Back on the Wall: My Grand Canyon Photography Finds a New Home

I'm happy to announce that I'm back in the gallery scene after a one-year hiatus. I've recently joined a number of other featured artists at the Flagstaff Piano Clock & Fine Art Gallery. A selection of my best large-scale Ilfochrome and giclee-on-canvas prints are on display (and for sale) in this funky little haunt located in one of Flagstaff, Arizona's charming historic buildings. 

Be sure to swing by next time you're en route to the Grand Canyon (one hour and change up the road), or visit their website at http://flagstaffpianoandclock.com. My work is yet to be posted on the site, but you'll get to see the eclectic artistic company my Grand Canyon images will be keeping. 

"America's Best Idea" Coming Soon

Each Memorial Day weekend a gathering of conservationists, extreme sports enthusiasts, and advocates for Tibetan independence descends upon Telluride, Colorado, for MountainFilm, a long-running documentary film festival that kicks off a busy summer season in this high-altitude hamlet.

I've been attending for several years and have rarely been more excited than during the most recent festival which featured the premier of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea." This latest collaboration between award-winning filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan is a sprawling project was ten years in the making. It highlights the history of the National Park System through the lens of the visionaries who championed the preservation of America's amazing natural and cultural heritage.

I caught two installments of the six-part series, and was deeply moved by what I saw. As a longtime resident and educator at Grand Canyon National Park, I walked away with a renewed sense of respect for the park I call home, and for public lands everywhere.

Don't miss this series when it airs on PBS in September (2009). In my opinion it should be required viewing for every citizen of our fine country.

Park's Carbon Footprint Drops a Size

From its natural gas shuttle buses to a robust recycling program, Grand Canyon National Park has been hard at work in recent years adopting "green" business practices. The latest bright idea has the park turning to the sun for a helping hand. In partnership with Arizona Public Service (APS), Grand Canyon National Park has installed eighty-four photovoltaic solar panels at the Visitor Center at Canyon View Information Plaza.

A recent ceremony marked the new initiative which will offset thirty percent of the facility's power needs indefinitely, and double as a springboard to discuss energy efficiency with park visitors and staff (the latter achieved through interpretive wayside exhibits and assorted literature).

The sun was not on the guest list, but crashed the party with crowd-wilting temperatures that sent attendees scrambling for shade and refreshments following speeches by Superintendent Steve Martin, APS President and Chief Executive Officer Don Robinson.

Buzz From Canyon Raft Trip Hard to Shake

It's been a few months since my nine-day whitewater rafting trip in the Grand Canyon, and I still find myself struggling to readjust to the “real” world. Along with twenty-three others I participated in a Grand Canyon Field Institute-sponsored, oar-powered trip from the Phantom Ranch Boat Beach, to Diamond Creek.

This one hundred-plus stretch of the fabled chasm features enormous rapids, remarkable side canyons, towering waterfalls, peculiar wildlife, and sandy beaches.

Indeed, one of the biggest challenges for the 25,000 lucky ducks who take on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon each year is trying to convey their experience upon returning home. It remains elusive to all but the most eloquent of writers and indescribable for those with a mere website column as their vehicle. My advice is to experience the magic firsthand. With the sagging economy, the commercial river running companies are holding their prices, and the days of waiting two years to snag an available spot are gone. So go ahead and break the piggy bank and treat yourself to the trip of a lifetime!