The first 8 pictures in this post are pictures of the grounds around our hotel in Mesa. We stayed in Mesa for 7 nights at the Best Western Dobson Ranch Inn. http://www.dobsonranchinn.com/I couldn’t resist going for a walk through the neighbourhood near our hotel. I love the simplicity of the landscaping in some of the yards I saw. If I lived here, I would definitely have one of these Saguaro cacti in my yard!
Citrus trees in back yards were very common.
The history of Mesa dates back at least two thousand years to the arrival of the Hohokam people. The Hohokam, built the original canal system that still exists in the Mesa area today. The canals were the largest and most sophisticated in the prehistoric New World. By A.D.1100 water could be delivered to an area over 110,000 acres, transforming the Sonoran Desert into an agricultural oasis. By A.D.1450, the Hohokam had constructed hundreds of miles of canals.The expanses of green lawns and numerous golf courses in Arizona’s cities require tremendous amounts of water to maintain them. Much of the water that now flows through the many canals that criss-cross the Phoenix metropolitan area today, goes towards urban uses. Canals also carry water to municipal treatment plants for distribution as drinking water. This is a photo of one of the many sections of the present day canals that delivers water to all parts of Mesa and surrounding areas.
I CAN”T believe that you were in my neck of the woods and that I was not there!! I love your photos of Montezuma (been there) Sedona, (been there), Mesa and all of the other locations. I also really like the blue sky kinda miss that here in Shanghai- there are two or three blue sky days per year. Hope you liked it. Oh by the way- the small pig statue is actually a Javelina (sounds like havelina)!!
Looks like lovely accomodations, Norma.
Beautiful photos! We went to Sedona once, and had a great time.