Bowling in Arizona

Our quick trip to Arizona was fabulous. Good friends Dick and Rina had rented a house in the Phoenix area for the month of January and invited us to come join them for a few days and attend the then-expected Boise State versus Iowa game in the Fiesta Bowl. So, we made plans to do just that. However, the BCS bowl selection process ended up pitting TCU against Boise State and put Iowa up against Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl instead. Nevertheless, traveling to Phoenix still seemed like a nice winter break, so we followed through on our plans. We figured we could find a TV someplace on which to watch the Orange Bowl.

On our first full day in the area (beautiful blue skies; sunny; 70º), we all went to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West residence (or camp, as he originally thought of it). The site is the home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which, among other things, offers fully accredited degrees in architecture. The residence sits well above the metropolitan valley occupied by Phoenix, Scottsdale, and many other cities, and with mountains all around in the distance, the view of the general area is magnificent. Nestled against a set of foothills and surrounded by desert, the home is both beautiful and architecturally/artistically fascinating. We learned quite a bit about Wright, the man, as well--what an interesting person he was. If interested, you can read lots more about Taliesin West here. Here are three pictures I took to give you some idea of what we saw.

The second day, we went to visit best friends of Kathie's mother who have lived in Sun City West for over 30 years. All of that Arizona sunshine must be great for one's health--they are in their mid-90s and are still going strong. They were delightful hosts, fun to meet, and had great stories to tell. They were excited to see Kathie, who had not seen them since 1967. About each other, they all said, "You look just the same!"

The third morning (beautiful blue skies; sunny; 70º), Rina, Kathie and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden, about which you can read more here. The garden has a vast array of plants, including, naturally, lots of cactus varieties. We also saw a nice variety of birds. At the right time of year, you can see lots of butterflies and hummingbirds, but this was not the right time for that. The garden frequently features music and other events, including art exhibits. Last year, glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly were featured. Some of these remain at the entrance to the garden as you can see below.

I loved seeing all the saguaro cacti throughout the general area. There were magnificent specimens in the garden.

There were lots of prickly pear too. This is the one cactus species that grows virtually everywhere, even outside of deserts. However, those we saw here were especially lush.

Did I say that I liked the saguaro?

The current art exhibit is by Allan Hauser. Here are a couple of his sculptures.

This one is an organ pipe cactus with a Hauser sculpture nearby.

Although we saw and heard lots of interesting birds, I most liked the quail with their obvious topknots.

Now, do you remember my earlier story about the bowl games? It turns out that there are lots of Iowans in the Phoenix area. Plus, we encountered a number of other travelers who seemed to have done what we did, namely plan on a Phoenix trip with some expectation that Iowa would be in the Fiesta Bowl. So, there were lots and lots of Iowans in the vicinity. We located at least four bars that regularly show all Iowa football games down there for alums and former Iowans. So, we made plans to watch the Orange Bowl at one of these locations.

When we drove up, there were yellow and black balloons tied up outside the door. In spite of our two hour early arrival, every table in the place was reserved by Iowa football fans, something we had not anticipated. However, Dick's powers of persuasion and a tip for the hostess got us four good seats at a bar near the back of the establishment. We were amazed at how the place filled up with black and yellow Iowa clothing. There were hundreds of people there.

We started out with drinks and a great round of appetizers and then moved on to some excellent Mexican food. By game time, we were making the acquaintance of numbers of other attendees with whom we had some indirect relationship. These included common friends, former UI employees, students, and others. For example, Kathie ran into this young woman, the daughter of someone who once worked for her. It was amazing to strike up a conversation and find out that we had something in common back in Iowa or at the UI.

Dick made a little movie of the fun and friendly chaos in the bar. (Dick is an outstanding photographer and owns and operates Wilderness Studio back here at home.) Click on the play button to see the action, and watch closely for familiar faces!

The bar at which we were stationed had a TV over its backbar, and the bartender was a hard-working, attentive, and (oh-by-the-way) attractive former University of Nebraska student. She is now an Arizona State graduate student in psychology. Kathie could relate to that. She seemed to support Iowa against Georgia Tech, so that was good too.

Of course, the final outcome of the game was perfect, and the place was alive with noise, excitement, and fun. All four of us believed we probably had more fun than if we had actually been at the Orange Bowl itself. Besides, it was only 49º in Miami, while we enjoyed 72º weather that afternoon! GO HAWKS!