Launching Into Spring
Vol. 1
You may have noticed some fresh perspectives appearing in our recent posts and notes, and today we’re thrilled to make it official:
Kelly is joining the project as a regular collaborator.
To celebrate this partnership we are launching a new weekly format.
Each edition will lead off with Kelly’s Korner, followed by a report on Last Week’s Hikes about our adventures here in the sky islands (and beyond). We’ll then break things up a bit with Todd’s Takes, before we preview What’s on the Agenda for the coming weekend. We’ll have a section for Other Highlights, such as special Notes we may have posted during the week. Finally, we’ll wrap things up with a look Around Substack to see what kind of interesting essays and pictures our friends have been sharing.
We hope you enjoy it!
Hello All! I’m excited to start writing more. I have always had a dreamer’s spirit, and it is sometimes difficult to sit still and allow my thoughts to be shared. This has made it more difficult than it should have been for Todd to convince me to contribute more . I think a bit of this is due to the fact that growing up on a farm in extreme rural Iowa, I may actually be a bit feral. This is my both my best and worst quality.
When I started hiking in Arizona, I never truly knew where I was going. I didn’t read books about hiking. I didn’t consult trail maps. I just wandered. There was a local photography group where I would see a photo online and sort of just decide I was going to go “there”. I figured vague directions from the comments could get me close enough. It did. At times, I might actually just happen upon a trail and quite literally just be I need to see where this goes without honestly having any idea what kind of hike that would lead to.
The first photo in the gallery is literally the fist sunset photo I ever took here in Arizona in 2012 as I crossed into the state on I-10 with my 3 young boys and only the most essential belongings we needed in a green Chrysler van that was, in these moments, occasionally overheating. It was one of the most pivotal decisions I have made in life. Oh the incredible adventures I have had, and no doubt am committed to continue.
Most of the above pictures were, in fact, happy accidents of circumstance while I was looking for something else. A few, that were deliberate, took multiple attempts to locate. It was frustrating at times, but I loved the thrill of the hunt. Although, I have graduated to trail guides, books, and maps to navigate places, as I am certain it is much safer, I still can’t help wander off trail (much to Todd’s dismay) to find hidden treasure in these hills.
We actually had a pretty busy weekend for the middle April. We started out on Saturday morning driving the Jeep up Huachuca Canyon, where Todd was rewarded with pretty decent picture of a …
We then headed over to Bisbee, where we didn’t technically hike. But in our search for a phantom football game that we were trying to attend to support one of Kelly’s students, we got to explore Warren, and even stopped to see one of the oldest professional baseball stadiums in the United States.
On Sunday we headed over to Patagonia for a real life meet up with Don Boivin and his wife Jennifer who are visiting Arizona from Massachusetts. It is the pinnacle of cool to have online Substack friends turn into real-life friends.
We had lunch and talked for over an hour at this cool little pizza place called The Velvet Elvis. Afterwards Don and Jennifer were meeting up with another friend they had in town, so Kelly and I decided to see if we could find the trailhead for the Arizona Trail (which we knew was close by).
We found the parking lot at Casa Blanca Canyon, and ended up hiking a couple of miles of AZT Passage 3. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t terribly exciting, and I expect that doing the entire 18+ miles to or from Canelo is going to be a bit of a slog when we eventually have to do it.
Do I really need a brand new multi-thousand $$ camera?
Let’s be real, if I had unlimited resources, I’d probably own a top of the line Canon mirrorless camera with big white, fast, 600mm prime lens attached. I’d also have a Medium Format digital camera made by Fujifilm or Hasselblad for capturing the sweet landscape scenes here in southeast Arizona. And finally, I’d round out my kit with something I could stick in my pocket and take anywhere; and if money was no object, it would probably be a Leica.
But, since I live here in the real world …
The overwhelming majority of pictures I capture these days happen on either a decade old Canon 80D dSLR, or my Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphone.
Heck, even with the 80D, I bought it used about 5 years ago for $500. Before that I shot for a couple of years with a $300 EOS M, and before that, with a Canon 20D that I did buy new, in 2004.
I’m not mad or disappointed about it though. Below are examples of images from each camera. If I didn’t tell you which two were taken on phones could you guess?
Heck, now that I’m lookin though my archive, I remember that my first “real” camera was a Sony F-717 that I got in 2002. Check out this shot I captured with that 5 megapixel fixed lens beast:
Final caveat: I DO own some pretty nice lenses. But even those were bought used, or are from quality 3rd parties. The Sigma 150-600mm that Kelly got me for my birthday is attached to the Canon 95% of the time. I also have a 70-200F4L (that I bought with poker winnings in 2005), a Tamron 28-75 F2.8 (this was the first and one of the only new lenses I ever bought, also in 2005), a 17mm Tokina, and (if I can ever find it) a Tamron 90mm macro (which was a gift from a friend).
Bottom line: it would be fun to have one (or more) of the latest and greatest digital cameras. But realistically, unless you’re getting paid to do this, you can probably have a perfectly enjoyable time taking just about any kind of pictures, with a camera that doesn’t cost four figures.
First off, the weather here in southeast Arizona is going to be beautiful this coming weekend. Mostly clear skies, relatively light winds, and pleasant temperatures (lows 50s and highs 80s).
Unfortunately, Todd has to work on Saturday morning, so that will limit our options a little bit. In a perfect world, we’d still find a way to go see a waterfall. But that may have to wait for a longer (and warmer) weekend. I think if I had to guess right now, we’re most likely to end up in Split Rock Canyon (which is one of the least traveled trails in the Huachucas) early on Sunday morning.
Of course, the only way to know for sure is to check back next week …
Kelly posted her first note:
Our Girls had their Senior photoshoot in Bisbee with a friend of ours.
Peter Barr sharing some wisdom about birds, and humans.
I don’t think I know anybody who isn’t cursed with procrastination at least occasionally. Check this out if you’re like me and want to change it.
We have to agree with Anna on this one.
Where are you finding your 'hidden treasures' this week, whether it’s on a trail or in your own backyard?
Every photo tells a story, and stories are better with company. If you enjoyed this glimpse into our life in the Sky Islands (and beyond), please pass it along to a fellow explorer. Thank you!
Great post, beautiful pictures, and so wonderful to be able to hear directly from both of my new IRL friends at once! 🙏💚
This is a wonderful idea wonderfully implemented! It is so human and friendly and real… – and massively enjoyable (especially the shot of Todd leaning on the Arizona sign)! Thank you both!