Category Archive

Last Thursday night in Williams, Arizona.

We moved to Williams, Arizona – a cute, little historic town that has done a great job at embracing its Route 66 history.  Tomorrow we head up to Page and Northern Arizona red rock country!

We moved here partly because campground reservations weren’t available for the weekend in the Grand Canyon -and it put me closer to some other places I wanted to photograph.

It also put me closer to Phoenix, which is where I was for my nature photography seminar Saturday at the Desert Botanical Gardens.  I had a great time, and meet a bunch of really nice, passionate photographers.  I look forward to doing more.

Another beautiful evening at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona!

A couple of people enjoying a sandy beach along the Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.

Descending into the Grand Canyon is such a different experience then standing on the rim.  It is far more then escaping the crowds. It is feeling and seeing the river up close.  It is the change in perspective – looking up at the massive canyon walls instead of down into them.  Your perspective changes with every step into the Canyon – it is an amazing experience!

Sunset last night over the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona.

By the way, in case you are in the area, I’m doing a nature photography workshop at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens this Saturday.  It will be a three hour workshop followed by a two hour photo walk afterwards where you can practice what you just learned.  The price includes admission into the gardens.  I have more then 40 signed up with room for a few more.

We just spent a wonderful couple of nights camped along Bright Angel Creek – the brown tent is ours although we put it away for the second night so that we could sleep under the stars.

Staying in good shape is a requirement of the occupation of outdoor photographer, and we try to either run, ski, bike or hit the gym daily.  Unfortunately Janine and I have both battled some kind of lung infection and haven’t been able to work out at all for a couple of months.  Despite looking forward to this hike for months, we almost pulled the plug fearing we couldn’t pull it off.  At the last minute, we decided to suck it up and do it, hoping our prior conditioning would be enough, and we are both so glad we did!

I’ll share more about the trail in the future, but it is challenging.  The top is over 7,200 feet and morning temps were near freezing.  At the bottom, almost 4,800 feet down, the afternoon temps reached 97!  Like most hikers, we spent a good portion of the afternoon sitting in the creek to cool off.

We hiked down on the South Kaibab Trail, but returned on the Bright Angel Trail.  At over nine miles, the hike out on the Bright Angel Trail is two miles longer then the hike in, but offers more shade and water – two very desirable qualities!  Like most hikers, we got up at 4:30 to pack for the hike out – this was key, especially coming from Alaska where we aren’t used to the heat.

The campground is just across the Colorado River and a short distance up stream on Bright Angel Creek.  It was so peaceful and relaxing listening to the creek, and watching that deer the frequented our camp.  The stars at night were the icing on the cake!

As I mentioned yesterday – Monday I take off for Prince William Sound and Cordova.  Ten days later, I fly to Anchorage.  Dump my rain gear and Xtra-tuff for shorts and Tevas and fly to Arizona for a month!

Really excited about this trip.  We were able to obtain some hard to get back-country permits to hike and camp down in the Grand Canyon.  We spent one cold winter night there almost a decade ago, and ever since then I have wanted to return with the time to really explore and photograph this beautiful National Park.  Unfortunately, even months ago, reservations for campground and hotels for the North Rim were already full, so we will concentrate on the South Rim.  Didn’t think the North Rim would be the hard one for reservations.

From there, we will spend time in Page, Arizona where I plan to explore more slot canyons and other attractions in the area.  We have also rented a boat for some Lake Powell exploration.  Not a fancy house boat, but a little Lund skiff – big enough for tents and sleeping bags for some beach camping under the stars!

Finally, we will end the trip with a short visit to one of my favorite National Parks – Zion!

After that, it is back to Alaska for summer and it will be on!  The next 5 months should be very busy – just how I like it!

I thought this was a fitting photo as we have been working on plans for an extended trip to the Grand Canyon this upcoming May, and possibly another one next September / October.  Although, it sounds like getting back country permits can be a bit tough for the popular areas during those popular months, so we really won’t know much until January at the earliest.  One of these years I think it would be fun to stay at the Phantom Ranch, but I haven’t had any luck there, and read recently that a cabin at the Ranch is one of the hardest reservations to obtain in the United States.  I think I’ll just keep trying every month, and if we get lucky one of these days then we are on it!

This was from our last visit to the Grand Canyon during an extended Winter trip through the Southwest back in 2004 – I can’t believe it was 8 years ago, wow how time flies!

The one thing that stands out from this morning was the camping in single digit temperatures – it was cold!  Seemed strange that at the time Arizona was colder in February then it was back home in Alaska.