In memoriam to the state I’ve been trying to escape my entire life.
The Best of Arizona
There’s really nothing like being able to look up at a perfectly clear night sky to see the Milky Way stretching out all the way across the desert. The stars twinkle and glow brighter without the pollution of city lights, and the entire world around you just slows down in the total silence.
I know there are other places in the world - even in the United States - with dark skies, but none of them are quite like this.
Arizona has some of the best lightning storms during its summer monsoon seasons. They’re always incredible to watch, but this was my first time being able to capture more than one lightning strike in a single image.
From the third floor of my apartment complex, no less.
Arizona has, hands down, some of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen.
I will personally die on the hill that you won’t find better-looking, more colorful sunsets anywhere in the United States.
The heart-shaped cactus is just a prickly little bonus that made the photo even better.
Believe it or not, this shot was completely unplanned. I knew the full moon would be rising that night; I just didn’t know it would rise right in the center of Four Peaks.
I also hadn’t planned on bringing my 70-200 lens for this, but it stayed in my backpack and ended up paying off for a super cool photo, in my own opinion.
The Mogollon (MOH-gee-on) Rim was one of my favorite places in all of Arizona. It was only two hours of a drive away and it was far, far away from all the nothingness in the Phoenix Metro Area.
It was green year-round and it had some incredible views, especially on holidays when I was all but alone in the forest.
It snowed a few days before I drove up on this day trip, so the snowmelt created a waterfall over the edge of the Rim.
It was great to see the moss wet and green and to see the flowing water. I tried to video some of the waterfall, but my handheld stabilization skills were not up to the task.
Another shot of the full moon, nestled between two tree branches.
When I saw this lining up, I knew it was a photo I had to get. I still can’t believe it lined up so perfectly - and no, it’s not digitally altered. The moon really did line up perfectly in the branches of that tree.
Would it be a “Best of Arizona” album without a photo of an incoming dust storm?
This photo doesn’t do it justice - these dust clouds, also called baboons, are massive, dwarfing even the tallest skyscrapers in Phoenix. They roll over the desert floor, turning everything in the air brown and reducing visibility to near zero.
Being outside isn’t just risking your visibility, either. Not only will you come back covered in dirt, you risk breathing in the fungus that causes valley fever, a respiratory illness that spreads from your lungs to your joints and causes a whole host of issues if not treated.
I can’t say I’ll miss the state, but I will miss my friends, my hockey league, and the relationships I built that made the state worth living in.