An aerial photo of Lake Powell’s Reflection Canyon displays the reservoir’s current and former water levels, along with the canyon’s looping course. By Gary Ladd
Lake Powell
When plenty of water was sloshing around Lake Powell in the 1980s, I briefly encountered Floyd Dominy, who’d been the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation when Glen Canyon Dam was completed…
Southwestern themed gift items include earrings, a Buffalo Nickel lighter and a turquoise and silver money clip.
It's Better to Give ...
Bling in the Holidays Sonoran Hoop Earrings  Individually crafted from sterling silver, these elegant hoop earrings each feature a teardrop of turquoise, which is known for its calming and grounding…
Our Lady of the Sierras includes a 75-foot-high Celtic cross on its grounds in the Huachuca Mountains. By Jeff Maltzman
Our Lady of the Sierras
R‌ising from an elevation of 5,300 feet in the Huachuca Mountains, and visible from State Route 92, is a curiosity that beckons observant motorists: a 75-foot Celtic cross. A steep, winding road…
A cactus garden and colorful ceremic pots near a Southwest style fence and gate adorn the grounds of Desert Meadow Park. By Norma Jean Gargasz
Desert Meadows Park
“For most people, Desert Meadows Park is an organic discovery,” says Chuck Parsons, president of the Green Valley Gardeners club. And that’s an appropriate way to stumble upon this 4.2-acre garden —…
Immediately surrounded by green vegetation, Tassi Ranch sits on a rugged and remote stretch of northwest Arizona. By John Burhcam
Tassi Ranch and Pakoon Springs
Since 2000, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument has protected a vast, diverse landscape on the Canyon’s North Rim — and almost no one has seen it. That’s to be expected, given that parts of the…
Joseph Specter is pictured in the living room of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, in Scottsdale.
Joseph Specter
Frank Lloyd Wright had no regard for the tall. That’s a reminder many visitors receive when they explore Taliesin West, the legendary architect’s winter headquarters in Scottsdale. During Wright’s…
Meenakshi Wadhwa poses with a scaled down model of an extraterrestrial land rover. By Paul Markow
Martian Geologist
Sometimes, to see the big picture, you have to look at the granular details. So, instead of studying the solar system through a telescope, planetary scientist Meenakshi Wadhwa examines meteorites…
This sequence of photos shows how a sliver of sunlight interacts with a petroglyph at Puerco Pueblo, part of Petrified Forest National Park, during the summer solstice. There are numerous such solstice markers in the park. Photos courtesy National Park Service
Puerco Pueblo Solstice Marker
On the day before the winter solstice, I follow Jon Hardes up a scree-covered trail at Petrified Forest National Park. I’ve come to see a petroglyph known to interact with the sun this time of year,…