Explore the journey — one trail, museum, meal, and memory at a time.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Hike
I hiked to the old Victoria Mine before 8 a.m., walking four miles through saguaros, organ pipe cactus, cholla, and creosote bush in the Sonoran Desert. After signing out at the trail register, I left Arizona, stopped in Ajo for coffee, photographed a massive desert aqueduct carrying Colorado River water, and made my way toward Lake Mohave for the night.
Drive to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
I left Benson, Arizona debating whether to drive south to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The desert drive revealed abandoned buildings, desperate handwritten signs, and miles of roadside graves. Inside the monument, I learned how organ pipe and saguaro cacti sustain birds, bats, and Indigenous communities. It was a day of beauty, weight, and reflection in the Sonoran Desert.
Bisbee, AZ
I spent a full day wandering Bisbee — climbing public staircases, photographing layered homes and eclectic shop windows, learning the town’s mining history, watching deer eat cactus in someone’s yard, and ending the night with long exposures on a nearly empty Main Street. Bisbee feels accumulated rather than planned — part boomtown, part art colony, completely its own.
Saguaro National Park
I hiked Wasson Peak in Saguaro National Park’s western district via King Canyon and the Hugh Norris Trail. Eight miles, mostly uphill, through dense stands of saguaro cactus, early desert wildflowers, volcanic ridges, and wide Sonoran Desert views. The climb was hard, the summit expansive, and the conversations along the trail unexpected.
Quartzsite, AZ
After finishing taxes near Bouse, I drove into Quartzsite, Arizona — winter home to massive RV gatherings, gem and mineral shows, and long-term BLM camping. I explored the town, learned about Hi Jolly and the Army’s camel experiment, and settled into quiet dispersed camping under the desert sky.
Sedona to Bouse, AZ
What started as a simple travel day from Sedona toward Quartzsite turned into a detour through Bouse, Arizona and an accidental drive deep into BLM land. Along the way, I passed the enormous TSMC semiconductor fabrication plant rising from the desert before settling into a quiet campsite just as the sun dropped behind the mountains.
Antelope Canyon - Page, AZ
I woke at Walmart in Page, Arizona and headed to my Deluxe Tour of Lower Antelope Canyon. With only one lens allowed, I chose the 14–24mm and stepped into sculpted Navajo sandstone shaped over thousands of years. The tour covered Navajo culture, flash flood history, and the famous images that made the canyon iconic. By afternoon, I was driving south toward Sedona and editing photos by evening.
Horseshoe Bend
Leaving Hurricane, Utah, I headed south into Arizona, driving through the charred remains of the 2020 Mangum Fire in Kaibab National Forest before stopping at the historic Cliff Dwellers Stone House. The day ended at Horseshoe Bend, where the Colorado River curves 1,000 feet below the rim near Page, Arizona.