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I am based in Phoenix with the idea that it is the hub for nearby road trips that will open up good venues for exploration and photography. My list of potential trips is growing and the locals tell me I am only getting started. So far my guess is they are right. For every day trip it seems like it opens several more in the same area.

A short trip to Wickenburg, NW of Phoenix, took us to ranching country and all things western. “Rope’n” is a rodeo type event that attracts enthusiasts from all over Arizona and beyond. Simply, setup a steer in a corral, add two horseback riders, let them loose and give the steer a stretch from behind and in front. Yahoo!!

Walks in the desert are great this time of year. The cactus are varied and the snakes are hibernating. We have visited the White Tank Mountains and it is only a 20 minute drive from our camp.

We did a special thing for our daughter who is an aspiring architect. We took a Taliesin West tour. It was the western workshop of the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It is located in the desert near Scottsdale Arizona and it full of architectural experiments. It was known as a school for apprentice architects in Wright’s time and he was a great believer in getting close to building materials and that certainly was the case for the adoring students: slave labour under a great teacher.

We spent Christmas at Sedona and it was a return trip to continue the exploration of the area. It is very touristy and in most seasons extraordinarily busy. The reason: it is extraordinarily beautiful. Another trip is already planned. One last stop on the trip was the Chapel of the Holy Cross and at Christmas is seemed like the peak of a pilgrimage. The church is perched on a steep rock hillside and overlooks the valley with a red rock background. It was loosely designed by Frank Lloyd Wright during the ’30s depression and built by another architect. The only shot in the following set of images was looking through the building at mid-day.

Happy New Year everyone and best wishes for 2014!!

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Traveling in northern Arizona gives lots of opportunities for photography. The terrain goes from 2000ft to 6000ft elevation and temperatures from 18C to 0C in short distances. Be prepared for winter as some of the areas have snow and not just a skiff.

Went on a hike to Devil’s Bridge near Sedona in snow and ice. I saw footprints on part of the bridge and that gave me the jitters. The bridge is a narrow chunk of rock that spans about 50ft over a steep hillside. The climb up was tricky and the notion of walking the bridge was not happening. No pics !!

Although I did get some shots along the way.