Oasis

I've spent much of my life in hot climates. Since 2001, I've lived in Colorado except for one year. I guess that I've gotten really accustomed to cool weather. This summer at home was very cool. I think we hit 90 F maybe once. In fact, I hear that we had snow on the ground at home a couple of days ago.

This photo was taken at the Tucson Mountain Museum. We got there around 8:30 AM and it was already 88 F. Yikes. Before we left Tucson, it was 104 F. That's a good temperature for a soak in a hot spring on a chilly day - not for walking around.

Tomorrow, I'm heading up to the Chiricahua mountains to camp for the next 5 days. I sure hope it cooler up there! The current issue of Arizona Highways, has a great photo of colorful maple leaves surrounding a small stream. I suspect it still to warm to see something similar.

Have Camera, Will Travel

Close up of the Lake McDonald beach.

For the next two months I'll be posting intermittently. I have a good excuse - I'm starting a sabbatical next week. During my sabbatical, I'll be traveling around the Southwest USA. For the first month, I'll be spending a lot of time with family and friends. But for the second month, I'll be hanging about the sights of southern Utah and Northern Arizona. As I'll be camping a lot, I'll have a hard time connecting to the internet on a regular basis. I will probably use my iPhone to post photos taken on the iPhone (limited by available 3G cell connections).

My rough itinerary, photographically speaking, is as follows:

• Whitesands National Monument, NM
• Chiricahua National Monument, AZ
• Saguaro National Park, AZ
• Joshua Tree National Park, CA
• Santa Catalina Island, CA
• Las Vegas NV area
• Zion National Park, UT
• Bryce National Park, UT
• North Rim Grand Canyon, AZ
• Arches National Park, UT
• Monument Valley, AZ

Any suggestions of other "can't miss" locations?