Author Archives: smivic

A Big Hole In The Ground (2nd Post)

A number of years ago I was walking back to my truck after visiting the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim. A couple was approaching me when I heard the lady squall out “I don’t get it,  it’s just … Continue reading

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Blackfoot Pathways

40 miles to the north of us lies Missoula and its newspaper, The Missoulian (a town much like my Flagstaff, its newspaper owned by the same owner as The Arizona Daily Sun). On September 21st, I opened my daily Missoulian … Continue reading

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Valley of Death

Why? More on this later. For now, I’ll rely on the NPS. Why is it called Death Valley? Death Valley was given its forbidding name by a group of pioneers lost here in the winter of 1849-1850. Even though, as far … Continue reading

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Dropping Into Mono

Visits to deserts have often been a part of my life. I was raised traveling to them, led by a father who could have been a “Desert Rat” but for needing to make a living. We traveled east out of … Continue reading

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Monuments

I am in awe of sublime monuments. When I stand in Lone Pine, Ca and look up at the granite scarp of Mt. Whitney, my soul rises. When I listen to Samuel Barber’s Agnus Dei, I imagine standing in a … Continue reading

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Roadies on the Prowl

The road rolls by. It is Saturday afternoon, the first day of another Road Scholar tour. This one, a photographic tour, is starting just 4 hours after my previous tour ended with a Colorado River float trip. I’m tired, but … Continue reading

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Forest Castles

“The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music” sang Maria Von Trapp, rejoicing in escape into her refuge as the nazi turmoil approached. The hills are still alive and still a refuge. In them I find forests of tall … Continue reading

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Giants

A sense of place, over time, can be magic. That’s what I found recently as we followed a trail of names. Tired of our small space next to a dusty trail, Jessie and I flew the coop. We went north, … Continue reading

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Forest Rising

The forest was dense with trees and bushes, its shade cool and calming. I was sitting in that shade, among the bushes, gathering the magical berry of the northwest, the blue (Cascade) huckleberry. Such an activity up in the northern … Continue reading

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The Trip North

I had to travel north. When I talked of my 19 hour challenge, my wife suggested a twist: make it an unexpected adventure. I did, traveling the first twelve hours from Tuba City, Az, past Monument Valley (tightly closed), through … Continue reading

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