A Gourd Day

It's been said that we should strive to learn something new everyday. Well, yesterday was a very gourd day as we learned a lot of gourd things about gourds! The Pinal County Fairgrounds are not far away and when we were passing by there last week we saw a sign advertising a Gourd Festival for this past weekend. We had some idea as to what Gourds are, but had no idea what a Gourd Festival would be. So we went to have a look. On entering the grounds we saw lots and lots of gourds of every size and description lying about as if they'd recently been harvested. Then we entered the first exhibition building and saw art like we've never seen before. A total new medium for us. Gourds of every size had been cleaned, cut, burned and stained or painted into incredible pieces of art. The judging had taken place on Saturday and ribbons were proudly displayed. When we went into the second building we got a sample of the industry that has developed around the craft and more examples of what can be done with a good gourd from jewelry to Native Indian drums. Don't forget to click to enlarge the pictures if you wish to really see the intricacies of the art work.

We bought 3 of the "raw" product to polish and see how they turn out.

The "raw" gourd corral

Our favorite - "Narwal"

Wash the Car & Smell the Flowers

Jerry helps!
Val's flowers are blooming

Sightseeing

Yesterday we went on a sightseeing trip to Tortilla Flat where we had gone motorcycling a number of times during our last winter here in 2003. For lack of a better description, Tortilla Flat is a "Tourist Trap" Old West town that features bar-b-q lunch with live music. Lots of motorcyclists do the ride as it's a very winding road up and over the mountains to get there. Not impassible for buses though, as there were 3 tour buses full of folks from Saskatchewan having lunch while we were there. We went with Carol and Jerry, who are also from Powell River. They're leaving for home tomorrow. There were lots of photo ops during the day.

Sooooo BIG!

On the way to Tortilla Flat

Wow, What a ViewOh, Oh! Out of Order!

Desert Vista

One Small Step

Saguaro Salute

A really big cactusNorth East face of Superstition Mountain

A Great Day with Great Friends

Are we there yet?The End

Cousins

Could this guy be a long lost cousin of a Great Blue Heron in Powell River?
Couldn't help but wonder, "What's a fish eating bird such as the Blue Heron doing in the Arizona desert?" I checked the internet and found their presence here is not uncommon. A lot of man made ponds are stocked with fish and becomes a food source. Amazing what we see when we're looking!!

GO CANADA GO!!