This album has many cute pictures of Mary Kate growing up as well as photos from several photoshoots.  She is a great model with her patience and beautiful six foot tall stature.

Havasupai Waterfalls

Colleen, Ryan and I hiked down into the Havasupai Canyon to see the waterfalls in 2013 and were impressed.

      The Havasupai Waterfalls are the most dramatic waterfalls in the Grand Canyon.  The Grand Canyon’s geologic layers stair step down from the rims to the Colorado River, and the steeper sections create waterfalls.  The tallest, steepest geologic layer in the Grand Canyon is the limestone precipice known as the Red Wall, which circles the canyon like a ring on a bathtub. Havasu Creek arises from a spring and flows down canyon. Below the village of Supai it begins plunging over a series of steep drop-offs as it descends through the Red Wall. These drop-offs are what create the Havasupai Waterfalls.  Havasupai is roughly translated as “The people of the blue-green waters,” which refers to the beautiful turquoise color of Havasu Creek. The color of the water is the result of having been stored underground – in limestone caverns or aquifers – for as much as 30,000 years. While underground, the water leaches out minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium, from the limestone. These minerals saturate the water and reflect sunlight, making the water a turquoise color.  As the water flows over the ground, it deposits these minerals, which create travertine rock formations along the bottom of the creek. As floods come through and alter the stream bed, the travertine is uncovered and produces incredibly unique formations throughout Havasu Canyon.

Antelope Canyon is located near Page on Navajo Nation land, just outside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Antelope is the most visited slot canyon in the Southwest, partly because it is easily accessible and by far the most publicized, and also since it is extremely beautiful, with just the right combination of depth, width, length, rock color and ambient light; many other slot canyons are deeper, narrower or longer, and some have rock that is even more colorful and sculptured, but here conditions are ideal.  When approaching upper Antelope Canyon, there is no obvious clue as to its location. The trail seems to end at the base of a red sandstone plateau about 20 yards high, the entrance is a narrow curved slit in the cliffs only a few feet wide. Once inside, the temperature drops as much as 20 degrees as the visitor enters one of the most beautiful of all natural formations. The sunlight filtering down the curved sandstone walls makes magical, constantly changing patterns and shadows in many subtle shades of color. Some sections of the canyon are wide and bright, while others are narrower and more cave-like, with no light reaching the sandy floor. After only 150 yards or so, the canyon becomes suddenly much shallower near the top of the plateau. It may take only 3 or 4 minutes to walk through, but the canyon is well worth trip

We visited with Jeff, Alex and Mike in 2008.

Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona (most of it, along with Rainbow Bridge, is in Utah). It is the second largest man-made reservoir by maximum water capacity in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing 24,322,000 acre feet (3.0001×1010 m3) of water when full. However, due to high water withdrawals for human and agricultural consumption, and because of subsequent droughts in the area, Lake Powell is currently only half full.  Lake Powell was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam, which also led to the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  The reservoir is named for explorer John Wesley Powell, a one-armed American Civil War veteran who explored the river via three wooden boats in 1869.

Rainbow Bridge National Monument is administered by Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, southern Utah, United States. Rainbow Bridge is often described as the world's highest natural bridge. Rainbow Bridge is one of the most accessible of the large arches of the world. It can be reached by a two-hour boat ride on Lake Powell from either of two marinas near Page, Arizona, followed by a mile-long walk from the National Park wharf in Bridge Canyon.

We visited with Jeff, Alex and Mike in 2008.  We rented a boat and drove the 40 miles to the Rainbow Bridge.  It is huge lake and we almost got lost.  We also went swimming at a random cove.

The Desert Botanical Garden is a 140 acres botanical garden located in Papago Park, at 1201 N. Galvin Parkway in Phoenix, central Arizona.  Founded by the Arizona Cactus and Native Flora Society in 1937 and established at this site in 1939, the garden now has more than 21,000 plants, one-third of which are native to the area, including 139 species which are rare, threatened or endangered. It focuses on plants adapted to desert conditions, including an Australian collection, a Baja California collection and a South American collection. Several ecosystems are represented: a mesquite bosque, semidesert grassland, and upland chaparral.

Artist Dale Chihuly visited the Desert Botanical Garden in 2009 and 2013 with a stunning exhibition of his extraordinary and vibrant works of art. Chihuly is credited with revolutionizing the Studio Glass movement and elevating the perception of the glass medium from craft to fine art. He is renowned for his ambitious architectural installations around the world, in historic cities, museums and gardens.  

These photos are from both Chihuly visits.  Desert Botatical Garden is a frequent destination for us.

Flagstaff, AZ has been a favorite destination since we arrived in Arizona.  It is a fun mix of mountains, pines, cool summers, lumber, trains, cattle and Northern Arizona University (NAU),  The little town is fun with all the college bars, restaurants and art.   We went there many times.  When we were new to Arizona, we went there for the Little America Resort Thanksgiving Buffet.  Later, Ryan went to NAU which lead to many visits.