Hello all,
I'll be spending a bit more than a week in Arizona during the last week of August and into early September. The broad strokes of the trip are Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, and Phoenix and Tuscon areas, but I was curious if anyone here who knows the area better than I could help me fill in the details and recommend some spots I'll not want miss. I'm an avid hiker so places that require a trek would be right up my alley.
You will be only 25 miles from Hell which will be a little cooler.
Sedona/Oak Creek area is worth seeing
If you want trees and cooler temps, stay north of the mogollon rim as much as possible, in the mountains. The Grand Canyon and areas around there will be cooler, places like Hannigan Meadows (if not on fire still) are the highest and coolest. There are other mountain ranges even in the southern part of the state also. West Clear Creek was nice last time I was there, north of PHX a ways. Hiking and camping.
Phoenix is just hot and traffic and highways. Think LA in the desert.
It just depends on what you want to do, but if it's hiking I'd stay out of the low deserts in Aug, except in early morning or eves.
Garrett
flickr galleries
There are dramatic cloudscapes from the chubascos in the southern part of the state in the summer, e.g. Tucson and Catalinas from Sahuaro Natl. Monument West. In the north, check out Canyon de Chelly.
I was in Phoenix about that time last year. It's was 100 at 10:00 PM so I would only go out early in the morning. When your up north hit Jerome,Sedona,and the area around the ski resort in Flagstaff.
Monsoon season is worthy of photo ops. Watch the weather reports.
Once upoin a time I was stationed at Ft Huachuca. Nearby Bisbee is pretty photogenic. Tombstone is pretty funky (in a touristy way.)
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
I just returned from that area. My friend and mentor (and fellow LF photographer) Ian Whitehead is based out of Sedona but knows that whole area very well.
You can check out his workshop site to see many of the locations:
www.southwestphotoworkshops.com
He also offers super-reasonable one on one private workshops, even for a day.
Mark
P.S. I'm not affiliated with him in any way.
Ever since Sedona closed off the roads to the various ruins and petroglyphs to keep the riff raff from defacing the ruins it has become a hike, so early is the best. Just make sure you have lots of water with you. You can get a hiking map downtown that will show all the trails and attractions.
The GC will get hot during the day but the nights cool off, some; Depends. Last I was there there was no a/c in the lodges except the El Tovar.
Jerome is a tourist center. The town square in Prescott is a nice shot; Courthouse and nice tree's. Maybe lunch there? Goggle maps will have pictures of The Dells, lakes around the town. Wickenburg down SW of Prescott has the Vulture Gold Mine that is pretty neat and a good Mexican restaurant. You can see pictures online of anything now days.
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