Since the start of the pandemic, Antelope Canyon, considered by many to be the most beautiful slot canyon in the world, has been closed. The canyon lies on Navajo lands just outside Page, at the northern tip of Arizona, and - like all Navajo lands - has been closed to the public for health and…
Images of the American west and its complex history seem to focus on ideas of lawlessness, of wildness, and of conflict. In popular culture, we picture the gun fight at the OK Corral, miners fighting each other for claims to get rich quick, taverns and brothels being the closest things to “civilization” within a hundred…
Bright blue skies, the way it seems only Arizona can do bright blue skies, greet me as I begin my walk, the kind of sky that makes you feel so small and insignificant, like standing next to the Pacific Ocean. White puffy clouds break up the blue here and there. Having dropped their rain a…
What makes a culture impressive? What makes a building project awe-inspiring or an engineering feat worthy of praise? Questions like these spiral through my head as I gaze at the ruins of Casa Grande, a four story building constructed by the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People. The desert air here in central Arizona is dry and…
It’s been almost fourteen months since I returned from Spain, leaving that trip three weeks early because there were *gasp* more than 100 daily cases of this new coronavirus there. I figured I’d ride it out back in Los Angeles, returning to travel by summer at the latest. Little did I know I’d spend the…
Editor's note: it gives me immense pleasure to introduce Tamara Parkhurst, our newest writer here at The Royal Tour. Tamara, as our first writer with children, will largely focus on travel with small kids, like this quick getaway to the gorgeous Sedona, Arizona. To read all of her articles here at TRT, click here to…
Editor's note: It gives me great pleasure to introduce Dan Warren, our newest writer here at The Royal Tour. I've known Dan since kindergarten, traveled with him on several occasions, and am lucky to consider him one of my closest friends. I know you'll love hearing his perspective on travel and the world. His index…
When I moved to Phoenix in 2004, I had fairly low expectations. It's just a place you drive through to get somewhere better, I thought. I was wrong. I would spend two years living in the desert sprawl, time I thoroughly enjoyed, and over the last decade plus, Phoenix has only gotten better as a…
Editor's note: I, too, have spent time at Petrified Forest National Park, and it's fun for me to follow another writer's story, in this case our resident park expert, Christian. Mine can be found here, for comparison's sake. To read more of Christian's adventures, click here. I’m fortunate to have been to Petrified Forest National…
Who says turning 39 means having to always be an adult? The question runs through my head as I unabashedly bang a large drum in the experience gallery here at the Musical Instrument Museum, an incredible modern institution in north Phoenix. I smile, my beating getting louder as I attempt to accompany the group of…