Round Robin Challenge: I've Always Wanted To Photograph...Again!

Our latest Round Robin Challenge: I've Always Wanted To Photograph... was first suggested by Steven, former cohost of this meme and ace photographer of the late, lamented(sometimes)photoblog). I don;t think I had anything in particular in mind for myself when I assigned this topic two weeks ago, except, perhaps, to try again for an adequate photo of the moon.

But tonight I was out and about with my Dad, who is in town for the weekend for the first time since 2005. On a whim, I took him for a stroll in Trail Dust Town, a touristy fake western town on Tanque Verde Road that dates back to the 1950s. When I got my first Canon digital camera in March 2005, the first place I took it was to Trail Dust Town in the late afternoon. I hadn't yet charges the camera battery properly, though, and it soon stopped working. I've always wanted to photograph the place again, with a newer camera and working batteries.

The back entrance to Trail Dust Town. From My Tucson

Trail Dust Town is a fascinating mixture of the ostentatiously fake and silly...

...and real artifacts of a bygone era. Probably some of what looks genuinely old dates back only to when a movie was filmed here in the early 1950s (I'm assuming this really happened), but even that is impressive in a Roadside America, kitschy sort of way.

I love old tourist attractions that aren't up to modern standards of flash and realism, and don't really try to be. For example, nobody would accuse the man in the ticket office of the small gauge train depot of being "realistic!" The place is also plastered with reproductions of old posters, photos, advertisements and newspaper clippings.

The architecture is mostly typical fake Old West, but there are a few genuinely nice old buildings in a more upscale style.

And the place features a healthy dose of humor, some of it rather subtle.

Now let's go see what other Robins have always wanted to photograph!

Linking List
as of 1/15/11 at 3:30 AM MST

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Fhaye
Photodito
http://photodito.com

Jama
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Kat
In My Dreams I Can Fly...
http://inmydreamssfk.blogspot.com/

Linda
Mommy's Treasures
http://mommystreasures.blogspot.com

Freda - Posted!
Day One
http://fredamans.blogspot.com

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com/

Maryt
Work of the Poet
http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com

Sarah **Welcome, new participant!** - Posted!
Sandpit Diaries
http://sandpitdiaries.blogspot.com/

Ruth
The ScrabbleQueen Knits, Too
http://scrabblequeen.wordpress.com

A quick note - my dad is in town for the first time in five years, and on top of that I'm working at both churches later this morning. My updating is likely to be spotty, and I may not make the rounds until Monday. Please help me out by leaving a comment here once you've posted. Thanks!

KarenKaren