black-crowned night heron

Also along the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain I had my first proper encounter with a black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax).

Lakeview

Sometimes you explore New Orleans' Lakeview district for the first time, and for a change you experience the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Not a lot of people there but interestingly there was a small group of swimmers!

City Putt

Given that we are miniature golf enthusiasts, it should not surprise anyone that we tried out the new City Putt miniature golf course in New Orleans's City Park. It was an experience I will never forget - not only because of the whimsical New Orleans-themed designs, and not only because I won the game 57 to 65, but because I took a spill on the Tchoupitoulas hole that ripped the knee of my pants.

A jarringly spectacular sunset...

...over Lake Pontchatrain, the way it looked in Mandeville, LA a day in early May. Below, the way it looked before the sunset.

a festival of forsythia

Meanwhile, in New York: a springtime bloom of Forsythia, a genus in the olive family, named for Scottish botanist William Forsyth.

Motel DuBeau

It was meaningful to stay at the Motel DuBeau in downtown Flagstaff as that is where I stayed prior to working at the Grand Canyon many years ago. This time we stayed in one of the nice private rooms and I must say it was a fantastic value and perfect location. The old Route 66 motel-turned-youth hostel has been greatly improved since my first visit, but still has lots of character. In the distance, the snow-capped San Francisco Peaks.



Navajo Bridge

The Navajo Bridge is actually two bridges that cross the Colorado River at Marble Canyon in Arizona. For many years nearby Lee's Ferry was the only way to cross the river; then in 1929 the first bridge was built. By the 1990's that bridge became outdated, and so at great expense a new bridge was built along side the old, resembling it in every respect except that it conformed to updated building and safety codes. The old bridge remains open to pedestrians and so after driving across the new bridge, we decided to stretch our legs and walk back across the river.