Sunset off Interstate 10, Arizona

A later point of Arizona sunset in the deep desert, when all has done dark shades of orange.

Sunset off Interstate 10, Arizona

Out in the desert beneath clear, dry open skies: sunset off Interstate 10 somewhere between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

Optics building, University of Arizona

An intriguingly asymmetrical light-well descends into a lobby of the University of Arizona's Optics building.

Crystal ball, Tucson, AZ

A crystal ball in the optics building of the University of Arizona. The only pity is that the background it distorts is mostly uninspiring.

Mural, Tucson, AZ

And here we see that our bicycling couple is spawning a dream pursuit by nightmare animals on bicycles of their own.

Mural, Tucson, AZ

A deliriously vivid ride through the desert on bicycles.

Hideous fly mouth, Tucson, AZ

This mural greets one with a hideous mouth that seems just far too happy with that perching fly.

Mural, Tucson, AZ

Another Tucson mural, this one full of dreams and music.

Mural, Tucson, AZ

Tuscon seems to be a much funkier and artistic environment than Phoenix overall. One of the ways this manifests is in lividly colored murals that pop up on many buildings around the city.

Arizona highway art

A thing I love about Arizona is that every bridge and highway interchange has its own unique set of art decorating it, themed in some way that is harmonious with the state and the surroundings. This two-toned swirl of stones on the slop between an off-ramp and an overpass, for example, fits the desert colors around it nicely.

Phoenix mountain homes

Homes nestled brown and camouflaged into the side of a small mountain on the edge of Phoenix.

Hilltop cacti, Arizona

Cacti prickling up the top of a hill near Phoenix.

Kaleidoscope, Phoenix, AZ

Another, very different look at the vegetation of Phoenix, taken through the eyepiece of an unexplained kaleidoscope standing beside a path.

Cactus, Phoenix, AZ

Detailed look at the ridges of a cactus.

Dove takeoff, Phoenix, AZ

Dove in flight, taking off from the cactus it had perched on.

Mourning dove on cactus, Phoenix, AZ

Mourning dove perched on a flowering cactus.

Cactus, Phoenix, AZ

Dense needles make a fuzzy top on this cactus in Phoenix, Arizona.

Cactus, Phoenix, AZ

Cactus standing against the clear blue sky in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bridge lights, Scottsdale, AZ

Clusters of artistically irregularly spaced lights, hanging along the side of a bridge like clusters of grapes.

Scottsdale, AZ artwork

I enjoyed these visually twisted wooden doors in Scottsdale, Arizona

Camouflaged water tanks, Phoenix, AZ

Municipal water tanks that respect the scenery, painted dark brown to blend in with the rocks they perch upon.

Phoenix mountainside

Dry mountains crisp in the desert air against the clear blue sky of Phoenix, Arizona.

Runway cars, Dallas, TX

Massive numbers of densely packed cars on what appears to be the taxiways of a defunct airport near to Dallas, Texas.

Dam near Dallas, Texas

Floodgates and spillway of a dam near Dallas Texas, cutting through the yellowed-grass berm that forms the edge of its artificial lake.

Sunset shining on Missouri river

An intricate oxbowed structure of a Missouri river bend shines out below the setting sun.

Sunset shining on Missouri river

Sunset-lighted river bending up around a curve.

Sunset shining on Missouri river

A braided stretch of Missouri river shines in the glow of the setting sun.

Sunset shining on Missouri lakes

A smaller patch of amorphous Missouri lake shines in the sunset, sliced on the left in two places by causeways.

Sunset shining on Missouri lakes

Two arms of river-turned lake come together in a sharply angled vee.

Sunset shining on Missouri lakes

A long thin causeway stands out in silhouette against the sunset surface of this Missouri lake.

Sunset shining on Missouri lakes

Looping spiky curves of manmade lake in the Missouri sunset.

Sunset shining on Missouri lakes

This man-made lake in Missouri spiders out in all directions with reflected sunset glow.

Sunset shining on Missouri lakes

Manmade lake in Missouri, its spiky arms glowing in the growing sunset.

Sunset shining on Missouri lakes

As sunset begins over these man-made Missouri lakes, the water begins to shine and highlight every ripple on its surface.

Homestead, Iowa

Another of the Amana Colonies, the village of Homestead is nothing but a couple hundred meters of street that the highway now diverges around.

Amana Colonies, Iowa

The Amana Colonies are a unique collection of villages not far from Iowa City, settled by a German pastoral religious movement in the mid 1800s and now painstakingly preserved as a tourist destination.  Here at center we see Amana proper, their focal point, and above it beyond the pond is Middle Amana, where the eponymous appliances are still manufactured in a factory carefully hidden behind a screen of trees.

Pillars and patterns, Iowa City

Pillars connecting into a pattern of tiles at the Seamans Center extension in downtown Iowa City.

Window ducks, Iowa City

A window full of various types of rubber ducks, all presenting us their butts.

Religious construction fence, Iowa City

In a very different expression of religion, these construction fences have been decorated by passersby with scraps of cloth to form a wide variety of religious symbols.

Saraswati Puja statue, Iowa City

Saraswati Puja is this weekend: here, the goddess sits surrounded by flowers and blessing the books of students who come to seek her aid.

Melting ice, Iowa City

From last Spring: intricate patterns in the melting ice.

Melting ice, Iowa City

From last Spring: intricate patterns in the melting ice.

Melting ice, Iowa City

From last Spring: intricate patterns in the melting ice.

Melting ice, Iowa City

From last Spring: intricate patterns in the melting ice.

Melting ice, Iowa City

From last Spring: intricate patterns in the melting ice.

Melting ice, Iowa City

From last Spring: intricate patterns in the melting ice.

Hotel yardsale, Iowa City

Another view of the corridors of the doomed hotel: stacked chairs, lamps, and a giant pile of clean sheets nearly filling the hallway.

Hotel yardsale, Iowa City

Last January, there was a remarkable event downtown in Iowa City: one of the two big hotels had been sold and was about to renovate, so they opened up the entire many-story building as a yard sale. You could just wander through, poking into rooms, finding seas of furniture clustered together in arrays where the workmen had moved them, etc. As I drove away with a car full of booty, I felt like a plundering pirate.

Warping reflections, Iowa City

Warping window reflections on the side of a tower in downtown Iowa City.

Together is the best place to be, Johnson County, Iowa

 Sappy slogan haybale out in the wintery countryside.