Have you ever been to Arizona? Pack your bags! We’ll be departing soon! Amazing Arizona offers tremendous diversity that you can best appreciate by traveling through the state.

Arizona Sunrise in the Neighborhood

If you haven’t been to Arizona yourself you should consider it. You can be an armchair traveler who reads whatever you can get your hands on and watch travel and nature shows.  Or you can visit family and/or friends in person. They can take you places you might not have found on your own. Then again, you may scout out places your people haven’t seen. Either way, you will experience the wonders of Arizona (or wherever you choose to travel) with fresh eyes.

You will see sights you had never imagined, History will come alive to you. Observing the everyday lives of people whose places are quite distinct from your own will give you insight into differences between people.

I recommend you travel to new places, in person or via books and documentaries. Why not begin with Arizona!

You can start today as you look through my camera lens and see what I saw on our recent trip.

 

As we prepared to land in Tucson we saw mountains that seem to circle the city. One myth destroyed: Desserts aren’t always flat. The mountains looked terribly brown and lifeless to us, but when our friends Bill and Deanne took us to Mt Lemmon we saw an abundance of life. On the 9000+ foot mountain you will find five distinct ecosystems—just don’t ask mw to describe them!

Say hello to Bill & Deanne, then we’ll head over to Mt Lemmon.

This wall is left over from a Japanese internment camp on Mt Lemmon during World War II. I will share the story on Salt & Pepper Blog some time in the future.

Celebrating our 33rd anniversary with a picnic on Mt Lemmon.

See the road way below? Cactus doesn’t grow this high up.

Massive rock formations on Mt Lemon

Veteran hikers/climbers/mountain goats, Bill & Deanne! (Photo by Tom)

This little chapel is in the ski area at the 9000-foot level.

Tom captured this sunset on our way back down Mt Lemmon

We told our friends good-bye and rented a car for the rest of the trip. First stop, Sedona, about four hours north or Tucson. The weather was more unpredictable than if we’d been a few weeks later. We enjoyed seeing the famous scenery in “Red Rock Country” in the changing weather—full sun, rain and hail, dark clouds, wind… Every time we drove through the area the weather was a bit different than it had been earlier. Consequently we got a lot of photos. With two iPhone cameras and Tom’s SLR, we have about 2400 pictures we are working through right now!

Enough of that. Here are some photos of the Sedona area:

Beautiful even when it’s hailing!

While we were in Sedona we took a side trip to the south rim of Grand Canyon! Spectacular is the best work to describe it. I will share photos next week, as well as several other pictures and stories you will enjoy.

The 15 days we spent in Arizona drew our hearts to God as we saw his “wonders displayed where e’re we turned our eyes.” The video below features the Lloyd family singing in Rocky Mountain National Park. Their hymn is I Sing the Mighty Power of God. It expresses the sense of awe both Tom and I experienced as we “surveyed the ground we tred or gazed upon the sky.”

Next week’s tour includes Grand Canyon in the snow, ancient cliff dwellings, a hike into a ravine, and beautiful trees. You’ll learn where to get great sourdough bread and pastries in the Phoenix area, and you’ll meet my friend Lorie.

See you then!

Blessings,
Ginger