Southern Arizona gardens can be incredibly diverse as well as astoundingly beautiful. Our home in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains has many gardens & patios. We can easily tell the seasons by which plants are in bloom. Here are some from early April 2013. Amazon.com Widgets … Continue reading
In early April 2013, I wanted to drive the back road to Ft. Huachuca from Sonoita to view the Garden Canyon petroglyphs.
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Many folks in Tucson don’t consider a day trip or overnight road trip to Patagonia and Patagonia Lake State Park because they think it’s too far.
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We had seen so many beautiful images of Aravaipa Canyon like this one that we wanted to experience this wilderness preserve for ourselves. So, in early February 2013 I went on the BLM website and purchased permits: 4 to get us into the West Entrance on a Sunday in late February and 3 permits for the next Sunday at the East Entrance.
The permits are only $5 for each person. The BLM severely restricts the number of people who can use the Canyon at any one time. Something like 50 total. Also on a limited basis you can ride your horse through here, but you can’t bring your dog.
On a perfect Saturday in February, our friends from New York, Susan & Charlea, went with Ms. Karen, Molly Dog, & me to Catalina State Park in Oro Valley. After paying the $7 entry fee, we found a pleasant picnic area and fortified ourselves before hiking the archeological site on the ridge across the road.
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Santa Cruz County is still sparsely populated and remains an excellent destination for bird and wildlife photographers, hikers, ghost town hunters, kayakers, and other outdoor enthusiasts.
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Since 1925, Southern Arizonans have enjoyed the annual La Fiesta de Vaqueros aka: the Tucson Rodeo. This is a very successful event and well attended. The competitors are professionals and put on a great show. The Rodeo is kid-friendly and highly recommended.
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Rillito Park Racetrack is not Santa Anita or Churchill Downs. For one thing it’s a lot smaller, which is a good thing if it’s the horses and the races that matter most. No one goes to Rillito to make a fashion statement. Rillito is a historic country racetack in the midst of a bustling urban environment.
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An amateur photographer, Francie Hills is a retired teacher from New Hampshire who currently lives in Sierra Vista. We first saw Francie’s photographs at the San Pedro House, the visitor center operated by Friends of the San Pedro River. This 57,000 acre preserve protects one of the last remaining year-round free-flowing rivers in Arizona. People have lived in this area for at least 11,000 years. Here you will find pleasant hiking trails, dozens of bird species, a ghost town, and an archeological site. … Continue reading
The Earp Vendetta Ride is your chance to ride where Doc and Wyatt tracked down the men who wounded Virgil and murdered Morgan following the most famous gunfight in American history.
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I am never really sure what folks will be interested in. Some of the shots of critters and plants have received unexpected interest. I have planted, won and lost many battles with the soil and environment. Here is a sampling of the plants around my garden.
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There is a relatively new set of in-depth tours at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum that will delight anyone who wants a closer look at the critters at the museum. If you have been visiting the Desert Museum for years, this is your opportunity to learn more about the inner workings of the Museum.
Continue readingThis slideshow will introduce you to some of the sights and scenes from Southern Arizona and stories about those places. Clicking on a slide that interests you will transport you to a story about a destination or adventure. … Continue reading
Other than to explore the abandoned old downtown and a few scattered artifacts, there isn’t much to do in Clifton except take photographs and say you’ve been there. But there is a reason to go to Clifton. Clifton is the northern entrance to the Black Hills Back Country Byway, a delightful couple-hours drive through the rugged beauty of Greenlee County that takes you from Clifton to Soloman on Hwy 70 near Safford. In fact, before modern highways, this unpaved 21 mile scenic drive was the only road from Safford to the mines at Clifton. The Byway crosses the Gila River several times and offers travelers many campsites and picnic areas. The campsites are barren places with a ramada, BBQ, and firepit. The picnic areas are completely different. Some offer magnificent vistas. Others are in thick riparian areas along the Gila, particularly at Gila Box. You can see for yourself on … Continue reading
I was out the one day to get some photographs of the sumptuous clouds that form at certain times of year, adding a certain amount of interest to an already amazingly photographic place.
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I had been waiting months to return to Mesca AZl and photograph the old western movie set with dramatic monsoon clouds.
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August 2012. Ms. Karen & I were in the pool when we heard the first clap of thunder. A few minutes later, another bang, this time much closer. Our southern sky was turning very dark very fast. We headed for cover hoping this time WE would get the rain rather than just a passing storm that drops its load of precious water on some other neighborhood.
A few minutes later, it was clear that this storm was moving northwest fast. We climbed our stairs to the viewing deck and watched it pass over our neighbors house just to our west. For the next four or five minutes, this is what we saw.
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Bisbee Enclave is a beautiful and useful website about dining, lodging, upcoming events, and things to see and do in historic Old Bisbee.
Bisbee Enclave is published by local musician Becky Reyes and local photographer Charlene Mitchell. You can view more of Charlene’s extraordinary photography at EvokingImages.com.
Ghost Town Trail: A road trip through Southeastern Arizona from Gleeson to Courtland to Pearce to Cochise.
These were all mining boomtowns in the early decades of the 20th century. While each had its own distinct character, they all succumbed to the same fate. When their mines played out, the inhabitants left for better pickings.
RaVen Bifrost is an independent, professional photographer specializing in Nature, Portraits, Events, and photographic restoration. All of his images here were taken at our Desert Museum. Click here to visit RaVen’s website: Photos by RaVen. … Continue reading
In this pictoral slideshow you will find colorful scenics in and around Bisbee, Arizona describing what is so unique about this old copper mining town.
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A self-guided tour of some of the unique and colorful homes, historic and otherwise around the downtown area of Bisbee
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Our April 2012 road trip took us first to the ghost town of Gleeson (yes, that’s how they spelled it). After a look around at some of the ruins, we headed west toward Tombstone on a dirt road for just a few miles until we saw the sign for Rattlesnake Crafts, one of Southern Arizona’s stranger places. John & Sandy Weber make and sell wallets, belts, and other items out of rattlesnake skins. They also have a significant collection of gems and Old West artifacts.
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Tucson was the capitol of the Confederate Territory of Arizona between March 20, 1862, when the flag of the Confederate States of America was raised over Tucson and May 20, when the Union Calvary of the California Volunteers drove the last Confederate soldiers out of the City.
During that short period, 50 miles NW of Tucson, an engagement was fought between a Union cavalry patrol and a party of Confederate pickets from Tucson. Every year in March, dedicated men & women from all over come together at Picacho Peak State Park to reenact the western-most battle of the American Civil War: the Battle of Picacho Peak.
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Old Tucson has served as a movie studio for over 300 Westerns, TV productions and commercials. Today, it’s an Old West theme park that is both entertaining and educational. In April 2012, I attended the Western Music Festival & Art Show there and took these photographs. Old Tucson is closed to the public during the hot summer months, but is open October – May.
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