Traveling the world one color at a time.
Need to escape? Looking to be whisked away? Itching for travel inspiration?
Look no further than the Four Corners in the United States. This marks the place where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado come together — the only place in the U.S. where this happens.
Need to escape? Looking to be whisked away? Itching for travel inspiration?
Look no further than the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where isolated hiking trails and overgrown forests are the norm.
Chloride, Arizona, is a living ghost town.
It’s an odd village with crumbling buildings, a bizarre collection of yard art and an impressive number of tractors. More than 72 mines used to operate in Chloride, and remnants of many of them can still be seen today. There are a few small corner shops where people sell gifts and cold sodas, and occasionally a ghost is spotted wandering around, but other than that, there’s not a whole lot going on in this high desert town.
Except one thing …
Located between Boulder City, Nevada, and Kingman, Arizona, off of US 93, Chloride is the home to a massive rock mural painted by Roy Purcell. The mural is painted across several rocks that are located on the far side of the town. The entire collection of paintings stands 30 feet tall and is known as “The Journey.” It depicts several symbols that have spiritual meanings such as the yin and yang, the serpent and the sun and moon. Purcell originally painted the rocks in 1966 and 1967, and they have been restored since then, so the colors are bright and vibrant.
If you visit “The Journey,” keep a few things in mind.
> There aren’t a lot of facilities in this part of Arizona, so fill up with gas before visiting.
> Carry water with you. This is the high desert, so it is dry year round and it can be exceedingly hot in the summertime.
> Nothing protects this art, so please be respectful and avoid vandalizing it.
Click on the smaller images below to view the slideshow.
The Grand Canyon.
It is arguably Arizona’s most famous claim to fame and absolutely one of the most popular destinations in the United States. Millions of people visit the Grand Canyon every year, but most visit in the summer, when crowds are crammed at the overlooks and trails are anything but peaceful.
Visiting the Grand Canyon in the winter offers a new perspective of this famous natural wonder. There are still lots of people but far fewer than in the summer, and the pace of life is much more laid back. A few of the roads aren’t plowed, and if you venture up these hard-to-navigate trails on your own, you essentially have the entire place to yourself.
Winter at the Grand Canyon still requires advance planning: Book a room at the lodge or a cabin in advance, and be prepared for snowy conditions. Warm clothes, an ice scraper for your car and winter provisions are all necessary. But it’s so worth it. If you don’t believe me, let the pictures speak for themselves:
On our latest visit to Arizona, I found myself exceedingly disappointed by the famous Taliesin West so when we decided to hit up the Musical Instrument Museum, I kept my expectations in check and was rewarded with one of the best museum visits I’ve ever had.
The museum is very new; it’s only a couple years old. It’s housed in a beautiful building that’s worthy of noting with lots of natural lighting and open space. There is a theater on site, where a variety of performances and events are held, and workshops, lectures and educational programming is a regular part of the museum’s mission. This creative space that supports the local arts is noteworthy in and of itself, but once you venture into the museum’s exhibits, you’re definitely in for a treat.
When you pay your entrance fee into the museum, you’re given a wireless headset, which allows you to pick and choose the highlights of the museum that you’d like to learn about. Because this museum is so focused on music, having a million different sounds come from a million different places would be nothing short of chaos, so these headsets allow everyone to create the experience they’d like to have.
When most people think of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, they instantly conjure up images of the South Rim. This isn’t uncommon. In fact, many people don’t realize that there are actually two parts to Grand Canyon National Park. Though they’re separated by about twenty miles as the bird flies, getting between the two sides requires a five-hour road trip or 2 – 3 day hike across the bottom of the canyon (which also requires a permit).
Visiting the Grand Canyon isn’t like visiting other national parks. In fact, the two rims are so drastically different that they should possibly be considered two separate parks. They have different elevations, vegetation, atmospheres and activities. Which rim is best for you? Consider the following:
South RimThe South Rim of the Grand Canyon receives 90% of the park’s visitors for two main reasons:
1. It’s more accessible from several of Arizona’s largest cities and Las Vegas than the North Rim, which makes it easier to enjoy as a day trip.
2. It’s easier to catch the famous Grand Canyon views. A rim trail with several viewpoints easily accessible from the road makes it simple to enjoy the view without a whole lot of work.
I visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon over Christmas. It was snowy, cold, stunningly beautiful and surprisingly crowded. We reserved a cabin several months in advance and enjoyed the picturesque views from along the trail on the rim, which was especially lovely in the snow. Despite the cold and icy conditions, there were still several tour buses running through the park. Hermit Road was closed to traffic, but the rim trail wasn’t, so hiking along that trail parallel to the road led to almost completed isolated conditions.
