Superstition Mountain Museum

We also made an expedition to the Superstition Mountain Museum, which I had never been to before.  It's little and has an interesting range of items.  It also has a sense of humor about itself, which is very nice.  And all of the collection items jive with their institutional mission statement (or at least what I imagine the mission statement to be...) unlike some places which hoard and hoard every single thing.  A whole cabinet full of wood planars, for example.

Liang took this photo, and it's pretty much the best summary of the Superstition Mountain Museum that I can imagine.  Leaning, action, and some laughs.

On the grounds of the Superstition Mountain Museum are several old-timey buildings, two of which are from Apacheland - where cowboy movies starring luminaries such as Elvis were made.  Sadly the chapel, complete with Elvis, was having its carpets cleaned, so nothing interesting there.

The best was the old timey jail.  All of us were incarcerated at one point.

Bonnie and Clyde.

Old-timey photograph studio!  The photographer was out, so no old-timey photos.

Some sort of giant ore-crushing mining equipment.

The Superstition Mountains have (or so the story goes) a lost gold mine, which is called, "the Lost Dutchman Mine."  In the later 1800s, a German immigrant (the 'dutch' man) by the name of Jacob Waltz apparently found some source of very pure gold in the Superstitions.  He'd wander into Phoenix with these gold bits ever now and then, and leave some cryptic statements as to the location of the mine.  Shortly after he died in 1891 people started to wander the mountains, occasionally shooting each other, in the quest to find this mine.  Outlaw gold prospector turf wars as late as the 1970s - ridiculous!

People still go out there prospecting, using copies of the weird nonsensical maps in the Superstition Mountain Museum as 'guides' to the mine.

The Timmy is fond of pointing at random places on the mountain and saying with absolute certainty, "There it is.  The Lost Dutchman.  Right there."

Mum and Liang look toward the mountains.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Again

Liang and Michael had a whirl-wind Arizona holiday: we started with a bang, heading off to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum to check out the range of plants that grown in the Southwest.  I like taking photos with my photographic machine, so these is a fair number.  Even though I was here last year too. Whatever.  I'm still fascinated by the desert because the plant life is just so extraterrestrial to me.

It was so sunny and lovely, and everything was bright green and pink.  I hadn't initially realized that I had dressed in early-spring desert camouflage.

Mum has been to the Arboretum so many times, she could be an Arboretum docent.

Liang, in desert gear.  Afterall, hats are as healthy as they are handsome...

The Timmy and the suspension bridge.

Pomegranates - growing!  On trees!  

This was some sort of succulent, which Liang, Michael, and I decided was growing a bunch of little teeny-tiny bananas.  If only that were true.

Not a fan of palm trees, but the Arboretum's mission statement includes having gardens from desert environments world-wide.

Some of my favorite plants - giant eucalyptus trees from Australia.  I like the way the light hits them, and the bark is lovely.

Arizona Vacation 2012! The Start of a Glorious Tradition!

Toward the middle of last month, it was time for...

the (Hopefully) Annual Presidents' Day Arizona Vacation!

This time - with more friends!

Fourth of July, Old-Fashioned

The Brockway Old Fashioned Fourth of July is a pretty complex event: when asked, I usually say, "My hometown does it up Norman-Rockwell style."  Which is pretty accurate.  Having experienced the glory of a Brockway July 4th two years before, Liang and Michael made the journey up

Highlights include the Tastee Freeze.  This is Liang's photo, and I think it's the best photo of the Tastee Freeze even taken.

Gun range.  Here, Quick-Draw Doc lines up her shot while the Lil'Bro and Michael look on.  Both Liang and Michael were very good shots, impressing both the Timmy and the Lil'Bro! 

The Timmy was delighted!  Bangs and booms and eager participants!  Such fun!

Fresh off her Pittsburgh Half-Marathon success, Liang joined in the 10K Firecracker Race while Michael and I cheered and acquired coffee for the post-finish line prize (Michael's photos below).

For more shooting, running, picnicking, and parading, check out Michael's blog.

Liang and Michael Visit! Part Two!

The Friday night burgers got us started on our campaign of eating like the champs that we aspired to become. Plans were in the works to consume foods from the following categories: bakery, Chinatown, Reading Terminal Market, Korean, French-place-near-work-whose-name-we-are-all-uncertain-of-pronouncing, and the best cupcakes in Philadelphia. Here's Liang's take.

(Liang's blog is way better than mine about the weekend adventures, so I'm just going to post my lame-o photos and link to her stuff).

What has Liang so focused, in the middle of the Reading Terminal Market?

Selecting which ice cream flavors to get. Naturally.

In Chinatown, at a rendezvous with Lena. (There was an exchange of high quality chocolate between Liang and Lena. Fyi, if you ever need some, Liang requires payment for chocolate-trafficking in cash.) I attempt to photograph Michael making some sort of peculiar facial expression, but am too slow.

It wasn't all eating. You've got to work it off, so that you can maintain your caloric intake.

Free Library! Main branch, looking across Logan Circle, I think? Anyway, we went to scope out the cookbook section, and to marvel at the marble interior.

Looking down the Ben Franklin Parkway (he invented the stove, you know).

At the top of the Art Museum steps. Michael was not impressed by Rocky, and refused stand next to the Rocky statue at the bottom of the steps. We didn't go in the museum, which I was glad about: I've been over-exposed to its collection.

Living in Fishtown and coming into Center City for work, I passed the Mutter Museum every day. And I didn't go in, knowing that it would be so much better to go with Liang. The Mutter is one of the most famous collections of medical oddities in the world.

Disturbingly Informative sums the contents up quite nicely. I kept saying variations of, "Oh my god! So gross! What is that?!?" I'm not usually comfortable with the idea of internal organs (so messy), but with Liang's med school knowledge it was a creepily fun visit. I had no idea that syphilis could affect so many organs.

The Mutter Museum has a lovely and informative Medicinal Herb Garden as well as extensive collections of human skulls and conjoined twins in formaldehyde.

There were little signs next to the plants which listed the common name, the scientific name, and the uses. I find it intriguing that spiderwort is good for as a laxative and for treating bites. It must be that the mode of application differs.

Lavender - good for restlessness and anxiety - would have been handy during grad school. Just make the WUDPAC students eat handfulls of it on a regular basis.

Poor Liang and Michael - I also pushed them to watch 1776. Philadelphia! Ben Franklin! Michael starting the paperwork to become naturalized! (I told him to pay attention, he'd need to know this stuff for the citizenship exam or whatever it they make you do...)

Liang and Michael Visit!

I'm so tardy about these things lately. Operation Fitness has been taking up time, and I've been staying at work late because of this absolute nightmare project. Also, Cordie Cat has a very demanding assisted-grooming schedule.

Liang and Michael came to visit!

They made the journey from Pittsburgh to Philly in order to spend a weekend eating their way through central Philadelphia. I was more than happy to assist! Beginning with burgers at my neighborhood dive bar...