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Saturday, December 18, 2010

A Tumbleweed Christmas

You've probably heard of and seen a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree


Heck, you can even buy your OWN for a nominal fee....


But have you ever heard of a tumbleweed tree?

Me neither. Until I saw an article in the paper about a nearby town called Chandler that has a Christmas tree made out of tumbleweeds, and they've been doing this for 54 years! Watch this informative video before continuing on to my photos.



We didn't go see the tree lighting ceremony; instead we went late one afternoon during the following week. It just happened to be the night of the Farmer's Market.

Here is the tree in the light of day.



Right next to the tree sat this crib filled with realistic looking baby dolls that a woman had made and was selling at the market.


The evening temp was mild and we enjoyed strolling through the vendors and looking at their wares.


Here was a man selling some fancy olive oils and different flavors of balsamic vinegars.


Aren't these beautiful bottles? The inside is filled with white lights.

They are made by this beautiful woman named Yazmin Zamora. You can visit her blog at http://delightfulbottles.blogspot.com for more information on the bottles.



This friendly guy was offering free salsa and chips as an advertisement to a local Mexican restaurant. I was tempted to taste them, but I didn't want to ruin my appetite for dinner.




There was several restaurants to choose from, but we decided on the San Tan Brewery Company.



They make their own beers there - thus the name! Here's  one of their Master Brewers hard at work.


They offered a "beer sampler" of 7 beers. Jim was interested in trying them. He looks a little bewildered, doesn't he?


Bottoms up!



The food was delicious. Jim ordered a voodoo blue burger (blue cheese burger)


and I had the Philly steak wrapped in beer bread. Yum!



After dinner we walked back across the street to see the Tumbleweed Christmas Tree lit up at night. To my delight, there were carolers from a local middle school singing their hearts out.



Here's the tree at night.



Of course, Santa couldn't be far away.


While I was standing there taking pictures, this guy drove by with his Jeep all lit up. It was pretty strange looking. You judge for yourself.


Here's a close up taken with my flash.




Christmas joke-of-the-day:



Q. Why are Christmas trees such bad knitters?
A. They are always dropping their needles

9 comments:

becky said...

Hello Pat!
You do find the coolest stuff! I dig that tree! I saw one on yahoo news made of recycled plastic bottles. Looks like you've been having fun! I'll catch up w/ other posts later- I'm beat... but i made it back to santa fe!
:)

Valerie said...

I was totally absorbed in the tree video, Pat. So interesting. Got to take a look at the woman who made those fancy bottles. You never know, I might get some ideas.

SquirrelQueen said...

OMG! You mean all I had to do to have a tree was go out and gather up tumbleweed from around town. We have lots of it here. Dang, that is cool!

You do find some of the coolest stuff Pat. That jeep is something else.

Brian Miller said...

ha. i need to get me one of those cars...that tumble weed tree looks really cool esp all lit up...food looks great...

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Some very interesting shots Pat. Must say I would choose the decorated jeep over the tumbleweed tree. Human creativity, often born of necessity, never ceases to amaze.

Hope you are having a fine time with your loved ones. Merry Christmas to you and yours Pat.

Lynda said...

The tree looks BEAUTIFUL at night - - okay during the day. I like the tree better than the jeep. The craft fair looks GREAT - - as did your food - - other than the blue cheese . . . . Thank you for another fun day traveling with you!!!!!

Unknown said...

The photos of the tumbleweed tree are amazing. The food looks delicious, too!

Missy said...

I need a pickle now!
Great photos!

Teresa said...

love the tree and the car! you do find the coolest stuff (ditto what someone else said).