A library in the wilderness and St. Mary's Basilica in Phoenix

Steve and I discovered a library next to a city park on the way to my folks' house.  The city of Phoenix appears to be 100s of square miles.  A city park like this looks like it is far out in the rural area, but it is actually inside the city limits.  I have never seen city limits like these.  Here's the sign outside the the library as you come in from the parking lot.

My librarian friends may enjoy the views from inside the library.  They have the most saguaros I've seen since we arrived.  Here is White Tank Branch Library.

The front door from the outside.

The front doors from the inside.

They also have a Nature Center and a Friends Book Store!

The view from the parking lot.

It's has it's own Native American circle.

More views from the parking lot.

After the Library, we had another dinner with the family yesterday.  All of us shared carry out and had a great time chatting.  It's possible we may run out of conversation soon, but not yet.

Today, in 109 degree heat, I left Steve in the cool house and ventured out for root beer and a visit to St. Mary's Basilica.  Needless to say, I was probably the only person wandering around outside in downtown Phoenix today in the late afternoon, but look at these photos.  Even though it was closed, the outside of the building and its grounds are very beautiful.  Construction began on this adobe church in 1880 and it was completed in 1881.  It was the first Catholic church and the second church of any kind to be built in Phoenix.

This is the Basilica's little gated courtyard.

Across the street on one side is a theater, with fascinating sculptured figures outside.

Look closely, there are icons trapped inside this arch next to the theater.

And across the other street from the Basilica is the Phoenix Convention Center, a beautifully designed set of buildings.

And, of course, more of the Basilica as I returned to my car.

South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ and family reunion

South Mountain Park is a city park on the south side of Phoenix.  It was cooler yesterday, only 99 degrees, so we ventured out to see it.  This is the view from South Mountain Park - downtown Phoenix in the distance.

Magnified view of Phoenix

In order to get these photos and a few more, I had to climb a fairly small hill from the parking lot.  Steve waited in the air conditioned car while I did that.  I have to say that 99 degrees is pretty close to the same as 106 to my body.  As I climbed, I met a young woman coming down and asked her if the view was worth the climb.  She said it was great, but that she had to go back because the heat was making her feel like passing out.  The woman was at least 50 years younger than I.  Just saying'...

This park has the most saguaro cacti that I have seen together anywhere in the region.  

There are little yellow "hair-topped" looking cacti often seen next to the saguaros.  I think these may be "baby" saguaros. They remind me of Meghan when she was under 1 year old and had blonde hair that stuck straight up off her head. (I mean hair that was more than 3 inches long; it didn't start falling over until then.  We called her Beaker - sorry, Meghan, I couldn't help it.)

Several other high points:

This looked like a ruin, but could have been built for tourists.

The park ranger station, at the gate, with drinking water and restrooms.

Exhausted, we came home and discovered that we didn't need a full day to recover as usual.  Because today we were able to get up early (unusual for us) and we visited my parents again to have a partial family reunion.  

My brother Gary, sister-in-law Natalie, and niece Lilia and, of course, my brother Mark who lives in Phoenix, my husband Steve, and I were here to celebrate Dad's 91st birthday and our parents' anniversary.  It was wonderful to have all of us in the same room again.  

Mom and Dad were thrilled.  They will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in February and it was so nice to be able to celebrate that with them now, since it won't be possible for us all to be here in February.  Mom said she has loved Dad for 71 years and  I know the feeling is definitely mutual.  They are an inspiration to all of us.  We love you, Mom and Dad.  Happy Anniversary! 💋

Tomorrow, Steve and I plan our next moves.  Gary and family are on their way back to Las Vegas and their flight back home.  Steve and I may be headed for Los Alamos, New Mexico soon.  We'll see.