Pensacola, Florida: An Afternoon at the Beach

Sunset, Pensacola, Florida. October 2021.

 A new friend took me to Pensacola, Florida. 

I'd never been. To me, "Pensacola" has always been synonymous with "spring break" - college students swarming the beach, drinking, and .... swarming the beach and drinking. 

What else is there in Pensacola? 

Well, I still don't know, because my friend and I plopped our chairs in front of the Gulf of Mexico and we simply sat and chatted while we periodically pulled out a cold beer from the cooler between us. Heck, we didn't even stand up and put our feet in the water. 

Sunset, Pensacola, Florida. October 2021.

 

Or even go to the restroom. 

 

Sunset, Pensacola, Florida. October 2021.

 

We saw a pretty sunset, though. 

Sunset, Pensacola, Florida. October 2021.

Tucson, AZ: Sunset at Campbell Trailhead

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

I got a lead on a potentially good sunset-catching spot.

"Go all the way up Campbell Road til you can't go any farther. It's there." 

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

Easy enough.


The road actually ends at a higher apex than the scenic outlook, but only those who can pass into the gated community across from the trailhead may continue to the summit.

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

View seekers must stay outside the gate and fences.

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

The trail itself is a fenced corridor, an easement through private properties.  A rather sardonic article here about the trail, written by Charles Miles, with attractive photos.

There are two views from the trailhead. One is down Campbell and into Tucson center. 

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

 The other is out west.

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

I packed a picnic dinner for my trip up Campbell Road. There are neither tables nor toilets at the trailhead. I ate inside Chez Prius.

More views:

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

Sunset from Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

I laughed when I saw this:

Campbell Trailhead, Tucson, AZ. November 2019.

Heheheheheh. A self-correcting issue, when the yowwens get eaten by their young some decades hence, as our parents got eaten by us some decades past.


Other Tucson sunsets here.

Tucson, AZ: Sunset at G5

Tucson sunset at G5, Gates Pass Road. August 2019.

Arizona is so carelessly extravagant with her sunsets, you'd think her audience would get rather blasé about them after viewing twenty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand.

Tucson sunset at G5, Gates Pass Road. August 2019.

But no, the flamboyant sunsets transfix us every blessed time, both in person and vicariously, via other people's photos. We stop what we're doing, inhale deeply, and emit a long, breathy wowwww.

I've embarked on a desultory hunt for the best perch in Tucson for sunset bagging.

Tucson sunset at G5, Gates Pass Road. August 2019.

I've cased the Hacienda del Sol sunset and the Unity sunset. Today I present the G5 audition.

Tucson sunset at G5, Gates Pass Road. August 2019.

G5 is the name of a scenic pullout on Gates Pass Road. I dipped in and out of Gs 3, 4, 6, and 7 before settling on 5 for last evening's sunset show.

Tucson sunset at G5, Gates Pass Road. August 2019.

Tucson sunset at G5, Gates Pass Road. August 2019.

A video below:

The hunt continues.

Tucson, AZ: Sunset at Hacienda del Sol

Sunset, Hacienda del Sol, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

I climbed to Hacienda del Sol for a mood-elevating, compound prescription of: one sunset, one live music set, one glass of wine, my silence among the ambient conversation of others, and cool evening air on my skin and in my hair.


A video, featuring a cameo hummingbird visit:

What the terrace musician did to one of my top 10 favorite songs of all time - House of the Rising Sun - deserves jail time for his perversion of it. But perhaps one could say the same of my yellow-blown sunset photo at the top of this page. So. Live and let live.

Hacienda del Sol, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

Two pleasing memories emerged when I entered the premises. One was of the venerable Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua, Guatemala. The other was of the lakeside Lewi Resort (the "new new Lewi") in Awassa, Ethiopia. The flowers, the soft-lit niches for solo or coupled quiet spaces, the graceful curves of archways, the warm structural surfaces. Softscapes balancing hardscapes. Solicitous, but not too solicitous, staff.

Hacienda del Sol, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

If I visit Hacienda del Sol again, I'll seek a better view than the terrace, either at a window table in the restaurant or on the plush grass that is in front of the restaurant-bar entrance. That lawn looked very inviting for a bite or beverage.

Hacienda del Sol, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

Hacienda del Sol, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

Tucson, AZ: Sunset at Unity

Unity on Third Avenue and Grant, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

On Sunday evening, I examined the imposing sculpture on the corner of Third Avenue and Grant. Having driven past a number of times previously, it had struck me as a grand piece of public art on a prosaic bit of real estate in midtown Tucson.

Unity on Third Avenue and Grant, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

It's called Unity. The artists are Ben Olmstead and Simon Donovan.

Unity on Third Avenue and Grant, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

It was a lagniappe to investigate the art work as sunset approached. Whereas the moon adores El Paso and Juarez, the sun enjoys making flamboyant exits in Tucson.

Unity on Third Avenue and Grant, Tucson, Arizona. June 2019.

I admire Tucson for installing a beautiful - and large! - work of art along a rather ordinary stretch of street, but through which so much traffic flows.

Art that is accessible to most, irrespective of income, lifts all of our spirits. It walks our talk of the unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness.

Below is a slide show of more Unity photos:

On the Way to Louisiana: A Sulky Sunset

On the second day after leaving Big Bend National Park, en route to Louisiana, I'd made it through Houston and the aftermath of Harvey, and had Louisiana within my sights.

It was after 8:00 p.m. and darkness loomed on Interstate 10. 

But before she reluctantly slid off the side of the earth, the red sun laid a blistering last harrumph on us all.

She was a sight to see in my side mirror.

Sunset, Interstate 10 between Houston and Louisiana, September 2017.

Sunset, Interstate 10 between Houston and Louisiana, September 2017.

El Paso: Sunset Over Juárez

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

July 2017.


One of the things I love about El Paso is its abundance of scenic views. Of mountains, plains, the two cities, the moon, stacking afternoon clouds ....

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

A UTEP parking lots serves up a delicious sunset over Juárez.

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

Look at that fingernail moon hanging there so daintily.

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

I like to think about driving up that wide road in Juárez.

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

What's on the other side of that pass?

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

And, look, you can even see Cristo Rey:

Sunset over Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, from UTEP parking lot, El Paso, Texas. July 2017.

El Paso: Sunset Heights: A Sunset Called Me

I got home from a full day of rocketry.

Parked my car in front of my place. Looked over to the west. A blazing sunset.

Sunset at Sunset Heights by I-10, El Paso, Texas. June 2017.

June 2017


I walked into it.

Sunset at Sunset Heights by I-10, El Paso, Texas. June 2017.

El Paso: November Moons

November evening, El Paso, Texas. November 2016.

Although the scene is so prosaic - a Payless Kids store - there's something about the November light glow, with a crisp white moon disk above, that spills a little magic on the corner of this downtown El Paso street.

November evening, El Paso, Texas. November 2016.

Just three minutes after the top photo came this one with the rainbow.

On a different November night, in my neighborhood, a full moon shared her grandosity with her kingdom.

November evening, El Paso, Texas. November 2016.