Sunday, April 24, 2011

The A Mountain

Nothing is better than hiking up a mountain trail when the weather is fine. Not only one gets the benefit of exercise but also gets rewarded with a beautiful scenery during the endeavor. Here is the scene from the top of the A-mountain in Tempe Arizona. Seen in the picture high rise buildings from Arizona State University and other sights of Tempe. Isn't it beautiful? To match the occasion I am wearing the Sun Devil cap to go with the atmosphere. No its not mine. I borrowed it from my friend Rafique. You can't see it in the picture but the Sun Devil stadium is on the left side of this panorama. In the neighborhood also, albeit you can't see in this picture, is the Islamic Center of Tempe, a nice mosque that looks like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
I have great memories in Tempe, and it will always keep a special place in my heart and mind as long as I live.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Hiking on White Mountain


Phoenix, AZ in March is endowed with beautiful weather. The temperature is perfect and the atmosphere is dry. Hiking through the mountains trails is a great sport there, and that is exactly what we did, hiked through the South Mountain trails, and watched the wonderful scenes from the tops of each pinnacle we reached along the way.
It is a perfect setting for retirement and that explains the large number or older folks living there especially in the winter - they call them winter birds, because they flee their harsh winters where they come from such places as far north as Canada and spend a warm winter in houses they own or rent, and then flee the harsh summer back to where they came from.
Phoenix has a unique life, with its clean streets and nice looking Spanish houses. The desert looks wonderful with its Saguaro and Yucca plants, and many other cactus varieties that adorn the landscape. I just love it. Most people here are in great shape because of the lovely outdoors they enjoy, unlike cold places where people are shut up in their houses throughout the winter suffering from cabin fever. Each place has its unique beauty, and for Phoenix it is the desert landscape that highlights its glory, and for that reason I like it, during the winter or during the summer, and for its abundance of sunshine, 300 days each year.