I tried a new restaurant in Round Rock today – Papi’s Pies. I had the Quiche Florentine, a salad, a coke, and the Tres Leches cake for dessert. Everything was great. One of my main reasons for visiting was the Local Artist Series: Galápagos Islands with Henry Huey. I really enjoyed the photos, and I’ll be back again for more food and art.
Just about 30 minutes from downtown Flagstaff Arizona, off of I40, is the Twin Arrows Casino. It makes for a nice, welcoming place on a cold and blustery Winter night. They have an incredible chandelier in the lobby, several restaurants including a small buffet, Native American artwork, and a pretty nice casino floor where you can donate some of your hard earned cash dollars.
The Desert View Watchtower at the Grand Canyon is a magical place. It is a great stone tower built right on the edge of the canyon rim way back in 1932. You can climb to the top and enjoy the views of the canyon and the Colorado River below. After that, you can strike out on a hike along the ledge of the Grand Canyon to get to your perfect photo spot.
The Kolb Studio is perched on the ledge of the Grand Canyon. Imagine what it would have been like to study and create art here in the early 1900s.
When you first arrive at the Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim in a cold weather climate, you will have the urge to do a few things – run to the edge and take photos, look over the edge and imagine what it would be like to travel to the bottom of the Canyon, then find an interesting structure to help protect you from the chilly and bursting winds. Thus my visit to the Hopi House. There are beautiful views through the windows and some interesting, colorful art. After a few minutes, you will be warm again, and ready to walk out along the rim some more.
The Samurai exhibit at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art is pretty cool. There is armor and weapons everywhere, along with a recorded guide session that explains everything for you. The exhibit is there until April 29th, so be sure to check it out if you are a fan of history and find yourself near the Las Vegas Strip.
The Austin Central Library is something to explore in awe. It is located at a prime spot along Lady Bird Lake with nice views on all sides. It cost around $125 million and has everything you could imagine a Library would have. Six stories, nearly 200,000 square feet, a three story clock with red grackles, a rooftop garden, a technology petting zoo, portables and MacBooks to check out on loan, a two story underground parking garage, and so much more. The building is full of light and people are everywhere to be seen, admiring the design and discovering their favorite reading locations. It will probably become one of my favorite spots in Downtown Austin to take a break and enjoy a book or magazine, so look for me there on some lazy weekend afternoon.
I kinda liked this film. It’s a little bit dark, and the super heroes are depicted as lonely people with extraordinary powers and the associated responsibilities.
Oh, and afterwards, I went to dinner and found some cool glitter art on the walls of the restaurant. Very timely.
I stopped in at the Mexic-Arte Museum this afternoon while walking about in downtown Austin. They had a Day of the Dead display called “Love to Death” and the theme was Community Altars. There were so many colorful celebrations of life and death to behold.
It is that time of year in Austin where the evenings start getting cooler and it makes it nice to get out and walk. This evening, I started at Ninth and Congress and headed for the loop around Town Lake. There were a few art installations and groovy flowers along the way. On my return to Congress Avenue, there was a flock of tourists anxiously awaiting the bats to begin flying out from under the bridge. And of course, the sunset colors on the city were most beautiful.
earthrobert 