Arizona Highways

Cover for August 2015

The whole magazine is like this cover to cover. I'm stunned. 

Articles include 

* Editors letter, Land of Ahhs. 

* Tumacácori national historical park 45 mi. SW of Tucson protects ruins of three Spanish colonial missions. Mostly shambles. Shambles make great photographs. 

* San Francisco Peaks Toll Road that tried to copy Pikes Peak in Colorado in Humphreys Peak in Arizona but failed.

* Change of Scenery, photographer talks about changing from skateboard photography to scenery.

* Allen Reed, iconic photographer, incredible photograph of native American women.

* Dining, Grand Canyon Coffee & Café.

* Nature, Mexican Garter snakes. Photo.

* The Best of Arizona, scenic wonders of each of Arizona's 15 counties. Stunning photoessay of the entire state.

Lesson from photoessay. Shoot sunrise and sunset. That is all.

* Ba'cho, Mexican wolf, reintroduction causes conflict between elders and traditionalists with outfitters and big-game hunters. Photos of Mexican wolves.

* Wing Commander, California condor, muchos fotos.

* Grandview loop, Grand Canyon's South Rim trip.

* Hike of the month, O'Leary Peak Trail, North Rim  of Grand Canyon.

* Where is this? Guessing game to place an oddly elaborate metal bridge.

I don't know what it was, Joe didn't say, but he began to have self-doubt about a certain lack of appreciation he sensed for his gift subscriptions to Sunset magazine. How did he know? Were we unable to answer specific magazine-related items that indicated we hadn't bothered reading it?  Some kind of hint that the magazine is more nuisance than interest? He asked me about it directly. I couldn't be that brutally honest. He's too nice. I answered indirectly.

I told him it was odd, at the Caulson's ski-house in Breckenridge of the pile of magazines there the favorite of visitors was Arizona Highway. They went through a whole stack of them. I hadn't heard of it before. It seemed a strange subject. Turns out, they have excellent photographs. That's all I remember about it. Who knew highways can be that interesting? But they are.

Boom, the magazine shows up. (I hope Sunset is gone) If he did that with other people too, are they ever be in for surprise.