It is one of the most iconic photos on Instagram, seeming to come right out of a Windows background. Horseshoe Bend, where the mighty Colorado River makes a perfect U-turn, is a bucket list destination for so many people, myself included. But it is just one part of a much larger system, defined by the…
I hope you are all enjoying my stories from Northern Arizona. While those will continue for the next few weeks - I love when a trip gives me so many things to write - it is time for my next trip. I have spent a TON of time in Northern California, but relatively little along…
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…
Editor’s note: for those who think the national parks are just about majestic scenery, our resident parks expert Christian is here to disavow that with a look at one of a huge portion of park sites: national historical parks. For more of his amazing writing, click here to visit his index page. I live in…
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…
Editor's note: Great Basin is at the top of my national parks wishlist, and I'm grateful to our NPS expert Christian for his glimpse into it! For more of his amazing articles, click here. In his 1962 book Travels with Charley: In Search of America, John Steinbeck describes the then-fledgling interstate system as “a slash…
Editor's note: Like Christian, I also love White Sands National Park, both for its unique white gypsum sand and the ability to run as fast as one can down a dune. It is worth a visit, and Christian's page (click here) is as well, especially if you like national parks. I’ve always made an effort…
The desert air is dry and warm, even on this late fall day. The heat of the summer has faded, but winter rains - rare even during the later months - have yet to quench the thirst of the earth. Blue skies, white clouds, brown dirt, gray rocks: the colors combine on the canvas of…