Jerry Jacka's Favorite Places

FAVORITE PLACES A PORTFOLIO BY JERRY JAСКА

“What is your favorite spot in Arizona?” That's the question I am most frequently asked when I travel about the state. It also is one of the most difficult to answer. My favorite spot may range anywhere from the red rock country of Sedona to the Sonoran Desert to the high plateaus of the Navajo reservation to the Mogollon Rim to the ancient villages of the Anasazi to the pine forests of the White Mountains to the hidden mysteries of the Superstition Mountains. It also may change from winter to autumn and from morning to evening. Anyway, you get the idea. At the risk of sounding hopelessly capricious, I must admit that my favorite spot often depends on where I am at the moment. As incomparable beauty blends with my state of mind, a special moment occurs. That may take place during a sunrise at Lake Powell, on an autumn day in Canyon de Chelly, after a summer shower in the desert, near twilight in Monument Valley, or by a waterfall along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Each time I take a photograph, I feel as though I am capturing a moment in time. Each is a “happening” that can never be duplicated.

FAVORITE PLACES

(PRECEDING PANEL, PAGES 24 AND 25) Jagged Church Rock, near Kayenta on the Navajo Indian Reservation, sits against a backdrop of snowy cliffs.

(ABOVE) A wintry Navajo Mountain looms beyond Lake Powell at Secret Canyon. Blessed with countless canyons, Lake Powell boasts 1,960 miles of shoreline.

(RIGHT) Monument Valley, a wonderland of geologic artistry 250 million years in the making, viewed here from near John Ford's Point, was made familiar around the world through Hollywood movies.

FAVORITE PLACES

(PRECEDING PANEL, PAGES 28 AND 29) The sun creates a reflecting pond atop the Mogollon Rim, mirroring a crowded stand of pines and golden aspens.

(LEFT) A rain-filled hollowed-out log awaits the deer that come to drink in this secluded glade in the White Mountains near Alpine. This photograph can be purchased through the Arizona Highways Gallery of Fine Prints; see page 47.

(ABOVE) Scenic Oak Creek Canyon was the setting of Zane Grey's Call of the Canyon.

FAVORITE PLACES

(LEFT) Eons of sedimentation created the multicolored layers of Coal Mine Canyon, southeast of Tuba City on the Navajo Indian Reservation.