Damsel and I never get tired of seeing the Grand Canyon. December of 2008 was the first time we went there together in the winter to enjoy the same views accentuated with a touch of snow. This image was taken from Grand Canyon Village looking toward Bright Angel Canyon. Click the image below to see full-sized panorama.

We asked our contractor to clear a pathway so that when we get our RV we can have pull-thru access. I have a problem with trying to back a large vehicle (trailer/5th wheel/class A) up or downhill, so we asked for the pull-thru access.

In the panoramic image below on the left side, you can see the rough exit access. The RV will enter the driveway on the right side and pull behind the house where there will be full hookups (30 Amp AC, hose bib, sewer) on the left side. Click on the image to enlarge.

We only needed the RV space for storage of the one we may eventually get. We wouldn’t necessarily need the hookups but if we get visitors who come in an RV, we wanted them to have the option to stay in their rig. We will pull ours down the exit access enough to allow our visitors to pull behind the house. When they are ready to leave, we will pull our rig down on the roadway and back up the driveway and into the RV spot as they pull out.

It might be difficult to see at this time, but this construction project will soon be a Santa Fe style territorial cottage. In the second image, the garage is shown facing forward. The final placement is with the garage door facing to the right.

Above: The current state of the cottage. Click on the image to enlarge.

Below: The model we originally selected for our retirement home.

We had some spare time today, so we decided to take a drive out to Lake Pleasant in North Maricopa County, Arizona. It was really too hot to have a picnic like we originally intended, so we drove up to the visitors center and took some pictures. I made this panoramic image that shows only a portion of the lake from Bass Bay on the left to the New Waddell Dam on the right. Click on the thumbnail image for the full panorama - remember to use the scroll bars to pan the image left and right.

While we were in Arizona earlier this month, Damsel and I went to take some photos of the new property. I took a series of images and stitched them into a 360° panoramic view of the lot and the neighborhood. In the thumbnail above, Damsel is standing on the pad where the new house will stand sometime this fall.

Click on the thumbnail and use the scrollbars on your browser to view the entire panorama.

Damsel snapped a photo of the Colorado River just as we crossed into Arizona on I-10 at the beginning of our recent vacation. I cropped it into a panoramic view of the river, both states and a suspension pipeline crossing the river just south of the interstate bridge. Click the image for the full panorama.

I found this panoramic image in the photo archives this morning . . .

During our visit to Joshua Tree National Park last year, we took the short drive from the main road to a place called Keys View. From that point, you can see the Coachella Valley and the Palm Springs area five thousand feet (1525 meters) below. You can also see the San Andreas Fault which has been the cause of many Earthquakes in California, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Although it is difficult to see through the haze, the Salton Sea is visible at the left and Banning Pass on the right. A spectacular view to be sure.

As I looked through the photo album this morning, I had the urge to book a trip to escape the cabin fever. Maybe soon, real soon. Click on the panoramic image above to enlarge.

In this El Niño year, the snow levels dropped to below 5000 feet in the San Gabriels, normally not seen with snow on the southern slopes. Damsel took this image (cropped to make a panorama) after the rain passed the other day. Lingering clouds can be seen topping some of the peaks. Click on the image to see the full-sized panoramic image - don’t forget to use the scroller to see the whole image.

Damsel took this shot from the Saguaro National Park (West), near the museum. I cropped it down to this panoramic image looking west from the park. We drove up from Tucson to visit the park, then on to Marana, where we stayed for a couple of days to relax and look around.

There certainly is some pretty scenery in Arizona. Click on the image to enlarge.

The Catalina Mountain Range, just outside of Tucson, AZ.

Very pretty. I also love the little red-bird of paradise flowers like the one that got into the edge of this view of the mountains.