As I shiver in the drafty cold of another bone chilling Minnesota January evening, I think enviously of my parents leisurely watching a balmy sunset in Arizona. Every night in Arizona is another special sunset, another coyote on the horizon, and another sampling of desert life.


I could rave for days about the incredible, diverse geography of Arizona. Desert, mountains, red rock, deciduous forests, and more. I could (and will) devote copious amounts of future blog time to my many travels in the great state of Arizona….


… but for tonight, I’ll focus on a special treat I experienced a few years ago when I decided it was the year to visit the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. I happened to happily coincide my visit with a super cool exhibition of glass artist extraordinaire Dale Chihuly. I had heard of him before, somewhere in the depths of NPR, but had no idea what I was in for! This exhibit included sculptural bursts of color which emulated cacti, desert life, and more. Right among the succulent gardens and butterfly menagerie (yes, freaky but true…), a variety of glass pieces were camped out awaiting unsuspecting visitors. 


Some samples of the butterflies (the pictures I captured while they weren’t attempting to land on my head…)

Next up, a small selection of Chihuly’s pieces:

Little pineapples?

Pretty cactus flowers!