Images of Arizona

In 2000, I visited the north rim a second time, this time with my father, but because of a fire, there were no notable pictures. I passed through again in December, 2000, stopping at the Painted Desert. In August, 2001, I visited the San Pedro Riparian Area, and in April, 2002, I passed through Arizona on my way to Big Bend.

	The North Rim The north rim of the Grand Canyon is a much less visited location, and is harder to reach. It is 1000 feet higher than the south rim (So you can feel like you're looking down on those who only visit there!).
	The North Rim The rim has longer side canyons, and is more beautiful.
	The Colorado River from the North Rim The Colorado River from the North Rim The bad side is that the river is a bit farther away than from the south rim, and is only visible in a few places.
	Another view of the Colorado Still, it is visible, and I did photograph it.

The Canyon in fog On my second visit in December, I found the canyon filled with fog. Some of the structures stood up above the fog, and made some beautiful pictures.

	Saguaro Cacti On the third visit, my father and I were joined by my Uncle Bob for a visit to newly created Saguaro National Park, where we saw this panorama of cactus.
	Organ Pipes We also visited Organ Pipes National Monument, in a very insane day. The mountains in the background are in Mexico, which is the closest I've come to that country.
	The Grand Canyon There are few places in the world that compare to the Grand Canyon. This panorama only touches the surface of the view.
	The Grand Canyon Yet another view of this wonder of the world.

	Grand Canyon This is a better view from the North Rim.
	Colorado River Here is where the Colorado River enters the Grand Canyon.

	A Stump A stump of a petrified tree.
	Painted Desert The Painted Desert, looking north.
	Cactus Cactus in Saguaro National Park.
	Ocotillo Also in Saguaro National Park, blooming in winter.

	Organ Pipes Here is an Organ Pipe cactus from Organ Pipes National Monument.
	Arizona Dust Storm The dust storm obscured the road. It made it difficult to drive.
	Great Blue Heron A Great Blue Heron in flight.
	Black Vulture Black Vultures are more eastern, but they are in Mexico and the border states.
	Great Horned Owl Look closely. There's a Great Horned Owl roosting in the hollow in the tree. You may need to click on the picture to get a bigger one to see it.
	Western Kingbird There were a lot of Western Kingbirds at Patagonia.
	Gray Hawks mating Sorry for the quality, these two gray hawks were mating in a tree quite a ways away. This was the first day I'd ever seen gray hawks, and to observe this behavior was interesting.
	Gray Hawk in Flight The gray hawk in flight is a very distinctive bird. Looks vaguely like a Gabar Goshawk (from Africa) to me.
	Cassin's Kingbird This is a Cassin's Kingbird. Note the similarities and differences with the Western Kingbird, above.
	Vermilion Flycatcher Vermilion Flycatchers are bright red flycatchers. Most flycatchers are grey with a bit of dull yellow, but the Vermilion stands out.

	Hoover Dam Spillway The spillway was dry, the level of Lake Mead was very low so there was nothing to spill!
	Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is an amazing piece of engineering, although one must wonder about the daming of any natural river.
	Lake Mead Level The water level at Lake Mead was down at least 100 feet, to my naked eye.
	Hoover Dam Two more dam pictures.
	Power Generation At the base of the dam are the power generators
	Water flow The Colorado River flows through the turbines to generate power.
	Colorado River And then it just flows south.
	Bridge Construction See below
	Old Water Level There is a very clear and visible mark for the old water level for Lake Mead.
	Bridge Construction US-93 traverses the top of Hoover Dam, but since 9/11, there are serious security issues about allowing traffic across the dam. So, a new bridge is being build beside the dam, and this is the construction. No idea when it will be finished.
	Hydroelectic One more look at how power is made.
	Access Workers for the dam need to go through this tunnel for access.
	New Land Not really new, this was submerged when Lake mead filled, and has since emerged as a result of the drought.
	Tower One of the bases of the towers for the dam, to collect water for power.
	More new land More recently recovered land.