Phoenix, Arizona.

On a Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves trying to find parking near the Phoenix Trolley Museum’s new home. The museum is only open on Saturdays and only in Phoenix’s mild winters. On the day we stopped, there were maybe four volunteers there. We walked in about 1:00 p.m. and left around 2:30, about a half-hour from their closing time. In that hour and a half, we were the only museum visitors, and the docent on duty, Lanny Trapnell, provided a wonderful narration.

Lanny started by describing the original routes, the first an east-west run between what is now known as 7th Street and 7th Avenues. In 1887, that one-mile run was the entire width of the city of Phoenix.

In 1887, the cars were pulled along the tracks by two-horse teams. The museum has plenty of historical photos on display, and Lanny let us know that he could be as verbose or succinct as we wanted. Given we were the only guests, we gave him free rein to share the story.

The museum started at Hance Park, and the restored Trolley 116 provided runs for visitors on a short rail system until the lease with the park department expired at the end of 2017. Car 116 and other equipment were put into storage, and the museum officers found a new location at 1117 Grand Avenue. They opened in the new building with photographic displays and small artifacts.

In January 2024, the museum finally released Car 116, Car 504, and the recently rediscovered Car 509 from storage and placed them in the lot next to the museum building.

The city’s trolley system had a sad ending. In late 1947, a fire destroyed the car barn and all but six of the electric trolleys purchased by the city in 1928. Those six trolleys were spared only because they were still out on their daily runs. After the disaster, the city moved to bus transportation for Phoenix citizens.

Lanny welcomed us to the yard, and we started with a closeup look at Car 116. He pointed out some of the car’s features with a story or two about riding the trolleys “back in the day.”

Lanny reached into a cabinet high above one of the operator’s consoles and pulled out a couple of controls. He connected one to the throttle on his left and the other to the brake assembly in his right hand. He described the operation of the “dead man’s” throttle, which automatically removed power and applied brakes if the operator let go of the throttle control.

Lanny pointed out a foot-operated switch and told me to press it with my foot. I gently put my foot on the switch and pressed it slowly to the floor. Nothing happened. Lanny pointed out that I needed to press it more firmly. I did so and was rewarded with the sound of the trolley bell that was used to warn pedestrians and vehicles that a trolley was coming.

I asked about the signs above the windows. They are accurate reproductions of adverts posted in the cars in the later years of service. I was most interested in the Kodak Brownie camera ad, a film camera for $5, about $68 in today’s currency.

Stepping outside Car 116, I noticed a man working on the frame of another trolley. The volunteer, John Myers, had come from Texas to work on the rebuild of Car 504. Lanny told me that sometime in the 1940s, all cars numbered in the 100s were renumbered to 500s. The museum assigned Car 116 its original number at restoration as it was restored to its earliest configuration, fitting with the numbering of that era.

Car 509 was donated by a restaurant entrepreneur who owned a storage barn built around a trolley. Research proved that inside all of the sheet metal was Car 509, originally thought to have been destroyed in the barn fire in 1947.

The museum volunteers will have two major reconstructions in the future. Cars 504 and 509 will obviously require major restoration.

“Ride a Mile & Smile the While.” The opening photo of a placard on Car 116 is a quote from an original sign on one of the trolleys. Lawrence J. Fleming, one of the founding members of the Phoenix Trolley Museum, wrote a definitive history of the Phoenix Street Railway in 1977. “Ride A Mile And Smile The While. A History Of The Phoenix Street Railway 1887-1948.” A quote from the book tells the whole story of the slogan. “The Phoenix Street Railway was an essential part of a [not-so-]long-vanished scene. Street-cars had their shortcomings for they were noisy, hot in the summer, cold in the winter, sometimes had flat wheels and the ride could be rough. They did, however, run every ten minutes, go anywhere worth going in their day, and for only five cents. To use a slogan painted in gold over the motorman’s window on one of the cars, ‘Ride a Mile and Smile the While 5c.'”

Also on display are the two trolley trucks fitted to Car 116 when it was at Hance Park giving rides. The trucks are Birney models, slightly larger than the original trucks delivered with Car 116. The trucks were manufactured in Philadelphia and sold to a company in Japan. When they became available, they were purchased for use on Car 116.

This tractor was donated by Phelps-Dodge when it was removed from service at Douglas, Arizona, as part of the Copper Queen mining operation. The museum used the tractor to move Car 116 when its motor malfunctioned. A major restoration goal is to return Car 116 to its full operational status, which will be the “living history” part of the new museum. 

The museum is open from 11 AM to 3 PM on Saturdays between October 1 and May 30 each year. There is no admission charge, but a free-will donation is greatly appreciated so the museum can continue its restoration projects and ongoing expenses. More details about the museum and the history of Phoenix’s first street car system can be found here. You can pixel-peep at the 2K HD versions of these photos on my Flickr site here.

John Steiner

Phoenix, Arizona.

April is a wonderful time to visit the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. When the Sonoran Desert has received plenty of moisture in the winter months, wildflowers grow abundantly. The Sonoran Desert covers southern Arizona and northern Mexico (with the westernmost section in eastern California.)

What’s nice about the botanical gardens in Phoenix is that even when the winter is dry and flowers are not at all plentiful in the wild, the well cared for plants in the botanical garden receive the water they need to provide plenty of those beautiful spring blossoms.

In April 2021, we visited the gardens with visiting family to share the beauty of the desert spring. As usual, I took my “real” camera, either my Sony or Nikon, but I also am on the lookout for interesting images for my cell phone.

About the photo: This beautiful collection of pastel yellow flowers was just “begging” to be included in a Cellpic Sunday feature. Those delicate blossoms hide the prickly nature of those pancake-shaped branches. After exposure and downloading to my desktop, I processed the image in Adobe Lightroom and Luminar Neo. Click on the image to pixel peep in 2K HD on my Flickr site and see the image metadata.

For more images of those spring wildflowers, check out my first visit to the gardens here or here.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment.

John Steiner

Phoenix, Arizona.

It has the name RoHoEn, the Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix. The joint project of the City of Phoenix and Himeji, Japan (Phoenix sister city) has a mission to maintain a beautiful, serene Japanese garden. They have truly succeeded. The 3.5-acre garden has a large pond, a tea garden, and a tea house. It was our first visit to the garden and we found it most enjoyable to wander along the walkways. By design, “…the viewer is led to uncover intentionally hidden views of the landscape while strolling along its curved paths.”

Photographers need to be aware that there is a strictly enforced policy involving commercial photography or even amateur photography that uses even a tripod or that involves the structured posing of people being photographed. The garden’s policy offers reserved times and charges a fee for things like wedding photography, family or group photos, etc.

The policy makes allowances for social media, however, and it is under this guidance that I am sharing the above image. From their Photo Policy page here: Still, we recognize that people like to take pictures, and everyone has a high-quality camera in his/her pocket nowadays. We love seeing guests tag us on social media; however, anything beyond a quick snap is subject to review by our Garden staff.

About the photo: At the suggestion of blogger Marsha Ingrao, I am also submitting this photo as part of the #SundayStills challenge, #Water, announced last Sunday, May 2. More about Sunday Stills can be found here.

Coincidentally, this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge theme is Gardens, so I am also considering this post as a preview of my usual Thursday response. You can read Amy’s challenge post here.

Captured with my Samsung S20U, this snapshot of the waterfall and Koi pond reflects the beauty and tranquility of the garden. The Japanese Friendship Garden is truly a beautiful place to spend a few hours in restful contemplation. The image was processed with Adobe Lightroom and Luminar AI.

John Steiner

Phoenix, Arizona.

It’s been a long year of relative isolation from family and friends. Now that we have been vaccinated, we have been looking forward to meeting with my sister and her boyfriend, both now vaccinated as well. It has been an annual event for them to come to visit in January during the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction. Since the auction, too, was delayed until March, it seemed a great time to invite them to stay with us in Buckeye for a few days. Our plans always include finding something else to do while they are in town.

This year, we stopped at Heritage Square in downtown Phoenix. We had lunch at a nearby pizzeria and then visited the Arizona Science Center. Heritage Square contains several historic buildings including the Rosson House. Originally the home of Dr. Roland Lee Rosson and his wife, Flora Murray Rosson, it was built between 1894 and 1895 on the site where it now stands in downtown Phoenix.

The Queen Anne style architectural design of this specific residence is of some controversy as I discovered when I found a historic reference to the home on Wikipedia here. The house, now a museum, is normally open for scheduled tours, but until the Covid era subsides, the museum is closed. We will look forward to its reopening and we are planning to visit when it reopens.

About the photo: This image was captured on my Samsung S20U in 12,000×9,000 pixel mode. It was uploaded to Lightroom for basic tweaks and, as usual, finished in Luminar AI. As always, I recommend clicking on the image for a better view of this beautiful old house.

John Steiner

This week is unusual in that we got our photo challenge instructions from Biasini. What’s unusual is that Biasini is a horse. Though unable to talk, a horse’s conversation with the rider is part and parcel of horsemanship. The challenge this week is to share our thoughts on communication.

Today we think of writing on objects such as buildings as graffiti unless they are legitimately authorized, then they are murals. In earlier times, though, painting on rocks was quite common in the desert southwest. These images, hundreds, if not thousands of years old, have survived for archeologists to wonder and speculate as to their meanings. The opening photo, as in all the photos in my response are from petroglyph sites near Phoenix, Arizona.

The largest petroglyph site I’ve visited is near Gila Bend, about 68 miles (109 km) from Phoenix. Known as Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, it is closest to the town of Theba. An associated campground is a popular place in the cooler Arizona winters. The image above is but one of the many painted rocks found on a natural mound of rock outcroppings.

A more modern form of communication for visitors of the site is the typical plaque murals that describe details of the history of the site. While modern man cannot decipher the petroglyphs, most of us can at least read the signs.

There are many petroglyph rocks in the White Tank Mountains, just a few miles from our winter home in Buckeye. Many hiking trails we are on find us passing by painted rocks.

There are those who believe that these writings are from ancient aliens who landed on our planet, left us written signs, and then moved on to other planets to explore. I say, “Bullfeathers.” If an alien being has the knowledge and ability to travel interstellar space, they have far better methods of communication than writing on rocks. Here, let me put on my tinfoil hat and show you.

Thanks again to Biasini the horse for hosting this challenge. You can read that entire challenge post here.

John Steiner

Phoenix, Arizona.

This week, Patti Moed asks us to Find Something Red. She writes, “…For this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, we’re inviting you to a photo scavenger hunt to find things that are red.” You can read her challenge post here. Having just returned from this year’s Barret-Jackson Auction at Scottsdale, my first thought was of the many red cars and other vehicles I’ve photographed since attending my first auction in 2012. In reviewing those images, I happened upon a red fire engine that was for sale. That changed my direction entirely.

Phoenix is home to the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting. Of course, there is plenty of red in such a place, and it’s a museum I’ve toured several times over the years. The museum features firefighting equipment from all over the world that dates back to the early 1700s. In my opening photo, a mid-20th century fire engine bears the logo of the Phoenix Fire Department.

In October, 1871, a great fire burned the City of Chicago, Illinois. Equipment from many neighboring states, including this horse-drawn 1820 Simpson hand pump engine, was brought to the city to help fight the fire which burned from October 8-10, 1871.

The museum is a treasure trove of historic firefighting equipment, all in service at some point between the years 1725 and 1969. The fire engine above, a Mack, served it’s work history in Pierre, South Dakota, only about 330 miles (531 km) from our home in Fargo, North Dakota.

This early model fire pump and suited manikin features the best equipment of the day in the city of Rugby, England. Many of the museum’s exhibits feature firefighting equipment from around the world.

The museum provides a looseleaf notebook to each visitor who requests one. At the right of this horse-drawn apparatus is a placard with the number “12” on it. If you look for the 12th entry in the notebook, you’ll find a complete description of the equipment, its use, and historical information about the specific exhibit piece.

I was intrigued by this specific piece of fire equipment. The Steiner family emigrated from Luxembourg and from what I understand, they originally settled in the New York area. Those details have been lost to history, but upon seeing this logo, I wondered if this equipment could be somehow related to our family. Alas, corporate records in the city were lost in a fire. There is no history or background available in public sources to determine any of the principals of the Steiner Manufacturing Company. Like as not, they were no relation as Steiner is a relatively common name. I guess I will never know.

Thanks to Patty for helping me “see red” for this 81st Lens-Artists Challenge.

John Steiner

The artist then adds appropriate coloration to the skin to give a great artistic impression of the animal representation.  The okapi are the only living relatives of the giraffe. They have markings on the legs similar to zebras but have a more solid color body.

This tiger was my favorite animal on display that evening. The facial features are what make this animal seem “alive” to me, but the muscular shoulder structure and strong detail in the haunches add to the realistic depiction of this beautiful animal.

The artwork on these baboon displays demonstrates that coloration isn’t limited to brown tone. Don’t expect to see live animal viewing available during these night openings, but you can see the live reindeer they feature especially lit for evening viewing. Camel rides were also available on the night we visited. The Zoolights display is open to the public nightly at the Phoenix Zoo from 5:30 PM to 10:30 PM through January 19. For more images captured at the 2018 Zoolights presentation, look here.

John Steiner

Regular readers know that I can’t pass up a classic car show. Earlier this year the car club I hang with when in Buckeye toured the Martin Auto Museum in Phoenix. As you can see by the opening photo, they have a few Corvettes. They also have a wide variety of custom and original stock vehicles.Even the museum’s front desk shows the pride and workmanship of a classic car buff. Who knows what terrible accident befell the beautiful Chevy who’s front end was rescued to create a counter front display? I shudder to think! The admission to the facility is a reasonable $10 donation and their mission is education. What?!?! That’s right. On their website, they have a complete collection of lesson plans for grade levels from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. As a retired educator, I’ve reviewed a small sample of the lesson plans to find they are detailed and provide many instructional hours on transportation and the history of the automobile.

One glance at the museum’s web page proves their mission of education. Links to the curricular materials are prominently featured on the museum’s home page, not several layers deep in a hard-to-find recess of their site. Also on their main page, a short biography of Mel Martin tells the reader a little about the amazing man who created the museum. You can check out their website here.

Another interesting concept for the non-profit 501-C-3 facility is their Adopt-A-Car program. Basically it’s a corporate or individual sponsorship of a car. The “adoption fee” is $250 USD/year and the funds go for the ongoing care and maintenance of that specific vehicle. More details on the program are posted on the museum’s website.

In keeping with the educational theme of this museum, I thought I would feature details on just a couple of cars. The one above is a recreation of the first piston powered vehicle. The car was built by Mercedes-Benz to the exact specifications of the original vehicle which was manufactured in 1886. Note that the three-wheeled (tricycle style) car doesn’t have a steering wheel. A “tiller” is simply moved left or right similar to handlebars on a bicycle for steering.

Also, similar to a bicycle, the drive is a chain powered from a 9 horsepower engine. Its top speed is 12 miles per hour (19 km/hr). The small gasoline engine is limited to operating at 400 RPM. It uses a “total loss oil system.” This is a term I had to look up. Any engine that mixes oil with gas (2-stroke) is a total loss system. It means simply that the oil is consumed or burned up in the fuel mixture. In the process, it lubricates the cylinders as well.

I was admiring the beautiful restoration job on this 1950s era Oldsmobile when I heard two gentlemen standing at the rear of the car talking about the nice Cadillac restoration. We are talking about people from the custom car club so I was surprised when two people with a background in classic automobiles would mistake the back end of an Oldsmobile for a Cadillac.

Then I walked around to the back end of the car to see the unmistakable taillight design complete with Continental Kit (external spare tire). Sure enough, they were right. This Oldsmobile has a Cadillac rear end. I apologize for doubting my colleague’s expertise. After reading the description, it became clear that this was a project car of someone’s dreams. Whomever created the design did a beautiful job. The last two images below feature a couple of more view angles of this custom classic.

The interior of this custom “Cadimobile” (Olds-ilac?) is just as beautiful as its exterior. The seat trim matches the exterior paint perfectly.

I love this car and really do have a desire to own it. There are two reasons I would never buy this automobile, however. First and foremost, I couldn’t afford it. Besides, it would never fit in my garage and it would be a sin to have this lovely vehicle sitting out in the weather.

There is much more to learn about automobiles and many other types of memorabilia at the Martin Auto Museum. If you are a car fanatic and you are in the area, you shouldn’t miss this museum with three galleries full of amazing automobilia. I leave you with a sign I saw hanging on the museum wall.

John Steiner

Boyce Luther Gully loved his wife and his daughter. When he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and not wishing to expose his family, Boyce left his Seattle home without telling his wife and daughter why or where he went. He found himself in Phoenix in the late 1920’s and started building a house. Given a diagnosis of only six months to live, there must be something good about the dry desert air. His tuberculosis went into remission and he would live well over a decade longer than expected. The house, really a castle built for his daughter, became his obsession and construction would consume the entire time Boyce Gully had remaining, and in 1945, he died of cancer leaving the 18-room three story castle still not completely finished. Indeed, it wasn’t until 1992 that plumbing and electricity were added, though some of that infrastructure had been started during initial construction. No doubt that by 1992, that early construction was obsolete.

Though he never told his family where he moved, over the years he did communicate with them through an attorney on occasion. Meanwhile his construction project continued. He kept costs down by taking “seconds” from local building materials factories and suppliers. Old parts were recycled. One of the rooms has two automobile wire wheels cemented into the wall to act as windows.

He built 13 fireplaces located throughout the castle. Boyce was the last of 13 siblings and he always considered 13 to be his lucky number. One of the fireplaces is featured in the image above.

The home he built for his little princess and his wife features a chapel, a bar/party room, and even a dungeon. Upon Boyce Gully’s death, his attorney informed the family and told them the story of their inheritance. Mary Lou and her mother immediately traveled to Phoenix where Mary Lou insisted they take up residence. With some trepidation, her mother agreed. They sold their Seattle property and became residents of the castle.

Over the years, Mary Lou gathered many collectibles to display in her home. An artist friend created a large collection of pet rocks, a small example of her work is the Wabbit Family realistically painted on rocks of varying sizes. The house is filled with pet rock cats and many, many pillows featuring images of cats.

For many years the home was isolated at the base of South Mountain. There is a spiral staircase that leads to a rooftop deck where Mary Lou could enjoy the commanding view of the surrounding desert and the growing metropolitan area. As Phoenix grew, the Sonoran Desert land around the home gave way to housing developments, restaurants, and strip malls. People began to notice the unusual building. People would stop regularly and ask for tours which Mary Lou politely declined until one day it was decided that for a fee, why not give a tour.

Mary Lou Gully passed away in 2010 after living in the castle for 65 years. The legacy of her father lives on as a 501c3 corporation now conducts tours daily. Since discovering the castle, Lynn and I have visited it twice. Both times in the morning. The tour lasts an hour and it attracts many visitors during the fall, winter and spring. They are open Thursdays through Sundays except through those hot Phoenix summers. First tour each day starts at 11 a.m. and they are open for tours until 3:30 p.m.  No reservations are required, but be sure they are open for the season before you visit. The schedule and contact information can be found on their website here

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 5-12. As we waited in line to pay our $10 each, a woman and her two teenage boys in line ahead of us attempted to pay by credit card. She was politely told that they accept cash only. She opened her purse but could only find two $10 bills. The person collecting the fee told her that her admission would be $10, and the two boys would get in for child’s admission, though they were clearly both over the age of 12. That was nice of the person at the gate.

Obviously, I want to leave some surprises for your own visit. There are lots of neat rooms that you will enjoy touring. On the tour you will learn the secret of the trap door in the floor and the large metal crocodile that guards the opening. Except for the two rooms in the gift shop area, photos are allowed. I submit for your approval, a small gallery of images I captured on my visits to the Mystery Castle. Given the subject, I decided that a black-and-white treatment would be appropriate for many of the images as I processed them. In most browsers, you can click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner

A chance notice online alerted me to The Great Train Show happening one weekend in Phoenix. It’s an annual occurrence at the Arizona State Fair Grounds. No, it’s not about real trains, it’s about model railroading, those small “train sets” that hobbyists go overboard building in basements, spare rooms, and even outdoor gardens around the United States. Who could resist stopping for a visit? In Phoenix, several different groups brought and set up small (and not so small) railroad setups. As you can see in the opening photo, it’s not just about trains, it’s also about miniature cities, rural areas, and other scenery designs.

While I’ve seen several different train configurations in other places I’ve visited, I discovered at this show that Lego has a collection of small railroad components. Those Lego sets have that unique “look” that is immediately recognizable as Lego so it’s not that realistic looking miniature setup, but judging by the interest in the displays, there is a large following of people interested in that “Lego” look. The image above is only about half of the largest Lego train set display at the show.

My favorite style is the realistic HO gauge size, a common scale that most people are familiar with. In addition to looking at the modeler group’s setups, it was interesting to walk through the vendor area where people were selling new and used components, cars, engines, and scenery. Other common gauge sizes are N gauge and O gauge and there are other less popular gauge sizes.

I learned at this show about the “G” gauge trains and components. I was told that “G” stands for Garden and these larger train layouts are meant to be designed and landscaped in exterior gardens. According to Wikipedia, the first G scale trains started appearing in the market in 1968. To give you an idea of how big these train cars and engines are, a scale 40-ft (12.2 m) box car is 17.25 inches long by 4.5 inches wide by 6.5 inches high (43.8 cm x 11.4 cm x 16.5 cm). Compare this to a standard HO gauge 40-ft (12.2m) box car at 5.75 inches long by 1.5 inches wide by 2 inches high. (14.6 cm x 3.81 cm x 5.08 cm). HO is the most popular scale probably because it allows realistic layouts in much smaller space than the larger scales. The G gauge train is at its best in an outdoor garden with live garden plants. The large size and detail, though, is accompanied by a considerably larger cost for each component.

Part of the hobby is in the construction of the landscapes. In the photo above, a model railroader concentrates on repairing a section of track. Some tracks are electrically wired to power the trains, other systems have the power source built into the engines. As with most hobbies these days, smart controllers allow each train to be controlled by the “engineer” and track switching can also be automated as well.

This large trestle is but a short section of one of the larger displays. As you can see, this is not a Lego style design. If I recall correctly, this setup is an HO gauge display.

Finally, for those who got tired of looking at the smaller trains, for a small fee, kids and their parents could be “engineer” and drive hand powered engines. If you don’t live in the Phoenix area, there are several locations around the country that feature different model train expositions. By far the biggest number of shows are organized by The Great Train Show but you can see a map and schedule of model train shows in the country in 2019 can be found here.

All aboard for train show fun!

John Steiner