Photos and comments from Arizona and around the world
Walking Arizona It is impossible to appreciate the vastnes of the Grand Canyon. Pictures do not do justice to the views. But sometimes you can get a hint of the size looking at this type of photo.
Genealogy's Star Sometimes knowing the general location where an event concerning an ancestor occurred is not as useful as it could be because there are several people in the same are with the same or very similar name. In those cases, and many others,...
Imagine getting up every day and looking out this window out onto the expanse of House Rock Valley on the Colorado Plateau. Absolute silence except for the sound of the almost constant wind. What if you had to face this day after day? Maybe you would...
Walking Arizona Elk are not particularly rare in Northern Arizona. In fact, in some places, they are quite common and especially in National Parks, are quite tame. Nonetheless, they are imposingly large animals and can be quite dangerous. This elk...
You will definitely need to click on this photo and perhaps zoom in. This shows Highway 89 as it goes up the steep hill where the landslide occurred. The slide is visible but hard to see. The road is closed until the experts figure out a way to rebuild...
Walking Arizona Spiderwebs are used in movies to indicate antiquity or scary sequences where the heros are opening an old building or tomb. I think the movies go way overboard in adding in sprider webs. They are mostly very pretty and not scary at...
Walking Arizona You might get the idea that all of Arizona is barren wasteland. Well, did it ever occur to you that some of the state is a wonderland of greenery and wetlands? Oh, I would guess those aren't the parts they show in all the movies and...
Walking Arizona It looked to me as if this duck had run headlong into the mud. But when I looked at the photo, I could see that this was the color of its feathers. I am impressed. I am not sure I have seen this species of duck before.
Walking Arizona After spending the day foraging for food, this cormorant is drying its wings in the setting sun. Its avocet companion is still busy looking for tasty morsels in the mud.
Genealogy's Star To adequately preserve our genealogical heritage, we need firm standards for the digitization of analog media. The proliferation of online media in less that archival quality, threatens the integrity of the historical photographic record....
At RootsTech 2013, RootsMagic was handing out cards with a link to Beta version of their popular genealogy database program, with the important announcement, "The first and only software certified to share data with FamilySearch Family Tree." I got one...
These petroglyphs are aptly named the TV sheep. I am not at all sure why these sheep have square bodies, but it is one of the wonders of the Southwest that there are such things to find. These, like most of the petroglyphs and rock art, are unmarked and...
People associate cactus with dry and hot climates, so it is unusual to see one snowbound. Actually, cactus grow all the way north to Canada and are also found high in the mountains. This one is growing at about 7000 feet above sea level. I can relate...
This is rabbit bush, a common plant on the Colorado Plateau. Its real name is Triangle Leaf Bursage, but I like rabbit bush better and it is easier to remember. The brownish leaves/flowers are the seeds left over the winter from the yellow flowers of...
While driving home from Salt Lake City, Utah to Mesa, Arizona, we took one of the three or four routes possible and went through Moab, Utah. You may never have heard of Moab, but it is well known for two activities; mountain bike riding and Jeep tours....
The whole Monument Valley is an icon because of motion pictures and its association with the West. It is claimed mostly by Arizona but the monuments are mostly in Utah. It is pretty well populated by people and not nearly as wild and wooly as is depicted....
It might be helpful to others to explain exactly what happened and how my blog was hacked or highjacked. The symptom of the hack or highjack was that when users, even me, accessed the blog, the page was involuntarily re-routed to another commercial and...
I pity the poor tourists who pay money to get to the Grand Canyon only to stay for a few hours and then move on in their tour. We always plan to get there early in the morning, often before sunrise and stay the entire day until the sun goes down. Then...
The elk herds in the Grand Canyon National Park are highly visible and numerous. They have no fear of man since there is no hunting in the National Park, so they wander right into Grand Canyon Village and make themselves at home. This one was along one...
Sorry, I went brain dead and put up the wrong image. That's what happens when you have to deal with crashing websites.
Unfortunately, what we have done so far does not seem to stop the unauthorized and highly illegal hacking of Genealogy's Star. So far, what happens is that at somewhat random times, if you access this blog, you are redirected to various sleazy link sites...
I think that one of the most interesting things about RootsTech is that it attracts a much wider participation than the usual genealogy conference. I really did get a chance to talk to a huge range of people with different interests and objectives. I...
Walking Arizona This black-necked stilt is ready to spear some dinner. I think it is incredible how they can walk when their knees bend backwards.
Walking Arizona These majestic looking egrets are quite common now in Arizona. Although I never remember seeing one when I was growing up in Phoenix. It is only a very short drive for me to this wonderland of water, mud and birds.
The evening sun is a perfect way to bring out the subtile colors of a tranquil pond. I found this view one evening on a short walk.
