the Grand Floridian

Our Room Overlooked Bay Lake (HDR)

As Well as the New DVC Construction
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

All Aboard The Monorail to Fun!

I Was The Only One That Got Wet... :/

Too Many Rules!

Brer Rabbit

Brer Bear and Fox

Brer... Skunk?

Uh... Brer... Vultures?

This Is The Largest Audio-Animatronic Prop Ever Created

YEOW!

Haunted Mansion!

Leota Floating

Anniversary you Say?

I Forgot How Bad This Show Is

Yeah...

Now This Is Better!

Those Sure are Big Boots

Nick Approves

Sci-Fi was Neat, but Had Mediocre Food

OM NOM NOM

Hey! It's The Vucics!

The Food in Mexico was BAD

Good Thing It Doesn't Have To Stay Down For Long!

Ready To Upchuck Where No Man Has Upchucked Before?

Still an Awesome Ride

I Love Photographing the Tower (HDR)

Except When Jerks Get In My Shot! (HDR)

They're Heeeeere...

Back Row Rules You!

Do Drop In Again Soon (HDR)

The Safari at Animal Kingdom Was Good

And Expedition Everest Was Awesome!

Possibly the Best Ride at WDW

Beware The Yeti...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo!

The Pauls Seem To Be Scared of Dinosaurs

We Ate at T-Rex. It Was Cool! (Har Har)

Meteor Storm!

The Lighting Drove Some To Madness...

Ohana Has The Greatest. Food. EVAR.

Too Much Drinking From Pineapples!

The Disney Studios Hat Looks Cool At Night (HDR)

But It Still Needs To Go To Unblock The Theater (HDR)

It's Japan! It's EPCOT! It's (HDR)!

I Found a Hidden Mickey In the Nemo Tank!

Thank God The Giant Wand is Gone! (HDR)

Cinderella's Castle

Reflecting in the Moat (HDR)

And We Finish With Fireworks...

...As Seen From the Contemporary.

Well, that's all for this time. We all had a great trip, and can't wait to go back again for our Tenth Anniversary! If you'd like to see all my WDW photos, you can CLICK HERE. Or, if you'd like to see all my Disneyland Photos, you can CLICK HERE. Enjoy!