A couple of weekends in Arizona

I attended a conference in Phoenix at the beginning of March, and a get together with some fellow travelers in Tucson at the end of March.  It would have been great if the GTG occured a little closer to the conference time, but it didn't, and I enjoyed my two quick visits.

First, Phoenix.  

Golf!

I attend a conference for this organization every year, and they are always at beautiful resorts, with beautiful golf courses.  Unfortunately, I never get to take advantage of them since I am there for the conference, and the green fees are often crazy high.

Well, this year one of the vendors sponsored a 4-person scramble the morning the conference started, where we only had to pay $100.  I was in!  Beautiful course, and a beautiful day in Phoenix at the Kierland Westin Resport and Spa:  http://kierlandresort.com

Here's the view from my room!

Desert Botanical Garden

In addition to the conference and golf, I was lucky enough to see one of my college roommates who now lives in Phoenix.  I flew in the night before the golf tournament and stayed with them, then was also able to meet up one evening.  And, that evening we went to the Desert Botanical Garden.  Not only have I always wanted to visit the gardens, it so happened that there was a Dale Chihuly installation at the time.  I have seen his botanical garden installations before, and really enjoy them.

The gardens are wonderful.  We got there about an hour before sunset, and stayed an hour after.  As dusk fell, and it became night, many glass installation were lit up, and if possible were even more spectacular.

http://www.dbg.org

I see that according to the web site, it is still going on through May 18.  My friend enjoyed it so much that she took her parents over one evening before they returned from their winter sojurn in Phoenix.

Some pictures: