Valley of the lights

What a wonderful Christmas holiday! Another unexpected adventure -- a trip through the Valley of Lights over in PV. Invited by the same lady who did Christmas Eve. I had hoped to pay a visit with the dotter and GD, but Mom's illness, unfortunately, clobbered those best laid plans.

You'll have to bear with me -- I was shooting from a car (stopped, however, for most pictures), it was night and I had no tripod, so some photos, such as the classic toy soldier above, are composed of multiples of multiple lights!

The snowflakes through the front windshield worked very nicely. They were the upper part of a light tunnel above the roadway (below). In the distance, a Santa, reclining in the islands after a long night.

Yes, there were many traditional Christmas scenes, such as the visitation of the angel Gabriel to the three wise men.

But most were on the wrong side of the car, like this smear of poinsettas and candles.

So my best pictures were of the quirkier scenes rendered in lights. Such as Snoopy as the Red Baron -- and, in the background, the Energizer Bunny. As well as the dozer (below), which moved the "M" in Merry from one side to the other.

Plenty of wild west pictures. The old town, above, and a stagecoach, below.

Scenes from a rodeo, natch.

Even a desert coyote baying at the moon. The entire production is sponsored by the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, with members sponsoring individual displays that range from a Cinderella castle with coach to a huge peace-on-earth dove and a Statue of Liberty. Lights are on from 6 p.m. to midnight through December 30.