Lowell Arizona Erie Street Historical Main Street

March 03, 2020 in Photo Story

Erie Street lives in the past and present

Not quite a ghost town, not quite totally forgotten, but Lowell, Arizona is certainly in the past. Walking down its main street (and only street), Erie Street, you pass storefronts full of dust covered merchandise, classic cars, a Greyhound bus waiting for no one, pool halls, and a gas station that is not exactly full service anymore, even if you were willing to pay more than 22 cents per gallon! This place fascinated me. In front of the Greyhound bus I just sat right on the sidewalk for 20 minutes trying to listen to the stories coming through the cracks of the sidewalks, the walls, the signs.

Saguaro Cactus of the Sonoran Desert in Tucson Arizona

February 06, 2020 in Nature & Wildlife

Saguaro of the Sonoran bold and odd alike

A random stop lead to exploring the Sonoran Desert in Tucson, Arizona for the first time. When most imagine what a cactus looks like, they picture a saguaro standing tall with its arms out. This section of desert had on display a wide variety of odd, tall, and even dying saguaro cacti. I was impressed by the size and boldness of a saguaro standing naked in the desert. Knowing they do not start to grow their first arm until age 70 really puts the longevity of these desert flora into perspective, especially when you see one with 4 or 5+ arms.

Hollywood Stunt Show at Old Tucson

January 30, 2020 in Photo Story

Home to movie stunts past and present

Kind of on a whim we decided to visit a small theme park outside of Tucson, Arizona called Old Tucson, mostly because it allowed dogs inside! This park was a functioning movie and TV show set for decades. You start in the park by seeing many movie posters of stars who walked on the same dust you get to walk on. It’s not just all old buildings though. This park is very much still alive as exhibited by this amazing Hollywood stunt show! The stuntmen demonstrated how to take a punch, how to shoot a gun loaded with blanks, and how to fall off a ladder pushed off of a ledge! This place is definitely worth checking out, and no need to leave your dog at home!

Walking across Devil's Bridge in Sedona Arizona

January 22, 2020 in Photo Story, Nature & Wildlife

Line up for the Devil’s Bridge

Hidden on the back of a mesa in Sedona, Arizona, the Devil’s Bridge is a stunning rock formation with a long line of people waiting to take a photo on it. There is a long way and a less long way to reach the Devil’s Bridge in the first place. Having a Jeep Renegade Trailhawk allowed us to take the less long way, as a mile of very, very rough road was bouncily traversed in the Jeep. After the still not insignificant hike to the back of the mesa, I think I noticed the long line of people before actually noticing the Devil’s Bridge itself! How does something like this naturally occur? It’s just another wonder of Nature. One cannot actually cross the bridge as it would take a hardly leap to get back to the side of the mesa, which I contemplated doing, but with much of it still snow and ice covered, that is something only possible in the summer. I did not wait in the line to stand on the bridge, but you can see Jessica in the top photo standing out on the Devil’s Bridge. As you can see, the red rock view’s from the bridge are not bad at all either!

Domes of Casa Grande

January 16, 2020 in Drone, Photo Story

Beyond Computer Domes

Atlas Obscura is a great resource for finding odd places to stop when traveling between places. In this case, we were driving from Sedona, Arizona to Tucson and made a 40 minute detour to see the Domes of Casa Grande. Atlas Obscura describes these domes as being built around the late 1970s for computer manufacturing, but were never actually completed as you can see in the aerial drone photos below. What are the rumors for what happens in the domes and its tunnels now? Nothing less than maybe satanic worship. The area is totally fenced off with no trespassing signs as they have been slated for demolition, but still stood as of January 2020.

Submarine Rock Sedona Arizona Drone Video Fine Art Photography

January 09, 2020 in Drone, Nature & Wildlife

Red rocks for explorers in Sedona

Sedona, Arizona is famous for its red rock mesas. I wanted to see one that could not easily be seen just by driving down a paved roadway. Such are the conditions that were the catalyst for seeking out Submarine Rock. Only serious off road vehicles can make it out to this mesa, or you could go on a long hike on foot to reach it as well. The trusty Jeep Renegade Trailhawk made it, and allowed me to fly my drone and take out my camera to share this video and these photos with you of this majestic and mysterious landscape in Sedona.

Elk in Snow in the Grand Canyon Arizona Wildlife Photography

January 08, 2020 in Nature & Wildlife

Elk of the Grand Canyon are real characters

When I first arrived at the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona, there was a bit of down time before I could actually go and see the canyon itself. Fortunately for me, a group of elk was foraging right across the street. This was my first time to photograph elk like this. It turns out these animals are real characters sticking out their tongues at me, laughing, and getting themselves covered in snow just to make a photo more interesting! Thank you Grand Canyon elk for being so photogenic and letting me get some great wildlife shots!