Native American | Russ Bishop Photography

September 13, 2023September 13, 2023

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park is unique among the nation’s natural sanctuaries. Almost entirely a wilderness preserve, it surrounds a major metropolitan area yet manages to retain its remote and wild feeling. Just minutes from the city lights of Tucson you’ll find yourself immersed in a world rich in Native American history and the striking flora of the Sonoran Desert.

Two units separated by the city, the Tucson Mountain District to the west and the Rincon Mountain District to the east, provide two unique environments. Signal Hill in the Tucson Mountain District includes hundreds of ancient Hohokam petroglyphs surrounded by dense saguaro forests and wonderful views of the local mountains.

The Rincon Mountain District to the east includes the land protected in the original monument before it became a park in 1994. It’s a desert sky island home to bears, cougars, and the elusive kudamundi. This side of the park has fewer saguaro than its western counterpart, but they are larger in size due to greater amounts of rainfall and runoff from the Rincon Mountains. Rising from the desert floor to over 8,500 feet, these rugged peaks even support a temperate conifer forest – rare in this desert climate.

The American southwest is a fascinating land of beauty and contrast. And for anyone searching for great desert photography, a chance to connect with past civilizations or simply find desert solitude Edward Abbey style, Saguaro National Park is a prime destination.

October 25, 2022October 25, 2022

Pecos National Historic Park

Nestled in the lower slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains 25 miles southeast of Santa Fe, Pecos National Historic Park encompasses the remains of one of the largest and most influential Native American pueblos in the region. Long before Coronado and Spanish influence arrived in 1540, this pueblo village was the major confluence of trade between the people of the Rio Grande Valley and the hunting tribes of the buffalo plains.

The rich mixture of history and culture at Pecos also includes the Santa Fe Trail and the Civil War Battle ground at Glorieta Pass, where the Confederacy’s last hopes of taking the goldfields of Colorado and California vanished. Today the park is far enough from the interstate and the bustle of Santa Fe that the only sound is the wind whispering through its adobe walls like spirits from the past.

It’s easy to forget that for centuries this was a major crossroads of North America and with over 12, 000 years of history preserved, it really is one of the hidden gems of the National Park System.

September 29, 2021October 21, 2021

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona is one of the classic destinations in the American southwest. Rich in Native American culture and dramatic geology, it rivals the other more well-known parks in the region, yet it sees much fewer visitors.

Although it is managed by the National Park Service, this unique monument is located within the Navajo Indian Reservation, and many local families still live and farm within the canyon walls as their ancestors have done for nearly 5,000 years.

The Park encompasses two major canyons, Canyon de Chelly (pronounced ‘de-shay’), and Canyon del Muerto, both of which include many outstanding Anasazi cliff dwellings perched precariously along the canyon walls. And while there are many excellent viewpoints along the rim drive, nothing compares to a hike down into Canyon de Chelly to visit White House Ruin.

This dramatic ruin is an icon of the Colorado Plateau, and the only part of the inner canyon accessible without a Navajo guide. It is a wonderful photographic study in light and shadow as the afternoon light bathes the desert varnish of the imposing sandstone walls above.

Arizona is known as the Grand Canyon state and while that natural wonder is in a class by itself, the smaller scale and equally dramatic vistas make this special park well worth the detour when exploring the Four Corners area.