Kingman, Arizona

We spent the morning West of Tucson at Saguaro National Park and at the Sonoran Desert Museum. We couldn't believe how much greenery was growing in this formidable desert!

The Saguaro Cactus grew in abundant forests that boggled our minds!

We stopped in Surprise to visit my dear sister, Norma and her husband Victor. Such gracious hosts. They have a lovely, welcoming, home, decorated with wonderful Navajo and Guatamalan art and artifacts. Their cultures blend as beautifully as their lives have.

It was so good to spend a few hours catching up.

We enjoyed a wonderful Mexican dinner with them before driving on to Kingman to spend the night.

Phoenix, Arizona

Cameron, Arizona, where we spent the night. Wonderful, reasonably priced accomodations, with a superior gift shop, restaurant, and convenience store.

The LDS Chapel in Cameron is small but nice.
The Grand Canyon is breath taking always. But this time of year is special. Cool, but nice, clear and greening, small crowds and plenty of peace and majesty.

I prefer the North Rim for visiting, but the South Rim has so many wonderful lookouts and grand vistas. It is clear that if you want to avoid the crowds, hit the North Rim.
Near Flagstaff, as we headed down Oak Creek Canyon we found a family out building a snowman in the fast melting snow.

Sedona was so beautiful, and congested, and beautiful, and under construction, and commercial, and beautiful. We ate at Wildflower Breads and enjoyed the artisan breads and great food.

The Mesa Temple was more imposing than we expected. Very beautiful with wonderful grounds. The tangerines were ripe on the trees.

We drove to Tucson and spent the night.

Cameron, Arizona

We began our day with the lovely drive from Cedar City to Zion National Park.

Here are a few photos of the beautiful time we spent there soaking in the sunshine and being inspired by the majesty.

The temperature was mild, around 65 F. Yet the trees were bare and melting snow was pouring off the gigantic stone walls.

I loved that the winter sun was still at an angle, making for interesting light, sharp contrasts and unusual shade patterns.

The Great White Throne is always awe inspiring standing so solitary and imposing amongst the canyon walls.

While the portion of the canyon that is drivable is relatively small the number and variety of vistas seems infinite. Time of day and position of the sun make for an endless variety of views in the ever changing constancy of these magnificent stone walls.

During the Great Depression the CCC boys did much of the work in our early National Parks. Here is a beautiful example of their workmanship. We think the presence of man has artfully enhanced the beauty of this special place.

A peek from one of the portals in the l.l mile tunnel leading to the park's east entrance. An engineering wonder, completed in 1932.

We drove to Kanab where we had a wonderful lunch in a great little diner called Rewind. Check out at Fiddling With My Food.

We continued on to Lake Powell and made a stretch stop at the Glen Canyon Dam.

From there we drove to Cameron, Arizona on the Navajo Reservation. Cameron has a wonderful motel and restaurant complex. Very pleasant atmosphere and reasonable rates made this a prime stop on our journey.

All of the photos are clickable to get a larger more detailed view. I didn't have time to Photoshop them, but I think they're pretty good and representative of what we are seeing.