When Winter Comes Calling

W INTER OAK CREEKCANYON

ALL SEASONS OF THE YEAR ARE EXCITING IN ARIZONA, but one of my favorite times is winter. That is when Nature blankets the mountains in white and challenges photographers to view familiar scenes differently. So it is with Oak Creek Canyon. It is on these crisp, cold days when few visitors are there that I am able to sense the varied visual stories the canyon wishes to tell. Within the subtle groupings of sparkling ice-laden trees and white, pillowlike, snow-covered rocks against a backdrop of red canyon walls, Nature speaks vividly. These images are the visual winter songs and stories Oak Creek has told me through the years. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did photographing them. (LEFT) Near Sedona, red-hued cliffs soar above Schnebly Hill Road. (ABOVE) A mantle of snow embellishes a stand of vanilla-scented ponderosa pine trees in upper Oak Creek Canyon.

(PRECEDING PANEL, PAGES 28 AND 29) Nature unleashes an early winter storm upon the north end of the canyon. (ABOVE) Spiky agave plants endure a blizzard's frigid legacy along Oak Creek in Slide Rock State Park. (RIGHT) In winter dress, a spot along Oak Creek awaits the approach of deer and other wildlife that come to quench their thirst in the glacial waters.