A good week for museums..........

Located in Phoenix, the Heard Museum is a must-see for southwest Native American Indian art, culture and history. For more information, click here. The grounds and buildings are nice too, by the way, and there is ample parking at the museum, even though its pretty much in the heart of the city of Phoenix. The restaurant, with tables available in the courtyard too, looked and smelled great, but we had other plans for lunch. The gift shop had beautiful things in it...it was a struggle not to make any impulsive purchase. Ah, the limitations of living in an RV! 

entering the Heard Museum grounds

Zen circle outside the Heard Museum

wish you could hear it too!

This glass art was in the lobby and was just a tease for the quality of the displays to come. The collections were amazing and we learned so much here about some of the Native American Indian cultures. It is so intriguing to me to see how people lived, especially in harsh environments. I'm always so impressed with the pottery, basketry, beading and any other type of handiwork created. The detail is amazing, and the materials did not come from a craft store, like Michaels! All of it is truly a work of art.

glass art ....so cool!

some of these  Katsinas dolls were scary looking! They represent spirits

I'm always drawn to the weaving..

the collections were amazing

check out these gorgeous baskets

 There is a wing devoted to the Indian Boarding Schools. I'm not sure if I wasn't paying attention in U.S. History class or if it was glossed over, but honestly I did not know about this. It was very depressing to see what we did to the Native Americans. Did you know about this? The time frame was 1880's - 1920's. The kids were basically taken from their families and sent to boarding schools to become "civilized", that is, learn the American ways. Since they were isolated from their families, many did not learn the traditional Native American ways, The culture was basically lost. Since the land was taken from them as well, for all intents and purposes, we "white people" basically destroyed a culture, or rather, cultures, as there are many tribes. Not real proud of that. I honestly don't remember learning about this part of American History! To learn more, click here.

The boarding school wing

can you zoom in and read this, or is it too small?

the sign says it all

Did anyone learn about this is school? 

cultures were given up....the kids wore uniforms and had their hair cut off. They were isolated from their families so never learned the ways of their ethnic background

quite a display at the boarding school wing

I love this sentiment...

different tribes from different locations were depicted here

Very interesting...so many tribes and each had a story

artwork outside as well

Back at the campground, we enjoyed another sunset show. Every night is different, but the best nights are when its cloudy or a storm is coming the next day.  The entire sky lights up and glows. Magical!

Oh Tom, the sunset show is starting

cool

I think we've previously mentioned that we are located in the direct take-off path from Luke Air Force Base, a training facility for the air force. The jets are loud, but they are fast, so they don't bother us as a commercial jetliner does. Hahha. Also, since they are training to protect us, well....who is going to complain? Personally, I (and Tom) find it fascinating to watch. Once the planes reach about where our campground is located, the jets turn sideways and you can see the bombs (fake?) underneath. They usually travel in two's. We actually like watching them. They don't fly on weekends or holidays, and only randomly throughout the day. 

F-16's???? I don't know, but lots of people here do

here comes the air force!

jet heading back to the base

Oh happy days. Tom is doing great eating and has progressed to stuffed salmon from Costco! One of our favorite meals! As long as he eats slowly, he knows his limits. We had a big celebration since its been a month since the surgery, and he has progressed nicely. He really enjoyed this meal!! Its been a long time. Oh, and I enjoyed it too-hahahha!

Finally!!!

the BEST dinner!!

 A huge storm was brewing, and suddenly the sky was so dark! This was a huge storm that people were talking about. I was wondering how bad it was going to be...should we put the slides in? Unplug the electric? Well....as bad as the skies looked, it only down-poured for about half an hour, and then the sun came back out. That was it. Oh, but the water! It pools everywhere, and if you are driving, you really have to be cognizant of any dips in the road that may really flood badly. There are warning signs everywhere about just that.

storm moving in

lots of press on this storm...going to be bad

I don't know whether to laugh or cry

 At the campground, there are many many talented crafters. Really talented. Since its nearing the end of the snowbird season, the quilt group had their seasonal "quilt show". Wow! Impressive, huh? I haven't gone to any of the quilting classes or get-togethers, since I've been so busy with ceramics and beading (haha) and other stuff, so I was shocked at the amount of quilting people did over this winter here. And its not even cold, so its not like they were hunkered down from the cold and snow. There is a very large craft room that is always crowded, but I never noticed anyone quilting. Maybe that happens in the sewing room? I don't know...there are several buildings and classrooms for all the different "specialties". It really is a crafter's paradise!

all these quilts were made this season here at the campground

this is a contest....vote for the one that depicts the southwest....(this was a tough one to vote for)

I want to make that kid's quilt....isn't that just adorable? (except for the monkey...i don't like monkeys)

love all the colors

so cool....

At one of the "meet and greet" pot luck dinners on our camper street, one of the other campers was saying how wonderful the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix was. I had read that somewhere as well, but didn't really look into it much since we are so not musical (especially me!) and I just didn't think that would be something that would interest us. Well....after she told us that you didn't have to "know" music to enjoy it, we decided to go and see for ourselves. It was awesome!

What are we doing at a music museum Susie????

Cool building!

The collections were so impressive and the presentations were clear and uncluttered. At the registration desk, we picked up our headphones and began to explore the museum. It presented music from a global standpoint, so there were sections devoted to each geographical area. Located at almost all of the displays was a flat screen tv, and as you walked near it, or in front of it, the audio automatically came on. Music and documentary could be heard. No fumbling with the headphones and the controls. It was so easy and so interesting! 

lots of displays...

some were instruments we recognized

some we didn't .... and we learned  lot about cultures too:)

how cool is that? 

music can be made from anything

each display had a flat screen we could listen to...it was excellent

dancing to the beat of the drums?

The breadth of the collections in this museum were impressive. Since the museum is only 5 years old, you can see how clean and up-to-date it is. All of the displays are in working order. Its just really awesome. And its quiet...except for the music in your head.....because everyone has headphones on and listening to the displays. Very unique  museum and SO enjoyable! I really learned a lot about music...no kidding!

open airy museum

lots of cool stuff

all different countries were represented

all were so interesting

some countries I never heard of!

Isn't that beautiful? I think its Vietnam

so many intricate costumes too

Indian Boarding School??? Like we just learned about????

The downstairs of this museum has a few galleries devoted to more current musical icons and was a lot of fun to explore. I even recognized some of the music-hahaha. Especially my buddy John Lennon (from high school?).

who knew?

I'll bet Joey Letz can play this!!!!!

Did you know that hip-hop was invented in the Bronx? At least, that is where the credit is given. Very very cool display.

groovin' to the hip hop...we hear music at every display through the headsets!

a gift from the Bronx!

Now we're talkin'!

Very interesting exhibits on each different musical instrument as well. I really learned a lot here at this fantastic museum! 

Jess-is your trumpet here?

Harmonicas from famous "Blues" artists

Ella Fitzgerald

Hands in pockets....trying hard not to "bang the drum"?

Germany display

Iceland too

Sigur Ros.....from Iceland (we have his cd, right Nick?)

looking down on the stairwell and floor leading to the individual artists gallery

admiring the stairwell

Did I go to high school with him too?

Woodstock Days

Roger Daltrey (WHO???)

Johnny Cash

I had his album back in the day when everyone else was listening to acid rock

Pretty Woman.....

Imagine!   (My friend John Lennon)

The drums from the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing-remember that? It was amazing...look at the flat screen 

Taylor Swift....and she left her Billboard Award here in this museum! Wow!

Billboard Music Award for Taylor Swift

This room had fun displays of mechanical instruments...like the organs and music boxes

an orchestra in a box

After the MIM, we drove over to McDowell Mountain Regional Park. For more information, click here. To get there, we drove through the hills of Scottsdale and million dollar homes with the extraordinay views. The mountains looked like they were painted in the distance. Stunning.

is that real?

gorgeous scenery

Since we weren't dressed for hiking, nor did we have enough water, we only drove through the park and checked out some of the trailheads. There is a 5 mile one way drive through the park, before turning around to head back out of the park. The views were excellent. We could also see the cacti blooming, well, some of them. It looks like a great place and we  hope to get back there to hike some of the easier trails.

Visitor Center at McDowell Mountain Regional Park

lots of trails here we would like

gorgeous!

picnic area with a view

beautiful park

cacti are blooming!

heading back home

just a beautiful place!

Just want to share another spectacular sunset. Often, when the sunset is extraordinary, they show it on the evening news for those that miss it. Its hard to miss, really, unless you are inside with no windows. Even if you aren't outside, but have windows, the glow from the sky alerts you to the sky show! Hope you can all enjoy this a bit through pictures...especially you guys suffering through the coldest February in 80 years! Yes, I saw that on the news!! Whew...all I can say is: spring is almost here. Hang in there!