Today we drove into Phoenix to visit the state capitol. We were surprised by the number of beautiful monuments outside the Capitol. Across the street are 24 monuments, commemorating things like WWII, The Navajo Code Talkers, The Persian Gulf War, The Korean War, Vietnam War, 911, the Battleship Arizona and many others. We spent our first hour or so there reading and enjoying those monuments. Then we went inside the state capitol building. We had a private tour with a volunteer named Larry. This capitol, unlike any other has a weather vane atop the dome. Inside we normally stand on the bottom floor and take a photo looking up at the dome. At this capitol you go up to the 4th floor and shoot down at the floor in the rotunda. This year is the centennial (1912-2012) of Arizona's entrance into the union as the 48th and final state, prior to Alaska in 1959 and Hawaii in 1960.
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| The Anchor from the Battleship USS Arizona |
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| The mast from the USS Arizona, sunk at Pearl Harbor |
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| The Korean War monument |
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| Monument honoring Arizona's fallen K9 dogs |
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| WWII Navajo Code Talkers |
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| The Vietnam Memorial and lists of Arizonians who died there |
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| The Arizona State Capitol Building |
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| The Great Seal of Arizona |
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| The state weather vane turns with the wind |
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| A twisted piece of the USS Arizona, sunk 12/7/1941 |
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| Arizona's flag |
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| Wax figure of Arizona's first Governor, elected to 4 non-consecutive terms |
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| Debbie with a very old cactus, could be 200 years old |
