Arizona
On a recent trip to Arizona for rural land real estate work, it turned out for one part of it I was only about 1 hour away from the Grand Canyon, so if one can do such a thing, I swung by the Grand Canyon for an afternoon stroll and made these panorama photos of the canyon in less than ideal light, but at least a few clouds swooped in to help add some drama.
Read MoreWhen you visit Tucson, Arizona, you have the opportunity on the same day, to walk among a forest of saguaro cactus in the desert and snow covered pine trees atop a mountain peak. Tucson is definitely more famous for its cactus, but Mount Lemmon is a fantastic change of scenery to have just a short drive from town. If you time the drive just right, you can arrive at the peak (or rather near it, as there is no defined peak you can actually drive to) in time to see the sunset over the sweeping valley and smaller peaks below. This means when visiting Tucson you can pack both your shorts and your snow pants and use them on the same day!
Read MoreWhenever I am out of town, or in this case out of state, on extended rural land real estate shoots, despite being very busy, I always try and visit some local point of interest. So while in Show Low, Arizona for three days, I fortunately had time one morning to take a stroll around Fool Hollow Lake. The fool part of the name comes from a settler in the 1880s thinking he could farm the rocky ground surrounding the lake area. As it is today, it’s a peaceful place to walk among pine trees with changing views of the lake as you circumnavigate it.
Read MoreTaking the more scenic route back from Tucson, Arizona led to the discovery of the Salt River Canyon Bridge in southeast Arizona. This is a fantastic place to stop, take a break, and enjoy some very nice views. You can even stroll out over the Salt River on a pedestrian bridge while getting a close up view of the bridge you’ll eventually drive on to climb out of the canyon. If you have the time and do not mind a bit of a hike, you can go down to the river itself. Have you been here before?
Read MoreMy photography work in the past four years has taken me all over New Mexico, and now it is expanding into Arizona where I get the chance to check out more small towns, like Seligman, Arizona. This town is credited with being the birthplace of Route 66. It might be funny to think how a tiny town without a single stoplight would start the first great traveling road in the U.S. Of course, like all Route 66 towns, the hey day of Seligman is long past, but I still enjoy trying to listen and hear an echo of what once was
Read MoreFor me Sedona is a place of long time mystery and intrigue. It was a stop on my very first trip out west in 2000, where I ate one of the best meals of my life, a vegan chimichanga, while looking out at Snoopy Rock. I can only remember about 7 eating experiences in my life, and that is one of them. A second visit three years ago was all too brief and I could not find that chimichanga restaurant again, and lost my dog’s favorite traveling blanket. A third visit 1.5 years ago was more extended, where I got to drive my own Jeep offroad and over the most challenging obstacle I’ve ever encountered offroad. It was also the height of winter and in contrast to that amazing chimichanga meal, I had an outdoor meal (cannot remember the dish) that was one the coldest experience’s of my life. It was outdoor dining (even before Covid-19) in about 30F temps. It might as well have been 20 below. Still, I look forward to returning to Sedona again soon, this time with my mountain bike to explore the red rock like one only can from such an intimate machine. What are your Sedona experiences? Let me know in the comments below.
Read MoreRoad trips are often dotted with stops suggested by the website Atlas Obscura. Such was the case for a recent trip to Tucson, Arizona where in an open air park, one can find a life sized sculpture of The Last Supper. The sculpture is part of the Garden of Gethsemane in Tucson, Arizona which can be reserved for special events. I was wondering what type of event you’d want such a sculpture for the background of? The original painting is of course in color and seems so active. The sculpture in white is much more stark, without that sense of movement so much. Scroll to the map below fro the location of this unusual garden sculpture.
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