Wednesday, December 27, 2017

USA 2017: Phoenix

Tuesday, I made my way, nice and slow, from Ridgecrest down to Blythe, just a few miles from the Arizona border. Wednesday I've done three touristy things, two of 'em in Phoenix.

The first place I stopped at was Barry Goldwater Memorial Park. It is a very peaceful and well construed little park, at the intersection of two busy streets.
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Placards on this wall enumerate some of Barry's many achievements.
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The park has cacti.
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And bushes.
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And running water.
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The piece de la resistance is this larger than life statue of Barry Goldwater. It kinda looks like he's got a beer can in one hand, but upon closer look, you'll find it is a camera. Photography and filming was a great passion of his, and he spent countless hours documenting the landscapes of this beautiful state and its inhabitants, including the injuns Natives, whom he had great respect for.
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The Ghost and his namesake.
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Now, I'd heard that maybe there were some items at the Arizona State Capitol Museum related to Barry , but the lady I spoke to at the information desk had no knowledge of such things and a couple of hours spent perusing the place revealed sweet nuffin'. Still, it was a nice enough visit.

The old chamber where the AZ House of Representatives used to meet. The corresponding Senate room was closed, I believe because they were having some sort of staff meeting there.
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Water is of the utmost importance in these parts and could literally be a question of life and death back in the day.
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An old voting machine. Be still, my fluttering heart!
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A bust of senator Carl Hayden, a contemporary of Barry Goldwater in the US Senate.
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Yours truly in a cutout of Uncle Sam. Since I was all alone in the world (sniffles), I had to stretch out one arm to take the selfie and still the angle only just allowed me to take the pic.
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