contemporary urban tempe

the vale condominiums, designed by architect will 

bruder (whose work includes many library and contemporary 

art projects) and completed in 2005. a modern

industrial looking residential building with lime green  

flair. located at university and

beck avenue, 46 units as well as office space.

world exploration in your own backyard...

for wanderlust shoppers looking for a bit of culinary

adventure, trader joe's is the place. the selection is 

unconventional, no keebler, kelloggs or del monte here. 

the food selection and prices are fantastic.

 tempe's trader joe's is located at 

mcclintock and guadalupe roads and I must say, 

shopping here makes me happy. 

 I love getting tj's fearless flyer newsletter too. 

sunday games

the soccer field at kiwanis park (all american way & 

guadalupe roads) was alive with soccer/futbol 

action this morning. 

fireworks on the fourth of July

Peace, love, and...

fresh mex food...I hear the fish tacos and margaritas 

are good. Mill Avenue

not ripe yet

but these prickly pear flowers have closed

and are well on their way to becoming

plump and juicy fruits. 

under the spell of fun

Flip Orley, known as a "comic hypnotist"

was recently at the Tempe Improv

(Rural and University Road)

Flip first became interested in 

hypnotism when he came across the 

book "how to pick up girls through

hypnotism" in the 6th grade. Seems 

like most things of importance can 

be traced back to getting a date. 

more light rail bridge colors

feed your creative energy here

utrecht art supply store, located at rural and 

university drive, is one of my favorite places for 

paints, pens, pencils, paper and the like.

purple lake

the light rail bridge is beautiful at night. in fact, roads and 

bridges magazine named the tempe lake light rail bridge 

the 10th best bridge built in 2008. LED lights

illuminate the sides of the bridge and the water below;

 lighting up as the train passes over every 10 minutes or so.

Hidden Treasures

I love that Arizona is a place where desert tortoises

thrive. Rarely seen, I chose my own backyard tortoise 

for this month's theme, hidden treasures. check out

a sampling of AZ's treasures by visiting the other 

Arizona blogs:

Phoenix Daily Photo

Chandler Daily Photo

Flagstaff Daily Photo

Prescott Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Chandler Daily Photo

big breakfast

I recently ate at Matt's Big Breakfast in Phoenix. 

Matt's BB is a tiny retro-style restaurant with 

 a big reputation. there's always a wait - mine was about 

an hour, but it was worth it - the food was delicious.

something borrowed

from phoenix. I liked the repeating pattern of 

the windows of this hotel.

street artist

her media is spray paint

color and order

prayer flags waving in the breeze. 

there are traditionally five flags in a set, one in each 

of five colors representing elements,

 in order from left to right: blue (sky), white (air/wind),

red (fire), green (water), yellow (earth)

cat on the roof

walking along mill avenue, I looked up and saw this 

cat that I'd never noticed before.

mmmm, yogurt

I tried Mojo yogurt for the first time yesterday. The 

interior of the shop is bright red and modern looking, the 

yogurt is yummy. 

in the valley of the sun

the phoenix metro area has more than 300 sunny days

each year. it's no wonder solar panels are becoming 

so common. arizona state university has installed

solar panels on top of its parking garages, like this one

near the north end of college avenue and stadium drive.

colors of summer

red, white and blue reflection

postcard from austin, better late than never...

I'm back....one posting from my trip to Austin, TX (bats

emerging from bracken cave) last month, where I got 

waylaid and off track. The break was good, 

but I've missed my camera 

and all the great folks on cdp and look forward to 

getting back to the daily practice!

the doors - Arizona theme day

doors in the southwest are a thing of beauty. 

the rustic ones made of rich solid wood, adorned with clavos, 

and framed by Mexican tiles are some of my favorites.

I'll bet my fellow Arizona city bloggers have posted some

 great ones - check out the other photos of Arizona doors here:

Phoenix Daily Photo

Chandler Daily Photo

Flagstaff Daily Photo

Prescott Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Chandler Daily Photo

and I'm in Austin, TX this week, so my postings over the

next few days will be postcards from Austin.

pelican on the shore at tempe lake

nice paint job

a truck with a unique paint job, toting a motorbike

to match

looking out from "A" mountain

a view out across tempe toward south mountain

another view across the lake

a view across tempe lake toward "A" mountain and the

hayden flour mill/downtown tempe

tempe gateway crane

this crane has been a long-term fixture in downtown

tempe, but the tempe gateway project is wrapping up

and I expect it will find be finding a new home soon

tempe center for the arts

a view from the north bank of rio salado

go fly a kite

our recent breezy weather has been perfect for kite flying

leaf detail

from the iron tree of the previous post.

*sorry for inconsistent posting lately*

nothing to rake here...

on the north bank of tempe lake near Priest drive is this

iron tree, the lowest "leaves" have names of those who

contributed to getting it installed. 

fishbowl

this old VW van has personality and a great 

license plate

the next big thing

a walk along mill avenue on any given evening or weekend

reveals an emerging culture of street artists - 

guitarists, bongo drummers, and others like these two 

somewhat greasy hipsters. these guys were actually 

harmonizing really well, i stopped to listen and couldn't

help but wonder if they might be the next big thing...

love the handlebar streamers!

what more can I say...this looks like a lot of fun!

first day of spring

happy first day of spring to the rest of the world. 

we've been celebrating here for several weeks, and 

are glad for you to join us.

a man and his boxer, wearing a "therapy dog in training"

vest, take a break on the grass at tempe beach park.

Tempe Gateway

Reflecting nearby A mountain and Hayden Flour Mill, 

the newest building downtown is called 

Tempe Gateway, an eight story development that will 

have mixed use including office space, retail, and a 

Main Light Rail Station. it's scheduled to be complete

in about 2 months. 

Delicious

the food smells were fantastic at the aloha festival; I had 

a hard time containing myself as I looked down at 

this delicious sight.

tropical print

many people attending the aloha festival

wore bright colored flowery prints.

weekend fun

the aloha festival was in full swing last weekend, as 

thousands of people converged downtown and at 

the beach park to celebrate polynesian culture. this photo

gives a view of the celebration from mill avenue bridge.

Arizona Theme Day: Old Arizona

the theme is "old Arizona" for this month's Arizona cities group 

posting. pictured here is the iconic Snow Cap Drive-In, located 

along Route 66, in Seligman, Arizona. the Snow Cap was 

built in 1953 by Juan Delgadillo, who was famous for his 

antics with unsuspecting tourists.  I worked in Seligman

 for 5 years and can attest that Juan loved to squirt fake 

ketchup at his guests, among other things. Juan died in 

2004, but the tradition of fun continues as Juan's sons

continue to serve up burgers, shakes and good humor.

Check out the other photos of Old Arizona here:

Phoenix Daily Photo

Chandler Daily Photo

Flagstaff Daily Photo

Prescott Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Chandler Daily Photo

Hawaiian Festival

downtown tempe was absolutely alive today for the 

hawaiian festival. there was food, entertainment, lots of

sunshine, and people wearing bright flowery shirts.

path and shade

another view of the newest pathway from the Tempe

Center for the Arts to Priest Drive; with our funky

idea of shade structures

view from south mountain

I feel fortunate to live only a couple miles away 

from the largest municipal park in the country, and

most likely the world. South Mountain is a great place to 

go for a hike, run, or ride a mountain bike; there

are lots of birds, lizards and small mammals

living among the saguaros, barrel cactus, iron wood

trees, creosotes, brittle bush - a 16,000 acre oasis.

the farm at south mountain

the farm at south mountain is located 

a few miles to the west of tempe (32nd street & southern);

 there are three restaurants at the farm: the farm kitchen, 

the quiessence restaurant, and the morning glory cafe as well

 as an artist studio and maya's farm which sells organic produce 

and flowers. the food at the morning glory cafe is fantastic, 

and the outdoor ambiance is perfect for meeting 

friends and coffee drinking.

inviting

three rabbit replica

these three small rabbits, located at the tempe transportation 

center light rail station, are an exact replica of three giant

sized rabbits, located about half a mile away, in a relaxing

courtyard with a water feature. i've previously

photographed the oversized rabbit on the right on

my post linked here:

http://tempearizonadailyphoto.blogspot.com/2008/05/telling-secrets-to-water.html

in bloom

poppies and african daisies are blooming all over

urban windows

new artwork frames the urban 

landscape along a multi-use path

between hardy and priest at tempe 

lake. several window-like 

sculptures frame features of 

the surrounding landscape. 

camelback mountain is framed by this 

piece, sculpted by tempe artist Tom Strich.

sign of signs

sign near the recently completed

path along tempe lake

from hardy to priest

theme day, glass

with the chihuly exhibit going on just across the

tempe border at the desert botanical garden, it was easy to find 

glass for this month's theme. 

the exhibit is so beautiful and complementary to 

the garden and will continue through May. 

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants