I can still hear it plain as day -- her urgent silence against the deafening roar of the falls -- and it chills me to the bone. I emerge from the swirling stream below the waterfall and see my sister-in-law Chris walking towards me... "Where is Dan?" I shout to her. Her mouth is moving, [...]
Jutting shards of Squaw (Piestewa) PeakTo many Native American tribes, rocks are the "stone people," or Ancestors. I was in a sweat lodge once and the huge volcanic rocks in the pit glowed red like searing hot sponges. The holes in the rocks, along with the shadows from the fire (or maybe it was my [...]
"If anybody is not blown away by the Grand Canyon, they won't be blown away by Judgement Day, either. To spend the night on rocks that have been warmed to 120 degrees by the sun, to feel the incredibly insistent and very dangerous Colorado River rush by you, to be down in the depths of [...]
Not too long ago I received a random, seemingly innocent text message from a good friend: "Hey, just wondering -- which Vegas chapel did you guys get married in?" Needless to say, it didn't take a huge mental leap to figure out something was up...I give full credit to my persuasive texting skills that, after [...]
I didn't breathe a word to anyone, but as we climbed down out of Pueblo Canyon, I was secretly thinking to myself, "there's NO WAY we're doing another hike tomorrow." The plan had been to tackle Pueblo Canyon, the harder and longer of the hikes, on day one, and follow up with a quick out-and-back [...]
It was a motley crew that set out from our house early Saturday morning. I had proposed a little expedition after reading an intriguing article about the Sierra Ancha in Arizona Highways magazine a few months prior and was really jazzed when a few people actually seemed serious about accompanying us. Aside from my husband [...]
I still have to pinch myself when I realize I've been married for three years. Not only has it been much more enjoyable than I ever anticipated, but the time has absolutely flown by! It's interesting to observe what type of 'married people' we're turning out to be. Being my first go-round (it's my husband's [...]
Two years...I can't believe it! My conviction that I wasn't the marrying type aside, I have to admit that even after three blissful (pre-marriage) years with my betrothed the thought of marriage was absolutely terrifying to me. Ruminating on the concept of my every day and every hour being lived out in the same space [...]
Southwest Adventurer 