I Haz PHOTOSHOP!

I can finally use Photoshop again!!! I can finally use Photoshop again!!!

G copied all my files over from the old laptop last night, so they’re on the new and functioning Lenovo. So you get pictures instead of incessant whining.

I have a ton of photos to go through. This batch is a mix of color and sepia, because some of the colors were too pretty to strip them out. There are fewer artsy-fartsy shots and more that are simple enjoyment of the area and the season. I tried to put them in chronological order, much as possible.

These are from our trip through northern Arizona last month – and barely scratch the surface of my collection.

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This statue of a Native American woman is from Wickenburg. It was my first visit to the town, which is a blend of kitschy/touristy and other unique flavors.

I barely edited the majority of these images. The one above was cropped and resized, but the color is exactly what it is. Location is evident in the mural.

This steer stood sentry on the roof of a local bank in Wickenburg.

I wish I could’ve gotten more usable photos of the main drag there. Unfortunately, as you can see, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the light was too hard to get any truly good shots.

This theater, like most of the town, plays the Old West theme to the hilt. It was enormously tacky in places. I loved it.

While we drove through Prescott, we didn’t visit the historic district for photos, for a number of reasons. But we did visit Watson Lake on our way out of town, where we were greeted by a gaggle of beggars.

The leader of the beggars had no respect for personal space. (Taken from the relative safety of my car window.) I’m sure they were looking for handouts. Water here – and as follows, waterfowl – is mostly controlled and relegated to parks. A leisurely day with the kids (and without) often involves feeding the ducks/geese/fish, etc.

It was the first time either G or I had been to Yarnell, a tiny community up high atop Granite Mountain. This sign is at once simple and heartbreaking. There was a wildfire in the area in 2013. Seventeen men lost their lives fighting it.

This colorful, cocky fellow stands next to a restaurant in Yarnell. If you can’t tell from the fencing alongside, he’s rather on the large size, the top of his comb just inches from the roofline.

This fading motel sign is in Ash Fork, such a tiny town it’s less a dot on the map than a smear. Ash Fork sits just outside Williams.

This was taken the second morning of our trip, on the road to Perkinsville. The photo was edited for size and nothing else. Stands of Aspen positively glowed against the darker pine.

I usually prefer the sun from behind me – but how could I resist when it turned the water to a scattering of diamonds? I don’t recall the name of the lake – there are several in the area.

Different lake, this one also in the Williams area. I love the reflected colors here.

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I have a bazillion more photos, including a few times this many I edited last night. But I’ll resist the temptation to overload my entries… For now.