Judging by the response of the locals, snow, particularly heavy snow, is a rare event in Sedona Arizona. At the end of 2014, the weather forecasts predicted that a major winter storm would hit northern Arizona. In a normally dry desert area, the impending precipitation sent residents and visitors alike scurrying to the grocery stores to stock up on supplies for the coming snow apocalypse. The forecasts were not wrong. By New Year’s Day, several inches of snow were on the ground and the red rocks where splotched with white patches. (more…)
January 3, 2015
December 22, 2014
United States National Monuments: Pipe Springs and Vermillion Cliffs
In Arizona, just across the border from Utah, are two contrasting National Monuments, tiny Pipe Springs and massive Vermillion Cliffs. (more…)
Southwest: Lake Powell by Boat
In February of 2014 we visited Lake Powell. The enormous reservoir, the second largest in the United States, sprawls between the states of Arizona and Utah. At the time the lake was less than 40% full with the lake surface was over 120 feet below the top of the active storage level. Though the low levels of Lake Powell are troubling, the receding waters reveal a portion of the canyon that has been hidden since Glen Canyon Dam was finished and Lake Powell was filled in the 1960’s. It makes us wonder: How did this place look before Glen Canyon Dam was filled? (more…)
April 28, 2014
Las Vegas: The Neon Museum
The Neon Museum in Las Vegas is where good signs go to retire. Today some of Sin City’s classic lighted signs have been rehabilitated and are on display in the museum’s Boneyard Park and along Las Vegas Avenue. It is a fitting end for these quintessential pieces of Americana.
March 4, 2014
Southwest: Lake Powell

Near Wahweap Marina on the border of Utah and Arizona, Lone Rock, an island in Lake Powell, is seemingly on the verge of becoming part of the mainland.
As of January 2014, Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the United States, is at 40% of full capacity. The water level is 121 feet below the lake’s full pool height. For (more…)
March 3, 2014
Arizona: Lower Antelope Canyon
Just outside the town of Page, Arizona State Route 98 passes over a water-carved gash the desert sandstone. Ruts are common roadside features in the desert southwest; the (more…)
March 2, 2014
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument: Paria Rimrocks Toadstools
Between Kanab Utah and Page Arizona, on the north side of US 89 between mile marker 19 and 20, is a marked trailhead that is the start of a path to a toadstool rock (more…)
April 25, 2012
Page Arizona
Page Arizona does not rank as a cultural destination. This small town on the northern edge of Arizona was established in 1957 to support the construction of the nearby Glen Canyon Dam. Page’s history is (more…)
April 16, 2012
Sedona in the Snow
Unexpected heavy snow in the middle of March altered our Sedona plans. Thoughts of exploring the parched red rock landscape beneath deep blue skies ended. Instead we hunkered inside the aluminum (more…)
June 29, 2011
Southwest: Las Vegas in the Infrared
The last stop on our 7,664 mile Southwestern road trip was at the Circus Circus KOA in Las Vegas. It was an eventful stop as Becky’s Stumpjumper (more…)