Art, Sun, Hiking and Holiday Countdowns!

Happy Friday to everyone! Of course, it’s not MY Friday, but there are worse things that can happen. I had a wonderful day off yesterday – started with some exploring to track down a few galleries. I ended up in the right area, but it is a very congested section of town, full of confusing one ways, so I ended up only looking at two galleries. Still, it is good to have finally given it a try, and I know where ‘gallery row’ is now in case I want to go back again sometime. The first gallery wasn’t impressive at all, unfortunately, but the second was incredibly interesting. It wasn’t your typical gallery with just a few striking paintings on the wall – it was almost like three huge rooms of someone’s unorganized office; artwork EVERYwhere – on the walls, on the floor, stacked against the wall, one behind the other. Most of the artists had some sort of connection with Arizona; either they lived here for a while or captured the landscape at some point in their lives. I saw a statue by Erte, who, as it turns out, is really well known. I can see why. I’m not that big into statues, but these are small enough, and combine just enough style to be captivating. It’s like a cross between the 1920s and Egyptian art. Very strange, but very awesome. Two others I liked were George Bodine and Kelly Murray. (That second link is actually the gallery's home link, too.)

Second on my list for the day was sun tanning. It had been a week, if not more, since I spent any time in the sun. And OH what a perfect day it was for that! Later in the afternoon, Ryan (co-worker) and I went for a hike on Mt. Lemmon. The drive was forever long (only about 30 miles away, but most of it is windy, 30 mph stuff), but very worth it for the views. There is a very small ski resort up there that we drove through, which was also interesting. Apparently it is the only place to ski for several hours in all directions.

Today is another sunny morning. Reginald is sun bathing in the corner… making some progress toward growing, but not a whole heck of a lot. (True, Herold is a family name, AND Christmassy ;), but not quite artsy enough – I think Reginald fits him very well, though). I will need to drive down to the coffee shop in a moment to send this out to you all, since my STUPID internet won’t connect. Six days til Thanksgiving!!! Wahoo!

Oh, and the license plates of the day are: LEXUS and WINK 1.