Drone footage provided by the builder. Production by Mark A Silva.
Exploring in my Explorer; Ocotillo to Taliesin /
First unplanned stop - The dunes in east Imperial County. So many times driving by, I’ve always wanted to stop, so this time I did. Don’t drive off the pavement! Almost got stuck in the sand, but between my fast reaction and the Explorer’s great 4WD and low gear reverse, I BARELY escaped, with heart pounding and adrenaline pumping.
Next unplanned stop - Painted Rock Petroglyph Site. Saw the sign at 80 mph…. turned off to check it out. 11 miles in and back, yes that works. Amazing site. Huge group of stones in a round mound many covered with ancient petroglyphs. The site is considered sacred and healing by many Native American tribes.
My place to stay, the Arizona Biltmore. Some controversy as to the level of Frank Lloyd Wright’s involvement in this resort. Two things were very clear to me, he was heavily involved in the conceptual design, and he was not involved in the design followthrough during construction. It appears that’s his hand in the drawing from 1928, and its documented he designed the blocks. Regardless, its a beautiful resort and amazing to experience its design. I would definitely recommend if you have to stay in Phoenix.
The Next Day - Taliesin West. First thing displayed once you’re in, are petroglyphs. I had no idea, when I made that decision to go off path to visit that petroglyph site the day before.
It goes without saying this is a stunning complex to see and experience. I strategized well, I was out front of all the people in the self-guided tour. While they were all listening to their headphones and app, I was exploring everywhere that was on the tour, all by myself. Got to see, feel, and experience it all without anyone else there.. Always wanted to feel that canvas roof in the drafting room. No words really. Both a humbling and motivating experience at the same time.
Z House + Winery Construction Update /
Shooting The Desert /
New Santrosyan Videos /
Photoshoot For A Local Issue /
Summer Desert Ride /
Z House + Winery Construction Update /
Black Moon Vineyard
Z House Construction Update /
Architectural/structural gluelam beams carefully being implemented. Trusses up in the outbuilding and roof sheathing on. Think we can store a little wine in there…. and the Z House team.
My Stair Design Featured on Fine Home Building Website /
Highly talented architect & writer Duo Dickinson presents a very informative talk on stairs. This is a clip of where he uses my stair design as a featured piece for discussion. The entire talk is at this link.
Exploring in my Explorer; Chiloquin to Ocotillo - Day 5 - Final /
New Jack City, aka Sawtooth Canyon. South of Barstow, in the class of a small Alabama Hills with different geology.
A Monastery in the desert. I saw it on google and the monks were very nice to me when I just showed up with my camera. An amazing juxtaposition of images in the desert environment.
Turns out, they are in the process of building a giant church/conference center. Once they learned I was an architect, the monks were fine with me wandering around the construction site on my own. Using a type of ICF building material for the walls, and some HUGE steel beams for the main space. As the final leg, this was a fitting segue back into my “architecture with meaning”. Funny how things work out sometimes.
Exploring in my Explorer; Chiloquin to Ocotillo - Day 4 /
Oldest living individuals on the planet - Bristlecone Pine Trees. They live at 10,000 ft elevation. Don’t miss the beautiful and bizarre ancient forest just east of Big Pine, CA. The road to the forest is equally amazing, climbing 6,000 ft.
Exploring in my Explorer; Chiloquin to Ocotillo - Day 3 /
Day of Lakes and waterfalls; Grant Lake, Silver Lake, June Lake, Virginia Lakes, & Lundy Lake. Always take that road less traveled.
Exploring in my Explorer; Chiloquin to Ocotillo - Day 2 /
Truckee River, Lake Tahoe, Emerald Bay & Misc. Countryside
Exploring in my Explorer; Chiloquin to Ocotillo - Day 1 /
Meeting up with old friends in Lake Almanor, and random countryside.
Integrating Landscape With Architecture /
Crater Lake, Oregon /
Exploring in my Explorer; Ocotillo to Chiloquin - Day 7 /
Arrived in Chiloquin. A fire station in Susanville, various travel adventure shots and Mt. Shasta.
Exploring in my Explorer; Ocotillo to Chiloquin - Day 6 /
Lakes today, Eagle and Almanor. And random shots to and from.
Eagle Lake - A shrinking lake. Had the similar sad feeling as Salton Sea but without the toxicity. Boat ramp ends about 300 yards before the water and the small marina looks like its been closed for a long time. Oh, and there’s a Ronald McDonald House there, yeah.
Lake Almanor - A beautiful area. You can see the damage across the lake from the Dixie Fire in Lassen last year, just devastating.
Exploring in my Explorer; Ocotillo to Chiloquin - Day 5 /
Travel Day. But first, my morning walk. Today along a creek trail in Lee Vining, CA. And a cool truck along the drive…
