Sunset at Papago Park

On Monday, which was, coincidentally, Valentine's Day, I felt like driving around town for a while and doing some photography. So I headed to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Spent about two hours walking around and taking pictures of plants and flowers and, unlike the last time I was there (April 2004), I now had a macro lens for closeup shots!



I was there from about 3 to 5 in the afternoon, and when I left I had about an hour to go before sunset. Whenever I have a few things on my mind, like I did that day, I sometimes like to head out somewhere safe, quiet, and with a nice view. I went to a place called Hole-In-The-Rock in Papago Park, which was just two minutes down the street from the Botanical Garden.



Last month, my friend Mike and I had checked out the place, so I pretty much knew where I wanted to go. I parked the car, got my camera with just the wide angle lens, my tripod, my digital camera, and my two essentials: car keys and cellphone. On the way up to Hole-In-The-Rock, I took a few photos of the steps leading up the side of the rock.



There weren't a lot of people, just two or three couples spending valentine's day together, and some families coming and going. I picked a spot away from the overhang where they all were, set my camera up on a tripod, and waited for dark. It was cloudy that day, so there wasn't much of a sunset to see, but I took some pictures of the area once all the city lights came on after dark.



All in all, a nice change from my usual day off.