Anticipating New Year

My husband and I took a little stroll by Lynx Lake earlier this morning and enjoyed once again the 305 trail. As we were starting our little journey I took some pics just to finish up the end of the year. This little boat, frozen into the lake, looking over to the still unfrozen part of the water... as if it was anticipating what the new year would bring...

Kick Up Your Heels

New Years eve is approuching and it is time to kick up some heels and celebrate.. oh - it does not matter if your shoes are on the wrong feet - after all, it is the end of the year!

Global Prescott

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated yesterday. A great voice has been silenced unjustly. Yet, she knew it may happen. I just want to remember her as a heroess to the democratic world.. A great tree has fallen...

Moon Over Prescott

One evening my husband walked in the door and said to me.. take a picture of the moon.. Sure enough, there it was posing .. with its rounded cheeks and all. It kept looking at me back and saying .. one more picture..

Hidden Joy

This is what I call "Joy in Action"... when my husband plays the accordian, the house echoes of joy! Now, I love to take pictures in motion.. you just never know what you'll get. Merry Christmas.

Christmas Tree

So - It is Christmas Eve. The gifts are wrapped up (most of these gifts will end up with our families in Phoenix). My husband said it well about the gifts: it is for the children. We will attend Christmas church service and celebrate the season in song and worship. Peace on earth and Goowill, toward... Yes..toward all men.

Warmth of Fire

So - it is Christmas and it is quite chilly in this "mile high" country. Thank Goodness for our fireplace. It has a way of keeping us warm like nothing else. We love to sit by the fireplace early in the morning. The flames seem to take you into a whole another realm...

Christmas Theme

Since it is Christmas, I think it is time to step away from the mondane and "celebrate" the season. For us it is simply time to enjoy the tranquility and the peace that comes from the message of Christmas in itself. It is the beginning of our faith. My husband and I like to decorate the house, put up a Christmas tree etc. We are still kids in our hearts. I hope that each one of you will find the message of peace in your hearts - there is a true God who really cares for all of us. This is why I really love Christmas. Here is a picture of our front door. My husband put a cute bow on the wrought iron window...

Old Fence Behind Spruce Mountain

If you are hiking behind along the 307 trail, eventually you'll run into this old log fence. And if you are riding a mountain bike, you'll get off and "wiggle" your way through a small opening ... I love to see the fence - everytime I ride. It is a reference point for me to let me know that I have reached a point and it gives me an idea how much more I have left to ride. I cannot even imagine as to why this fence was first put in place there? Cattle on top of the Spruce Mountain? At around 8000 feet? I don't know. Nowaydas, this trail is a well traveled trail. Lots of hikers, bikers and even the horseback riders frequent the trail. Check it out!

Fort Whipple

This is a very cool set of buildings - the old Fort Whipple, currently the VA Hospital. I like going there sometimes just for the old world feel. It has the whitewash buildings and the big trees. There is a chapel in the grounds as well.

Infamous Whiskey Row

Here is a pic of one of Prescott's most infamous western flair: Whiskey Row. I suppose they call it so, because of the abundance of bars along this strip. Nowadays there are a quite a few tourist gift shops and art galleries there. In the summertime it is cool to walk up and down this area and just hang out a bit... that is if you are into it. (I prefer the forest)

Gurley Street Grill - again

Here's the Gurley Street Grill from a pigeon's eye view - it is a cool ol' renovated western building.

Fat Tire

Along the Gurley street and anywhere along the Montezuma/Cortez Streets, there are a quite a few restaurants - since I am involved with mountain biking, I picked the "Fat Tire" in the window of one: the Gurley Street Grill.

Back to Lynx Lake

Lynx Lake is a small lake nestled in the pines, right outside of Prescott. There is a walking trail around the lake, but half of the lake is currently closed because of the eagles coming to nest in the area. These are the row boats by the lake, waiting for the winter to come...peaceful...

The Old Trees of Mt. Vernon Street

The street of Mt Vernon is neat place with its older homes and the trees that have such a presence. I drive by this street frequently as it is on my way to one of my favorite trails.

The Courthouse

This is the Prescott Courthouse. It is a place of life's actions: marriage licenses etc, court proceedings, administrative issues... The building itself does not seem to care what goes on inside. It stands tall day after day...

Reflections on the window

One morning I found myself at the Sharlot Hall Museum taking some pictures. Who is Sharlot Hall? What did she do? WEll, I am not a world historian by all means - there is just way too much to know what happened, who did what etc - but I do like to know quotations of the most influencial and historically meaningful characters. Their own words seem to give me more about themselves than a long dry accounting of accomplishments with dates and times. Well here is one quotation by Sharlot Hall herself: "To the mother that bore my body; to the land that mothered my soul." May it speak to you in its own way.

Manzanita Trees

While I am in the subject of trails - which the Prescott area has plenty of - I'd like to introduce to you a sight of a Manzanita Tree. What an interesting tree it really is! It is such an eyepleaser to ride in the forest and see these creations. It is like I had just stepped into an extraordinary art exhibition. (This one I manipulated to change the rest of the trees Black and White, except the Manzanita's own red beautiful bark)

The Trail of 305

This is one of my favorite mountain bike trails. The great 305. The trail starts with quite fast paced curves - small hills and then has couple of steeper climbs that are rewarding. To see the hill climb up ahead gives me the feeling as if the trail was smiling!

Goose Stepping

My husband and I go occasionally to the Lynx Lake and feed the birds with cracked corn and whole corn. Now, the birds seem to like that - they make funny noises while feeding. The goose apparently is the leader of the bird community..it shows from the step...

"Bridge" - Theme for the month of December 2007

This picture represents the ultimately "natural bridge" over still waters in the Wolf Creek, Prescott. An old tree decided that it needed to lay itself down to assist the creatures in the forest to cross the waters. The picture was taken summer 2007 - therefore the bright sun.

Additional photographers participating in the Theme of the month are:

Paris, France - London, England - Hyde, UK - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Grenoble, France - Stockholm, Sweden - Riga, Latvia - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Manila, Philippines - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - New Orleans (LA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - San Francisco (CA), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Greenville (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Mainz, Germany - Boston (MA), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Toulouse, France - Naples (FL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Brussels, Belgium - Stayton (OR), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Baziège, France - Nashville (TN), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - prescott (az), USA

Shade

Shade on a hot summer Arizona day is a real Luxury. I came upon this shady road while mountain biking. In fact, it is in the Groom Creek region, down Mt. Tritle road.

Bucky O'Neill

The West has many famous characters and no doubt Bucky O'Neill is one of them. A fighter in its true sense. He was one of those people that would not stand around too long for a solution but was out there in the battlefields himself... This statue is in the heart of Prescott - at the courthouse plaza. It was mentioned that in one of the battles Bucky's horse died - he must have been quite upset!

Thumb Butte

Thumb Butte is one of the Prescott's major landmarks. It received its name "Thumb" because it does sort of look like a clenched fist with thumb sticking out. My personal experience with this mountain is lively: there are a number of exciting trails there for mountain biking - awesome views .. what else can man ask for?

Portrait of a Cowboy

In Prescott - you'll run into cowboys now and then. Of course - it is the origins of the wild west. You see them riding their horses and tending the cattle - I spotted a cowboy once on my way to work - he was sitting on a huge rock, reading a book - had his western hat on and his full riding gear - probably was waiting for the rest of the crew to show up so they could start rounding up the cows... I have to admit - it brings its own unique flavor..

My first Prescott Blog Picture

Hello everyone: My name is Karoliina Urso and I am a trained digital photographer. I am originally from Finland but have lived in Prescott Arizona the last 27 years. This is a wild western town, the home of the first rodeo (which I never attend) - but more importantly a very beautiful rugged mountaneous community with a network of trails that one can only dream of. I am a serious mountainbiker as well which contributes to my appreciation of the trails and this challenging nature. Back to photographing: here is a pic of Watson Lake, Prescott. It is known for its very unsual rock formations. In fact, my husband Raymond and I had our wedding pics taken there.