Phoenix Fast

“Let’s get the temples over with,” Dave said, as we woke up in our Phoenix hotel room on Friday, May 10, 2019.  It was my idea to visit ten new LDS temples per year, and Dave reluctantly accompanies me.   He always has a better time than he expects.  "I can only be gone between Thursday and Saturday," Dave says, in light of his weekly obligations as a new LDS bishop.  I have become expert at finding cheap flights to cities with LDS temples, and efficient at planning a fun, fast trip.    

 We first visited the Phoenix temple, dedicated in 2014.  The Phoenix temple was particularly beautiful, with many panes of stained glass.  Both the Phoenix temple and the Gilbert temple included desert flowers and plants as symbols—aloe for one and agave for the other.  The new temples have murals of local landscapes in the ordinance rooms.  I enjoyed this beautiful painting of Arizona mountains and cactus.   

A docent proudly pointed out that the Phoenix temple has “one of only four oval Celestial rooms in the Church.”

The Gilbert temple is larger and more imposing than the Phoenix temple—similar, in style, to the Meridian temple near Boise.   It is 84,000 square feet and was dedicated in 2018.  It is one of the biggest and most elaborate of the new temples.  

 I love the images of plants that decorate most temples, designed into the carpets, upholstery, the stained glass windows, and even painted onto the ceilings.  They are appropriate symbols to honor the Creator of all living things.

Many temples use a local flower as an image that appears throughout the temple.

By 2:30 p.m., we had finished endowment sessions in both temples and were off to the Desert Botanical Gardens near Phoenix.

The gardens were lovely—full of spring flowers.  I wandered through the butterfly dome, the wildflower garden, the cactus garden, the herb garden, and the succulent garden, tied together by several loop trails.  Dave texted constantly, with a phone call here and there.  “All Church work,” he explained.  Hopefully, the bishop job will become less time-consuming.  

I have wonderful family memories of botanical gardens.  Jonny and Jenny often took Dave and me to the Chicago Botanical Garden when we visited them during Jonny's four years at the University of Chicago.  We sometimes gather our family for picnics at SLC's own Red Butte Gardens.

And, of course, Dave and I also spent four years in Tucson when Dave was in the Air Force, and I learned to love desert plants there.

Dave and I ate dinner at “Blanco,” a popular Mexican restaurant in Scottsdale.  We sat on the porch, on a spring day in the desert, munching on chips and salsa, and savoring being alone, together.

We spent Saturday morning at the Museum of Musical Instruments, a gem to which I want to return again and again.

My favorite area of the museum included a separate display for each country in the world, sharing its music through videos of musical performances, and through displays of musical instruments and the costumes of its musicians.

These horns are blown by African musicians.

These costumes are worn by Indian dancers.

Whenever we see an accordion, we think of our daughter-in-law, Heidi, who plays the accordion so beautifully.  Heidi told us that accordions are a popular instrument in many countries, but we were still surprised at how many displays included them--Germany, eastern Europe, Russia.

And, of course, anything Slovakian reminds us of our grandson, Grant Flindt, who recently returned from his LDS mission there.

Dave and I ate lunch at “Sala’s”, a quaint Mediterranean restaurant in a strip mall.  I love Middle Eastern food, as well as mom and pop ethnic restaurants.  This bistro had it all!  We then went next door for a cookie at “Crumb.”  

We next visited the Heard Museum.  Dave tells the story of my mother asking to visit the Heard Museum, when we met Mom and Dad in Phoenix, while we were living in Tucson.  As Dave drove into the museum parking lot, Mom said, “That’s fine.  I’ve seen it.  That’s all I need.” Today, we had two hours to wander through the many exhibitions, including the sculpture gardens.

The Heard Museum pottery collection reminded Dave and me of our driving trips through Arizona's pueblos.