I went to Arizona with family for two weeks in April. While I had been to the Grand Canyon before (and to Gunsite near Paulden) I have not really explored the state. With my brother recently relocated to Scottsdale I was able to combine a little tourism with family. The state has incredible scenery. This first shot was from our hotel in Sedona, called the Sky Ranch Lodge next to the Sedona airport. The lodge is also walking distance to one of nicest restaurants in Sedona, also with a fantastic view, at the airport called the Mesa Grill.





With my wife and daughters we rented ATVs and banged around on dirt trails in the Red Rocks area all around Sedona.





We went both north and south from Scottsdale. This one is from the Wukoki Pueblo at Wupatki National Monument a little north of Flagstaff.





Not everyone likes deserts as much as I do, but Southern Arizona has all the iconic desert views and flora. This is a shot from the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens towards Camelback Mountain.





As with my new approach to photography, these are with just one lens, the 28mm f1.8G Nikkor. It's much lighter and less cumbersome than a zoom, with better image quality (to my eye) than the zoom lenses I can afford.

Many years ago we had friends who moved to Arizona .They sent a subscription to the magazine "Arizona Highways" A magazine always filled with WOW photos .Yours reminded me of that . Thanks

My back yard! Great photos.

I love the country surrounding Wupatki.

Beautiful country. Nice pics and thanks for sharing.

Wink,

Magnificent as always.

There are some very strange cactus in Arizona.

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
There are some very strange cactus in Arizona.

That is a chain cholla.

My family has been in Arizona since just after the Apache wars and I have watched our state's population explode beyond reason during my 80 years on this planet.

We have no scenery, our hunting and fishing is non-existant, there are no jobs, our food is terrible, and we are downright unfriendly to anyone from "back east" (anywhere east of El Paso) or California.

If you have been thinking about moving here, I suggest you instead consider New Mexico, the land of enchantment.

Bill Quimby

Gee Bill, every place has its problems. Yours may work out.

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
Gee Bill, every place has its problems. Yours may work out.

My rant was tongue in cheek, of course, but Arizona certainly was a much better place back when the population was only a million or so.

Bill Quimby

Wink:

My rant was tongue in cheek, of course, but Arizona certainly was a much better place back when the population was only a million or so.

Bill Quimby

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
There are some very strange cactus in Arizona.

That is a chain cholla.

We have cholla in limited numbers here in the Mojave Desert. I hated those with a passion when we lived in New Mexico and Arizona as a kid.

Nice looking place you have there in Arizona. I'll pack up my junk and head over from California to look for a homestead.

Not everyone that lives in California is from California. Kern county is arguably more Republican than any county in Arizona.

One from the Boot Hill cemetery. Apparently one should avoid irritating the people of Bisbee.

Wonderful photography Wink. I envy people who have a nack for it. Sedona is a beautiful place.

Tough to beat the desert in the Spring for beauty. Trick is to be there at the right time.

Grizz

Very nice William!

Wink, it is indeed a gorgeous state. I was in Phoenix a year ago for a memorial for my aunt, the last of her siblings to pass, at age 98. While there, we drove north and then east, and down in the Pleasant Valley War country where my grandfather ranched before and after World War I and where all my aunts and uncles were born. I had forgotten just how beautiful and diverse the landscapes of Arizona can be. Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos.

Wink,

You were really close to that Mexican lunch I spoke of earlier with the Boot Hill photos. I live 17 miles from Tombstone.

I'm 15 miles north west of Prescott in Williamson Valley, just off the heel of Granite Mountain, an hours drive from where many of the above photos were taken.

Our place is northeast facing, with views all the way to Flagstaff, over 100 miles away.

The demographics of my neighborhood include deer, javelina, the occasional elk, quail, dove and pigeon you have to literally beat off the patio. There is an ass-kicking contest every afternoon between my two labs and a gang of 20 to 25 quail at the water trough in my yard.

Summer temps almost never go above 95. Winters bring about 3 inches of snow once or twice a week which usually melts by 2PM.

Here we are, almost in June, and at 5600 feet it's still cool enough for an evening fire in my cowboy cauldron out back.

Everybody has a house full of guns and while the wives trade recipes, the guys trade loads for their favorite cartridges.

Our trucks hold three things, dogs, guns, and golf clubs. Guys have been known to shoot a quail or two off the fairway........

Now if everyone else would just stay away.....

Thanks, Wink.

Your superb photos make me miss home so bad I can't describe

Great photos! I love the scenery in Arizona, and especially the big thunderstorms once the monsoon season hits. I'm headed to Peoria and Glendale next week to coach baseball... Arizona isn't quite as nice when you're on a field and it's 115 degrees!

It'll be much nicer in September when I'm antelope hunting up in unit 10!

Although I took a ton of scenery pics, the best part for me was having daughters with a more than average sense of adventure doing it with me.






Like their mother, I think being born in Africa and raised in a bunch of different countries contributed to their eagerness to climb any mountain, hike any trail and camp in any wilderness.


One last one near Oak Creek in Sedona.

Wink: More please.

Bill,

Too many cactus pictures might spoil it for whomever's planning to go.

My wife on Devil's Bridge:

Typical street scene in Tombstone.

Nice pictures Wink. Makes me a little homesick!! I moved to Flag in 74. Spent many days at Red Rock crossing playing backgammon and enjoying a magnum bottle of Blue Nun while attending NAU. Currently spending time in Mobile Alabama taking care of aging Mother-n-law. Hope to be back there enjoying my friends and drier weather asap.

I guess I never posted my Monument Valley pics. I'll give it a try.

On the road from Mexican Hat.



My brother checking out the view.

Wink:

I've been by Monument Valley a couple hundred times on 160 and never had the chance to go check the area out as I was driving a semi loaded.

I see now why I felt it was a place I needed to go see. thank you, glad you had a great trip.

George

It's really too bad all the photos I posted that were hosted by photobucket have gone wonky. I'm too lazy to redo all of them through Imgur, at least for the time being.

very nice pictures, it is a great place to live

quote:

Originally posted by KWard:
very nice pictures, it is a great place to live

Indeed.