Round Robin: Spring Cleaning the Sphinx

Hi, everybody! In this week's Round Robin Photo Challenge, Steven has given us the topic Spring Cleaning. Now, I did actually take a "before" picture of my desk two weeks ago, but since then I haven't gotten around to much of what you might call "cleaning." (Let's give John two minutes here to expound on this subject, and me a further minute in which to promise some action in this area.)

But that's boring anyway. I've got a much better clean-up project to show you. And it didn't require any work on my part. Remember my three recent trips out to Magic Carpet Golf? (You can see all of the entries here.) Well, I've got shots of volunteers sprucing up a few of the sculptures out there, and before-and-after shots of several others. Let's take a look!

When I first photographed the monkey on April 4th, he was in sad shape.


When I returned on Thursday, April 24th, two days before the One Last Round benefit, he had received at least one coat of paint, most likely during a volunteer paint-a-thon the previous Saturday.


Unfortunately the paint didn't quite manage to cover everything evenly in one matching color, and camera flashes on the night of the benefit picked out imperfections on this and other figures. Even so, he looked much better than before.


When I pulled up to Magic Carpet on the 24th, one of the first things I noticed was that volunteers were painting this sort of hut thing.

A few feet away, Stoneface was looking much, much better.

Here's how he looked before the work started. Remember?



He looked even more dramatic the night of the benefit, although this is not his best angle.


On the Thursday visit, around to the side, I saw this fellow hard at work on one of the largest figures of all.

I wasn't sure the Sphinx needed as much work as some of the other figures. Certainly it looked good as the kid was working on it.


But again, night shots and flash later revealed imperfections in the paint matching and coverage. On the other had, this sphinx still had its entire nose, so score one for Tucson!


Perhaps the most startling paint job was the one that rendered this change in this snake. On the night of One Last Round, he was quite the colorful fellow - and with glowing eyes, too!

Also on the night, I saw a volunteer replacing a lid on the crocodile after some quick adjustment or repair.

I don't mean to criticize the quality of the painting. It was wonderful of the volunteers to put in the time and effort, all for one final day of miniature golf. Some of these figures, in whole or in part, will now be moved elsewhere. Others, including, I suspect, the sphinx, will be destroyed to make room for a car dealership at the site. You see, these huge cement structures weren't designed to be moved, ever.

But at least people took the time to give them a spring cleaning before their last hurrah.

The other part of this RR topic is supposed to be 3 suggestions for future topics. As it is, I wrack my brains weekly for the Monday Photo Shoot assignments, but here are a few, based on tonight's entry:

Statues - photograph a statue of some sort. It can be as large as the Sphinx in Egypt, or as small as a bowling trophy.

Fresh Paint - photograph something before and after it's painted. It can be a bedroom, a bridge, a piece of canvas...anything!

Volunteers - photograph volunteers helping out in your community - collecting litter, giving blood, helping the homeless, tutoring kids...whatever!

Karen

Now go see everyone else's spring cleaning!

Linking List

Steven - Posted
(sometimes)photoblog
http://www.sometimesphotoblog.com/

Carly - Posted
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com

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

Momma - Posted
Sandcastle Momma
http://sandcastlemomma.blogspot.com

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

Wammy - Posted
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com

Martha - Posted
Perception
http://journals.aol.com/lifes2odd/perception/

Lisa - Posted
Lisa's Chaos
http://lisaschaos.blog-city.com

Sarah - Posted
Charish Me
http://Charish-me.blogspot.com

Vicki - Posted
Maraca
http://mymaracas.blogspot.com/

Angela - Posted
Chocolate Syrup for the Soul
http://www.angelas-craziness.blogspot.com

Marie
Photographs & Memories
http://journals.aol.com/mariebm56/PhotographsAndMemories

Robin
Robinella's
http://notastepfordwife.blogspot.com/

Kiva - Posted
Eclectic Granny
http://eclecticgranny.blogspot.com

Kim - Posted
Nekked Lizard Adventures
http://nekkedlizardadventures.typepad.com/

Julie - Posted
Julie's Web Journal
http://www.barrettmanor.com/julie/journal.aspx

Teena - Posted
It's all about me!
http://purple4mee.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Robin - Posted
Robin's Woods
http://robinswoods.blogspot.com/

Golf in the Dark

I ended up not golfing at all at the Magic Carpet benefit for Valley of the Moon, but I did make a donation for the cost of a round. Then I walked around taking pictures, as did a lot of other people. Here are a handful of the 149 shots I uploaded from my camera tonight. (Okay, about half a dozen shots were of the dogs.)

Golfing through Stoneface.

One of the figures I could not see from the perimeter
on previous visits was this green alien.

I finally got close enough to the Buddha for a decent shot.

Kids play Crocodile Hunter.

The dinosaur has a visitor.

Ooh! Ghosties!

A band played by the back gate. No idea who they were.

I think he's a tree.

A polka dotted octopus.

Monkey!

More tomorrow - with words, even.

Karen

On to the Last Round

I stopped by Magic Carpet Golf on Thursday after work. Unlike last time, the place was far from deserted. Volunteers were finishing up preparations for Saturday's fundraiser, "One Last Round," to benefit a bizarre local landmark called Valley of the Moon. I really need to get to that place someday.


One reason I went back over to Magic Carpet on Thursday was that this week's Tucson Weekly had articles on both Valley of the Moon and Magic Carpet Golf. The latter article said that volunteers trimmed the foliage and painted the sculptures last weekend in preparation for the benefit. Sure enough, I noticed immediately that the snake was much more colorful than before. I wish I could say it was an improvement, but really, it kind of looks ridiculous in pink and purple. Ah, well. Nor was everything painted. The monkey still had bare spots, but was as lovable as ever.


I made my way around the side and to the back, taking pictures of everything I could see. A teenager was painting the Sphinx, and the alligator (crocodile?) was bright green. The giant skull was bright white, and the Buddha...well, that looked a little odd, actually, but it's hard to get close enough to photograph it.



Around the back I noticed this bike rack. I never did quite figure out what the head at one end is supposed to be.


The front and back gates were open so that the volunteers could get in and out. I struck up a brief conversation with a man about the painting of the sculptures. He told me that volunteers last weekend pretty much haphazardly picked the ones they felt like working on, including these ghosts. "But oh, well," he said. At least some of the painting got done. "And there will be an art auction here on Saturday," he told me, not for the giant sculptures but for donated paintings and such.


Back around the front, I didn't dare walk onto the property, but I did take more photos. And I found another major sculpture I'd missed before, this sort-of kachina. It was probably hidden behind foliage last time.

And the Easter Islandish tiki/stone god figure was looking much better. The graffiti had been cleaned off and the eyes were lit, as indeed they were on most of the sculptures. It turns out that moving them to new homes is going to be harder than they thought, because they aren't designed to stand up to being moved. One woman I talked to expressed hope that the tiki figure will make it to Fourth Avenue as planned. "It belongs there," she said, because the Fourth Avenue crowd will truly appreciate it.

During One Last Round, there will be a disc jockey stations on top of the head; nobody else will be allowed to climb up. She doubts that climbing will be allowed at the statue's never home, either, since it would be "an insurance nightmare." Still, there's a chance that the new owner, Doug, will let us get away with it, if and when it reaches Fourth Avenue, based on past acquaintance. The woman (my apologies for forgetting her name!) also said that the stone god figure was never officially a tiki, or even an Easter Island statue. "Its real name is Stoneface," she told me.

I seem to have blown my chance to register for a round of golf tomorrow, but there's a good chance I get get a walk-in slot tomorrow afternoon. And yes, you can bet I'll bring my camera.

Karen

The Last Magic Carpet Ride; Tuffy's Equal Time

I have several topics in mind tonight, but no time to cover them all, after a day of Round Robin, obsessively watching the brand new Doctor Who episode 3 1/2 times (the last time with commentary), dishes, photo editing and visiting a friend in the psych ward of an infamous local hospital. More on that last bit another time; for tonight I'll settle for a quick follow-up to last night's Round Robin entry.

Easter Island Man has a pet bull. Or maybe it's an ox.

Another refugee from a different part of the world, the Sphinx has
a hole in his side. And it's not from someone tunneling for treasure.

Nearby, a Buddha must be sought in a more natural setting.

A decrepit snake hangs around.

Mr. Monkey is a mess.

Know where we are yet? It might or might not help if I tell you the snake hangs out near an alligator, an octopus, a five foot red ant and a 20-foot stalk of three foot flowers.

The entrance: blocked, closed, and locked. No trespassing.

So were are we? Here:

This is one of those quirky, local miniature golf courses that once were found all over the country. Built in 1969-1970, it closed a month or two ago. There is going to be a car dealership there soon.

And no, I didn't trespass to take these photos. I walked around the three-sided parking lot just outside the perimeter fence, and shot everything as best I could. In theory there are 36 holes here, so I'm sure there are many statues that I didn't see at all.

The banner that says "ONE LAST ROUND" explains that there will be one last opening of the place later this month to benefit Valley of the Moon, another bizarre, whimsical, crumbling relic of Tucson's past. I've got to get down there one of these days. It's sort of like Chattanooga's Rock City, from what I've read. They're going to take some of Magic Carpet's statues, but not all of them. A former employee of John's at Cornerstone, Doug Finical, is going to take our Easter Island man, which he and the newspaper article I saw call a Tiki head. Fair enough. It's going to be outside Fini's bar on Fourth Avenue, Tucson's student, arts and counterculture district. Good for him!

They're still looking for homes for some of Magic Carpet's statues. John? How do you feel about a 20 foot tall monkey in the back yard? Or giant flowers? How about a snake?


More on Magic Carpet Golf:

The Yuckiest Little Golf Course in the West (not as negative as it sounds)

Magic Carpet Golf's tiki head finds a home on Fourth Avenue

History of Magic Carpet Golf, with photo gallery

*****

I said I had photos of Tuffy to offset last night's Pepper picture. Here are two of them, a day late for Steven's Feline and Furball Friday. But look! I captioned them!





Enough. Must sleep now. Good night!

Karen

Round Robin: Captioned Characters

Carly has come up with a fun change of pace for this week's Round Robin Photo Challenge: "Your Perfect Scene Captioned."

I usually do captions anyway, except when I substitute long-winded explanations instead. But they're usually just text beneath the photo, nothing especially clever or ambitious from a visual standpoint. So this time I'm upping my game slightly, and adding the caption onto the photo itself, thus:

Bonus caption: Someone got blood from a stone.

Darn it. I've had the Rolling Stones playing a one-song concert in my head for at least an hour now. Someone call Martin Scorsese!

Carly actually asked for our one perfect scene, but you know me: I'm not big on minimalism. I tried, but I can't make myself post just one picture tonight. I'm posting three of them. Considering I shot 77 photos after work today, keeping the uploaded ones down to three shows a fair amount of self-discipline!

Palo verde trees taste like chicken. Or maybe yams.

Have you figured out yet where I photographed Rexie and Easter Island Man? I'm not giving the answer in this entry, but I'll have much more to say about them before the weekend is over.

Last one, this time with more ambitious photo editing effects:

Pepper indulges her favorite activity in her favorite spot.

I did take some Tuffy pictures by way of parity, fairness and doggie detente, but I'll hold out the results for another night. What I will say is that so far, Pepper still has no clue that she shouldn't run in the opposite direction when we call her by name or tell her to come. But she has developed the habit of following me to different parts of the house, and lying just out of reach, or running to the couch in the expectation that I'll follow her there. Yep, she's doing her best to train me!

Now let's check out everyone else's perfectly captioned scenes!

Karen


Linking List

1.Carly - POSTED!
Ellipsis
http://ellipsissuddenlycarly.blogspot.com


2. Lisa - POSTED!
Lisa's Chaos
http://lisaschaos.blog-city.com


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


4. Wammy - POSTED!
The Ellis Family Cincinnati
http://theellisfamilycincinnati.blogspot.com


5. Martha - POSTED!
Perception
http://journals.aol.com/lifes2odd/perception/


6. Jan - POSTED!
The Prytz Family
http://theprytzfamily.blogspot.com/


7. TJ - POSTED!
TJ's Photo Expressions
http://tjphotoexpressions.blogspot.com/


8. Nancy - POSTED!
Nancy Luvs Pics
http://journals.aol.com/nhd106/Nancyluvspix/


9. Swampy - POSTED!
Anecdotes, Antidotes, & Anodes
http://anecdotes.typepad.com


10. Janet - POSTED!
fondofphotography
http://www.fondofsnape.com/


11. Monica - POSTED!
Family Affair Photography
http://familyaffairphotography.blogspot.com


12. Marie - POSTED!
Photographs & Memories
http://journals.aol.com/mariebm56/PhotographsAndMemories


13. Vicki - POSTED!
Maraca
http://mymaracas.blogspot.com


14. Jennifer Robin - POSTED!
Robin's Woods
http://robinswoods.blogspot.com/


15. Jill - POSTED!
Letting Crazy Take a Spin
http://lettingcrazytakeaspin.blogspot.com/


16. Kiva - POSTED!
Eclectic Granny
http://eclecticgranny.blogspot.com


17. Suzanne R - POSTED!
Living . . . Suzanne R's Life
http://newsuzannerslife.blogspot.com


18. Molly - POSTED!
Return of the White Robin
http://returnofthewhiterobin.blogspot.com


19. Kim - POSTED!
Nekked Lizard Adventures
http://nekkedlizardadventures.typepad.com/


20. Steven - POSTED!
(sometimes)photoblog
http://sometimesphotoblog.com/

21/24. Robin - POSTED!
The Yellow Brick Road
http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/TheYellowBrickRoad/entries/2008/04/04/turtle/2435
http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/TheYellowBrickRoad/entries/2008/04/05/round-robin-challenge/2436


22/23. Robin - POSTED!
The World thru my Eyes
http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/TheWorldthruMyEyes/entries/2008/04/05/another-turtle.../2007
http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/TheWorldthruMyEyes/entries/2008/04/02/dragonfly/2001

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

26. Sarah - POSTED!
Charish
http://charish-me.blogspot.com

27. Kat - POSTED!
In My Dreams I Can Fly...
http://journals.aol.com/sunflowerkat321/in-my-dreams-i-can-fly.../

28. Chrissea - POSTED!
Chris-seas Corner
http://chrisseas-corner.tripod.com

29. Cameradawktor - Welcome New Member! POSTED! 4/6/08
Trouble Always Has A Door
http://troublealwayshasadoor.blogspot.com/

30. Jama Hameed - POSTED! 4/7/08
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com/