Am sitting in the Phoenix airport, waiting for a delayed plane to go home. Was here the last three days. Most of them cooped up in a meeting to determine the final program for Greenbuild. The annual conference of the US Green Building Council.
Managed to get out a little on the last day. Went to Taliesen West - Frank Lloyd Wright's fantasy settlement in the Sonoran desert. Then did some hiking on the Camelback "mountain" in Phoenix. Finally, met up with an old friend - Anubhav Bagley and his wife Shalini. Anubhav went to high school and architecture school with me and works as a planner in Phoenix. They took me out to Sedona. The landscape was just breathtaking. It also restarted a familiar itch. Of getting behind the car and driving long distances. Not sure when I will do that again.
So did the next best thing. Came back to this b(ack)log.
Today's pictures are from the leg between Keystone and Des Moines.
Not camera shy, just asleep.
The Iowa countryside, this picture is taken after leaving Des Moines. The road was slippery and there were a bunch of cars abandoned on the median. 
Precisely the kind of (re)connecting that we were hoping to do. Mamta's cousins - Ajit and Rini and Keya. This was after a day's R&R, the second of our two day-long breaks. Fortunately, it snowed a lot the day we were taking that break.
Crossing the Mississipipi, a second time, eastbound.
Getting out of Keystone, via Rapid City.
The P&G Headquarters. Still hanging on, a ghost from another era. When the town was prosperous. Its still very beautiful and is also has several different initiatives to come out of the funk. Including our good friend Sanyog and his wife Carrie. Sanyog is, in his own entrepreuneurial way, contributing to the revitalization of his neighborhood and of the whole town.
Zaha Hadid's contemporary art center. Was closed, but looked quite nice in from the outside. Tries, with mixed success, to engage with its surroundings.
Pelli's concert center. Had seen this in drawings and models while I was in his office. The usual, post-modern, Pelli style. But with a nice and comfortable fit into its surroundings. 
Burnt out, torn down and not re-built. What much of the city looks like.
