EDITOR'S LETTER

One thousand and twenty-five. That's how many issues of Arizona Highways we've published in our 85-year history. This is No. 1,025. With that many magazines in the mix, we've had an opportunity to feature hundreds of different subjects on our covers. Everything from John Wayne to Geronimo, wildflowers to white-water rafting, and the Grand Canyon to Greer. And the list goes on. And on and on and on. Although we've repeated themes over the years Sedona, saguaros, San Xavier we've never repeated a cover photo. Until now.

To do something like that, we'd have to have a pretty good reason. And we do. The first time we ran this photograph was in December 1946, and it was the centerpiece of a piece of history. That issue was the first all-color magazine ever published in the United States. National Geographic wasn't first. Life wasn't first. The Saturday Evening Post wasn't first. Arizona Highways set the standard, and it's something we're very proud of. We're also proud of that cover, which was shot by a young man named Barry Goldwater.

Mr. Goldwater, as most everyone knows, would go on to become a well-known statesman in Washington, D.C., but his passion for photography was always as powerful as his love of politics. He spent most of his lifetime behind a camera, and along the way he amassed an amazing portfolio, which was featured in a recent book by Michael Goldwater Sr., the son of the late senator.

One day a few months ago, Michael called me and asked if I'd like access to the collection. It was a rhetorical question, I presume. Of course I wanted access. Not only did Mr. Goldwater have a long history with the magazine, but we also had our third-annual Photography Issue coming up, and the senator's collection of spectacular landscape shots and equally amazing portrait photography would fit in perfectly. It was an easy decision to put one of the Goldwater images on the cover, but none of us expected to use The Shepherdess, the same photo that was used in 1946. It just sort of happened that way.

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Photo Editor Jeff Kida and I were poring over the images with Barb Denney, our art director, when we came to The Shepherdess. Almost in unison, the three of us blurted out, "That's the cover." There wasn't any debate. The image, which is slightly different than the one we ran in 1946, is as captivating today as it was 64 years ago, and it's definitely worth repeating. However, instead of running it in color, as we did in 1946, we opted for the ironic twist of running it in black and white. The Shepherdess is one of many Goldwater photos in this issue. The rest are featured in A Goldwater Family Album, a portfolio that wouldn't have been possible without that call from the senator's son. Thank you, Michael.

While I'm at it, I should also thank Alexander Graham Bell, because it was another phone call that led to our piece on the Hoover Dam. Around the same time I was reveling in the Goldwater collection, photographer Jamey Stillings called and asked if I'd like to see his exclusive images of the Hoover Dam Bypass bridge, which is under construction and expected to open this fall. Coincidentally, I'd just been at the site a few weeks earlier, andwas mesmerized by the magnitude of the $240 million bridge. While I was there, I tried to take some photos, but realized it wasn't possible unless your name is Jamey Stillings. As you'll see in Bridging the Gap, his photos are as impressive as the construction project itself.

Great photography, it turns out, is a common theme in this issue. You'll see another series of breathtaking photographs in All Dressed Up, John Running's rare portfolio of Hopi Indians in their ceremonial dress. There's even more to look at in Best Picture, which features the winners of our second-annual online photography contest. Like last year, we had some incredible entries, but the best of the best was a photo titled Spotlit Sand Falls by a young man named Chikku Baiju. You'll be impressed by his photo, and also by his age. He's only 18, which is half the age of Barry Goldwater when The Shepherdess landed on our cover in 1946. Although Chikku hasn't gotten a cover yet, it's only a matter of time. This kid is that good. Plus, we do a lot of covers at Arizona Highways.