Rising From the Desert

From Tucson, I drove north and returned to Phoenix, this time as a stop on my road west.

Coming back, I saw downtown with fresh eyes. It felt bright, open and full of public art. Bronze sculptures, tiled columns and murals turned up on nearly every block, and the light rail glided past palm trees and new towers. At the Arizona State Capitol, the historic copper dome sat at the end of Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, where monuments honor veterans and the anchor of the USS Arizona rests in quiet tribute. One of my favorite finds was a giant robot sculpture sitting on a bench, absorbed in a book of its own.

Phoenix lived up to its name, a city that keeps rising and reinventing itself. Returning as I was reinventing my own life made the visit feel especially fitting.