THE BIG PICTURES:

The Big Pictures: THE WHITE MOUNTAINS

A PORTFOLIO EDITED BY JEFF KIDA PRECEDING PANEL: As monsoon clouds gather in the early afternoon, owl's-claws (Hymenoxys hoopesii) bloom along a meandering stream in an expansive White Mountains meadow. George Stocking ABOVE: A lingering mist cloaks evergreens and wildflowers on hillsides above the East Fork of the Black River. Aspen Campground, west of Alpine, features campsites a few steps from the picturesque East Fork. Laurence Parent RIGHT: Pacheta Falls, on White Mountain Apache Tribe land, feeds a profusion of greenery along Pacheta Creek. Visiting the remote waterfall requires a permit from the tribe, a drive on rough dirt roads and a 45-minute hike. Joel Hazelton

Monsoon clouds are reflected in the still waters of Crescent Lake. Located north of Big Lake, the reservoir sits at an elevation of 9,048 feet. It's a popular place for anglers to catch rainbow and brook trout. George Stocking

CASA MALPAIS

Arizona is home to some of the most important ancient ruins in North America. Among them is Casa Malpais near Springerville. The name Casa Malpais, “House of the Bad-lands,” refers to the broken basaltic terrain on which the Mogollon people built this 13th century fissure pueblo. It's a name that was given by Basque sheepherders who settled the Round Valley in the late 1880s. Although Casa Malpais had been studied by researchers for decades and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1964, the archaeological treasure had gone largely unnoticed. It served, for the most part, as a favorite locale for picnickers and illegal pothunters, who prized the potsherds and petroglyphs they found there. Then, in 1991, the town of Springerville purchased the site and, with a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office, developed Casa Malpais as a tourist attraction. Today, guided tours of the ruins are available from March through November. For more information, call the Casa Malpais Archaeological Park and Museum at 928-333-5375 or visit www.casamalpais.org.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.”

Evergreens, wildflowers and grasses flourish along the West Baldy Trail, a strenuous 14-mile (round-trip) hike to near the summit of 11,403-foot Baldy Peak. Jeremy Meek