Above/featured: Northeast on US-60/AZ-77, through the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, just outside of Show Low, AZ.
The following takes place entirely on the 15th and final day of our drive through the American Southwest. Departing Tucson, Arizona, we headed north and east on AZ-77, US-60, and I-25 into New Mexico for our destination in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We drove through a variety of landscapes in east-central Arizona and west-central New Mexico for a mighty 856 kilometres (532 miles).
October 2018.
The following takes place entirely on day 10 (of 15) in our drive through the American Southwest. Day 9 was a long one on the road: from Flagstaff, we drove north on US-89 and US-89A next to Echo Cliffs and Vermilion Cliffs, and ending up at North Rim for our first-ever visit to the Grand Canyon. After overnighting at Cliff Dwellers Lodge, day 10 began with a stop at the Rock Houses nearby, then retracing the previous day’s drive back to Cameron, before turning west to spend the rest of the day at the Desert View section of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. That began our first-time visit to the South Rim, spanning two days (days 10 and 11).
Total distance from Cliff Dwellers to Flagstaff (via South Rim): 217 mi (349 km).
Above/featured: Ruta 5 (highway 5), a ribbon-like cut through the desert in Región de Atacama, Chile – 24 Nov 2009 (450D).
It’s an interesting question: how does one consider, view, or photograph what’s under the sun? There’s a lot of room for interpretation. Modifying the theme for the desert sun, I examine the “quality of sunlight” within the Atacama Desert in northern and north-central Chile, and within the Sonoran Desert in southwest United States.
Above/featured: Vermilion Cliffs loom over the new and old Navajo Bridge at left and right, respectively.
The following takes place on the first half of day 9 (of 15) in our drive through the American Southwest. From Flagstaff, we’re heading north on highway US-89, past Cameron, through the northern limit of the Painted Desert, and next to the Echo Cliffs. At Bitter Springs, the highway splits, and we head northwest on US-89A to Marble Canyon, where Navajo Bridge crosses over the Colorado River. The highway continues west into the Arizona Strip, below Vermilion Cliffs, past Cliff Dwellers, and into House Rock Valley.
Above/featured: Continental Divide. Rising to the north are red Entrada sandstone cliffs (Iyanbito member) from the middle Jurassic period about 170 million years ago. The cliffs are part of a geologic formation extending from northwest New Mexico into northeast Arizona, southeast Utah, and west-central Colorado.
The following takes place entirely within day 8 (of 15) on our drive through the American Southwest. From Santa Fe, New Mexico to our destination Flagstaff, Arizona, the day-long drive began on the short leg I-25 south to Albuquerque. This stretch of I-25 is along a part of the colonial road El Camino Real and parallel to the pre-1937 alignment of the now-famous highway US route 66 (US-66). In Albuquerque, we turned right onto I-40, heading westbound for the New Mexico-Arizona state border and beyond. The total distance was a little over 650 kilometres (400+ miles).
• Historic Route 66 (US DoT Federal Highway Administration)
• New Mexico US-66 Association
• Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona
• Why Route 66 became America’s most famous road, Vox on YouTube, 16 Aug 2019.
On US-60 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.
We’ve passed through a field of cinder cones and we’re heading southeast and slightly downhill to Springerville: a town founded in 1870 with present-day population about 7000. At the location shown above, the road is shared by three highway designations: US 60, US 181, and US 190. It’s mid-October, and Escudilla Mountain in the distance has already been topped with snow. For us, snow is no worry, but the low fuel gauge is, and we’ve set aside time to stop in town to tank up.
I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/500-sec, f/16, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEN.
Above/featured: I-17 Sunset Point Rest Stop, near ghost town of Bumble Bee: Black Canyon City, AZ – 17 Oct 2018 (X70).
A memorable road trip through the American Southwest included over three-thousand miles of driving through Arizona (AZ) and New Mexico (NM). We encountered many small towns: some of them were easy to pass through, while others were “must see”. We wanted to stop in as many as we could, but time and itinerary were as always the usual culprits. Guess we’ll have to return.
On US-60/AZ-77 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.
We’d already seen highway signs marking down the distance on our approach to the town of Show Low (founded 1870). As we drive through, we stop at a traffic light and discover we’re on “Deuce of Clubs Avenue.” That’s not exactly coincidence; sure enough, the name of the town and the name of the “main street” are all due to a high-stakes game of cards. In a game of the “lowest card”, the deuce of clubs is said to have won the game. We don’t have time to stop in town to explore the story some more; we’ll have to come back.
It’s also here in Show Low where shared highway AZ-77 and US-60 part ways. With AZ-77 continuing north to Holbrook, we’re on US-60 east to Springerville.
I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/500-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEL.
On US-60/AZ-77 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.
About halfway between Globe and Show Low is the very scenic Salt River Canyon Rest Area. It’s a great place to stretch the legs, descend to the river canyon below, or walk across the 1934 bridge which is now only for pedestrian use. The replacement New Salt River Canyon Bridge (Apache Bridge) opened in 1996. The river and rest area lie on the territorial lands of the San Carlos Apache and the White Mountain Apache peoples. The Salt River flows west and converges downstream with the Gila river in southwest Phoenix.
I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEz.
On AZ-77 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.
Located 146 kilometres (91 miles) north from Tucson, AZ is Pinal Pass or El Capitan Pass. The mountain crossing is at elevation 1519 metres (4983 feet) with coordinates 33.263 degrees North latitude and 110.772 degrees West longitude, and is located at the southeast corner of the Tonto National Forest. The view shown faces northeast, and I can’t help but wonder what it might have been like for the indigenous or colonizers to have trekked west from what is now New Mexico through Arizona and onwards to California. The inscription for the historical marker at the roadside stop reads:
This pass was used by Stephen W. Kearny’s Army of the West in a march to California in 1846. Guided by Kit Carson it was described in a journal of the trip as “Carson’s Old Trail”. The pass led around the impassable canyon on the Gila River where Coolidge Dam has been constructed.
I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEl.
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