For this week’s challenge, I have chosen pictures I took last December in Arizona. We traversed the state from Tucson and south, to the Grand Canyon, visiting Phoenix and Sedona in between.

We took a day trip to Tombstone and Bisbee. Bisbee is a picturesque town nestled in the mountains south of Tucson; it gets freezing temperatures and snow every year! It was cold the day we were there, but no snow.

Tucson: We spent a week in Tucson, with also unusually cold weather. We visited a cousin of mine who lives in a planned community called Milagro. Our last day there, we finally had perfect weather, and went hiking in Sabino Canyon, which has many photo opps of scenic landscapes!

It isn’t uncommon in Arizona, with its breathtaking landscapes, to see artists who have set up their easels to paint the scene. We saw another such painter in Sedona and at the Grand Canyon.

Finally we reached the Grand Canyon – at night. The next morning, we saw that about two inches of snow had fallen during the night! It was a very cold day, but I had never seen the Grand Canyon in the winter before. The snow on the cliffs adds a stark beauty. We drove west on a snow-covered road along the South Rim.

I couldn’t decide among these pictures – is there such a thing as a “bad” landscape picture at the Grand Canyon??

These ravens weren’t in the least bit shy. We got out of our car to admire the view, and they didn’t fly off, just sat there eyeing us with curiosity.

It amazes me, looking at the Colorado River from above, that it was responsible for carving this majestic place, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world. What will this canyon look like a million years in the future?

 

Note: Most of the pictures were taken with a Kodak Digital camera. Some were taken with a Samsung Galaxy 5.